Major Sony update for A9, A7 line

[HockeyFan12 366]

On 1/22/2019 at 6:30 PM, wolf33d said:

"I have never seen anything like it"

Incredible. 

[wolf33d 587]

https://www.dpreview.com/articles/0650136683/sony-s-real-time-tracking-is-a-big-leap-forward-for-autofocus

 

I think that the new Sony AF beats Canon DPAF. I did not expect that this soon. 

[thebrothersthre3 860]

58 minutes ago, wolf33d said:

https://www.dpreview.com/articles/0650136683/sony-s-real-time-tracking-is-a-big-leap-forward-for-autofocus

 

I think that the new Sony AF beats Canon DPAF. I did not expect that this soon. 

Canon losing its market edge with DPAF would be great. 

[HockeyFan12 366]

2 hours ago, wolf33d said:

https://www.dpreview.com/articles/0650136683/sony-s-real-time-tracking-is-a-big-leap-forward-for-autofocus

 

I think that the new Sony AF beats Canon DPAF. I did not expect that this soon. 

Based on what I read in my ten minutes trawling dpreview, Sony has already been (way) ahead of Canon in video autofocus for quite a while, but DPAF has more hype behind it. I have no idea whether or not this is actually true.

Regardless, I've used DPAF a fair amount. The video above isn't enough to draw conclusions from, but if it is representative of what Sony is doing, it's well ahead of DPAF's current state.

[androidlad 473]

DPAF is the AF technology at hardware level, it's a variant of Phase Detection AF (PDAF) that Sony implements as masked pixels.

What Sony did was a significant algorithm overhaul, it's a software feature hence can be realised with a firmware update. Theoretically Canon can do the same.

[liork 128]

1 minute ago, androidlad said:

What Sony did was a significant algorithm overhaul, it's a software feature hence can be realised with a firmware update. Theoretically Canon can do the same.

It requires also a fast strong CPU. This is the reason why the A7/RIII will get only Real time Eye focus, not the full tracking.

[Andrew Reid 8,003]

7 minutes ago, liork said:

It requires also a fast strong CPU. This is the reason why the A7/RIII will get only Real time Eye focus, not the full tracking.

So A9 gets full tracking then?

[liork 128]

Indeed.

[wolf33d 587]

2 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

So A9 gets full tracking then?

It absolutely does. A7 will get real time eye-AF, but not automatic transition between eye-AF and object AF, while A9 gets the full update. 

100% the A7S III will have the best AF on the market, when we see what the A6400 already brings. Now the few people saying video AF is useless geemick and any pro should use MF will have less arguments. The thing is that good in each video I am seeing. 

https://www.dpreview.com/news/5057389015/sony-promises-firmware-updates-for-a7-iii-a7r-iii-and-a9-improving-af

[thebrothersthre3 860]

Wonder if they'll put it in their cine bodies. 

[Mako Sports 396]

4 hours ago, thebrothersthre3 said:

Wonder if they'll put it in their cine bodies. 

unlikely, Sony F'ed up buy not putting this new AF update into the FS5ii. As someone in the Sony ecosystem ready to step up to a ILC S35 video camera its one of things I wanted to see.

[Robert Collins 400]

9 hours ago, liork said:

It requires also a fast strong CPU. This is the reason why the A7/RIII will get only Real time Eye focus, not the full tracking.

I also suspect the A9 af benefits from the extremely fast sensor readout from its 'stacked' sensor (1/160th). The A7siii is rumored to use this same sensor tech. 

[aldolega 273]

1 hour ago, Mako Sports said:

unlikely, Sony F'ed up buy not putting this new AF update into the FS5ii.

Yea, it's frustrating to see the camera companies have such a blind spot for this part of the market. Seems to me that a small video/cine cam that had the IBIS and AF tech we're seeing in mirrorless, but still with the IQ and codec pluses of a "real" camera, would be a big seller.

[heart0less 308]

I think that both a7iii and a7r iii are fully capable to handle this new AF system. Sony just want people to upgrade their bodies. 

 

When a7iii came out, many said that it was so good that they no longer see the point in buying a7s iii. 

Now they do. 

 

Just take a look at Fuji or Nikon Z firmware upgrades. Many, many features nobody even requested. 

What do Sony a7 users get? 

A timelapse app. Wow. 

 

Truth be told, I've already had it on my a6000 and a6300, but then Sony decided to remove all apps from Mark III bodies. 

[thebrothersthre3 860]

53 minutes ago, heart0less said:

I think that both a7iii and a7r iii are fully capable to handle this new AF system. Sony just want people to upgrade their bodies. 

 

When a7iii came out, many said that it was so good that they no longer see the point in buying a7s iii. 

Now they do. 

 

Just take a look at Fuji or Nikon Z firmware upgrades. Many, many features nobody even requested. 

What do Sony a7 users get? 

A timelapse app. Wow. 

 

Truth be told, I've already had it on my a6000 and a6300, but then Sony decided to remove all apps from Mark III bodies. 

I don't know the A6400 had a new processor and the A9 processor is definitely better than the A7III. Seems like if a faster processor wasn't required they could have just put it in an A6300 body. I do give Sony kudos for putting a top of the line AF system in a $900 body. 

When the A7III came out it made the A7S2 outdated for some folks. A higher MP with also great high ISO performance and way better AF. Though realistically compared to the A7SII its using heavier NR which causes issues. I think the thought of a lower MP camera for some just seemed like a dated idea.

I think now that 10 bit is on the table as well as 4k 60p, heads are turning. I think it could be the camera to rule them all. I mean if its something like a Panasonic S1 with Sony auto focus and lower MP, that would be killer.