Sony Alpha 1 - Bird Eye AF test with Firmware 1.2 in Southafrica

[Xeropaga81]

Hello All

After the the update I went to South Africa (Zimanga Private Game Reserve) to test out and see what has been improved over the last FW version.

All in all I was really happy to see how well it performed, it even works better now with Hippos, Elephants and other animals (not shown in this video).

Enjoy Marco

 

[Tim Mayo]

Great video Marco! That must have been a fantastic trip! Loved the choice of music too

 

[Xeropaga81]

Great video Marco! That must have been a fantastic trip! Loved the choice of music too

Hi Timothy, many thanks Absolutely, it's been amazing, can't wait to be back with Photosafari clients in 2023

 

[Xeropaga81]

Nice shots and interesting video.

I have to ask, do you have any BIF? Nikon has a video out of the Z9 making over 400 successive shots on a BIF, all in focus. I have yet to see anyone attempt such a thing with a Sony. Based on reviews by people other than Nikon's engineers and marketing team, it sounds like they maybe exaggerated a bit. Waiting for a good comparison video from someone who isn't trying to sell something.

First off, thanks a lot, I appreciate ...

To answer your questions, no I don't have and also do not plan to do something like that because it's not making any sense at all. I do not care what some Nikon "Pros" say or show. What is if I can get 440 in focus, what if only 395? Which camera or AF is better? Successful BIF in focus is a combination of many different factors: Overall exposure, background, Shutter speed, erratic movements of the bird, overall BIF skills of the photographer, distance to the subject, aperture used and so on. For me that's only marketing rubbish and I do not care about it, especially not because I already had the chance to compare my A1 with the Z9 and apart from Video, the A1 is the winner for me (not by a mile, but definitely by a bit), especially when the lighting conditions are changing quickly or the backdrop gets busier ....and I have RAW with 30 FPS not only JPEG ;-)

 

[Xeropaga81]

Ok, but you missed the point and went on a rant. I'm not asking you to perform that test. I noted Nikon's video because I don't trust it. I'm asking if you have a similar video to the one you posted showing BIF and the effectiveness of eye tracking. If you don't that's fine, just say so.

But you mentioned you are waiting for such a kind of a video, and I said why such a video does not make any sense at all. It does not matter if it's coming from me or someone else. What does it proof to you if you find a video of a Sony guy showing you the same?

 

[Xeropaga81]

Well, I assumed that I could trust someone posting a video of their work in a forum far more than a marketing video from a corporation. Perhaps I am mistaken?

Not necessarily, we all are brand biased and no-one wants to admit he/she bought a bad (or not so good) product ;-) So you always have to be extra careful, even if it's content of a private person ... just my two cents