• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Sony RX10 1V the new boy. (3 Viewers)

.........you can't zoom the lens when using continuous focus tracking. ………....

Malcolm

Yes, I think you are right. One has to push the shutter button halfway down to focus again. At least that is my impression after a quick and limited try.

So you can zoom, but it goes out of focus.
 
What happens if you hold the half-press during the zooming?

Niels


I think the point is, at least as far as I understand it from what I've read, is that you can't do that. Say you lock on to a flying bird at the equivalent of 200mm zoom. If you want to then zoom in to 600mm, you have to release the shutter (or back button), zoom in and then try to re-acquire focus.

Malcolm
 
I think the point is, at least as far as I understand it from what I've read, is that you can't do that. Say you lock on to a flying bird at the equivalent of 200mm zoom. If you want to then zoom in to 600mm, you have to release the shutter (or back button), zoom in and then try to re-acquire focus.

Malcolm

Yes, for sure you can't zoom with the shutter button depressed but isn't that a different point? The original question was can you remain in continuous focus tracking while you zoom? You can lock on the subject and zoom without the shutter button depressed.
 
Thanks, Andy, I think I've got it now.:t: If you're using AF-C and therefore have to keep the shutter button half-depressed, you can't zoom. If you're using the camera's AF-C Tracking mode, you can zoom. The next obvious question is: is the tracking mode reliable?

Malcolm
 
When photographing birds in flight you do have the zoom assist option, which operates when they shutter button is half-depressed, to help you locate the bird and it quickly snaps back to your original zoom. When photographing these Swifts a couple of weeks ago I was using that option all the time.
 

Attachments

  • AF427D2D-8EB0-4E07-A9DC-02BEE7DB88E3.jpg
    AF427D2D-8EB0-4E07-A9DC-02BEE7DB88E3.jpg
    55.2 KB · Views: 139
  • 2CD80643-8148-4250-A066-116F0F18EADE.jpg
    2CD80643-8148-4250-A066-116F0F18EADE.jpg
    116.6 KB · Views: 140
Thanks, Andy, I think I've got it now.:t: If you're using AF-C and therefore have to keep the shutter button half-depressed, you can't zoom. If you're using the camera's AF-C Tracking mode, you can zoom. The next obvious question is: is the tracking mode reliable?

Malcolm

I made a point of exploring this today. Once the focus has been acquired on the subject, you can zoom in and it will either remain in focus or automatically re-focus without depressing the shutter button half way. This doesn't work so well if the subject is very distant, but for most situations it was consistent. Hope that helps.
 
That's very useful feedback, Andy. Many thanks for taking the time to post. I'm still dithering between the Sony and going down the micro four thirds route. Each has its pros and cons. I think I'm sufferng from paralysis by analysis!!

Malcolm
 
That's very useful feedback, Andy. Many thanks for taking the time to post. I'm still dithering between the Sony and going down the micro four thirds route. Each has its pros and cons. I think I'm sufferng from paralysis by analysis!!

Malcolm

Good luck paralyzing your paralysis! :-O

Niels
 
Thanks for that link, Steve. It was an interesting read. It seemed that just about everyone who had a Sony RX 10 iv was happy with it and worked within its limitations. What I found interesting – and surprising – was the debate about the difference in image quality between a one-inch sensor and a micro four thirds sensor. Some argued it was like night and day; others said the difference was negligible. All very confusing.

Malcolm
 
If you are lucky to take your pictures in good light always, then sensor size doesn’t matter. Could this be the explanation?

Niels
 
I guess it partly depends on what ISO they are using as the difference is higher at higher ISO but night and day would seem extreme. To put it into perspective my gut feeling (I don't really have the time or inclination to do proper tests) is that it is about 2 stops worse than my Canon 7d mark 2. Which should be considerably better than micro four thirds. As I usually used a f5.6 lens and the Sony has an f4 it means effectively one stop worse. As I say all gut feeling. But if you scroll back you can see a photo I took at ISO 12,800.
 
This is the kind of result you can expect with decent light.
 

Attachments

  • Corn Bunting, Abbaye de Fontcalvy 10-05-19.jpg
    Corn Bunting, Abbaye de Fontcalvy 10-05-19.jpg
    62.9 KB · Views: 133
  • Kentish Plover2, Gruissan 09-05-19.jpg
    Kentish Plover2, Gruissan 09-05-19.jpg
    68.7 KB · Views: 118
  • Black-tailed Godwit5 11-05-19.jpg
    Black-tailed Godwit5 11-05-19.jpg
    61.4 KB · Views: 119
Last edited:
Very nice indeed, Andy.:t: There's no doubt that in the right hands this is a very capable camera. One spanner in the works of my deliberations is that if I decided to go down the micro four thirds route, I was leaning towards Olympus because of the phase detect AF on their high-end cameras. Not quite sure what the future is for Olympus, though, after its recent sale to a Japanese private equity fund.

Malcolm
 
Very nice indeed, Andy.:t: There's no doubt that in the right hands this is a very capable camera. One spanner in the works of my deliberations is that if I decided to go down the micro four thirds route, I was leaning towards Olympus because of the phase detect AF on their high-end cameras. Not quite sure what the future is for Olympus, though, after its recent sale to a Japanese private equity fund.

Malcolm

No worrying times for this system - my very first SLR was an Olympus 10 - which is sad because it is a much lighter weight alternative to DSLR and if Sony don't keep pushing the RX10 range there's going to be a lack of high quality cameras which aren't a pain in the arse to lug around when your main aim is birding/wildlife watching rather than photography.
 
No worrying times for this system - my very first SLR was an Olympus 10 - which is sad because it is a much lighter weight alternative to DSLR and if Sony don't keep pushing the RX10 range there's going to be a lack of high quality cameras which aren't a pain in the arse to lug around when your main aim is birding/wildlife watching rather than photography.

This is a good point, Steve. If you're a serious photographer then a DSLR is always going to be your route. However, if like me you're a birder who wants to get some half decent shots then the Sony wins all day long.

Andy
 
Very nice indeed, Andy.:t: There's no doubt that in the right hands this is a very capable camera. One spanner in the works of my deliberations is that if I decided to go down the micro four thirds route, I was leaning towards Olympus because of the phase detect AF on their high-end cameras. Not quite sure what the future is for Olympus, though, after its recent sale to a Japanese private equity fund.

Malcolm

The Panasonic system is still there and still developing, so potentially, you could choose an oly setup now and upgrade the body in several years when Pana likely has superseded what oly is providing right now. One possible outcome of the Oly announcement is offers on their existing cameras.

Niels
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top