p.5 #1 · Brief Comments on the 200-600 with A7R4 (Harlequin Duck)
I'd recommend to send info/comments on the problems people are having with the 200-600 and A7R4 body to Rishi Sanyal PhD - the Science Editor at DP review:
If the DPR folks who write the reviews/test equipment were made aware of the possible problem, they could test...and they likely have more sway with Sony than individual photographers chattering on the internet
p.5 #2 · Brief Comments on the 200-600 with A7R4 (Harlequin Duck)
rdcny wrote:
I'd recommend to send info/comments on the problems people are having with the 200-600 and A7R4 body to Rishi Sanyal PhD - the Science Editor at DP review:
If the DPR folks who write the reviews/test equipment were made aware of the possible problem, they could test...and they likely have more sway with Sony than individual photographers chattering on the internet
p.5 #3 · Brief Comments on the 200-600 with A7R4 (Harlequin Duck)
Yes agreed BUT burst shooting focus problems are significantly worse with the A7R4/200-600 than the A7R4 with the 100-400...
so does the focus consistency problem of the A7R4/200-600 have more to do with the motor driving the lens to focus (though many have problems with stationery subjects)...or something(s) else(s)?
p.5 #4 · Brief Comments on the 200-600 with A7R4 (Harlequin Duck)
rdcny wrote:
Yes agreed BUT burst shooting focus problems are significantly worse with the A7R4/200-600 than the A7R4 with the 100-400...
so does the focus consistency problem of the A7R4/200-600 have more to do with the motor driving the lens to focus (though many have problems with stationery subjects)...or something(s) else(s)?
I think the issue is more pronounced in some lenses than others. And worse the problem is not consistent, so hard to pin down. Seems like lens AF mechanism capabilities "may" have something to do with it. I've not heard anyone reporting issues with the R4 + GM400 or GM600 for instance but plenty of reports with the G200-600 to include my own experience with the A7rIV + G200-600 vs R4 + GM 100-400. But I also have a fair number of hits with the R4 + G200-600 too just not as many as my experience with other lenses/cameras expects ( minus self inflicted errors of course).
I think most agree,61MPs files FF may require more careful handling particularly for fast moving subjects. But I am also confident something else is going on and burst shooting certainly seems to be a common factor too. Not a disaster, but certainly an issue.
Lot of complexity and variables to sort through to include 61MPs between camera, sensor, lens and the photographer/environment. From my own experience with multiple lenses, venues, combinations of settings etc. hence my suggestion for Sony Pro Support members to send evidence with photos to Sony Pro Support for proper processing to include attention from Sony engineers.
p.5 #5 · Brief Comments on the 200-600 with A7R4 (Harlequin Duck)
Had a nice, long email string w/ a support rep from Sony Pro Support. I also sent an email to one of the main Sony Representatives for Pro Support but he's out of the office til the 20th or so. Basically, the support rep told me that they haven't heard of this issue and that I'd need to send both my body and lens in to be evaluated. Even included large bursts of RAWs. Mentioned this forum and people's issues as well. Not sure if I should send mine is as I can't be without a telephoto for a week or so before they find out if they can send me a loaner or not.. Hopefully when my main contact gets back to me he'll have a more solid response.
p.5 #6 · Brief Comments on the 200-600 with A7R4 (Harlequin Duck)
I have spoken with them a couple of times now and they also told me, even yesterday, that they are unaware of any problems and if people are having issues they need to call in. They are also wanting me to send in both my body and lens but it was discovered that there is already a firmware update for the A7RIV body and I did that last night and am going to check it out again before sending it in. It did not mention anything reverent in the firmware description, except improves the stability of the camera. ?? what ever that means. I told them that I was not the only one having issues but again, they act totally unaware. They have gone over samples from me and agree I have a problem.
p.5 #10 · Brief Comments on the 200-600 with A7R4 (Harlequin Duck)
OK I called Sony Pro Support since I am a member (and they can recognize your name immediately from the phone number you are using)...I spoke with someone who is well-placed in Technical Support (ie., not an intern).
Th Sony person was wonderful to speak with - he knew the equipment...he was polite, informative...very nice to speak with. He was curious about the problem I described because no one in his department was aware of it. He was going to have someone in his department look into the Forum posts (here and at DP review - he is aware of both sites). But no one at Sony knows of a problem with the A7R4 and 200-600 combo and I am pretty sure that (in his estimation) no one is working on a firmware fix for a problem (that they don't know exists).
He did say that a number of controlled tests need to be done to see if there was a problem...and there are so many variables with people shooting the combo out in the field that is difficult to know what might be a problem vs. a problem in the way the user is shooting the A7R4/200-60mm combo.
Anyway, I'd recommend calling Sony Pro Support if you use that combo and are having problems. Your voice matters.
p.5 #11 · Brief Comments on the 200-600 with A7R4 (Harlequin Duck)
Very interesting that pro support say they haven't heard of the issue. The retail rep in my area has now on two occasions said that Sony is aware of the issue and is working on a fix. I believe he also confirmed this with ARMD when he called him.
I would think that the people in Pro Support would have much better insight than a retail rep.
p.5 #12 · Brief Comments on the 200-600 with A7R4 (Harlequin Duck)
Worth noting that the support guys are local to the country/region and just because they haven't heard doesn't mean that Sony corporate & engineering haven't heard and aren't working on it.
The retail reps are a LOT closer to customers in a lot of ways and their channels back to corporate are mostly separate from the support techs.
I' bet Corporate knows, Engineering is working on it and support is being treated like mushrooms as usual.
Often enough support doesn't hear about problems like this until there's a fix because corporate doesn't want to admit there's a problem (Nikon guys saw this with the D600 shutter, D800 Left AF and D800 frame break issues, all of which support knew nothing about until corporate decided how to address it).
'Haven't heard of it' can also be a euphemism for 'I know all about it but management has ordered us to deny it for now'
p.5 #14 · Brief Comments on the 200-600 with A7R4 (Harlequin Duck)
mawz wrote:
Worth noting that the support guys are local to the country/region and just because they haven't heard doesn't mean that Sony corporate & engineering haven't heard and aren't working on it.
The retail reps are a LOT closer to customers in a lot of ways and their channels back to corporate are mostly separate from the support techs.
I' bet Corporate knows, Engineering is working on it and support is being treated like mushrooms as usual.
Often enough support doesn't hear about problems like this until there's a fix because corporate doesn't want to admit there's a problem (Nikon guys saw this with the D600 shutter, D800 Left AF and D800 frame break issues, all of which support knew nothing about until corporate decided how to address it).
'Haven't heard of it' can also be a euphemism for 'I know all about it but management has ordered us to deny it for now'...Show more →
Agreed. In a similar situation with the Canon 600 f/4 IS III and IS at lower SS, many top end people in the US seemed to deny the issue or hearing about it. They also denied a FW being worked on. Some FM members from other countries had heard Canon was aware and working on it. Low and behold a FW was released a few months later that addressed the specific problem.
Jan 16, 2020 at 04:47 PM
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p.5 #15 · Brief Comments on the 200-600 with A7R4 (Harlequin Duck)
For those that are members of Sony Pro support. Please continue to send details of problem noted along with image samples to Sony Pro Support.
I plan to put together a note to pro support along with some sample images. Candidly my pro support experience has been mixed - some issues addressed and others where they simply have no answers and just try to push Precision Camera repair as the solution.
When the a99II came out it was discovered that there was an issue with shooting 4k video and overheating. Didn't matter what card you used, if you pulled the LCD out or tried any number of fixes. The camera would overheat, shut down and be unavailable to shoot for 10-15 min while it cooled. It was reported on DPR and Sony's internal site as an issue. I called Pro Support and they had no clue. Their fix was to send a brand new camera body to Precision for eval. but I declined. Later I had an issue with the SSM in a lens under warranty but was told no part existed for repair. The cleaning have been good as have the rentals.
p.5 #18 · Brief Comments on the 200-600 with A7R4 (Harlequin Duck)
way before the 200-600 hit the market, i already post my finding on the lens back in June 2019 ( i posted here too) and i did mention about the 95% and 5% ratio. Even with the A9, it still has issue and i said that i still prefer to use 100-400 with TC over 200-600.
Now, the R4, EVEN when pair up with bare 400GM, it still struggle to get a snap AF on BIF. So you combine 2 slow elements together.. What the expectation here?
p.5 #19 · Brief Comments on the 200-600 with A7R4 (Harlequin Duck)
The only thing that Sony support suggests is to send the lens and body in together. The problem doesn’t appear to be the body as it works well with other lenses. The lens appears ok too as it works fine with an a9. That leaves one to conclude that the issue is with the interface/interaction of the two. Quite frankly, I don’t see what would be gained by sending them in to repair technicians unless a fix is available which it apparently is not.
p.5 #20 · Brief Comments on the 200-600 with A7R4 (Harlequin Duck)
armd wrote:
The only thing that Sony support suggests is to send the lens and body in together. The problem doesn’t appear to be the body as it works well with other lenses. The lens appears ok too as it works fine with an a9. That leaves one to conclude that the issue is with the interface/interaction of the two. Quite frankly, I don’t see what would be gained by sending them in to repair technicians unless a fix is available which it apparently is not.
I don't think you'd gain anything by sending them in. They will probably do some very controlled bench top test that shows it can produce a focused, sharp image (which it certainly can) and send it back to you. Total waste of time IMO.
