Advice for shooting portraits with A7rii??

[MLWolfe]

Can anyone recommend a focus "workflow" for shooting portraits under pressure?? Can't decide if the camera is difficult or I'm just a crappy photographer!

 

After using my A7rii for a year, I still feel a total lack of confidence and have a fairly high missed focus rate with portraits. I get amazing landscapes with this camera, when I usually manually focus and have lots of time. Coming from a Canon 5d Markiii, I shoot AFS and set my Sony center button to allow me to use the wheel to select a focal point, but it's always slow to react, often tries to change focus mode instead of a point, and just drives me crazy! (I don't use the wheel for any other functions.) I've had little success with eye autofocus, which I now believe is due to the lens iris issue, but I like to choose my own focal point, anyway. I have two e-mount lenses: 24-70 GM and the 55 1.8. I don't use back button focus because I think it would just complicate things with all the fumbling I do to select a point with the wheel. I simply cannot afford to ditch this camera and so desperately want to work it like the pro I am aspiring to be. I've done some really nice work, but feel increasingly confused by this camera, rather than the other way around.

 

If you are successfully shooting portraits in all kinds of situations (moving children, wedding bouquet tosses, low light, head shots, etc) can you please (PLEASE!!!!!!!!) tell me how you have set up your A7rii to make that work so well for you?

 

Attaching a picture so you get an example of my work (when it worked).

 

Thanks!

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[magicklens]

I use the A7RII with a variety of Sony lenses in different situations as you mention.  I learned photography in the film days with manual focus lenses. The multiple focus modes and settings for highly automated cameras like the A7RII can be confusing and frustrating. Do you recall your focus settings for the above image?

[storyteller]

So the issue is just that you're missing focus? Have you tried a different A7R2 and/or different lenses? 

 

Personally I don't use the same settings for every situation. Children vs headshot for example are very different. I shoot with the much slower A7 (1st gen.) and in good light have better success with AF-C and back button focus. I use a wider (medium usually, sometimes large) focus spot and face detect. However, if I'm shooting headshots in a controlled environment with the lens stopped down a bit I may switch to AF-S for eye detect. Or, if I'm shooting unpredictably things, like kids, I'll stick to a center point AF and just plan on cropping post since capturing the moment is paramount.

[JonathanStewart]

Nice shot. 

Sounds like you're using your Sony as if it were a Canon, using the back wheel to select a focus point. That technique is passé as far as I'm concerned. The technology has advanced to where that's no longer necessary. 

I'd set the camera to AF-C so that you're sticking on your subject even as it shifts around. Eye-AF works fine for me, but less fine if your subject is squinting or has naturally narrow eyes. It works on the contrast between the whites and iris, so if those are hard to see, it won't work as well. 

I use lock-on flexible spot medium, and turn face detect on, unless I'm using Eye-AF.  That seems to be a pretty good setup for portraits, with the Sony lenses at least. 

It's possible if it's not focusing properly there might be a problem with the body. 

[Golem]

I use the same setting for everything. MF. 

  

Now maybe you don't wanna settle on MF for everything 

but consider using it for everything just for a test period ... 

NOT to see if it's your universal setting like it is mine, but 

as a means of observing just how YOU focus so you can 

then decide WHICH of the various robotic mimics of how 

YOU focus is best suited from situation to situation.   

   

IOW, you need a baseline for choosing amongst the AF

modes, each of which is engineered to do YOUR job for 

you ... so you need a solid grasp of just what IS your job, 

and that does vary by situation.    

   

Example: Someone will tell you "eye AF" is perfect for 

portraits. But that person is hung up on shooting at f/1.2 

with subjects that are not in rapid activity. Maybe your 

subjects are more active and you shoot with rather more 

DoF than the f/1.2 user. So "eye AF" would only slow you 

down, but a wider AF field that nails any part of the face 

quickly might serve you best, maybe at f/5.6 +/-. As was

suggested above, "face detect' AF may be great for that.

This is why I suggested the observational trial using MF.

It's not to test out MF. It's to OBSERVE how you focus. 

[MLWolfe]

Thank you so much for these thoughtful responses! I'll respond to each of you, in order.

 

I use the A7RII with a variety of Sony lenses in different situations as you mention.  I learned photography in the film days with manual focus lenses. The multiple focus modes and settings for highly automated cameras like the A7RII can be confusing and frustrating. Do you recall your focus settings for the above image?

For this image, I was shooting wide open with the Zeiss 55 1.8, AF-S, focused on her left eye.

 

So the issue is just that you're missing focus? Have you tried a different A7R2 and/or different lenses? 

 

Personally I don't use the same settings for every situation. Children vs headshot for example are very different. I shoot with the much slower A7 (1st gen.) and in good light have better success with AF-C and back button focus. I use a wider (medium usually, sometimes large) focus spot and face detect. However, if I'm shooting headshots in a controlled environment with the lens stopped down a bit I may switch to AF-S for eye detect. Or, if I'm shooting unpredictably things, like kids, I'll stick to a center point AF and just plan on cropping post since capturing the moment is paramount.

"Storyteller," thanks so much for all that info. May I ask what lens you typically use when you're shooting in AF-C mode? When I read the thread about the 24-70 GM failing to focus on AF-C, it was like a revelation! But understanding why my gear won't work just means I need to find something that does. (I'm so mad at Sony over that whole issue!) And do you find that the eyes are sharp in face detect mode, or will it tend to lock focus on some other part of the face?

 

Nice shot. 

Sounds like you're using your Sony as if it were a Canon, using the back wheel to select a focus point. That technique is passé as far as I'm concerned. The technology has advanced to where that's no longer necessary. 

I'd set the camera to AF-C so that you're sticking on your subject even as it shifts around. Eye-AF works fine for me, but less fine if your subject is squinting or has naturally narrow eyes. It works on the contrast between the whites and iris, so if those are hard to see, it won't work as well. 

I use lock-on flexible spot medium, and turn face detect on, unless I'm using Eye-AF.  That seems to be a pretty good setup for portraits, with the Sony lenses at least. 

It's possible if it's not focusing properly there might be a problem with the body.

 

Jonathan, never did it occur to me that selecting a certain focus point is passe', but it makes sense! The problem with AF-C is that when using my only two Sony lenses (24-70G GM or Zeiss 55) the camera sometimes completely fails to focus, even in manual mode. As far as I can ascertain, it's a firmware problem and the only solution seems to be shooting in AF-S. But when I'm shooting in AF-S and choosing a focal point, it just doesn't always respond quickly. So I keep wondering if that's due to some limitation on my part, butb the v fact that this isn't the way the camera was designed to optimilly focus never occurred to me. As I asked Storyteller, do you find the eyes are tack sharp in face detect? Do you think it would be feasible to shoot face detect in AF-S if I can't shoot in AF-C?

 

I use the same setting for everything. MF. 

  

Now maybe you don't wanna settle on MF for everything 

but consider using it for everything just for a test period ... 

NOT to see if it's your universal setting like it is mine, but 

as a means of observing just how YOU focus so you can 

then decide WHICH of the various robotic mimics of how 

YOU focus is best suited from situation to situation.   

   

IOW, you need a baseline for choosing amongst the AF

modes, each of which is engineered to do YOUR job for 

you ... so you need a solid grasp of just what IS your job, 

and that does vary by situation.    

   

Example: Someone will tell you "eye AF" is perfect for 

portraits. But that person is hung up on shooting at f/1.2 

with subjects that are not in rapid activity. Maybe your 

subjects are more active and you shoot with rather more 

DoF than the f/1.2 user. So "eye AF" would only slow you 

down, but a wider AF field that nails any part of the face 

quickly might serve you best, maybe at f/5.6 +/-. As was

suggested above, "face detect' AF may be great for that.

This is why I suggested the observational trial using MF.

It's not to test out MF. It's to OBSERVE how you focus.

 

Golem, thanks for that thoughtful advice! I do frequently manually focus when I get frustrated, and love the focus peaking on this camera (although it can be hard to see people through the peaking color). I think some of my issues with the 24-70G can't be resolved with manual focus. When it stopped focusing at a wedding reception I was shooting, (in AF-C at 5.6) I quickly switched to manual focus and it still didn't work. I now think that's the iris issue. I really like your suggestion, though, to switch to manual for awhile to experiment.

 

Anyway, I thought that perhaps there was some essential trick that I'm missing in terms of customizing the function buttions in order to work quickly in AF-S and get great results.

 

It sounds like most people are working in AF-C with no problem. Maybe it's that $2200 lens I bought!!

[EvilTed]

There is your problem - AF-S

This is the worst mode to use on a camera (except if you are shooting stationary objects, but you can still do the same with AF-C).

 

Always, always use AF-C and use back button focus.

Take your finger off the back button = the same as AF-S.

 

Eye AF requires AF-C, so it's little wonder you had no success with it

Put the camera in AF-C and try engaging EyeAF with the center of the wheel.

If you cannot create excellent portraits like this, then I cannot help you.

 

HTH

[MLWolfe]

There is your problem - AF-S

This is the worst mode to use on a camera (except if you are shooting stationary objects, but you can still do the same with AF-C).

 

Always, always use AF-C and use back button focus.

Take your finger off the back button = the same as AF-S.

 

Eye AF requires AF-C, so it's little wonder you had no success with it

Put the camera in AF-C and try engaging EyeAF with the center of the wheel.

If you cannot create excellent portraits like this, then I cannot help you.

 

HTH

Thanks, EvilTed! Have you by chance read the thread about the 24-70 GM and certain other GM lenses failing to focus when using AF-C? It works well when wide open, but becomes an issue stopped down beyond f/4. So if I'm shooting a group and want a little more depth of field, it becomes a problem. Because of this, I just haven't wanted to use it at all. I didn't realize what was happening for awhile, and the advice seems to be to shoot in AF-S, so that's what I'm struggling with. I didn't realize that so many people rely heavily on AF-C with good results. I've traditionally always tried to place my focus point directly on the closest eye, which was really easy on the Canon.

[EvilTed]

AF-S is a useless mode once you discover back button focus and AF-C.

I used to use it but you cannot use back button focus with it reliably, because as soon as the subject moves you are out of focus.

 

I think the IRIS problem is not an issue in real life, at least not with any of the lenses I own or the way I shoot.

The people who are complaining about it are shooting under studio conditions and at F16 and ISO 100.

This seems like a stupid thing to try and achieve with any camera and lens, because diffraction is going to set in long before and rob the image of quality, but hey, if that's what you want, go for it

 

I generally shoot portraits wide open or stopped down to maybe F2.8 at most.

With all my lenses, including the 24-70 GM, this is not an issue with both A7r 2 bodies I own.

 

Set your camera up for AP-C with back button focus and set Eye AF to the center button of the wheel.

The try everything over and see if you can get a more reliable hit rate.

 

EyeAF when using AP-C will pick out the nearest eye automatically and keep tracking it as you hold the center wheel button in.

It is remarkably accurate with my Zeiss Basis 85mm, much more so that any other camera I own or have owned (I currently own a Nikon D5, D4s and D500 also and none of them are as accurate at focussing).

 

HTH

[SA2016]

Unfortunately the iris problem is very much an issue, you can forget F16, I would suggest anything from F4 onwards & you will start to encounter major issues.

[MLWolfe]

Unfortunately the iris problem is very much an issue, you can forget F16, I would suggest anything from F4 onwards & you will start to encounter major issues.

Yes, it's definitely a problem for me! The first time I became completely aware of it I was shooting a bouquet toss, where I needed more DOF. Not one single picture in focus, and when I switched to manual focus, that didn't work either.

 

EvilTed, thanks for your response again. Are you running the most current firmware, because this wasn't an issue until after a firmware update?. If you haven't updated the firmware, I suggest you don't!

[EvilTed]

@MLWolfe

 

Yes, I'm running the latest firmware on both bodies.

So let's be clear how the problem is manifesting:

 

1. You are using AF-C

2. You are using BBF

3. The lens is hunting and not acquiring focus from F4 down

or

4. The lens doesn't hunt but the shots are OOF.

or

5. Both 3 and 4.

 

I'll test mine today and report my findings compared to the D5, which has arguably the best AF currently available on any camera.

(A7r II + 24-70 F2.8 GM vs. D5 + 24-70 F2.8 VR).

[EvilTed]

@MLWolfe

 

OK, my rather un-scientifc test was as follows:

 

A7r II body + 24-70 F2.8 GM.

Both running latest firmware.

 

Camera facing me, adjust focal length to 70mm so as to get the largest aperture, so I can see movement of iris easily.

AF-C

Backbutton focus.

Observe ZERO movement of iris either opening or closing when continuously focusing, by holding the back button in.

Observe ZERO movement of iris when shutter pressed except in the case of F11 or smaller apertures, where the IRIS actually OPENS up a tad on focus and also on shutter depressed.

Observe iris changes as the aperture is adjusted via the front wheel on the A7r II.

 

It is not opening up to autofocus 

 

According to an article I found from 7 months ago:

 

The iris is wide open until I half press the shutter (start AF). The it successively closes down the iris to whatever I have dialed in. This closing can be instantaneously or in a few steps. After releasing the shutter the iris opens up again.

 

This is NOT the behavior I'm witnessing.

My camera adjusts the iris via the front wheel, based upon the aperture selected. 

It has nothing to do with AF.

 

In fact, the more I think about this, the more this is the expected behavior of mirrorless cameras.

All my Fuji's would lighten and darken the EVF and screen as the iris was reduced in size by changing the aperture.

All my Sony's have done the same thing.

This is the WYSIWYG nature of mirrorless.

I've never had a mirrorless camera focus wide open.

That would be really strange because the EVF would go really bright in direct sunlight as you focussed when you were shooting at F8 to F16?

 

I just checked with my D5 and with it, the IRIS is open all the time.

Even when the aperture is changed via the front dial, the iris remains wide open.

It only reduces momentarily as the shutter is released, after which it returns to wide open again.

 

I think that what is going on here is DSLR users not being familiar with mirrorless camera behavior?

Mirrorless cameras all adjust the iris size immediately as the aperture is adjusted in real time.

 

From my initial tests, AF-C and back button focus does not change the iris.

Depressing the shutter does not change the iris except to open it slightly when the aperture is set to F11 or narrower.

 

Comments?

 

[Golem]

..............

 

In fact, the more I think about this, the more this is the expected

behavior of mirrorless cameras.

All my Fuji's would lighten and darken the EVF and screen as the

iris was reduced in size by changing the aperture.

All my Sony's have done the same thing.

This is the WYSIWYG nature of mirrorless.

I've never had a mirrorless camera focus wide open.

That would be really strange because the EVF would go really

bright in direct sunlight as you focussed when you were

shooting at F8 to F16?

 

...........

 

Comments?

   

My main comment is that you drew too broad a conclusion from too

small a sample population. This in reference to the "emphasis added" 

portion of your remarks quoted above. Your experience appears to be

more exceptional than general. Your imagined/assumed problem with 

viewing brightness is just not born out in general use.  

   

Live view is not WYSIWYG by its nature. WYSIWYG is enabled by 

menu choices, and likewise disabled. At least this is true with Sonys.   

 

Especially concerning EVF and monitor brightness, users enable or  

disable "effect preview" ... what you call WYSIWYG ... according to 

working conditions etc. It's in the "Live View" menu. You can go there 

and prove the "problem", or prevent it. It's user controlled, and for very 

good reason, as our working conditions do vary. 

       

   

###########################################  

   

  

On all my Sonys the iris is wide open except during exposure, unless

I engage controls to cause it to be otherwise. Even the "WYSIWYG" 

viewing brightness, when I choose to enable it, does NOT derive from 

any closing of the iris. It is a simulation of the brightness of the actual 

exposure, but the simulation is imposed on a wide open view. The DoF 

does NOT increase as smaller and smaller apertures are dialed in. The

image just dims and finally darkens. It also darkens and lightens as a 

response to changes in shutter speed setting. Obviously, the effects 

of shutter speed upon the brightness of exposure MUST be simulated, 

as the effect CANNOT actually be occurring during viewing, as it can

only really occur during exposure. IOW your "WYSIWYG nature" is not 

the actual nature of live view operations. It's just "virtual reality" :-) 

   

I have various models of Sonys and at least one of them defeats the 

auto iris operation in A-mode autoexposure. Maybe the designers were 

thinking that if you choose "Aperture Priority" mode, then your mind's 

eye must be in "DoF Priority" mode, and therefore real/physical DoF 

is constantly engages during A-mode use. Makes sense, but only one 

of my five different models does that [it's a "Nex" model]. But in this

mode, the iris jumps open when AF is activated. Fewer photons plus 

deeper DoF are both tough challenges to AF performance, so opening 

the iris [suspending the continuous DoF preview of the A-mode] during

AF operation is perficklee reasonable, maybe even necessary. 

  

The behavior you report while watching the iris thru the front glass is 

undesirable behavior. The iris doesn't snap down during exposure cuz 

it's ALREADY at working aperture, which is detrimental to AF. OTOH 

you report that the iris DOES open somewhat if the dialed-in setting is 

f/11 or smaller. Thaz no sooprize. While apertures of f/5.5 or 8.0 are 

only "detrimental" to AF. apertures of f/11 or small would be beyond 

merely detrimental. Such small apertures would be DISABLING of AF. 

    

I can see one engineering/operational rationale for causing the AF to 

function at smaller than fully wide open aperture. The increased DoF 

would reduce the tendency to hunt, or to lose the tracking lock-on. It 

requires an AF system capable of functioning with less light, and may  

help avoid tracking AF losing its lock-on, but it MUST have some cost 

in terms of accuracy. Minimizing DoF during focus, AF or MF, is THE 

key to accuracy.  

[Guest Jaf-Photo]

When you're shooting stopped down or at a distance, face detect should be enough to nail focus.

 

When you shoot wide open or close up, face detect will normally focus slightly in front of the eyes. For those situations, eye af should be best.

 

Using a movable focus spot should also work but it's much slower than the above.

 

When I shoot posed portraits, i often use manual focus. It's a good skill to develop for situations when af is not working so well.

[EvilTed]

@Golem

 

Yes, the WYSIWYG can be defeated, but it's one of the advantages of mirrorless cameras over DSLRs, so why would you?

 

Secondly, this happens in both Aperture Priority Mode as well as Manual.

The iris is directly opened and closed as the aperture is adjusted by the front dial, independent of AF.

This is a distinctly different behavior from DSLRs which always perform AF with the iris wide open and adjusting the aperture doesn't change the iris until the shutter is depressed.

 

If this is what people are complaining about, it is not a new phenomena.

Every Sony I've owned has behaved this way as have every Fuji.

[EvilTed]

@MWWolfe

 

I just tested my 24-70 F2.8 GM shooting portraits of my daughter from F2.8 - F16 at a range of ISO from 800 - 25600.

There was zero hunting until F11 where it was just noticeably slower to focus, but AF-C and Eye AF using the center wheel worked great.

Looking at 100% crops of her eye in each of the shots show absolutely no issues with AF.

It's much more accurate with Eye AF than my Nikon D5 is without.

 

In conclusion, I think most of your problems center around trying to focus on moving subjects using AF-S.

It just doesn't work for those type of subjects

 

If you can try using AF-C, back button focus and Eye AF together.

Aperture priority with Auto ISO with a minimum shutter speed set to 1/500s  will nail your bouquet catch.

 

Try using this combo and let me know if you are still having problems.

 

AUTO ISO

Camera Menu 5

ISO = ISO AUTO - Press and set limits (I use 100 - 102400)

ISO AUTO Min. SS = 1/500s | 1/250s | 1/125s depending upon situation

 

BBF

Gear Menu #2 - AF w/ shutter off

Gear menu #7 - Custom Key Settings 2 - AEL Button = AF On

 

Eye AF

Gear menu #7 - Custom Key Settings 1 - Center Button = Eye AF

 

HTH

[Golem]

@Golem

 

Yes, the WYSIWYG can be defeated, but it's one of the advantages of

mirrorless cameras over DSLRs, so why would you?

 

Secondly, this happens in both Aperture Priority Mode as well as Manual.

The iris is directly opened and closed as the aperture is adjusted by the

front dial, independent of AF.

This is a distinctly different behavior from DSLRs which always perform

AF with the iris wide open and adjusting the aperture doesn't change the

iris until the shutter is depressed.

 

If this is what people are complaining about, it is not a new phenomena.

Every Sony I've owned has behaved this way as have every Fuji.

   

What most user sare complaining about is a coupla new Sony 

lenses that do NOT allow defeating WYSIWYG. It proves annoying 

cuz WYSIWYG is NOT the default for most modes, nor for all other lenses, 

on most live view cameras. The WYSIWYG ability of live view cameras is 

one of their best abilities, but it is not their normal default mode.  

  

Here's the rundown:  

http://www.sonyalphaforum.com/topic/5591-iris-problem-with-85-14-and-24-70-28-gm-lenses/

  

Why would you defeat WYSIWYG ? All the reasons have been mentioned 

by those complaining about the new lenses. FWIW, SLRs were far more 

WYSIWYG, and hugely slow and awkward to operate, until mechanisms 

were designed into them to make them less WYSIWYG, and thus much 

more useful as general purpose cameras. Acoarst those SLR mechanisms

are defeatable cuz a need for WYSIWYG does arise sometimes. Live view 

cameras generally follow that same protocol, cuz the live view users face

the same  challenges as did the SLR users before them. That protocol is 

that full WYSIWYG operation is usually defeated until the user activates it.

[magicklens]

Thank you so much for these thoughtful responses! I'll respond to each of you, in order.

 

 

For this image, I was shooting wide open with the Zeiss 55 1.8, AF-S, focused on her left eye.

 

 

"Storyteller," thanks so much for all that info. May I ask what lens you typically use when you're shooting in AF-C mode? When I read the thread about the 24-70 GM failing to focus on AF-C, it was like a revelation! But understanding why my gear won't work just means I need to find something that does. (I'm so mad at Sony over that whole issue!) And do you find that the eyes are sharp in face detect mode, or will it tend to lock focus on some other part of the face?

 

 

Jonathan, never did it occur to me that selecting a certain focus point is passe', but it makes sense! The problem with AF-C is that when using my only two Sony lenses (24-70G GM or Zeiss 55) the camera sometimes completely fails to focus, even in manual mode. As far as I can ascertain, it's a firmware problem and the only solution seems to be shooting in AF-S. But when I'm shooting in AF-S and choosing a focal point, it just doesn't always respond quickly. So I keep wondering if that's due to some limitation on my part, butb the v fact that this isn't the way the camera was designed to optimilly focus never occurred to me. As I asked Storyteller, do you find the eyes are tack sharp in face detect? Do you think it would be feasible to shoot face detect in AF-S if I can't shoot in AF-C?

 

 

Golem, thanks for that thoughtful advice! I do frequently manually focus when I get frustrated, and love the focus peaking on this camera (although it can be hard to see people through the peaking color). I think some of my issues with the 24-70G can't be resolved with manual focus. When it stopped focusing at a wedding reception I was shooting, (in AF-C at 5.6) I quickly switched to manual focus and it still didn't work. I now think that's the iris issue. I really like your suggestion, though, to switch to manual for awhile to experiment.

 

Anyway, I thought that perhaps there was some essential trick that I'm missing in terms of customizing the function buttions in order to work quickly in AF-S and get great results.

 

It sounds like most people are working in AF-C with no problem. Maybe it's that $2200 lens I bought!!

I've done several portrait sessions since getting my 24-70GM.  I shot them using the A7R2.  Love the lens IQ but I have had trouble relying on face and eye detection in any mode when in dim light and at stops smaller than f5.6.  I've had good results with both AFS and AFC using face and/or eye detection when it's working.  I don't lose much because I test early on and if face detection and/or eye detection isn't popping up reliably on my evf under the given circumstances I don't use it for the session.  I go back to AFS focus recompose and shoot which works fine but is admittedly a sucky compromise for this modern camera.  A PIA and hard to swallow for sure but I wouldn't give up this camera combination.  The results i've had are stunning.  I usually shoot portraits at wide apertures anyway so it's not that big an issue.  Zoom in every few images and look at the eyes using the EVF (not the LCD) to confirm the setting you have is appropriate for the situation. In situations where you have a moving subject you'll need to use AFC and stop down a bit for slightly greater DOF (insurance).  If you're outside in good light that isn't likely to be an issue.  If you're inside in poor light i've had success at about f4.5  which is a decent compromise to allow some depth of field and enough light into the iris so as not to not inhibit focus. When shooting wedding receptions in dim light I've had reliable results to f11.  The catch here is I'm using wide area autofocus and sufficient DOF to get the picture. My guess is that using wide area autofocus without the limits for face or eye detection uses a larger area of the sensor which renders the iris issue moot. 

[MLWolfe]

Thank you so much to all of you for weighing in on this!

 

@EvilTed I so appreciate the lengths you've gone to re. this issue. Most memorably, when I was shooting the reception I was in AF-C @2.8, doing fine. When I stopped down to 5.6, my camera acted like the focus didn't even exist... Nothing! I was shooting groups of people dancing after that and stopped down and switched to manual focus. Even though the focus peaking was showing good focus, The pictures were a solid blur, and shutter speed was not the issue. I've had other incidents where this happens, so figured it was the iris issue!

 

Admittedly, AF-C has not been my favorite mode because I am in a long habit of choosing my own focal point, but even with the Canon, I'll use it when it's best for the situation, with no problem, I might add!

 

Last night I went to the park in the golden hour. Turned on AF-C, face detect, and was shooting kids running at 2.8 to 7.0, ISO 100, about /125th. I also shot a particular teenager who was sitting pretty still. Not one of those pics--Even a couple I shot from a tripod just to see if it would change anything--came out "crisp." They looked ok at a distance, but cropped in about 2:1, the eyes were fuzzy. The ones I shot from a tripod I switched to AF-S and focused right on his eye from about 4 feet away. Ok... But not portrait sharp. I also noticed that when I shoot into the sun with this lens, faces and eyes look like they were shot with a high ISO. Is this normal with this lens/camera combination? I don't think it's a sensor issue because I shoot landscapes into the sun that look good. I noticed it happening at another shoot and immediately switched to my Canon with 70-200. Photos were like night and day, both cameras at 100 ISO.

 

So... I have concluded that I'm done screwing around and am sending The lens in to Sony while it's still under warranty. I think I have a couple of issues going on here. Every Canon lens I use with a metabones is tack sharp, but they hunt more, so I made that $2200 investment.

 

I still admit to being uncomfortable not choosing my own focal point. Last night I had the focus zone on wide. When two kids ran in opposite directions it didn't track the one I wanted. How do you all handle that???

 

I really, really want to be able to use all the great features on this camera, but I just think at this point I can't trust that lens! I'm doing a shoot tomorrow and am going to use the 55 and see how that goes, and just use my Canon for everything else.

 

Thanks again!!

[SDeGat]

Unfortunately the iris problem is very much an issue, you can forget F16, I would suggest anything from F4 onwards & you will start to encounter major issues.

I'm new to eye focus and a bit concerned with this point. If I only have f4 lenses, eye focus will never be reliable? :-(

[jstevensphoto]

I love my A7Rii for any shooting situation, but I have gotten into the habit of shooting my grandkids faces at f4 or greater with AF-C. (F5.6, F8)   Maybe it's my shaky hands or their moving face, but I cannot get a sharp eye focus with this camera at f2.8 on my Sony 24-70.   I have tried the center wheel back button for eye Fi.    If the subject is absolutely still, no problem.