Bird photography focus settings for A7R V

[rrutnam]

Hey guys,

My friend and I go often on birding escapades and we both shoot on the Sony 200-600mm G OSS but I have the newer Sony A7R V and he has the older A7R III. We both shoot handheld and we are often without a stabiliser in any sort.
But for some reason, his shots are more crisp and detailed and mine tend to be blurred a bit. We tried using the same settings in terms of ISO, f stop, Shutter speed and also stabilising on the lens but no prevail. I also took the extra measure of handing my camera and getting him to take a couple of shots but it is still not as detailed and crisp than the photos from his older A7R III

I am guessing, it has something to do with the focus settings and the new AI feature.

Does anyone have a similar issue and a workaround or tips to help me get over it?


Thank you in advance 🙏🏼

Best,
Raoul Rutnam
 

[rrutnam]

[ST]

Are you running the latest firmware update for the lens?
https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/lenses-e-mount-lenses/sel200600g/downloads

I can't find the documentation, but going by memory, in the previous firmware revision (2.0), there were fixes for compatibility with the A7 RV. These would also be included in the latest version of the firmware.

 

[aquabluedreams.com]

Just starting to play with the A7R5, so no real world experience with birds.  Did come across this video.

 

[JeffRVT]

I shoot w/ the same set up and a few things that might help:
- update firmware as mentioned above

- check what stabilization modes you're using on the lens (mode 1 - stationary, mode 2 - panning, mode 3 - moving/sporadically

- using auto ISO so i can focus on the right shutter speed or aperture. have been able to recover a lot of high ISO shots in editing these days 

[rrutnam]

On 7/2/2024 at 1:38 PM, ST said:

Are you running the latest firmware update for the lens?
https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/lenses-e-mount-lenses/sel200600g/downloads

I can't find the documentation, but going by memory, in the previous firmware revision (2.0), there were fixes for compatibility with the A7 RV. These would also be included in the latest version of the firmware.

 

I have updated, almost months ago but no avail 

[rrutnam]

On 7/6/2024 at 7:54 PM, aquabluedreams.com said:

Just starting to play with the A7R5, so no real world experience with birds.  Did come across this video.

 

Hey! Thank you for your reply.
I have checked this video previously but haven't found a working resolution unfortunately

[rrutnam]

On 7/15/2024 at 9:31 PM, JeffRVT said:

I shoot w/ the same set up and a few things that might help:
- update firmware as mentioned above

- check what stabilization modes you're using on the lens (mode 1 - stationary, mode 2 - panning, mode 3 - moving/sporadically

- using auto ISO so i can focus on the right shutter speed or aperture. have been able to recover a lot of high ISO shots in editing these days 

Oh! I might try that Auto ISO mode next time and see for sure! Thank you

 

[TrekRover]

Just a couple thoughts from experimenting in the past:

• Always check the distance switch limiter on the side of the lens. Sometimes I forget to switch back lol.
• The a7R5 is a bit slower due to the high MP. The rolling shutter will be a bit slower to capture each pixel. If capturing fast moving objects you may notice the rolling shutter distortion.
• Any small vibration, movement, wind will cause the shake to be magnified on a telephoto. I would recommend a monopod/tripod if photographing a slower moving/stationary bird.
• I would recommend setting the ISO manually to make the AF faster. When you set Auto ISO, the camera has to calculate what ISO to use for exposure, therefore slowing the AF.
• If you're looking for max sharpness Focus Peaking is always a handy setting.

[Greg A]

Make sure everything, everything, is set up identical. I'm glad you thought about having him use your camera. Most wouldn't go that far to think it's a technique issue. Also maybe swap lenses and see if that's the issue. Lastly while the megapixels are vastly different between these two cameras be sure that you are viewing at the exact same crop. Well he may not have gotten Sharp images with your camera did you get sharp images with his camera?