Sony A1 focus issues

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sh1209

sh1209

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Has anyone noticed whenever a bird gets near water that you lose focus with the Sony A1? I don’t know whether this is something to do with the last firmware update, because it never did it in the past. I have two bodies so I tried them both with two different lenses and the result was the same. I would imagine 80% of the time for instance, when I was shooting Eagles when I got near the water, it would lose focus. I tried several different focus modes, and strangely enough whenever I put the 1.4 teleconverter on it seemed to improve, which makes absolutely no sense.
 
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jeffnles1 said:
Is four shifting to their reflection on the water? I don't own an A1 just thinking of things that may trip up AF.
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No, it just loses focus all together as soon as they get near the water and I’m guessing it has something to do with the last firmware update because when I went there last year, there was no issues whatsoever.
 
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There have been rumors of a new firmware update coming to the A1 but Sony seems to be piss poor as a company in regards to firmware updates.
 
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NorthernFocus said:
Yes I've been seeing the same thing shooting pelicans from the beach. Probably better with the TC due to larger target.
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Yesterday was the first time I’ve had it near water. I’m pretty sure since that last firmware update. I feel that last firmware update improved things when using the Tele converter but they said sooner water is undeniable. There is something really wrong with the Focus ability of these cameras, now that needs to be addressed ASAP.
 
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I took 1408 shots yesterday whenever I was out shooting eagles and 565 images were completely out of focus. 90% of those were at or near water contact.
 
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sh1209 said:
Has anyone noticed whenever a bird gets near water that you lose focus with the Sony A1? I don’t know whether this is something to do with the last firmware update, because it never did it in the past. I have two bodies so I tried them both with two different lenses and the result was the same. I would imagine 80% of the time for instance, when I was shooting Eagles when I got near the water, it would lose focus. I tried several different focus modes, and strangely enough whenever I put the 1.4 teleconverter on it seemed to improve, which makes absolutely no sense.
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I have not. What level of sticky are you using?

I just spent the last 4 days in FL shooting birds in or around water along with some dolphins and didn’t have any issue. I pretty much always use tracking L or M. I do change my responsive level now and then but typically I’m more towards responsive side of things.
 
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DavidT said:
I have not. What level of sticky are you using?

I just spent the last 4 days in FL shooting birds in or around water along with some dolphins and didn’t have any issue. I pretty much always use tracking L or M. I do change my responsive level now and then but typically I’m more towards responsive side of things.
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I’ve had mine set at three ever since I’ve on the cameras and like I said the last time I went to the same place last year with the old firmware it stuck like glue, no matter what focus area I was in so something in both bodies has changed, and that only leaves firmware as being the source.
 
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Not only was this on Eagles. I also tested it on pelicans in flight against the dark water, which could possibly not be more of a contrast and the same issue persist.
 
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sh1209 said:
I’ve had mine set at three ever since I’ve on the cameras and like I said the last time I went to the same place last year with the old firmware it stuck like glue, no matter what focus area I was in so something in both bodies has changed, and that only leaves firmware as being the source.
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I’d suggest trying some different settings. I don’t use zone or wide very often and stick with L or M tracking box even for flyers. I prefer to control what the camera is looking for. I shot about 10k images over this week without issue. I’m leaving now for south TX to shoot for another 5 days mostly around water.
 
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But it’s the same settings as the last time I was there. I’ll give it a try but I’m certain something has changed after the update
 
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No issues on my end that I have noticed. Water has always been a tricky issue when using tracking. I usually don't use tracking when shooting at water's edge which may be why I am not seeing a change if what your observed is tied to the tracking algorithms.
 
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PhD69 said:
Basic question, but... did you check the position of all buttons on the left side of the 600mm F4 (accordingly to your usual setup)?
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yes all buttons are in the correct position but I took the 200–600 with me as well which is what I use the last time I went there and experience the same issues. As far as the birds in the air in flight I didn’t notice much difference at all but whenever they got near the water, it will just completely hunt for focus on both bodies
 
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FB101 said:
No issues on my end that I have noticed. Water has always been a tricky issue when using tracking. I usually don't use tracking when shooting at water's edge which may be why I am not seeing a change if what your observed is tied to the tracking algorithms.
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Good call out. I actually have two buttons for focusing, main one is tracking on and second button is tracking off. If I see an issue I go to the non tracking without even thinking about it. The camera is going to look where the box is, water is a large bright target however when photographing terns, ospreys etc I don;'t have an issue with it leaving the bird to go to the water. Now if I lose the bird sure it will jump to what is there for it to focus on. I use very responsive for most things and if it jumps off I can get it to jump back on very quickly by reputing the button and making sure my af box is on the target I want. To sticky and the camera will get stubborn trying to hold focus.
 
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You say it was better when you were there last year?
I could imagine that it has something to do with how the water surface looks. Are there a lot of reflections from wave ripples? Maybe they were not there last year?
Just a wild guess but maybe busy water distracts the AI because it thinks it might be whatever.
 
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Krümelkraft said:
You say it was better when you were there last year?
I could imagine that it has something to do with how the water surface looks. Are there a lot of reflections from wave ripples? Maybe they were not there last year?
Just a wild guess but maybe busy water distracts the AI because it thinks it might be whatever.
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Not really, the conditions were pretty much similar, but I’ll mess with the settings and see if I can get it to improve
 
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DavidT said:
I’d suggest trying some different settings. I don’t use zone or wide very often and stick with L or M tracking box even for flyers. I prefer to control what the camera is looking for...
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I also don't use wide at all and only recently started using zone occasionally for BIF with clean/distant BG.

This question of AF going awry over water came up a couple weeks back in another thread. Out of curiosity I did a bit of testing on cormorants and pelicans flying laterally and low over the water. Sorry I've deleted all those shots or would post some for comparison. But what I found in general is no surprise. When the birds were really small in the frame the camera jumped to the water every time after initially focusing on the bird(L/M tracking box). The larger the bird was in the frame the better the camera stayed locked on the bird. When the bird was large enough to stretch maybe 20-25 percent of the way across the frame the AF stayed locked on really well. And if the bird is close enough to find the eye I don't think it ever turned loose. This was all over a fairly rough water surface. Rough in photography terms not maritime.
 
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sh1209 said:
I’ve had mine set at three ever since I’ve on the cameras and like I said the last time I went to the same place last year with the old firmware it stuck like glue, no matter what focus area I was in so something in both bodies has changed, and that only leaves firmware as being the source.
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I’ve mentioned on fredmiranda it’s not as sticky for me since this fw1.31 update , Ithought fw1.20 was amazing with my 200-600 and wished I’d ignored fw1.30 and 1.31 .
They supposed to be releasing a big update this month according to SAR , if so hopefully it gets sorted . I know what this Camera is capable of so know it’s the fw
 
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Have you tried reinitializing the camera back to factory defaults (saving your camset so you can reload it)? I've seen people say AF issues they had with 1.3 went away after that.
 
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