A7IV setting AF for basketball photography

[Alpino]

Hi all,

recently I've bought an A7IV, coming from a different system/brand.

At the moment I only shoot with an FE 20-70/4.

I use my camera for family portraits, landscapes and basketball photography (my daughter plays in a local team). Not professional photography, amateur only. 

I'm writing here because I'm experimenting some issues with the AF tracking in basketball action. Sure for my inexperience with the new gear, I'll try to explain.

The camera is set as follow: AF-C, face/eye detection on, tracking flexible spot M, Af sensibility 1 (locked on).

I start focusing and tracking my daughter and everything works fine. As soon as another player appears between my daughter and me, the AF immediately (!) switches to this new player, losing the original subject tracked (my daughter).

I've read that the AF sensibility set to 1 (locked on) is tuned to stick to the subject selected and follow it, ignoring anything else.

Where am I wrong?

I can't understand..

Thanks in advance 

[bjohnson]

I had similar challenges with horse photography - either other horses getting "caught" by the AF or foreground objects.

You might want to check out "Back Button Auto-Focus" - here's a good place to start for setting it up:

 

[Alpino]

Thank you bjohnson for your prompt reply.

I'll check for sure what you suggest with the back button focus.

What I'm trying is to understand how the A7IV AF works.

I mean, I've to track a moving subject, ignoring any other disturbing element.

Today I've tried (with the settings wrote in the first topic) to track not people, but a not moving object.

I've focused a light pole, than(holding down the shutter button) I've moved the camera in order to cover the active AF point (flexible spot M) by a different, closer to me, light pole. The AF camera in this situation has stayed on the original focus distance (referred to the first light pole I've focused), than, after not less than 3 seconds it has swiched the focus point on the new light pole closer to me. (I hope my poor english is understandable...).

So, with not moving object the AF tracking is reliable to me. My issues are with moving people...

Need to learn more...

[pm-r]

I did a video on this exact topic a while back: