My experience with the a1 and a1 II is sort of similar to yours, Geoff. I shot about 30,000 images of wild pheasants in the snow from a ground blind this past winter. First with the a1 and then the a1 II. I had both cameras grab every little blade of grass or cattails near the pheasants, especially in front of them. I generally shoot in wide or zone, bird eye AF, non tracking. And as you said if bird is clear of contrasty grass and or in an obvious nice pose, it works great. When something distracts the AF it wants to jump in front. I had to toss thousands of potential keepers due to me not seeing the tiny blade of grass.
My remedy was changing between wide, zone flexible spot, spot and extra small spot as the situation dictated.
The major difference in my experience is I remember the same thing last spring when photographing wood ducks swimming through reeds and the pheasants this winter with the a1 having a similar issue as the a1 II. I can't pinpoint the percentage difference between the two cameras regarding how frequently each model gets confused. But I think the a1 II AF is a bit stickier in general and a tad better with action shots and BIF.
Apr 04, 2025 at 05:26 PM
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