Yeah I definitely regret it
Sony firmware update
- Thread starter sh1209
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John Navitsky
Well-known member
i think the dynamic range issue is misunderstood. i think this ONLY comes into play IF you want to go below 250 or above 25,600. at a given ISO, no reason it should be any worse (or better) than anything else.
If it were 40mp I would definitely consider it but that’s my cutoff for wildlife
That is fine but for the life of me I don't see how you think these images suck. I would not buy the a7R5 as it is two slow and I shoot more action than landscapes. Lots of choices out there and some are better than others at different things.That’s all that matters, if you’re happy with it then it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. I’ve not seen a single image posted by anyone anywhere that couldn’t be taken with the A1, Z9, RV cannon or other comparable cameras. Thats just being honest. You should know by now that I’m not scared to spend money
To me the images don’t have the pop that a standard sensor produces at least to my eye. You will never have the detail of the A1 because you’re at half the resolution. The Sony A1 has some of the best image quality in the business bar none! I just don’t see that in any version of the A9 including the 3. It’s a one trick pony and not meant for superb image quality. It’s meant to spray photos at a fast rate such as sports photographers. I’ve owned 8,12,16,20,24,45,50 and 61mp sensors in my life and I can tell you for certain I have ZERO desire to go back to 24mp for wildlife but again that’s just me and we’re all different.
I guess I look at those shots and like what I see but apparently because they weren't shot with a higher MP camera it was a lost opportunity.
I suspect if I hid the meta data no one would know that it was shot with a 24.6 MP camera vs a 50MP camera. I have viewed on a 5K screen with no file compression and printed on 17x22 paper and I doubt anyone would know what camera took it.
I have only shot it at base ISO once and that was shooting prop planes for prop blur. It is hardly ever below 400 and typically over 3200 so base iso for an action camera could be 1K and I would be just fine.
Never once said they sucked not in the least I just said I think the A1 produces better images.That is fine but for the life of me I don't see how you think these images suck. I would not buy the a7R5 as it is two slow and I shoot more action than landscapes. Lots of choices out there and some are better than others at different things.
I guess I look at those shots and like what I see but apparently because they weren't shot with a higher MP camera it was a lost opportunity.
LTK
Well-known member
The local urban Peregrine Falcons are currently nesting , I need the focus for action to remain reliable , they come in like bullets from any direction . It requires a lot of waiting about so if you miss shots it's a PIA and means waiting around again for next chance . The females sat on the nest so the male brings in small prey but not very often, he's very quick and again we need those extra MP's because of the distance . If this FW2.01 is messing about for BIF I think I'll leave it for now , posting findings is appreciated though
I would almost guarantee if you set up an image with the same lens, shutter speed and all settings the A1 image quality would be very noticeable. Again this isn’t saying your images suck it’s just stating an empirical fact that higher mp images have more detail.That is fine but for the life of me I don't see how you think these images suck. I would not buy the a7R5 as it is two slow and I shoot more action than landscapes. Lots of choices out there and some are better than others at different things.
I guess I look at those shots and like what I see but apparently because they weren't shot with a higher MP camera it was a lost opportunity.
I reset the camera and reloaded my setting from the card so I will see tomorrow if it has improved.
Well when one says they look flat, 2 dimensional, lacking pop and dynamic range that implies they suck. If a photograph is lacking those elements it isn't going to be a good image. I consider those shots I posted to be well above the average photographers shots and when compared to the last 3 years of using my a1's the a9III image quality as in these examples is right on par of what I have done with the a1.
Actually I did just that when shooting at Laguna Seca a couple of weeks ago and no it isn't that obvious. You also have to remember that a 24MP sensor of years ago isn't the same as one today. You also have to remember software has evolved, the sensor itself has evolved and the software inside the cameras creating the RAW/JPEG has evolved over the years. This isn't apples to apples.
arbitrage
Well-known member
Saw this quote over on FM....fingers crossed this did fix the battery issue...
From Colby Brown, Sony Ambassador:
"This morning, Sony officially released the 2.01 FW Update to fix the WIFI/Bluetooth connectivity issues that a few users faced with the 2.0 update. This update should also fix the problem of a higher-than-normal battery drain that some of those users have experienced"
Man I hope that is true and battery life will return to 1.32 levels.
Also hope this report of AF tracking issues isn't true. So far I haven't seen any reports of AF issues elsewhere but not many people have been out shooting it yet.
From Colby Brown, Sony Ambassador:
"This morning, Sony officially released the 2.01 FW Update to fix the WIFI/Bluetooth connectivity issues that a few users faced with the 2.0 update. This update should also fix the problem of a higher-than-normal battery drain that some of those users have experienced"
Man I hope that is true and battery life will return to 1.32 levels.
Also hope this report of AF tracking issues isn't true. So far I haven't seen any reports of AF issues elsewhere but not many people have been out shooting it yet.
I hope after I reset everything that the problem goes away, but the battery drain seemed back to normal and the auto focus and single points seem back to normal. Like I said earlier in the thread, I was out the same time, same place, standing in the same place exact conditions as yesterday, and it was like shooting two different cameras as far as tracking a moving bird. Normally when I’m shooting swallows I keep sensitivity at one or two and use zone focus box without tracking and I can usually nail them with very good success but today it just wasn’t happening. I tried going to fullscreen auto focus and large spot as well and also enable tracking all to no avail. I went over the menus with a fine tooth comb, and I don’t see anything that could’ve changed.
Yeah, you’re right and most of the images I’ve looked at it been on my cell phone screen. I’m sure it’s just fine. I mean you should know you have both of them, but I still think that in the end is going to have the upper hand as far as quality. Might not be extremely noticeable, but should be noticeable to some extent
I think you also shoot a lot larger subjects, and I do most of the time because when shooting subjects such as warblers even with the A1 and a tele converter their times it’s hard to not have to crop away or 80% of the resolution to get a usable image because you just can’t get any closer
Do you think it could be some sort of incompatibility with a 600 GM? I can try taking the 200–600 out tomorrow on the other body and trying that as well.
LTK
Well-known member
Well if theres any issue with AF your the man to notice it , it would be great if the battery drainage issue is sorted but the focus reliability is main importance
These images are the only ones in focus out of 874 images. Normally I would have 100-150 in sharp focus albeit many of them would not be usable due to direction, pose or distractions.
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arbitrage
Well-known member
FWIW, my friend was out shooting on 2.01 today and was shooting RWBB in flight. He didn't notice any problems with the AF. No difference than on 2.0 he said.
So I reinitialized the camera yesterday and loaded all my settings via the card. I’ve came back out to the same spot this morning and fired off well over 1400 images. What I found is, I have to turn the responsiveness level to five still using zone and have to disable subject detection in order to get it to focus as good or maybe even better than it did before. I went through every setting with a fine tooth comb and the only way that I can get the same results with it, is disabling subject detection. I don’t have an explanation for this but at this point that’s the work around or at least that’s what’s working for me. Speaking solely on shooting swallows, it’s even better with subject detection turned off than it did before the firmware update. With subject detection on, It Will barely track and will barely acquire Focus on a moving bird. I put the settings on custom two and we just flip over with the mod dial in the future if I’m shooting subjects such as this or at least until they possibly give us another firmware a year from now.
That is really bizarre. I just updated one of my a1 bodies and if I get a chance I'll see if I can compare it side by side with the un-updated one. (The trick is getting the time to do it - I'm between safaris and really behind).
Yeah, it’s weird. I definitely agree, but I’m gonna step out on a limb here and say that when subject detection is turned off even with swallows skimming across the top of the water, I think it’s back to the level It was at 1.20 or even better, but if I turn subject detection off, it goes to hell. I don’t notice any difference in battery drain now like it was doing either and also using small spot in thick vegetation for small birds that problem is corrected, but I have absolutely no explanation as to why it’s performing the way it does with birds in flight. I would imagine the 1400 images I shot this morning at least 400 of them are in perfect focus. certainly not all of those are usable but it’s a far cry from what it was yesterday. It’s just really strange that the settings have to be altered that much from what it was previous to this firmware to get the same results are better but either way I guess I’ll take it at this point lol
I wonder if it's just that particular scenario. Between brands, it's not uncommon to find a specific circumstance where one is better than the other but most of the time they are roughly equal.
John Navitsky
Well-known member
and even those scenario differences may change over time with fw updates
It could certainly be, but like I said in the initial message, I’m coming to the same exact place standing in the same place and just about identical weather conditions and it’s drastically different than before that firmware update. I am definitely going to keep messing with it but seems to be a very good workaround for the time being.