Sony a9 focus tracking not working when used with Canon lenses

Sony a9
Sony a9

Sony a9: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

At a glance:

  • 24.2MP Full-Frame Stacked CMOS Sensor
  • BIONZ X Image Processor & Front-End LSI
  • 693-Point AF System & 20 fps Shooting
  • Blackout-Free Quad-VGA 3.7m-Dot OLED EVF
  • Internal UHD 4K Video Recording
  • 5-Axis SteadyShot INSIDE Stabilization
  • 3.0″ 1.44m-Dot Tilting Touchscreen LCD
  • ISO 204,800, Silent Electronic Shutter
  • Built-In Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, Dual SD Slots
  • Integrated LAN and PC Sync Terminals

The Sony a9 is touted as the Jack of all Trades. Impressive specs, and a lot of hype coming from a devoted fan community.

However, all that glitters is not gold. The video below, shot with a Sony a9 using a $9000 Canon EF 500mm f/4 lens on a Sigma MC-11 adapter, isn’t so impressive after all. The Sony a9 is not able to track focus after the shutter has been fired. The Sony a9 just started shipping so we don’t know if this phenomenon is limited to adapted Canon lenses (guess it is).

If you are a professional photographer, stick with Canon and Nikon and stay safe with proven gear and great and reliable professional service. If you have money to waste for gadgets, get a Sony a9. The specs are truly impressive and once more show how much Sony is pushing technological innovation.

[Via Sony Alpha Rumors]

All that glitters is not gold: Sony A9 not ISO-invariant and sacrifices dynamic range for speed

Sony A9
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Sony a9 at a glance:

  • 24.2MP Full-Frame Stacked CMOS Sensor
  • BIONZ X Image Processor & Front-End LSI
  • 693-Point AF System & 20 fps Shooting
  • Blackout-Free Quad-VGA 3.7m-Dot OLED EVF
  • Internal UHD 4K Video Recording
  • 5-Axis SteadyShot INSIDE Stabilization
  • 3.0″ 1.44m-Dot Tilting Touchscreen LCD
  • ISO 204,800, Silent Electronic Shutter
  • Built-In Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, Dual SD Slots
  • Integrated LAN and PC Sync Terminals

There is no free lunch and anything comes at a price. This appears to be true especially for Sony gear, always hyped and most of the time only because of the specifications sheets.

DPReview wanted to know better. They put the Sony a9 on their test bench, and found some interesting things. So, how does the powerhouse a9 perform when it comes to ISO-invariance (what is it?) and dynamic range.

DPReview found out that the Sony a9 is not ISO-invariant, and that “the camera is adding a fair amount of read noise that results in noisy shadows, limiting dynamic range at base ISO“. They also found that the Sony A9 sensor “was likely optimized for speed at the expense of low ISO dynamic range“.

What does all this mean? According to DPReview “this limits the exposure latitude of a9 Raws, so you’ll have some limited ability to expose high contrast scenes for the highlights, then tonemap (raise) shadows in post“.

All that glitters is not gold. Read DPReview’s in-depth analysis.

Off Brand News: Sony Releases High-Speed Vision Sensor that Makes Detection and Tracking of Objects at 1,000 fps Possible

IMX382
High-speed vision sensor IMX38

Sony pushing technological innovation. Sony press release:

Tokyo, Japan—Sony Corporation today announced the release of the new IMX382 high-speed vision sensor, which enables detection and tracking of objects at 1,000 frames per second. Sony will begin shipping samples in October 2017.

This vision sensor features a stacked configuration with a back-illuminated pixel array and signal processing circuit layer. The circuit layer is equipped with image processing circuits and a programmable column-parallel processor, delivering high-speed target detection and tracking. This configuration enables high-sensitivity imaging thanks to the back-illuminated pixel array, with target detection and tracking at 1,000 frames per second. The new sensor uses information such as color and brightness obtained from pixels to detect objects, then extracts the object’s centroid, moment and motion vector, and finally outputs the information from the vision sensor in each frame.

This vision sensor has achieved imaging, target detection and tracking at 1,000 fps on a single chip. This not only expands the scope of application, but delivers new value that was difficult to obtain with conventional systems.

Click here to open the rest of the article

Off Brand: Sony a9 available for pre-order

Sony A9
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Sony a9 at a glance:

  • 24.2MP Full-Frame Stacked CMOS Sensor
  • BIONZ X Image Processor & Front-End LSI
  • 693-Point AF System & 20 fps Shooting
  • Blackout-Free Quad-VGA 3.7m-Dot OLED EVF
  • Internal UHD 4K Video Recording
  • 5-Axis SteadyShot INSIDE Stabilization
  • 3.0″ 1.44m-Dot Tilting Touchscreen LCD
  • ISO 204,800, Silent Electronic Shutter
  • Built-In Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, Dual SD Slots
  • Integrated LAN and PC Sync Terminals

The brand-new and much hyped Sony a9 mirrorless camera can be pre-ordered: Amazon | Adorama | B&H Photo

The Sony a9 is touted as Canon and Nikon killer over the Internet. Sony pushes the Sony a9 as a sports camera but as far as I know there are no serious sport lenses for the a9 yet.

What do you think, will professional sport photogs abandon their battle-proven gear for this camera? I can’t help but to me Sony cams still feel like toys.

Canon is still king but Sony now is 2nd seller of full-frame DSLR in USA, overtook Nikon

sony

Sony’s conquer of the photographic industry made another step forward. Sony is now second ranked in USA when it comes to full-frame DSLRs, they surpassed Nikon. Canon is stil the first manufacturer for full-frame DSLRs in the USA.
Sony press text:

SAN DIEGO, April 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Electronics – a worldwide leader in digital imaging and the world’s largest image sensor manufacturer, has announced today that their continued growth has vaulted them into the #2 overall position in the U.S. full-frame interchangeable lens camera market. 1

Sony’s interchangeable lens cameras and lenses have seen record sales in 2017, in particular within the U.S. full-frame camera market, where they have experienced double-digit growth (+23%) 2 compared to the same period last year. The popularity of key models including α7RII and α7SII has been paramount to this success.
Additionally, Sony’s rapid growth has helped to drive growth of the overall full-frame interchangeable lens camera market compared to the same period last year. Without Sony’s contributions, the full-frame market would be facing a slight decline. 3
“Our commitment to the industry is stronger than ever,” said Neal Manowitz, VP of Digital Imaging at Sony North America. “We are always listening to our customers, combining their feedback with our intense passion for innovation to deliver products, services and support like no other.”
A variety of exclusive stories and exciting content shot Sony α products can be found at www.alphauniverse.com , Sony’s community site built to educate, inspire and showcase all fans and customers of the Sony α brand.
Notes to Editors
1The NPD Group / Retail Tracking Service, U.S., Detachable Lens Camera, Full Frame, Based on Dollars, Jan- Feb 2017
2The NPD Group / Retail Tracking Service, U.S., Detachable Lens Camera, Full Frame, Based on Dollars, Jan/Feb 2016- Jan/Feb 2017

3The NPD Group / Retail Tracking Service, U.S., Detachable Lens Camera, Full Frame, Based on Dollars, Jan/Feb 2016- Jan/Feb 2017

[via Sony Alpha Rumors]