What Sony Cameras Have Eye Focusing

Among the various improvements brought to autofocus technology over the years, I consider eye detection i of the virtually interesting. Why is this?

Well, the caption is quite unproblematic: when you take a picture of a person, achieving correct focus on the eyes is essential. If the eyes are out of focus, even just slightly, office of the identity of the person beingness photographed can't exist read and as a upshot, the emotional connectedness the eyes transmit is lost. Of form there can be exceptions if the lensman is trying to communicate a specific message, but the general dominion is that a proficient portrait must have the eyes in focus.

With face detection, it is not uncommon to end upward with the ears or the nose in focus instead, particularly if you play with shallow depth of field and shut focus distances. Some products tin can choice out both faces and optics at the aforementioned time, but if the camera concentrates its resources on but 1 thing, it tin be more efficient.

Sony is the brand that has fabricated the almost progress in this segment. Thanks to the advocacy of the company's phase detection autofocus, as well every bit the more elaborated software algorithm for subject tracking, Sony'south Eye AF has ready a benchmark in the camera market.

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Center AF works by using a single point on the eye of the person. Because it has become so reliable on the about recent E-mount products, the photographer can concentrate on expression, position and motility of the discipline without worrying about positioning the single focus betoken. The camera always follows the subject area even if he or she turns to the side. If the person turns 180˚ or disappears momentarily, Heart AF is very quick to resume tracking when the eye becomes visible again. This is why it has become a smashing tool for portrait photographers.

The next stride in the Centre AF evolution is for it to recognise other types of living beings. The principle remains the same: rather than tracking the entire torso, the camera focuses on the eye of the animal to guarantee sharpness.

Sony has introduced Eye AF for animals via a series of firmware updates. I first tested it with the A7 Iii and A7R III in March, and and then more recently with the a6400. The A9 should receive this characteristic sometime soon. It works for stills simply (no video).

Notation: if you want to know how to update the firmware of your Sony photographic camera and setup Eye AF for animals, I've left some instructions at the cease of this article.

I don't have pets at home (I live in a flat and unfortunately animals are not allowed) but many of my friends are either cat or dog lovers so it wasn't difficult to find some fluffy models to photograph.

My first outing with the A7 3 and A7R Three was very positive. Middle AF was fast and responsiveness when following the exuberant and friendly Jes. It actually felt like using the normal Eye AF that we've been accustomed to for some time now.

*A7R III, 1/1600, f/1.viii, ISO 100 – Iron 85mm 1.8*

The animal needs to be close plenty or in other words, fill a skillful portion of the frame, for eye detection to activate. If the animal is too distant, the Wide or Zone expanse do a practiced job of tracking the animal, and so keeping Eye AF in real time way worked well for me.

*A7 Three, ane/1600, f/2.8, ISO 100 – Iron 55mm 1.8 – Taken with EyeAF*

When reviewing the images at habitation, focus accuracy was spot on most of the time. In a few shots, the camera mis-focused on the nose or behind the eyes, probably because it was dislocated by the high contrast on the black fur of the domestic dog.

A7 III, 1/2000, f/iii.ii, ISO 100 – FE 55mm 1.8 – Taken with EyeAF
An example of misfocus on the middle

Later in the evening, I brought the A7 Iii on a walk in the promise of spotting some other animals. I saw a true cat hiding in the tall grass and Heart AF worked right abroad.

*A7 3, 1/400, f/5.half dozen, ISO 2000 – FE 100-400mm GM*

Then I tried it on a bunch of sheep and lambs resting in the field. With sheep information technology was less successful mainly considering they were more afar just when a few lambs decided to run closer, the camera started to observe the eye even when the fauna was facing sideways.

A7 III, 1/400, f/five.six, ISO 800 – Atomic number 26 100-400mm GM

On the seafront, I spotted some seagulls resting on the groins. Unfortunately in this case Eye AF was hopeless, even when the bird filled a large portion of the frame.

*A7 III, 1/400, f/5.6, ISO 2000 – FE 100-400mm GM*
In this example the eye wasn't detected.

Another occasion to examination Eye AF for animals came with firmware ii.0 released for the a6400 in June.

I spent a overnice time at a friend's house playing with her two dogs and 1 true cat. The puppy, Clara, is one calendar month erstwhile and wasn't easy to photograph. Non only would she not stay nevertheless for more than a few seconds, but she likewise tried to jump on my hand several times (I guess the camera looked like a prissy toy to play with).

a6400, 1/500, f/two.8, ISO 1000 – Due east 35mm 1.viii

a6400, 1/500, f/two.8, ISO 800 – Eastward 35mm 1.8

The older dog Mavis is besides black, and every time the two were in shadows with the light backside them, the camera struggled to detect the eye. When the light was favourable yet, the a6400 didn't have whatsoever trouble at all. I ended up with a few soft results, probably every bit a result of focusing too shut and the dogs not staying still, but overall the performance was solid.

a6400, 1/500, f/two.8, ISO 1600 – East 35mm i.viii

a6400, 1/500, f/2.8, ISO 1250 – E 35mm one.8

Tess the cat, who was elusive at first, decided to steal the show at some point by posing in the shade to the surprise of her possessor. The cat, being much lighter in color, was easier for the a6400 to discover even when she wasn't very shut.

a6400, i/500, f/2.8, ISO 250 – E 35mm 1.viii

a6400, 1/500, f/2.8, ISO 200 – Eastward 35mm 1.8

a6400, 1/500, f/two.8, ISO 200 – East 35mm one.8

Before wrapping up I decided to practise i more exam at home. I was curious to see how many different animals the cameras would recognise. I simply focused on my figurer screen while displaying various photos found on the web. From lions to cows, from iguanas to snakes, the recognition capabilities were pretty practiced. Dolphins didn't work but seals did. I even tried dinosaurs but information technology would often detect the eye in the wrong identify (like the nostril of the T-Male monarch!)

Some other thing I noticed is that sometimes the photographic camera won't detect the eye unless you are actually close to the subject. In one case information technology is detected, you tin move back and the middle will even so exist tracked.

Interestingly, the a6400, A7 III and A7R Three all detected the eye of an eagle and carmine kite right away, whereas seagulls weren't recognised at all, which explains why it didn't work in my existent world test earlier.

I don't recall Center AF is really necessary for birds in flight, only information technology could be useful for close-ups when certain species allow you to photo them at short distances.

I am sure that Eye AF for animals volition receive further tweaks with the next generation of firmware updates and camera bodies but I have to admit I am quite impressed by the operation so far.

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Firmware update: 15 minutes

Setup: i minute

Total Fourth dimension: xvi minutes

Difficulty: Like shooting fish in a barrel

If you lot own a Sony a6400, A7 III or A7R III mirrorless camera, you lot can use Eye AF to focus automatically on the heart of your favourite pet and many other animals.

Tools

Sony a6400, A7 Iii or A7R III E-mount camera
Estimator with cyberspace connexion (Mac or PC)
USB cable

Instructions

Part I: check and update your camera's firmware

Turn your camera on, get to page 7 in the Setup menu, select Version and check the trunk firmware version. Y'all need ii.0 or greater for the a6400, 3.0 or greater for the A7 Iii/A7R 3. If yous have the correct version, skip to the second function. If y'all need to upgrade, go to point 2.
In society to update the camera'due south firwmare, y'all need to download a software that contains the new version. To exercise that, open up a broswer page on your reckoner and navigate to the Sony Support website.
Select your photographic camera series (ILCE-6000 for the a6400, ILCE-7 series for the A7 Iii/A7R Iii), choose your camera model and get to the download department. You should see a link with the words Arrangement Software (Firmware) in it. Choose the Mac or Windows version accordingly and follow the instructions.
Make sure to have a fully charged bombardment inside the camera earlier running the update. Too, check that Mass Storage is selected in the USB Connection setting (Setup Bill of fare, folio iv). Open up the downloaded software and follow the instructions. For Mac users running Mojave (10.14), you lot may demand to open the Resources binder and double click on the SystemSoftwareUpdater.app to brand it piece of work.
The upgrade process can take about x minutes. Once it is finished, close the updater sofware and disconnect the photographic camera from your computer.

Part II: setup Eye AF for animals

Plough the camera on and navigate to the AF2 section (Shooting Menu 1, folio 6). Select Face/Heart AF Ready. and click the OK push.
Choose On in Face/Centre Prty in AF: this activates and prioritises confront and eye detection when focusing.
In Subject Detection, select Brute. Note that y'all can't track humans and animals at the same time, you always have to cull one or the other.
Ignore the Right/Left Eye Select setting: it only works with human being subjects and it is non available on the A7 Iii and A7R III.
Ignore the Face Detection Frame Display setting (you can activate it when tracking people however).
Turn on Animal Eye Brandish: it gives you a visual confirmation that the centre has been detected successfully.

Function Iii: use Center AF for animals

Make sure to have the camera fix in however mode and not moving picture style; Heart AF doesn't work for video.
Heart AF is available in AF-South, AF-A and AF-C modes, simply unless your discipline is perfectly nonetheless, I recommend to choose AF-C for better performance.
Middle AF works in real time when half pressing the shutter button (or pressing the back push button focus if your camera is configured that fashion): you should see the pocket-size green rectangle overlaying the eye of the animal on the LCD monitor or viewfinder. To make certain Eye AF works properly, select a large Focus Area such as Wide or Zone.
Accept a shot and enjoy!

Notes

Some other method to use Eye AF is to assign it to a Custom Key (function button). The advantage in this example is that the custom central will override any focus area selected, and then you don't have to worry about choosing a big focus area such as Zone or Wide.

Get to Custom Operation ane (page viii in the Shooting Carte 2) and enter Custom Cardinal.
Choose which button you lot want to assign Eye AF to, and scroll the listing until you find Eye AF (information technology should exist around page 6/AF3). Click ok, then exit the menu.
Compose your image, press and hold the custom key y'all chose in bespeak ii to start tracking the heart.

Tips and tricks

If the eye is not detected, effort to get closer to your subject area. Eye AF activates when the animal fills a good portion of the frame.

If the animal is dark (black fur for example), you'll accept better chances if it is in a favourable light position.

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