A7Rii Performance... Am I Missing Something?

[easycass]

Hi all,

 

I tried out an A7Rii today, and it just failed to perform well in some of my tests, so maybe I had it set wrong. Let's first cover some background...

 

Briefly, I am a Nikon shooter for 25+ years, experienced, and yea, I read the manuals, and I travel lots; so I have been trying to look for an alternative to my D700 and D5500, plus 20+ lenses...

 

I like the idea of a good EVF, real time view, showing the exposure and various info as I take a shot, without moving my eye from the eye piece. I like to have all primary controls on my right hand, so I can keep my eye on the VF, and support the lens with my left hand. I require instant response, in MF, or close to instant in AF.

 

Tried Fuji. Great image IQ, great handling, poor AF performance, poor response. Thought maybe the A7Rii...

 

Response, what do I mean by that...? Example, with my Nikon's, I can do this:-

 

1) Aperture Priority, AF-C, 3D Tracking, back button AF, shutter AEL but not linked to AF,single shot drive mode.

2) Use back button AF, target and track subject through VF while moving due to either subject movement and/or frame recomposition, and fire the shutter at will whenever I anticipate the shot I want.

3) With this setup I can fire a single frame once in a while, once every few seconds, or if I really want, and so long as my eye, reflexes and finger can do it, fire, at will, up to 4 to 5 shots per second.

4) Imagine looking through the VF, seeing a smile, firing a shot, and just as you fire, you note through the VF that the subject blinked, so you quickly fire another shot, and as their expression slightly changes, you then do a few more shots in quick succession.

5) Throughout this whole thing, you have kept your thumb on the back AF button, which not only just tracks the subject, in this case the eye of the person, but it continues to track throughout the whole sequence of shutter activations. Plus, if a shot is focussed and for the next shot subject has not moved, there is no lens AF movement prior to the next shot (makes sense to me).

 

Now my D700 does all this, as does my lightweight D5500. I have walked into a shop, picked up a D810,and done the same, with even better performance, absolutely instant response, no fuss, just works, able to fire as I needed, when I wanted, seeing a tiny image blackout time, and monitoring movement in real time through the VF. The only thing missing, with DSLRs yep, the EVF, the ability to fully assess my exposure, histogram, etc through the finder as I shoot.

 

So, to mirrorless... The Fuji X-T1 was my first bet. Not responsive enough, with two shutter actuations a second at most, but with poor AF, sometimes waiting a second before I can shoot the next shot.

 

So, back finally to the Sony A7Rii. I didn't have much time, a brief play. Set Aperture Priority, AF-C, Tracking Lock, back button AF, shutter AEL but not linked to AF,single shot drive mode, image review Off. But this is what I experienced...

 

1) AF very fast

2) shutter response on first shot, instant

3) next shot unable to take until maybe a delay of more than 0.5 second

4) even though the previous shot was focussed, before the next shot, still some lens AF movement before next firing

5) pressing the shutter button as fast as I can, only able to initiate about 2 shots per second

 

I then tried continuous drive mode shooting, in hi mode, but only got about 3 fps, plus, the worst part is that instead of a continuous, fluid view of the scene, each frame fired caused a small freeze in EVF just as each shot happened, making it less fluid than an optical VF.

 

Soooo, I have heard reviewers say this A7Riibis a rocket, whereas as for me, it just is not responsive. I found I was waiting for the camera. I am VERY open to hearing from anyone on how to set things on camera to speed things up...

 

Just so we are comparing apples to apples here, before you reply with your 'perceptions', be great if you can perform a test...

 

1) Set your camera to give you the fastest response time

2) While continuously autofocusing on a subject, press and release the shutter button as many times as you can, and let me know how many single shutter actuations you get in 5 seconds

3) Let me know the settings you used to achieve it

 

Your help in this, before I decide on a Nikon D810 or Sony A7Rii would be most appreciated.

 

Haha, if you can, keep it factual, no fan boy nonsense, don't try to ask 'why' I want to do it, irrelevant... It helps the most in these posts to directly address the question, in this case, 'what is the settings I need to get the best shot to shot responsiveness out of the A7Rii, while tracking a subject throughout the shot sequence, in SINGLE shot drive mode' .

 

Appreciate it...

[Singingsnapper]

At the moment you will see the reviews in the EVF if you switch image review off.  You won't if you use the back screen though.  Mine definitely shoots at 5 fps (if the shutter speed allows.  Obviously if you are shooting at a slow shutter speed say 1/20th or below, you will struggle due to Maths being against you!)  There are some niggles that I'm hoping will be taken care of in the first firmware update.  Long exposure noise being the most important one for me.  

 

DSLR killer?  Nope.  And being truthful, I don't think there ever will be one as there will always be people who prefer an OVF.  

[bplet]

It's a weird thing...  I like the camera OK when I'm using it, and then I love the camera when I'm looking at what I got with it.  haha

 

I would guess the reviewers who call it a rocket are comparing it to other mirrorless like previous A7 bodies.  The impression I got from reviewers who were coming from DSLR was that it wasn't as fast/responsive as a traditional DSLR, but you get features not available with DSLR's as the trade off.  So I walked in with guarded expectations.

 

I'm coming from a Canon 5D3, and indeed, the A7Rii is certainly not as fluid or fast.  I'm still getting used to the EVF, and I've been shooting on it since 8/5.  That aside, my keeper rate has shot through the roof.  Eye-AF on native glass is like a dream.  Can't even really verbalize how much I love Eye-AF.

 

It definitely makes me appreciate the speed and fluidity of a DSLR - you feel like it's an extension of your arm, and lightning quick with the right glass.  I feel less connected to the camera with the A7Rii (but perhaps part of that is also simply my very short time so far with it).  But my biggest gripe in recent years on the DSLR side has been unexplainable misfocus issues.  It would always lock on lighting quick, but not always accurately.  And I'm not talking about issues that could be resolved by microadjusting - I'm talking about when it just misses.  I'd rather work a little harder to take 20 shots and keep 18 of them, than have a very easy time taking 20 shots and keeping none of them.  But that's just me. 

 

I switched back and forth during a headshot session a few days ago, between my trusty 5D3/100L and the A7Rii/90macro.  The A7Rii/90 ate it for lunch.

[EvanWasHere]

It's a weird thing...  I like the camera OK when I'm using it, and then I love the camera when I'm looking at what I got with it.  haha

 

I would guess the reviewers who call it a rocket are comparing it to other mirrorless like previous A7 bodies.  The impression I got from reviewers who were coming from DSLR was that it wasn't as fast/responsive as a traditional DSLR, but you get features not available with DSLR's as the trade off.  So I walked in with guarded expectations.

 

I'm coming from a Canon 5D3, and indeed, the A7Rii is certainly not as fluid or fast.  I'm still getting used to the EVF, and I've been shooting on it since 8/5.  That aside, my keeper rate has shot through the roof.  Eye-AF on native glass is like a dream.  Can't even really verbalize how much I love Eye-AF.

 

It definitely makes me appreciate the speed and fluidity of a DSLR - you feel like it's an extension of your arm, and lightning quick with the right glass.  I feel less connected to the camera with the A7Rii (but perhaps part of that is also simply my very short time so far with it).  But my biggest gripe in recent years on the DSLR side has been unexplainable misfocus issues.  It would always lock on lighting quick, but not always accurately.  And I'm not talking about issues that could be resolved by microadjusting - I'm talking about when it just misses.  I'd rather work a little harder to take 20 shots and keep 18 of them, than have a very easy time taking 20 shots and keeping none of them.  But that's just me. 

 

I switched back and forth during a headshot session a few days ago, between my trusty 5D3/100L and the A7Rii/90macro.  The A7Rii/90 ate it for lunch.

 

I asked this question in another thread, but it hasn't been answered yet.

 

I tried the A7RII yesterday.  The biggest thing I want from the camera is the Eye AF.  But it only seemed to lock on when I was holding down the assigned button.  As soon as i let go, it stopped highlighting the eye.. I tried holding down the button and taking pictures, but none of them had the eye in focus.  

 

Does the button have to be pressed the entire time?  Or did the camera have some kind of wrong configuration? 

[bplet]

Eye-AF is only active when the assigned button is being pressed.  It's not a toggle that you turn on and off like Facial Recognition.  At first, this irked me, because I was expecting it to turn on and stay on.  But then I saw the beauty of this, because in certain situations, there may not always be an eye to focus on, and you may still want to shoot.  In my case, now, I leave the camera in Flexible Spot, so that when it's not seeing a face to shoot, I can move the spot around like I'm used to on my Canons.  But when it starts to spot a face, and the box appears around it, if I want the camera to ignore the Flexible Spot and focus on that face, I just hit the Eye-AF button, and it overrides the Flexible Spot and just focuses on the face (until I release the Eye-AF button, at which point it resumes focusing on the Flexible Spot, without having to go in and change focus modes.

 

Not sure what to tell you about your shots not having the eye in focus.  So far in my testing, Eye-AF has done spectacularly.

[akclimber]

I asked this question in another thread, but it hasn't been answered yet.

 

I tried the A7RII yesterday.  The biggest thing I want from the camera is the Eye AF.  But it only seemed to lock on when I was holding down the assigned button.  As soon as i let go, it stopped highlighting the eye.. I tried holding down the button and taking pictures, but none of them had the eye in focus.  

 

Does the button have to be pressed the entire time?  Or did the camera have some kind of wrong configuration? 

 

Here's a good video re: EYE AF

 

[EvanWasHere]

Here's a good video re: EYE AF

 

 

 

Eye-AF is only active when the assigned button is being pressed.  It's not a toggle that you turn on and off like Facial Recognition.  At first, this irked me, because I was expecting it to turn on and stay on.  But then I saw the beauty of this, because in certain situations, there may not always be an eye to focus on, and you may still want to shoot.  In my case, now, I leave the camera in Flexible Spot, so that when it's not seeing a face to shoot, I can move the spot around like I'm used to on my Canons.  But when it starts to spot a face, and the box appears around it, if I want the camera to ignore the Flexible Spot and focus on that face, I just hit the Eye-AF button, and it overrides the Flexible Spot and just focuses on the face (until I release the Eye-AF button, at which point it resumes focusing on the Flexible Spot, without having to go in and change focus modes.

 

Not sure what to tell you about your shots not having the eye in focus.  So far in my testing, Eye-AF has done spectacularly.

 

I saw that video.. Unfortunately, you don't see his finger holding down the button in it.  

 

I will mostly be using this camera in the studio.  I shoot models wearing jewelry pieces, so I try to not touch the camera as much as possible.  My goal was to enable Eye AF, and then use a remote to take the picture continuously for each pose behind the camera.  

 

I will try using flexible spot with Eye AF... hopefully this weekend.

 

Thanks!

[bplet]

Hmmm.... yeah, not sure how you could do that with a remote.  Aside from a low tech solution like a clamp or gaff tape to hold the button down.  hahaha

[justaguy]

Hi all,

 

I tried out an A7Rii today, and it just failed to perform well in some of my tests, so maybe I had it set wrong. Let's first cover some background...

 

Briefly, I am a Nikon shooter for 25+ years, experienced, and yea, I read the manuals, and I travel lots; so I have been trying to look for an alternative to my D700 and D5500, plus 20+ lenses...

 

I like the idea of a good EVF, real time view, showing the exposure and various info as I take a shot, without moving my eye from the eye piece. I like to have all primary controls on my right hand, so I can keep my eye on the VF, and support the lens with my left hand. I require instant response, in MF, or close to instant in AF.

 

Tried Fuji. Great image IQ, great handling, poor AF performance, poor response. Thought maybe the A7Rii...

 

Response, what do I mean by that...? Example, with my Nikon's, I can do this:-

 

1) Aperture Priority, AF-C, 3D Tracking, back button AF, shutter AEL but not linked to AF,single shot drive mode.

2) Use back button AF, target and track subject through VF while moving due to either subject movement and/or frame recomposition, and fire the shutter at will whenever I anticipate the shot I want.

3) With this setup I can fire a single frame once in a while, once every few seconds, or if I really want, and so long as my eye, reflexes and finger can do it, fire, at will, up to 4 to 5 shots per second.

4) Imagine looking through the VF, seeing a smile, firing a shot, and just as you fire, you note through the VF that the subject blinked, so you quickly fire another shot, and as their expression slightly changes, you then do a few more shots in quick succession.

5) Throughout this whole thing, you have kept your thumb on the back AF button, which not only just tracks the subject, in this case the eye of the person, but it continues to track throughout the whole sequence of shutter activations. Plus, if a shot is focussed and for the next shot subject has not moved, there is no lens AF movement prior to the next shot (makes sense to me).

 

Now my D700 does all this, as does my lightweight D5500. I have walked into a shop, picked up a D810,and done the same, with even better performance, absolutely instant response, no fuss, just works, able to fire as I needed, when I wanted, seeing a tiny image blackout time, and monitoring movement in real time through the VF. The only thing missing, with DSLRs yep, the EVF, the ability to fully assess my exposure, histogram, etc through the finder as I shoot.

 

So, to mirrorless... The Fuji X-T1 was my first bet. Not responsive enough, with two shutter actuations a second at most, but with poor AF, sometimes waiting a second before I can shoot the next shot.

 

So, back finally to the Sony A7Rii. I didn't have much time, a brief play. Set Aperture Priority, AF-C, Tracking Lock, back button AF, shutter AEL but not linked to AF,single shot drive mode, image review Off. But this is what I experienced...

 

1) AF very fast

2) shutter response on first shot, instant

3) next shot unable to take until maybe a delay of more than 0.5 second

4) even though the previous shot was focussed, before the next shot, still some lens AF movement before next firing

5) pressing the shutter button as fast as I can, only able to initiate about 2 shots per second

 

I then tried continuous drive mode shooting, in hi mode, but only got about 3 fps, plus, the worst part is that instead of a continuous, fluid view of the scene, each frame fired caused a small freeze in EVF just as each shot happened, making it less fluid than an optical VF.

 

Soooo, I have heard reviewers say this A7Riibis a rocket, whereas as for me, it just is not responsive. I found I was waiting for the camera. I am VERY open to hearing from anyone on how to set things on camera to speed things up...

 

Just so we are comparing apples to apples here, before you reply with your 'perceptions', be great if you can perform a test...

 

1) Set your camera to give you the fastest response time

2) While continuously autofocusing on a subject, press and release the shutter button as many times as you can, and let me know how many single shutter actuations you get in 5 seconds

3) Let me know the settings you used to achieve it

 

Your help in this, before I decide on a Nikon D810 or Sony A7Rii would be most appreciated.

 

Haha, if you can, keep it factual, no fan boy nonsense, don't try to ask 'why' I want to do it, irrelevant... It helps the most in these posts to directly address the question, in this case, 'what is the settings I need to get the best shot to shot responsiveness out of the A7Rii, while tracking a subject throughout the shot sequence, in SINGLE shot drive mode' .

 

Appreciate it...

Hey one thing you should do is turn off "PRE AUTOFOCUS" in the menu system?

That was one thing that had me at firs too with the a7ii but after i realized what was going on and turned that off all was good.

[easycass]

At the moment you will see the reviews in the EVF if you switch image review off. You won't if you use the back screen though. Mine definitely shoots at 5 fps (if the shutter speed allows. Obviously if you are shooting at a slow shutter speed say 1/20th or below, you will struggle due to Maths being against you!) There are some niggles that I'm hoping will be taken care of in the first firmware update. Long exposure noise being the most important one for me.

 

DSLR killer? Nope. And being truthful, I don't think there ever will be one as there will always be people who prefer an OVF.

Thanks for your reply. I am not sure why I couldn't get the 5 frames per second. I guess you mean, following the test I used, in single drive mode, you could press and release the shutter 5 times in one second?

 

Can you think of any other settings I should check are set to make sure the camera is most responsive. I already made sure image review is off. How about your setting for focus/release priority?

 

Many thanks...

[easycass]

Hi, thank for all the replies. The eye AF looks interesting.

 

Just back to the performance issue, I wonder if someone could actually run the test I described and post their answer...

 

1) Set your camera to give you the fastest response time

2) While continuously autofocusing on a subject, press and release the shutter button as many times as you can, and let me know how many single shutter actuations you get in 5 seconds

3) Let me know the settings you used to achieve it

 

Many thanks!

[Singingsnapper]

Thanks for your reply. I am not sure why I couldn't get the 5 frames per second. I guess you mean, following the test I used, in single drive mode, you could press and release the shutter 5 times in one second?

 

Can you think of any other settings I should check are set to make sure the camera is most responsive. I already made sure image review is off. How about your setting for focus/release priority?

 

Many thanks...

I'd be very nimble if I could press the shutter 5 times in a second!  I'm meaning in Continuous Hi mode. This was the default mode on switching mine on for the first time.  A demo in a shop may be set up differently.

[easycass]

Hi there,

 

Yes, I got the 5 frames per second in continuous drive mode. But, I did mean in single shot mode. It is possible to do on my Nikon's, and I did manage to get the Sony to do it in only one settings configuration.

 

Of course, I actually don't want to be able to shoot 5 times per second, or else yes, continuous drive mode would work. I am only suggesting the shutter button test to demonstrate what sort of shot time is achievable in single shot drive mode. The shot to shot time is what determines how soon after a shot is taken before being allowed to fire a subsequent one or two shots. The longer this time period, the less responsive the camera feels.

 

As regards the demo in the shop, I have been lucky and managed a good two hours playing. I think I know the menu system pretty well now!

 

And so, my findings for single shot drive mode... In AF-C and normal AF-S mode, the shot to shot time is around 400ms (ie 2.5 shots per second). The only way to get to 5 frames per second (200ms shot to shot time) I can see is to essentially use focus lock in AF-S mode, essentially stopping the camera from focussing between shots.

 

So,the ability to track a subject in continuous AF, at up to 5 frames per second, in single shot mode, right now does not seem possible.

 

Of course, a shot to shot time of 400ms is usually quite adequate, so no real complaining. However when testing with a real live model in the shot, I did notice that when I did want to shoot a couple of quick shots one after the other in single shot mode, I missed shots, or felt like I was waiting for the camera.

 

Maybe no one else cares, but for my style of shooting, the response time is somewhat important...

 

Cheers for your help...

[absolutic]

So yesterday I did a CAF test with sonys own 55fe a lens that focuses relatively fast in general. I had my child run at me from about 75 feet distance and I shot at f2.

I tried the same with most of my other cameras.

So my results with a7r2 are very inconsistent and I can't put my finger on why.

I tried every possible mode from area to zone to center to small Focus point. I tried release, focus priority, balance approach priority. I tried lock focus and eye af focus. But it was still bad. Sometime I would get first few shots in focus then everythitn else out of focus when my child would come closer. At other times every other shot would be blurry. It was in the middle of the day so my shutter speed was in 1000 range so no issues there.

I had tried the same test with cameras like canon 6d with only one good af point, my former Olympus em1 and Sony a6000 and my present Fuji xt1 and all of the above seem to be able to nail it. But a7r2 is struggling but perhaps I am not setting it correctly? Should I turn face recognition off completely? If I have my child walk toward me not run a7r2 nails it but even slow running and it is really bad. Have u guys tried similar test? I love a7r2 for everythitn else and I hoped I could sell my Fuji xt1 and keep the Sony as jack of all trades but for some reason that task and i have a very active 3 year old is not working for me. Any advise?

[Singingsnapper]

I think too many people have sought after this camera for the wrong reasons.  I never ever saw this camera having inclinations to being an action camera....

[Mathias]

Love eye AF too. Actually, eye AF is like using back button AF, as I set it to C3.

Whats even cooler: Using DMF, the camera jumps to the confirmed focus point when turning the focus ring, so with eye AF it goes straight to the eye and not just the center! So manual confirmation in magnified view is extremely quick with eye AF and DMF plus MF assist.

[absolutic]

I think too many people have sought after this camera for the wrong reasons.  I never ever saw this camera having inclinations to being an action camera....

 

after 199 PDAF point A6000 doing what it does, is it unreasonable to expect similar AF perfromance (not in terms of speed, but in terms of af ability) from a camera that has 399 PDAF points which covers most of the screen and comes a year later? 

[Guest all8]

after 199 PDAF point A6000 doing what it does, is it unreasonable to expect similar AF perfromance (not in terms of speed, but in terms of af ability) from a camera that has 399 PDAF points which covers most of the screen and comes a year later? 

 

There should be a setting to show which PDAF points are active, and there is also the AF indicator which would let you know if the camera thinks it has AF when it takes the shot. Generally I would expect AF Lock-on with C-AF to be the correct mode for a moving subject - at least for A7 series camera. PDAF is only part of the overall AF strategy the camera might choose to use, having more of them probably does not help with AF accuracy.

 

But ... since you are happy with "walking pace", and not happy with a "slow run", the question might be are the shots from the second case _way_ out of focus or only a little bit? And did the AF indicator show solid green or flashing green, and were the PDAF actually used at all?

 

Anyway, some things to try ... your scenario must be at the limit, F2. wide open. moving subject, close to camera - not much room for error, it only takes a few CM to be out of focus in that case.

[absolutic]

There should be a setting to show which PDAF points are active, and there is also the AF indicator which would let you know if the camera thinks it has AF when it takes the shot. Generally I would expect AF Lock-on with C-AF to be the correct mode for a moving subject - at least for A7 series camera. PDAF is only part of the overall AF strategy the camera might choose to use, having more of them probably does not help with AF accuracy.

 

But ... since you are happy with "walking pace", and not happy with a "slow run", the question might be are the shots from the second case _way_ out of focus or only a little bit? And did the AF indicator show solid green or flashing green, and were the PDAF actually used at all?

 

Anyway, some things to try ... your scenario must be at the limit, F2. wide open. moving subject, close to camera - not much room for error, it only takes a few CM to be out of focus in that case.

Thanks for your reply.   it appears the camera has hard time to keep focus as the subject approaches the camera, but I was still way out of MFD issue,   I tried the same a day before with Canon 17-40L on Commlite adapter.   With that scenario, I am not even sure Camera tracked at all, but I blamed that on adapter and Canon on Sony issue.   Here is an example of that series    https://www.flickr.com/photos/absolutic/albums/72157657385961782    Also with canon, for some reason metering changed rapidly from shot to shot, some shots being very dark and underexposed in the same series.  Again I blame that on Canon on Sony compatibility.     

 

now perhaps the camera is confused further and having hard time because there are trees and bushes and my child is not really on the white background without distractions.   Perhaps I should try my test in an open field.  

[easycass]

I think too many people have sought after this camera for the wrong reasons. I never ever saw this camera having inclinations to being an action camera....

You may be right that some people have high expectations... Haha, maybe we can blame the Sony race car promo for that...?

 

For me, while I have been shooting Nikon's for a long time, two years ago I plunged into the Fuji system, buying bodies, lenses etc, only to find to my distress during one of my typical treks out to a Tribal area in northern Vietnam, where my Nikon's normally excelled shooting shy, flitty, fast moving people subjects in sometimes dimly lit smoke filled huts, the Fuji AF was too slow, or unable to work in dim light, and the single shot to shot speed meant I missed shots of those fleeting glances and changes of expression that can change in fractions of a second.

 

After that disappointing trip, I analysed what it was that I needed: a small lightweight, mirrorless EVF, good AF, good single shot to shot speed.

 

But instead of just throwing myself into yet another system, another few grand and possible missed shotsin this case the Sony, I thought it would be prudent to research the capabilities first.

 

So, if we look at the cost and the promotional material for the A7Rii, I do think we can expect good performance out of both its AF and shooting speed. But, more to the point perhaps, researching these expectations, or hopes, to find out if a camera system is good for our requirements is a good thing, to which these forums provide a useful route.

 

For me, only a couple of people even answered my original enquiry, and still as yet, I cannot even get one person to confirm my findings. Oh how I wish I could sit down with a keen user to just run the test alongside me! In my case, not expectations, but I wish for a smaller, lighter replacement for my Nikon's, and the Sony seems close, but...

[Singingsnapper]

One look at the specs would tell you that this camera isn't built for  high speed.  5fps is pretty quick, but is the norm for camera aimed at landscape photographers or general photographers.  Plus in spite of publicity and advertising, I still assume that mirrorless = slower AF.  As predominantly a landscape photographer, I can work without AF.  In fact if you know your focal distance this camera will be pretty quick if shooting in MF.  Yes it has 399 focal points and some are phase detection on the sensor, and I find these useful as (unless shooting with LAEA4, which I do a lot) I don't need to focus and recompose which is a pain if the camera is on a tripod.  The weak point with the FE lenses is a lack of physical distance scale as the fly by wire is imprecise.  Oh how I wish you could programme a distance in and the fly by wire would focus the lens to that distance.  Then all you would need is a laser 'tape' measure built in and you can hyper focus to your heart's content...

[Guest all8]

Thanks for your reply.   it appears the camera has hard time to keep focus as the subject approaches the camera, but I was still way out of MFD issue,   I tried the same a day before with Canon 17-40L on Commlite adapter.   With that scenario, I am not even sure Camera tracked at all, but I blamed that on adapter and Canon on Sony issue.   Here is an example of that series    https://www.flickr.com/photos/absolutic/albums/72157657385961782    Also with canon, for some reason metering changed rapidly from shot to shot, some shots being very dark and underexposed in the same series.  Again I blame that on Canon on Sony compatibility.     

 

now perhaps the camera is confused further and having hard time because there are trees and bushes and my child is not really on the white background without distractions.   Perhaps I should try my test in an open field.  

 

Seems like the camera was focused on one of the cars. Its really worth while to turn on the display of PDAF points, and CF, so that you can really see where the camera has focused. For a shot like this with a busy background Lock-on AF will struggle (that is my experience with photographing Falcons flying over/through vegetation), I would use either Face Detect or Flexible Spot, both with C-AF, and see if that helps. The camera really seems to have focused on the number plate of that second car.

 

For the changing exposure, part of the reason might be the long shadows falling on the boy as he runs. Using either AEL or center weighted exposure might help there. Not sure if PDAF is working for adapted lenses other than A-mount.

[absolutic]

Seems like the camera was focused on one of the cars. Its really worth while to turn on the display of PDAF points, and CF, so that you can really see where the camera has focused. For a shot like this with a busy background Lock-on AF will struggle (that is my experience with photographing Falcons flying over/through vegetation), I would use either Face Detect or Flexible Spot, both with C-AF, and see if that helps. The camera really seems to have focused on the number plate of that second car.

 

For the changing exposure, part of the reason might be the long shadows falling on the boy as he runs. Using either AEL or center weighted exposure might help there. Not sure if PDAF is working for adapted lenses other than A-mount.

 

Thank you, I will keep practicing!