Sony Autofocus for birds
p.1 #1Sony Autofocus for birds
I have having some autofocus trouble with holding onto the eye when a small bird is about to move. Below is a wrentit that I took pretty close. When it was perched it grabbed the eye just fine even when it hopped up the branch, but the moment it spread its wings, autofocus jumped to the body. I was wondering if this is just due to how close I was so the camera has no time to react or is there a setting i can use to better track the eye in this scenario. Tracking shift range is set to 2, tracking persistence at 4 and recognition at 4 also on my a1ii. The autofocus basically never keeps up regardless of wide zone or small box autofocus when it comes to these small birds.
Wrentit 6/26 by David Lin, on Flickr
Wrentit Fanning 6/26 by David Lin, on Flickr
Wrentit 6/26 by David Lin, on FlickrWrentit Fanning 6/26 by David Lin, on FlickrJun 23, 2026 at 01:37 AM
p.1 #2Sony Autofocus for birds
the behavior is normal the camera will not always be able to identify the eye on a flying song bird, but as long as it grabs the head or body for a small bird it should not be a problem, you will still get a sharp shot.
Jun 23, 2026 at 02:39 AM
p.1 #3Sony Autofocus for birds
I'll second what speedmaster said and add that your 1/2000s is rather too slow for small birds when they are large in the frame and moving about.
Jun 23, 2026 at 12:14 PM
p.1 #4Sony Autofocus for birds
Are you using auto for subject recognition or the birds setting specifically? I find auto or animals/birds does not do as well as limiting it strictly to birds.
Jun 23, 2026 at 04:12 PM
p.1 #5Sony Autofocus for birds
scott f wrote:
Are you using auto for subject recognition or the birds setting specifically? I find auto or animals/birds does not do as well as limiting it strictly to birds.
Strictly birds.
Are you using auto for subject recognition or the birds setting specifically? I find auto or animals/birds does not do as well as limiting it strictly to birds.
Strictly birds.
Jun 23, 2026 at 10:12 PM
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p.1 #6Sony Autofocus for birds
Are we talking about just when it spreads its wings but still perched or are we talking about when it launches off into flight?
For just spreading its wings it may get distracted by the near wing or in your example the head also turned away compared to the first perched shots so it may have lost the eye.
If we are talking about when it takes off then you can't really expect the camera to keep up with eye af for a tiny song bird. At least with Sony it is the one system that can actually keep up with focusing on the bird (just not the eye) during a precapture launch. Good luck with Canon or Nikon doing that.
Also if you are very close then the DOF is usually very narrow and that means even a slight focus shift will render the eye OOF.
But let's be honest, perched bird eye-AF for Sony is probably the worst of the big three brands. Not sure exactly where Nikon falls these days after their 1000th FW update. But Canon is miles better for non-BIF. Canon would have no issue staying on the eye in that second image you posted. You could have a hundred branches covering 90% of that bird and Canon would still be on the eye. Until it flies....then as I said....good luck with that
For just spreading its wings it may get distracted by the near wing or in your example the head also turned away compared to the first perched shots so it may have lost the eye.
If we are talking about when it takes off then you can't really expect the camera to keep up with eye af for a tiny song bird. At least with Sony it is the one system that can actually keep up with focusing on the bird (just not the eye) during a precapture launch. Good luck with Canon or Nikon doing that.
Also if you are very close then the DOF is usually very narrow and that means even a slight focus shift will render the eye OOF.
But let's be honest, perched bird eye-AF for Sony is probably the worst of the big three brands. Not sure exactly where Nikon falls these days after their 1000th FW update. But Canon is miles better for non-BIF. Canon would have no issue staying on the eye in that second image you posted. You could have a hundred branches covering 90% of that bird and Canon would still be on the eye. Until it flies....then as I said....good luck with that
Jun 24, 2026 at 07:24 AM
p.1 #7Sony Autofocus for birds
arbitrage wrote:
Are we talking about just when it spreads its wings but still perched or are we talking about when it launches off into flight?
For just spreading its wings it may get distracted by the near wing or in your example the head also turned away compared to the first perched shots so it may have lost the eye.
If we are talking about when it takes off then you can't really expect the camera to keep up with eye af for a tiny song bird. At least with Sony it is the one system that can actually keep up with focusing...Show more →
I just want to ask then, I always lose the bird in focus when it takes off using precapture. Is there anything I can do to make it keep focus just a little bit. I realize my ss is probably not fast enough at 1/2000 being that close so will try with 1/3200. But aside from that any other advice?
Are we talking about just when it spreads its wings but still perched or are we talking about when it launches off into flight?
For just spreading its wings it may get distracted by the near wing or in your example the head also turned away compared to the first perched shots so it may have lost the eye.
If we are talking about when it takes off then you can't really expect the camera to keep up with eye af for a tiny song bird. At least with Sony it is the one system that can actually keep up with focusing...Show more →
I just want to ask then, I always lose the bird in focus when it takes off using precapture. Is there anything I can do to make it keep focus just a little bit. I realize my ss is probably not fast enough at 1/2000 being that close so will try with 1/3200. But aside from that any other advice?
Jun 28, 2026 at 01:35 PM
p.1 #8Sony Autofocus for birds
SaberArtori wrote:
For just spreading its wings it may get distracted by the near wing or in your example the head also turned away compared to the first perched shots so it may have lost the eye.
If we are talking about when it takes off then you can't really expect the camera to keep up with eye af for a tiny song bird. At least with Sony it is the one system that can actually keep up with focusing on the bird (just not the eye) during a precapture launch. Good luck with Canon or Nikon doing that.
Also if you are very close then the DOF is usually very narrow and that means even a slight focus shift will render the eye OOF.
But let's be honest, perched bird eye-AF for Sony is probably the worst of the big three brands. Not sure exactly where Nikon falls these days after their 1000th FW update. But Canon is miles better for non-BIF. Canon would have no issue staying on the eye in that second image you posted. You could have a hundred branches covering 90% of that bird and Canon would still be on the eye. Until it flies....then as I said....good luck with thatI just want to ask then, I always lose the bird in focus when it takes off using precapture. Is there anything I can do to make it keep focus just a little bit. I realize my ss is probably not fast enough at 1/2000 being that close so will try with 1/3200. But aside from that any other advice?
I use regular Wide (no tracking). For the bird in your example I'd say you need 1/4000 minimum to get a sharp eye if AF keeps up. I err on the side of a bit shorter focal length so the bird isn't too big in the frame. Relying on the 50MPs and cropping more than really trying to fill the frame. I find a lot of precapture bursts miss on the first 1-3 frames after launch and then will catch up. I pan with the bird and don't just rely on it crossing through the frame without trying to pan with it. Having clear foreground and a distant background always helps to isolate the bird to the camera's AF sensors.
arbitrage wrote
Are we talking about just when it spreads its wings but still perched or are we talking about when it launches off into flight?For just spreading its wings it may get distracted by the near wing or in your example the head also turned away compared to the first perched shots so it may have lost the eye.
If we are talking about when it takes off then you can't really expect the camera to keep up with eye af for a tiny song bird. At least with Sony it is the one system that can actually keep up with focusing on the bird (just not the eye) during a precapture launch. Good luck with Canon or Nikon doing that.
Also if you are very close then the DOF is usually very narrow and that means even a slight focus shift will render the eye OOF.
But let's be honest, perched bird eye-AF for Sony is probably the worst of the big three brands. Not sure exactly where Nikon falls these days after their 1000th FW update. But Canon is miles better for non-BIF. Canon would have no issue staying on the eye in that second image you posted. You could have a hundred branches covering 90% of that bird and Canon would still be on the eye. Until it flies....then as I said....good luck with that
I use regular Wide (no tracking). For the bird in your example I'd say you need 1/4000 minimum to get a sharp eye if AF keeps up. I err on the side of a bit shorter focal length so the bird isn't too big in the frame. Relying on the 50MPs and cropping more than really trying to fill the frame. I find a lot of precapture bursts miss on the first 1-3 frames after launch and then will catch up. I pan with the bird and don't just rely on it crossing through the frame without trying to pan with it. Having clear foreground and a distant background always helps to isolate the bird to the camera's AF sensors.
Jun 28, 2026 at 04:00 PM
p.1 #9Sony Autofocus for birds
arbitrage wrote:
For just spreading its wings it may get distracted by the near wing or in your example the head also turned away compared to the first perched shots so it may have lost the eye.
If we are talking about when it takes off then you can't really expect the camera to keep up with eye af for a tiny song bird. At least with Sony it is the one system that can actually keep up with focusing on the bird (just not the eye) during a precapture launch. Good luck with Canon or Nikon doing that.
Also if you are very close then the DOF is usually very narrow and that means even a slight focus shift will render the eye OOF.
But let's be honest, perched bird eye-AF for Sony is probably the worst of the big three brands. Not sure exactly where Nikon falls these days after their 1000th FW update. But Canon is miles better for non-BIF. Canon would have no issue staying on the eye in that second image you posted. You could have a hundred branches covering 90% of that bird and Canon would still be on the eye. Until it flies....then as I said....good luck with thatI just want to ask then, I always lose the bird in focus when it takes off using precapture. Is there anything I can do to make it keep focus just a little bit. I realize my ss is probably not fast enough at 1/2000 being that close so will try with 1/3200. But aside from that any other advice?I use regular Wide (no tracking). For the bird in your example I'd say you need 1/4000 minimum to get a sharp eye if AF keeps up. I err on the side of a bit shorter focal length so the bird isn't too big in the frame. Relying on the 50MPs and cropping more than really trying to fill the frame. I find a lot of precapture bursts miss on the first 1-3 frames after launch and then will catch up. I pan with the bird and don't just rely on it crossing through the frame without trying to pan...Show more →
I have issues with locking onto the bird in the first place using wide zone, for some reason it will always hunt the foreground for a bit then maybe lock onto eye. I find myself using small zone focus usually. So I am shooting in some tall grass I should not expect precapture to keep up correct?
SaberArtori wrote
arbitrage wrote
Are we talking about just when it spreads its wings but still perched or are we talking about when it launches off into flight?For just spreading its wings it may get distracted by the near wing or in your example the head also turned away compared to the first perched shots so it may have lost the eye.
If we are talking about when it takes off then you can't really expect the camera to keep up with eye af for a tiny song bird. At least with Sony it is the one system that can actually keep up with focusing on the bird (just not the eye) during a precapture launch. Good luck with Canon or Nikon doing that.
Also if you are very close then the DOF is usually very narrow and that means even a slight focus shift will render the eye OOF.
But let's be honest, perched bird eye-AF for Sony is probably the worst of the big three brands. Not sure exactly where Nikon falls these days after their 1000th FW update. But Canon is miles better for non-BIF. Canon would have no issue staying on the eye in that second image you posted. You could have a hundred branches covering 90% of that bird and Canon would still be on the eye. Until it flies....then as I said....good luck with that
I have issues with locking onto the bird in the first place using wide zone, for some reason it will always hunt the foreground for a bit then maybe lock onto eye. I find myself using small zone focus usually. So I am shooting in some tall grass I should not expect precapture to keep up correct?
Jun 29, 2026 at 03:59 PM