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Archive 2021A1 Reviews/Video thread
p.6 #1A1 Reviews/Video thread
galenapass wrote:
Bird eye AF looks a bit unstable at detecting the bird eyes. But since this is a flagship camera that is supposed to be the best I am optimistic that Sony will provide firmware updates as they improve the algorithms like they did on the original A9.I think the R5's BEAF might be a little more stable but really a lot of the videos we've seen so far showing us the EVF via the Atmos recordings have made some rookie mistakes. They need to be choosing a more suitable AF mode to begin their BEAF search from. The beauty of Sony's AF system compared to the R5 is that with Sony it watches for the head/eye from within the size of the AF Area you choose. Canon forces you to either use the entire frame (like Sony's Wide) or use just a Small square like Sony's Small Flex Spot. Just by selecting Zone, instead of Wide used in most of the videos would have made the results even more stable I think. Also maybe using RTT variants could have helped but also maybe could have hindered. On the flip side, Jared Polin's method of starting all his RTT out of Small Flex Spot is not a great method either. I'd have used at least a Expand Flex Spot or Med Flex Spot. But really for Jared's singled out athletes he would have been way better off iwth Zone:RTT or maybe even Wide:RTT for most of his examples.
But overall the consistency of the Eye-AF on the A1 is pretty similar to my R5 experience. And I really think by choosing better starting AF modes it will be excellent. Seeing it on that running Sanderling and on the Godwit seemed about on par with what the R5 does. I'll be pointing the R5 and A1 onto identical subjects ASAP when I get the camera to really get a good idea of the differences.
Regardless, the BEAF to me is just the icing on the cake...there is a lot of other things about the A1 that have fixed all my complaints about the previous Sony bodies as far as interface and lag and lockouts go. Plus all the extra MPs, FPS, AF calculations etc....CAN'T WAIT ANY LONGER
BEAF. Is that a new acronym? Reminds be of the slogan "Where's the BEAF?" Maybe Sony needs to incorporate that in their advertising?
Haha...yeah I'm getting tired of typing the full thing out. Over on the R5 threads everyone was using the AED (for Animal Eye-Detect) but I didn't think that was appropriate for the A1 when Sony has had regular Animal Eye AF for some time now and mostly we are all interested in just the Bird stuff.
arbitrage wrote
randomguy wrote
Looks good especially Mark Galer's dog shots taken with animal eye af. Look forward to test that myself, with A9 I always used expand flexible spot on dogs and try keep it on the dogs head (impossible at the speed dogs move), so if animal eye AF yields as good or better keeper rate that will make shooting these type of dog images a lot easier.Bird eye AF looks a bit unstable at detecting the bird eyes. But since this is a flagship camera that is supposed to be the best I am optimistic that Sony will provide firmware updates as they improve the algorithms like they did on the original A9.
But overall the consistency of the Eye-AF on the A1 is pretty similar to my R5 experience. And I really think by choosing better starting AF modes it will be excellent. Seeing it on that running Sanderling and on the Godwit seemed about on par with what the R5 does. I'll be pointing the R5 and A1 onto identical subjects ASAP when I get the camera to really get a good idea of the differences.
Regardless, the BEAF to me is just the icing on the cake...there is a lot of other things about the A1 that have fixed all my complaints about the previous Sony bodies as far as interface and lag and lockouts go. Plus all the extra MPs, FPS, AF calculations etc....CAN'T WAIT ANY LONGER
Haha...yeah I'm getting tired of typing the full thing out. Over on the R5 threads everyone was using the AED (for Animal Eye-Detect) but I didn't think that was appropriate for the A1 when Sony has had regular Animal Eye AF for some time now and mostly we are all interested in just the Bird stuff.
Feb 04, 2021 at 02:15 PM
Feb 04, 2021 at 02:34 PM
p.6 #3A1 Reviews/Video thread
randomguy wrote:
Looks good especially Mark Galer's dog shots taken with animal eye af. Look forward to test that myself, with A9 I always used expand flexible spot on dogs and try keep it on the dogs head (impossible at the speed dogs move), so if animal eye AF yields as good or better keeper rate that will make shooting these type of dog images a lot easier.
Bird eye AF looks a bit unstable at detecting the bird eyes. But since this is a flagship camera that is supposed to be the best I am optimistic that Sony will provide firmware updates...Show more →
When I saw his video I was thinking to myself "where was this when I was shooting dog agility", it would have been a game changer for me.
Looks good especially Mark Galer's dog shots taken with animal eye af. Look forward to test that myself, with A9 I always used expand flexible spot on dogs and try keep it on the dogs head (impossible at the speed dogs move), so if animal eye AF yields as good or better keeper rate that will make shooting these type of dog images a lot easier.
Bird eye AF looks a bit unstable at detecting the bird eyes. But since this is a flagship camera that is supposed to be the best I am optimistic that Sony will provide firmware updates...Show more →
When I saw his video I was thinking to myself "where was this when I was shooting dog agility", it would have been a game changer for me.
Feb 04, 2021 at 02:54 PM
p.6 #5A1 Reviews/Video thread
Gordon Lang's picture quality comparison A1vs R5:
He also has Vimeo files available for download via his website:
https://www.cameralabs.com/sony-alpha-a1-review/
He also has Vimeo files available for download via his website:
https://www.cameralabs.com/sony-alpha-a1-review/
Feb 04, 2021 at 03:40 PM
p.6 #6A1 Reviews/Video thread
AJay wrote:
Gordon Lang's picture quality comparison A1vs R5:
He also has Vimeo files available for download via his website:
https://www.cameralabs.com/sony-alpha-a1-review/
Only jpgs from the A1, so until raws are available you can't really compare unless int. NR, sharpening etc. are comparable.
Gordon Lang's picture quality comparison A1vs R5:
He also has Vimeo files available for download via his website:
https://www.cameralabs.com/sony-alpha-a1-review/
Only jpgs from the A1, so until raws are available you can't really compare unless int. NR, sharpening etc. are comparable.
Feb 04, 2021 at 03:44 PM
p.6 #7A1 Reviews/Video thread
danwu wrote:
another video with BEAF
Dan
I like what I'm seeing from BEAF in this video!
another video with BEAF
Dan
I like what I'm seeing from BEAF in this video!
Feb 04, 2021 at 03:44 PM
p.6 #8A1 Reviews/Video thread
buffalowolff wrote:
DanI like what I'm seeing from BEAF in this video!
He called photographing with this camera "boring" as almost everything is in focus all the time.
.
danwu wrote
another video with BEAFDan
He called photographing with this camera "boring" as almost everything is in focus all the time.
.Feb 04, 2021 at 03:50 PM
p.6 #9A1 Reviews/Video thread
Holger wrote:
DanI like what I'm seeing from BEAF in this video!He called photographing with this camera "boring" as almost everything is in focus all the time. .
well, not until our tripod can rotate, find and track the movement of birds automatically for us.
buffalowolff wrote
danwu wrote
another video with BEAFDan
.well, not until our tripod can rotate, find and track the movement of birds automatically for us.
Feb 04, 2021 at 04:09 PM
p.6 #10A1 Reviews/Video thread
A1 rhe premiere sports/action camera yet in the very many articles i read no one compared the A1 to the A9 (I or II) Sony’s other sports/action cameras. Sure JPEGs aren’t perfect but how about some stabs at comparos at 6400/12,800 ISOs, etc.?
Feb 04, 2021 at 04:15 PM
p.6 #11A1 Reviews/Video thread
As a wedding shooter I really like Manny Ortiz' take on flash and A1
1/32000 with flash in e-shutter possible? Holy cow!!!
I need to have that camera.
1/32000 with flash in e-shutter possible? Holy cow!!!
I need to have that camera.
Feb 04, 2021 at 04:15 PM
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p.6 #12A1 Reviews/Video thread
danwu wrote:
Holger wrote
buffalowolff wrote
danwu wrote
another video with BEAFDan
.Robotic tripods already exist that can control the whole camera and rotate it and operate the zoom ring. Both Nikon and Canon have their own versions they sell to professionals. I'm pretty sure it would be trivial for them to make one that would automatic capture birds in flight for you similar to the Canon PowerShot Pick AI but built larger. This is the future of photography where we are just bags of flesh there to change the batteries.
Feb 04, 2021 at 04:17 PM
p.6 #13A1 Reviews/Video thread
Kai W did water droplets using high speed sync and 30FPS rather than a timing/trigger device :-)
Feb 04, 2021 at 04:24 PM
p.6 #14A1 Reviews/Video thread
danwu wrote:
another video with BEAF
Dan
I'm a Canon R5 shooter. I'm genuinely interested in the A1 performance, as it seems like an amazing camera and overall excellent performer. However, watching the A1 tracking the dog around the 8:50 min. mark in this video has me somewhat disappointed.
I shoot a lot of dog photos (especially since I have an eight month old puppy at home). From my own experience with the R5, the R5 is able to lock onto my dogs eye(s) farther back and is able to remain locked on with excellent consistency. This video shows the A1 losing focus on the dog's eye and suddenly jumping to a cluster of focus points.
I understand that it's snowing, and that the dog is black, which may make achieving focus around his/her eyes more difficult. However, again, from my experience in similar situations (my dog is black, too), I'm not seeing a step up from what the R5 can currently do in this use case.
another video with BEAF
Dan
I'm a Canon R5 shooter. I'm genuinely interested in the A1 performance, as it seems like an amazing camera and overall excellent performer. However, watching the A1 tracking the dog around the 8:50 min. mark in this video has me somewhat disappointed.
I shoot a lot of dog photos (especially since I have an eight month old puppy at home). From my own experience with the R5, the R5 is able to lock onto my dogs eye(s) farther back and is able to remain locked on with excellent consistency. This video shows the A1 losing focus on the dog's eye and suddenly jumping to a cluster of focus points.
I understand that it's snowing, and that the dog is black, which may make achieving focus around his/her eyes more difficult. However, again, from my experience in similar situations (my dog is black, too), I'm not seeing a step up from what the R5 can currently do in this use case.
Feb 04, 2021 at 05:06 PM
p.6 #15A1 Reviews/Video thread
Chimping wrote:
DanI'm a Canon R5 shooter. I'm genuinely interested in the A1 performance, as it seems like an amazing camera and overall excellent performer. However, watching the A1 tracking the dog around the 8:50 min. mark in this video has me somewhat disappointed.
I shoot a lot of dog photos (especially since I have an eight month old puppy at home). From my own experience with the R5, the R5 is able to lock onto my dogs eye(s) farther back and is able to remain locked on with excellent consistency. This video shows the A1 losing focus on the dog's eye...Show more →
Don't have an R5 but to be honest I wouldn't expect any camera to pick up that dog's eye in that situation. It seems like the dog barely presented it's eye to the camera and the fact that it's black (having shot dog agility for a few years I know about black dogs
). Have you seen the Mark Galer video where he's tracking dogs at the track and running in the ocean?
danwu wrote
another video with BEAFDan
I shoot a lot of dog photos (especially since I have an eight month old puppy at home). From my own experience with the R5, the R5 is able to lock onto my dogs eye(s) farther back and is able to remain locked on with excellent consistency. This video shows the A1 losing focus on the dog's eye...Show more →
Don't have an R5 but to be honest I wouldn't expect any camera to pick up that dog's eye in that situation. It seems like the dog barely presented it's eye to the camera and the fact that it's black (having shot dog agility for a few years I know about black dogs
). Have you seen the Mark Galer video where he's tracking dogs at the track and running in the ocean? Feb 04, 2021 at 05:29 PM
p.6 #16A1 Reviews/Video thread
Chimping wrote:
DanI'm a Canon R5 shooter. I'm genuinely interested in the A1 performance, as it seems like an amazing camera and overall excellent performer. However, watching the A1 tracking the dog around the 8:50 min. mark in this video has me somewhat disappointed.
I shoot a lot of dog photos (especially since I have an eight month old puppy at home). From my own experience with the R5, the R5 is able to lock onto my dogs eye(s) farther back and is able to remain locked on with excellent consistency. This video shows the A1 losing focus on the dog's eye...Show more →
Not sure about black dogs as I've never shot them with R5 or Sony. But in lighter snow (yet still huge flakes) than what was in that video my R5's AF had big issues just trying to focus on finches perched in my backyard. And they weren't even moving. My Sonys and Nikons also have issues with big fluffy snow flakes.
danwu wrote
another video with BEAFDan
I shoot a lot of dog photos (especially since I have an eight month old puppy at home). From my own experience with the R5, the R5 is able to lock onto my dogs eye(s) farther back and is able to remain locked on with excellent consistency. This video shows the A1 losing focus on the dog's eye...Show more →
Not sure about black dogs as I've never shot them with R5 or Sony. But in lighter snow (yet still huge flakes) than what was in that video my R5's AF had big issues just trying to focus on finches perched in my backyard. And they weren't even moving. My Sonys and Nikons also have issues with big fluffy snow flakes.
Feb 04, 2021 at 06:15 PM
p.6 #17A1 Reviews/Video thread
arbitrage wrote:
DanI'm a Canon R5 shooter. I'm genuinely interested in the A1 performance, as it seems like an amazing camera and overall excellent performer. However, watching the A1 tracking the dog around the 8:50 min. mark in this video has me somewhat disappointed.
I shoot a lot of dog photos (especially since I have an eight month old puppy at home). From my own experience with the R5, the R5 is able to lock onto my dogs eye(s) farther back and is able to remain locked on with excellent consistency. This video shows the A1 losing focus on the dog's eye and suddenly jumping to a cluster of focus points.
I understand that it's snowing, and that the dog is black, which may make achieving focus around his/her eyes more difficult. However, again, from my experience in similar situations (my dog is black, too), I'm not seeing a step up from what the R5 can currently do in this use case.Not sure about black dogs as I've never shot them with R5 or Sony. But in lighter snow (yet still huge flakes) than what was in that video my R5's AF had big issues just trying to focus on finches perched in my backyard. And they weren't even moving. My Sonys and Nikons also have issues with big fluffy snow flakes.
Fair enough. It very well might be the large snow flakes. Otherwise, my R5 can definitely do better than what was exhibited in that video. I have shot in snow, but not thick thick snow like in the video. I also typically shoot with my RF 85 at 1.2 for fast puppy action, and my keeper rate has been extraordinary. I’ve got shots of my dog coming at me head on - practically flying through the air - and the camera was able to maintain consistent and accurate focus.
Here are two quick examples that I have handy (posted small so as not to take away from the thread):
_21A6490 by Hadrian Robinson
_21A8809 by Hadrian Robinson, on Flickr
With that said, I am excited to see more from the A1 as more people test it, and more reviews are posted. The above video reviews are only the first, and I tend not to trust YouTube reviewers for much more than going over the basics. It’s going to be a phenomenal camera.
Chimping wrote
danwu wrote
another video with BEAFDan
I shoot a lot of dog photos (especially since I have an eight month old puppy at home). From my own experience with the R5, the R5 is able to lock onto my dogs eye(s) farther back and is able to remain locked on with excellent consistency. This video shows the A1 losing focus on the dog's eye and suddenly jumping to a cluster of focus points.
I understand that it's snowing, and that the dog is black, which may make achieving focus around his/her eyes more difficult. However, again, from my experience in similar situations (my dog is black, too), I'm not seeing a step up from what the R5 can currently do in this use case.
Fair enough. It very well might be the large snow flakes. Otherwise, my R5 can definitely do better than what was exhibited in that video. I have shot in snow, but not thick thick snow like in the video. I also typically shoot with my RF 85 at 1.2 for fast puppy action, and my keeper rate has been extraordinary. I’ve got shots of my dog coming at me head on - practically flying through the air - and the camera was able to maintain consistent and accurate focus.
Here are two quick examples that I have handy (posted small so as not to take away from the thread):
_21A6490 by Hadrian Robinson_21A8809 by Hadrian Robinson, on FlickrWith that said, I am excited to see more from the A1 as more people test it, and more reviews are posted. The above video reviews are only the first, and I tend not to trust YouTube reviewers for much more than going over the basics. It’s going to be a phenomenal camera.
Feb 04, 2021 at 07:46 PM
p.6 #18A1 Reviews/Video thread
So many videos--can only skim through a couple.
I haven't seen anything very helpful so far on the quality of high ISO or low light images, unless I have missed it. And I haven't seen anything helpful on dynamic range either, again unless I have just missed it.
Nor have I seen anything on the effectiveness of image stabilization. May have to wait for dpreview's review to really get at these issues.
The focus, so to speak, seems to be very much on the AF performance, which is of course a key area that I am interested in (mainly for humans, some for animals).
But I would love to know more about the other areas also.
I haven't seen anything very helpful so far on the quality of high ISO or low light images, unless I have missed it. And I haven't seen anything helpful on dynamic range either, again unless I have just missed it.
Nor have I seen anything on the effectiveness of image stabilization. May have to wait for dpreview's review to really get at these issues.
The focus, so to speak, seems to be very much on the AF performance, which is of course a key area that I am interested in (mainly for humans, some for animals).
But I would love to know more about the other areas also.
Feb 04, 2021 at 08:10 PM
p.6 #19A1 Reviews/Video thread
AF looks great so far. I'm not too worried about DR, its sony. ISO is too early to tell until people get their preferred editor with raw support. IS will be effectively the same as it has been. It seems this is the only real limitation that the smaller mount diameter impacts us with, the sensor can only move so much to stabilize without vignetting against the mount (read that somewhere, not my math)
Feb 04, 2021 at 08:15 PM
p.6 #20A1 Reviews/Video thread
buffalowolff wrote:
AF looks great so far. I'm not too worried about DR, its sony. ISO is too early to tell until people get their preferred editor with raw support. IS will be effectively the same as it has been. It seems this is the only real limitation that the smaller mount diameter impacts us with, the sensor can only move so much to stabilize without vignetting against the mount (read that somewhere, not my math)
Yes, that seems right, though I really would like to know about noise and DR, especially in low light with high ISO. And I would be happy enough with 5.5 stops of IS if that is what it really were. It may be that Sony, after pushing in-body stabilization against Canon's lens based stabilization, will eventually have to combine the two more effectively to compete on this criterion, because of their smaller lens mount.
Edited on Feb 04, 2021 at 08:58 PM · View previous versions
AF looks great so far. I'm not too worried about DR, its sony. ISO is too early to tell until people get their preferred editor with raw support. IS will be effectively the same as it has been. It seems this is the only real limitation that the smaller mount diameter impacts us with, the sensor can only move so much to stabilize without vignetting against the mount (read that somewhere, not my math)
Yes, that seems right, though I really would like to know about noise and DR, especially in low light with high ISO. And I would be happy enough with 5.5 stops of IS if that is what it really were. It may be that Sony, after pushing in-body stabilization against Canon's lens based stabilization, will eventually have to combine the two more effectively to compete on this criterion, because of their smaller lens mount.
Edited on Feb 04, 2021 at 08:58 PM · View previous versions
Feb 04, 2021 at 08:56 PM