Sharpness issue with FE 70-200mm/A6500 combo

[jamiecrain]

Hi there, I have an original A7 for which have two FE Zeiss primes and the FE 70-200mm G. All works great, incredibly sharp pics. I also bought a A6500 body recently as well, mainly for use with the 70-200mm but obviously making it an effective 300mm with crop factor (I always felt 200mm was a bit short). The a6500 is clearly a good camera, but when I use the zoom lens, it is impossible to get a sharp photo. I have used the DMF focus setting and the camera is never able to get the image in focus. In fact, the focus peaking can't even find a sharp edge. I have tried switching off lens stabilisation but to no avail. By comparison, the A7 is ten times sharper, with same camera settings.

Any suggestions for improving sharpness, or is it a case that this lens simply isn't suitable for the A6500? That would be disappointing given it was a recommended combination.

Thanks, Jamie

[Pieter]

Do you get sharp photo's when using autofocus? The combo should be compatible.

[jamiecrain]

No, I've been using the DMF because the autofocus hasn't been performing. I can't get a sharp picture no matter what mode.

[LiveShots]

Sounds like a problem with the a6500. I used that lens with that camera and the photos were pin sharp. If the lens performs well on A7 then it should work on the a6500…. Make sure you have the firmware updates for A6500. If the lens firmware and camera firmware are out of sync then it could cause issues. However, the fact that you say it can't find an edge in DMF sounds more like a hardware issue.

[sixzeiss]

shutter speed

[jamiecrain]

8 hours ago, sixzeiss said:

shutter speed

 I wish it were but no. I'm shooting in normal daylight, f4, ISO100.

[jamiecrain]

10 hours ago, LiveShots said:

Sounds like a problem with the a6500. I used that lens with that camera and the photos were pin sharp. If the lens performs well on A7 then it should work on the a6500…. Make sure you have the firmware updates for A6500. If the lens firmware and camera firmware are out of sync then it could cause issues. However, the fact that you say it can't find an edge in DMF sounds more like a hardware issue.

I'm running 1.04 on the a6500. I can't update to 1.05, the file loader for the update file won't load despite following instructions EXACTLY (oh the irony). Will keep trying...

[LiveShots]

There is a different loader for the latest MAC OS if you have that. Otherwise make sure you are using the Sony cable, 3rd party cables are not all they are cracked up to be.

[jamiecrain]

14 minutes ago, LiveShots said:

There is a different loader for the latest MAC OS if you have that. Otherwise make sure you are using the Sony cable, 3rd party cables are not all they are cracked up to be.

Thanks, can you provide a link for the latest OS? I can only find the loader for 10.13 (which doesn't seem to work on either 10.13 or 10.14). Definitely using the small Sony cable. Cheers.

[LiveShots]

This is what I used on 10.13 to update my a9

https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/e-mount-body-ilce-9-series/ilce-9/articles/00196738

 

[sixzeiss]

4 hours ago, jamiecrain said:

 I wish it were but no. I'm shooting in normal daylight, f4, ISO100.

And the shutter speed is?

While you are at it, post an image with Metadata ... or use EXIF tool to extract it. There are people here with sufficient experience to determine the likely cause of your problem.

[jamiecrain]

What command should i use for EXIFTOOL? 

Also when i use the Zeiss FE 55mm 1.8 prime with this camera, the pics are as sharp as they are on the A7. I seem to only have trouble with the FE 70-200 lens. When I turn the manual focus ring all the way through, i get: very blurry-->moderate blur--> a little blur ->moderate blur -> very blurry. This pic was the best of a bunch.

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!

[tinplater]

6 hours ago, jamiecrain said:

What command should i use for EXIFTOOL? 

Also when i use the Zeiss FE 55mm 1.8 prime with this camera, the pics are as sharp as they are on the A7. I seem to only have trouble with the FE 70-200 lens. When I turn the manual focus ring all the way through, i get: very blurry-->moderate blur--> a little blur ->moderate blur -> very blurry. This pic was the best of a bunch.

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!

This image taken 200mm with my a6500.  I would suggest you try your lens on someone else's a6500 to try and see if it is a lens issue

[tinplater]

Here's a crop from above to better demonstrate sharpness..

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!

[thefsb]

exiftool -a filename

 

Did you check image stabilization config on the 6500?

[jamiecrain]

On 11/9/2018 at 2:03 AM, thefsb said:

exiftool -a filename

 

Did you check image stabilization config on the 6500?

It has always been set to Auto. Should I change it to manual/300mm?

 

[tinplater]

8 hours ago, jamiecrain said:

It has always been set to Auto. Should I change it to manual/300mm?

 

No, leave it on auto.  You need to try your lens on another a6500 body to see if it is a camera or lens issue.  I suspect camera because your lens works fine on your A7.  If it is your camera body, I would do a camera reset and try it again.  I just went outside and snapped this.  Unfortunately you can only upload 1mb of data but I am very satisfied with the sharpness of my 70-200 on A6500

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!

[jamiecrain]

Here's my metadata for the rose photo. Any thoughts?

Jamie

 

File Name                       : DSC09206.jpg
Directory                       : /Users/jamiecrain/Desktop
File Size                       : 120 kB
File Modification Date/Time     : 2018:11:08 17:47:09+11:00
File Access Date/Time           : 2018:11:08 17:52:17+11:00
File Inode Change Date/Time     : 2018:11:08 17:52:16+11:00
File Permissions                : rw-r--r--
File Type                       : JPEG
File Type Extension             : jpg
MIME Type                       : image/jpeg
JFIF Version                    : 1.01
Resolution Unit                 : None
X Resolution                    : 72
Y Resolution                    : 72
Exif Byte Order                 : Big-endian (Motorola, MM)
Photometric Interpretation      : Color Filter Array
Make                            : SONY
Camera Model Name               : ILCE-6500
Orientation                     : Horizontal (normal)
X Resolution                    : 72
Y Resolution                    : 72
Software                        : Photos 4.0
Modify Date                     : 2018:11:04 10:43:38
Exposure Time                   : 1/320
F Number                        : 4.0
Exposure Program                : Program AE
ISO                             : 125
Sensitivity Type                : Recommended Exposure Index
Recommended Exposure Index      : 125
Exif Version                    : 0231
Date/Time Original              : 2018:11:04 10:43:38
Create Date                     : 2018:11:04 10:43:38
Components Configuration        : Y, Cb, Cr, -
Compressed Bits Per Pixel       : 8
Brightness Value                : 7.74765635
Exposure Compensation           : 0
Max Aperture Value              : 4.0
Metering Mode                   : Multi-segment
Light Source                    : Unknown
Flash                           : Off, Did not fire
Focal Length                    : 200.0 mm
Flashpix Version                : 0100
Color Space                     : sRGB
Exif Image Width                : 1214
Exif Image Height               : 809
File Source                     : Digital Camera
Scene Type                      : Directly photographed
Custom Rendered                 : Normal
Exposure Mode                   : Auto
White Balance                   : Auto
Digital Zoom Ratio              : 1
Focal Length In 35mm Format     : 300 mm
Scene Capture Type              : Standard
Contrast                        : Normal
Saturation                      : High
Sharpness                       : Normal
Lens Info                       : 70-200mm f/4
Lens Model                      : FE 70-200mm F4 G OSS
XMP Toolkit                     : XMP Core 5.4.0
Lens ID                         : 65535
Lens Info                       : 70-200mm f/4
Lens                            : Sony FE 70-200mm F4.0 OSS
Flash Compensation              : 0
Create Date                     : 2018:11:04 10:43:38
Modify Date                     : 2018:11:04 10:43:38
Creator Tool                    : Photos 4.0
Date Created                    : 2018:11:04 10:43:38
Current IPTC Digest             : d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e
IPTC Digest                     : d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e
Image Width                     : 1214
Image Height                    : 809
Encoding Process                : Baseline DCT, Huffman coding
Bits Per Sample                 : 8
Color Components                : 3
Y Cb Cr Sub Sampling            : YCbCr4:2:0 (2 2)
Aperture                        : 4.0
Image Size                      : 1214x809
Megapixels                      : 0.982
Scale Factor To 35 mm Equivalent: 1.5
Shutter Speed                   : 1/320
Circle Of Confusion             : 0.020 mm
Field Of View                   : 6.9 deg
Focal Length                    : 200.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 300.0 mm)
Hyperfocal Distance             : 499.23 m
Lens ID                         : Sony FE 70-200mm F4 G OSS
Light Value                     : 12.0
 

[jamiecrain]

Hi folks, any thoughts re this meta data?