p.1 #1 · A1 EVF resolution -- theoretical vs actual
I didn't want to hijack the existing A1 EVF thread, so here's another one. Specifically I wanted to clear up some confusion I have about the actual resolution of the EVF in various shooting situations because it seems to jump around based on AF, EVF refresh rate, framerate and various other settings that I probably haven't factored. As someone here once said (@arbitrage ?), the A9's EVF can sometimes drop to a resolution resembling a badly tuned 1980s color TV at certain settings, which can be slightly disconcerting at times.
If, for example, I were to set the A1's EVF refresh rate to 120 (high) and be shooting at mid-speed e-shutter rate (15 fps) in continuous-AF (zone or expand flexible spot) with tracking enabled, what would be the actual resolution of the EVF? And would that resolution change if tracking was off?
I'm also curious what resolution the EVF is generally set at when using it for playback of stills, or is that also determined by the shooting settings? I will often use the EVF on my A9 to check focus if the light is particularly bright and the rear screen washed out, for example.
It doesn't sound like I'd ever be shooting with the right settings to see the full 9.44M dots in the EVF (I live in continuous-AF), but it would be nice to know if I might at least consistently achieve the 3.7M dots that my A9 is theoretically capable of, and perhaps even the 5.76M dots that the A7R4 (sometimes) offers.
p.1 #2 · A1 EVF resolution -- theoretical vs actual
I'm not 100% sure but I believe most of the time when shooting you are seeing 5.76M dots. You will only see 9.44M when in Playback and when in AF-S. I think you probably also need refresh down at 60Hz and High Quality selected.
I've noticed the resolution drop when actively focusing so I think that may be dropping to 3.7M from 5.75M when not actively focusing.
Again, I'm not totally sure about all of this.
But remember the A9 and A7RIV don't shoot at their max EVF res either so you aren't getting 5.76M on the A7RIV nor 3.7M on the A9 when actively shooting in AF-C. Overall the A1 will be the best even though you aren't getting 9.44M in AF-C.
p.1 #3 · A1 EVF resolution -- theoretical vs actual
arbitrage wrote:
I'm not 100% sure but I believe most of the time when shooting you are seeing 5.76M dots. You will only see 9.44M when in Playback and when in AF-S. I think you probably also need refresh down at 60Hz and High Quality selected.
I've noticed the resolution drop when actively focusing so I think that may be dropping to 3.7M from 5.75M when not actively focusing.
Again, I'm not totally sure about all of this.
But remember the A9 and A7RIV don't shoot at their max EVF res either so you aren't getting 5.76M on the A7RIV nor 3.7M on the A9 when actively shooting in AF-C. Overall the A1 will be the best even though you aren't getting 9.44M in AF-C....Show more →
Thanks... do you generally stick at 120Hz when shooting wildlife, or go to 240? And is there a noticeable difference in resolution vs the A9? I imagine there is, which would be nice after being so underwhelmed by the A9's EVF.
p.1 #4 · A1 EVF resolution -- theoretical vs actual
wordfool wrote:
Thanks... do you generally stick at 120Hz when shooting wildlife, or go to 240? And is there a noticeable difference in resolution vs the A9? I imagine there is, which would be nice after being so underwhelmed by the A9's EVF.
I've been sticking at 120 just to have the full magnification in the EVF. I haven't had an issue tracking fast birds at 120. When I get my swallows in greater numbers I'll experiment with 240 to see if it is any better. For everything I've shot so far, the few times I've tried 240 it hasn't seemed to be a big difference.
There is certainly a lot more resolution and a lot more magnification than the A9. 0.9x magnification is bigger than even the best DSLRs had like the 1DXII at 0.76x. It is almost a little too big as you actually have to move your eyeball to see all the corners
p.1 #5 · A1 EVF resolution -- theoretical vs actual
the EVF resolution only depends on the refresh rate of the EVF according to the official spec's
standard (60Hz) = 9.4 million dots (2048 x 1536)
High (120 Hz), High+ (240 Hz) = 5.7 million dots (1600 x 1200)
camera's frame rate, AF mode etc. should not impact finder resolution according to Sony's publication
I have noticed the following so far: regardless of the finder refresh rate when I half press the shutter button to lock exposure or start tracking the EVF image appears to become coarser. it's not clear if the resolution is lowered or the image is being processed less due to camera performing AF calculations. I have to clarify this with Sony as it is not in the spec's I have seen.
I think the table matches my experience, but it's missing the information that when the camera is adjusting focus the resolution drops when in High quality mode (9.44M) to 5.76M (I think) .
p.1 #9 · A1 EVF resolution -- theoretical vs actual
j4nu wrote:
I think the table matches my experience, but it's missing the information that when the camera is adjusting focus the resolution drops when in High quality mode (9.44M) to 5.76M (I think) .
Yes, from what I've read here and elsewhere, being in AF-C will impact the EVF resolution, presumably due to the continuous focus adjustments. It seems to be a bit of a mystery how and when the EVF resolution changes and that Aelp Guide table seems to be missing a lot of scenarios (not to mention the weird footnote).
p.1 #10 · A1 EVF resolution -- theoretical vs actual
ShootPDX wrote:
I wonder why the *footnote if that table is taken from the Sony help guide?
If you look at the FM thread cited you will see that I complained that the Help Guide uses a lot of ill defined terms, rather than specific numbers and specifications. The numbers that have (*) are not specifically used in the Help Guide. For example, "Standard", "High", and "Higher". It's possible to find in the Help Guide or the A1 Specifications that "Standard" is 60/sec and that "Higher" is 240/sec, but I cannot find anyplace in either document that "High" is 120/sec. Maybe it's there someplace, but I could not find it. There are other non-Sony sources for the data in the table with (*). I tagged those items since so many sources are putting out unreliable or demonstrably incorrect information. Regardless, I believe the data in the table are all correct.
p.1 #11 · A1 EVF resolution -- theoretical vs actual
wordfool wrote:
Yes, from what I've read here and elsewhere, being in AF-C will impact the EVF resolution, presumably due to the continuous focus adjustments. It seems to be a bit of a mystery how and when the EVF resolution changes and that Aelp Guide table seems to be missing a lot of scenarios (not to mention the weird footnote).
It's actually both AF-S and AF-C, but the resolution drop time is limited to the period when the camera is actually adjusting focus. So, in AF-S it's a single event, in AF-C it depends on the lens and scenario. I tried to test it a bit some time ago and with 50 ZA on a static scene in AF-C I was getting only a brief moment when the resolution dropped. Then I switched to Sigma 35 and it basically dropped the resolution for the whole time I had the shutter button half-pressed...
p.1 #12 · A1 EVF resolution -- theoretical vs actual
I talked to Sony about this. They confirmed the EVF resolution should NOT change depending on AF mode or whether the AF is tracking etc. I asked them to test a camera, they did and were not able to observe a difference (it's really subtle so the support agent may have missed it ). Support sent feedback note to engineering to clarify if there is such limitation. Obviously there is something because I can see it but not sure what it is.
p.1 #13 · A1 EVF resolution -- theoretical vs actual
I can definitely see the resolution change when engaging AF. It is pretty obvious. I don't notice it when out actively shooting. Just when I've sat down and tested for it.
p.1 #14 · A1 EVF resolution -- theoretical vs actual
I made a video to show this problem, I had to use my phone and it's not great but it shows it
the steps to reproduce this problem
1. Set the EVF to standard (60Hz 9.4 million dots)
2. Set the camera to AF-C
3. Half press the shutter button to initiate AF and AE
4. As long as the shutter is half pressed the EVF image looks coarse to the eye. If you have a target such as an MTF chart this effect will show as moiré’ or jagged lines
I provided this info to Sony. we will see what they say. I encourage all owners of A1 to call Sony and share their finding, this will put more pressure on them to fix these issues.
p.1 #15 · A1 EVF resolution -- theoretical vs actual
this issue seem to happen in both normal and Hi modes, in Hi mode because the resolution is already lower it is more difficult to notice but it is there.
p.1 #16 · A1 EVF resolution -- theoretical vs actual
speedmaster20d wrote:
I made a video to show this problem, I had to use my phone and it's not great but it shows it
the steps to reproduce this problem
1. Set the EVF to standard (60Hz 9.4 million dots)
2. Set the camera to AF-C
3. Half press the shutter button to initiate AF and AE
4. As long as the shutter is half pressed the EVF image looks coarse to the eye. If you have a target such as an MTF chart this effect will show as moiré’ or jagged lines
I provided this info to Sony. we will see what they say. I encourage all owners of A1 to call Sony and share their finding, this will put more pressure on them to fix these issues. ...Show more →
Possibly, but so far not 100% convinced. My observations and questions:
- Is the camera exactly perpendicular to the target? You can see changes in framing, possibly angle before after pressing the shutter button.
- Is the camera on a tripod to avoid that?
- Can you repeat that with a single focus point located at the exact same point to avoid the focus to change position? If you are not perfectly perpendicular then depending on the specific location the focus point is located, different parts of the map get a bit in/out of focus which can lead to the moire. The green dancing squares seem to indicate this.
p.1 #17 · A1 EVF resolution -- theoretical vs actual
For all I know, many Sony cameras have dropped the EVF resolution when half pressing the shutter. For example, the A7III does it and is easy to see. Maybe this free up resources when focusing starts. I've been kind of surprised that not many have mentioned it before. Definitely not a biggie, especially with the A1's resolutions. I guess with the A7III it's lot easier to notice.
p.1 #18 · A1 EVF resolution -- theoretical vs actual
speedmaster20d wrote:
this issue seem to happen in both normal and Hi modes, in Hi mode because the resolution is already lower it is more difficult to notice but it is there.
I wasn't really able to notice the difference besides High mode to be honest, but maybe it's only visible on a more detailed target... Anyways, I think it will be hard to see its impact in actual shooting (contrary to High, where the difference is substantial imho).
p.1 #19 · A1 EVF resolution -- theoretical vs actual
Kalainen wrote:
For all I know, many Sony cameras have dropped the EVF resolution when half pressing the shutter. For example, the A7III does it and is easy to see. Maybe this free up resources when focusing starts. I've been kind of surprised that not many have mentioned it before. Definitely not a biggie, especially with the A1's resolutions. I guess with the A7III it's lot easier to notice.
I think it's a big deal. If I'm paying for the world's highest resolution EVF I would like to get it. Or at least have the option of deciding when to lower resolution myself.
p.1 #20 · A1 EVF resolution -- theoretical vs actual
Just one thing to note, I think that when the lens is adjusting focus you will loose some "resolution" either way as the image is not completely clear due to lens elements movement.
I agree though, it would be one of the first improvements for next iteration of A1 for me to have High quality EVF all the time (just don't eat up the whole battery when doing so please).
