Sony a9 with Firmware version 5 Street Shooting

This video is about Real-Time Tracking AF with the Sony a9 and Firmware version 5 street shooting. It’s as if the camera sees through concrete. The a9 doesn’t have X-Ray vision but sure seems like it does when shooting street photography in Seattle.

Watch for the examples:

1:39—AF tracks a subject even when another object gets between it and the camera.
1:45—AF tracks the subject when another cyclists and semi trailer approaches.
1:59—a9 with 100-400 G Master

The AF tracks a subject even when another object gets between it and the camera 3 different times. The camera tracks a cyclist past a concrete column, then a pole; after that another cyclists and semi tractor trailer approached. I was shooting at the lowest frame rate and could’ve capture considerably more frames at 20fps with Sony’s flagship mirrorless camera.

While that’s going on, the a9 with Firmware version 5 is capturing silently and with no blackout. Short of looking through the viewfinder with me aa I capture scenes like this, that’s how I can best describe it. And, when the AF locks onto to a subject, the photographer is free to recompose the scene until the shutter is released and another subject is aquired.

Not seen for time is when the Real-Time Tracking AF loses the subject while multiple trailers pass. Then, because the focus is calculating at 60 fps, the subject is aquired again from the last location of the spot focus. What you see in the EVF is a blip of blurriness until the AF is locked on again. The camera doesn’t rerack the focus when the subject is lost; instead, it waits for the photographer to release the AF button.

I thought it was like X-Ray vision.

More about a9

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My daily shooter is Sony A1 with a vertical grip and various Sony lenses attached like the FE 20mm F1.8. Find more gear recommendations in our shop. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.