RSS
 

Posts Tagged ‘technologies’

Home on the range: Exploring Sony’s AF technologies on people and animals

29 Sep

Sony’s current range of Alpha and RX-series cameras are packed with the company’s latest autofocus technologies. These include highly advanced face and eye-detection for both human and animal subjects.

Photographer and Rancher Alyssa Henry lives with her family on her ranch in Montana. A perfect location – and perfect subject-matter – to put Sony’s latest autofocus technologies to the test.

Home on the range: Sample images

$ (document).ready(function() { SampleGalleryV2({“containerId”:”embeddedSampleGallery_8639258908″,”galleryId”:”8639258908″,”isEmbeddedWidget”:true,”selectedImageIndex”:0,”isMobile”:false}) });

This is sponsored content, created with the support of Amazon and Sony. What does this mean?

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Home on the range: Exploring Sony’s AF technologies on people and animals

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Sony’s speedy Xperia 1 Mark II shoots 20 fps with AF/AE technologies borrowed from the a9

24 Feb

Sony has announced the Xperia 1 Mark II, with improvements to the Mark I’s rear triple camera array and class-leading burst shooting mode. Technology borrowed from the company’s professional Alpha 9 full-frame interchangeable lens camera allows the Xperia 1 Mark II to shoot at up to 20 fps while maintaining continuous autofocus and auto exposure. Sony’s excellent real-time eye AF tracking for human and animal subjects is included and, like the Sony a9, autofocus and auto exposure calculations are performed at 60 times a second.

The Mark II maintains a similar triple camera to its predecessor’s, but with some notable enhancements. The main camera now uses a 12MP 1/1.7″ sensor, which is pretty big by smartphone standards, collecting nearly 50% more light than the 1/2.55″ sensors found in competitors from Apple and Google. It has a slightly wider 24mm equiv. F1.7 lens in front of it, which is optically stabilized.

It now uses a 12MP 1/1.7″ sensor –
pretty big by smartphone standards

The main camera uses dual photo-diode phase detection AF with 70% coverage, and a new 3D time-of-flight (ToF) camera helps improve autofocus performance, particularly in low light. No word yet on whether or not the ToF camera is used to improve the depth map generated from the dual pixel sensor for the camera’s bokeh mode.

The telephoto module is now more ‘telephoto’, with a 70mm equivalent field-of-view, up from 52mm. The lens aperture remains the same at F2.4, and only sparse phase-detection, as opposed to dual pixel, autofocus is available, meaning you can expect some hunting, particularly as light levels drop. Optical image stabilization is available on this module. A 16mm equivalent F2.2 camera provides an ultra-wide field-of-view, and the dual pixel design of its 1/2.6″ sensor allows it to achieve fast autofocus performance.

Neither of these modules offers 20 fps burst rates or 60 fps AF/AE calculations, nor does either support real-time eye AF for humans and animals. It’s worth noting though that the Xperia 1 did support eye tracking for humans with its telephoto module, so we suspect some form of eye detection AF will be available on the 70mm equiv. camera, particularly as it would benefit the phone’s bokeh mode.

The Xperia 1 provided a user interface tailored to pro video shooters, and the Mark II introduces a similar UI for still photographers. Photo Pro mode as Sony is calling it doesn’t replace the standard, more simplified camera app, but is offered in addition to it, with direct touch access to exposure settings. Here Sony is aiming for a consistent user experience across its phones and ILCs. Other UI improvements have been made; for example, you can now simply tap on either a human or an animal in your scene to instantly switch between human and animal eye detection.

The Xperia 1 Mark II maintains the unusually wide display format that the Mark I used, offering a 21:9 6.5″ HDR OLED. Sony claims a color gamut wider than DCI-P3, and a peak brightness of 1000 and 400 nits for 1% and 100% APL (average picture level), respectively, for HDR content. Direct white balance controls are now available for the display, allowing you to choose a desired correlated color temperature. A new ‘motion blur reduction’ mode allows the display to be driven at a 90Hz refresh rate, for smoother scrolling and animation, and Sonly also claims the display has enhanced touch sensitivity, which may mean a higher touch sampling rate.

‘Photo Pro’ mode allows you to see and access common shooting settings like shutter speed, AF mode, and even emulate buttons like AF-ON and AEL. To switch between human and animal eye AF, simply tap on the desired subject.

On the video front, Sony has added 60p and 25p frame rate options to its class-leading 4K HDR mode, making it one of only a handful of smartphones on the market capable of true 4K/60p HDR capture. Like the Mark I, video is encoded using HEVC, with an HLG gamma curve and 10-bit encoding in the wide BT.2020 color space. And whereas previously only center-priority AF was available in video, the Mark II allows you to tap on any subject to rack focus to it. No word yet on whether face or subject tracking are available when shooting video.

In a rare move for modern phone makers, Sony has decided to bring back the 3.5mm headphone jack. The Mark II also offers two front-firing stereo speakers, and Dolby Atmos playback is available. Sony claims the signal:noise ratio of audio has been improved, with a ten-fold reduction in noise. The Xperia 1 Mark II is also the world’s first smartphone to feature 360 degree reality audio.

The Mark II retains its predecessor’s IP 65/58 rating, meaning it’s completely sealed against dust, and will also withstand lower pressure spray as well as total immersion in water. Gorilla Glass 6 protects both the front and rear of the device.

Sony Xperia Pro development

Also under development is an Xperia Pro, which will essentially be an Xperia 1 Mark II with 5G mmWave connectivity optimized for fast upload speeds to assist in a professional workflow. Sony says the device can be used as a high-resolution, color-accurate monitoring device for a dedicated camera via HDMI connection, and will also be able to beam high bit-rate video feeds for broadcast.

No pricing or availability has been given for the Xperia Pro or Xperia 1 Mark II at this time.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Sony’s speedy Xperia 1 Mark II shoots 20 fps with AF/AE technologies borrowed from the a9

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Guide: How to get the most out of Sony’s autofocus technologies

03 Dec

Getting the most out of Sony’s autofocus technologies

After years of development, Sony’s mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras offer among the most advanced autofocus technologies on the market, allowing photographers to create pictures that simply wouldn’t be possible with other systems.

Sony was among the first manufacturers to add phase-detection autofocus pixels onto a camera’s main imaging sensor, which allows for ultra-precise focus. A wide spread of AF points and intelligent scene recognition algorithms are standard in Sony’s market-leading a6000-series, a7-series and a9 cameras, allowing for powerful and accurate subject tracking. While these technologies are obviously useful for shooting fast-paced sports and action, features like face detection, Eye-AF and Direct Manual Focus (DMF) can also be employed for portraiture, landscape photography and video work.

In this article, we’ll be outlining some key use-cases and recommending how to set up your Sony camera’s autofocus system to get the best results.

Sports and action

Because, unlike a DSLR, there’s no mirror in the way, the millions of pixels-worth of data from the image sensors in mirrorless cameras can be used to feed the cameras’ autofocus and metering systems in real time. This allows for sophisticated object recognition and tracking. Autofocus data is also taken from the main imaging sensor itself, which means that AF is inherently more accurate than conventional DSLR systems.

The flagship sports-oriented Sony a9 for example features 693 phase detection autofocus points offering 93% coverage across the image area (illustrated above). Having so many AF points – and such a wide spread – makes it possible for the camera to accurately track action right out to the edges of the frame – something that isn’t always possible with other full-frame cameras. Here are our recommended settings for shooting sports and action:

Recommended AF settings for sports and action:

  • Focus Mode: AF-C
  • Focus Area: Lock-on AF: Flexible Spot M

How to use: Frame your composition so the AF point is over your subject, then half-depress the shutter to start tracking it. At this point you can recompose the scene however you want, and your subject will continue to be tracked. To switch subjects, simply release the shutter, reframe to place the AF point over your new subject, and half-depress the shutter again.

Notes / Tips: This AF setup is also useful for more general photography: if you identify your subject by placing the AF point over it and engaging AF, the camera will keep track of it for you, making sure it’s perfectly focused when you take your shot.

For some types of fast-action photography, like birds-in-flight, air shows, or any situation where your subject is the nearest object in the scene or well isolated against distant objects, you can often trust the camera to automatically identify the subject and focus on it. This avoids the need for you to reframe and place the AF point over your subject before initiating AF, saving you time and helping you capture the moment faster. To try this way of working, switch the camera’s Focus Area to ‘Wide’, or use ‘Recall Custom Hold’* to assign a custom button to this focus mode so you can instantly activate it in fast-paced situations.

*Only available on A9, a7R III and a7III Alpha cameras.

Portraits

For the serious portrait photographer, Eye AF is fantastic, letting you focus more on posing and expression and leaving the camera to do the rest. With Eye AF enabled, a Sony camera will continue to track your subject’s eye, even when firing away at fast frame rates, which makes it a great option for catching just the right expression.

Sony’s Eye AF system is very ‘sticky’ in that once it’s been set to track a subject it rarely jumps off to someone else in the scene, even if your subject moves or momentarily turns away from the camera. And because of the wide AF area coverage, Eye AF will track your subject right out to the edges of the frame – this is useful for off-center compositions or erratic subjects like kids.

Recommended AF settings for portraits:

  • Focus Mode: AF-C
  • Focus Area: Flexible Spot M (or L)
  • Button Assignment: Assign Eye AF to AF-ON

How to use: If you have multiple people in the frame and are using any AF area other than ‘Wide,’ you can place that AF area over one of your subjects, and when you initiate Eye AF, it will track that person’s eye. To switch subjects, release the Eye AF button, place your AF area over the other person, and re-initiate. If you simply want to focus on a person yourself, just place your AF point over the desired portion of your subject, and half-press the shutter to focus.

Notes / Tips: If you only have a single person in the scene, or you’re happy to let the camera choose a face to focus on on its own (usually the nearest), switch Focus Area to ‘Wide’, then just press the Eye AF button.

Note that while we recommend assigning Eye AF to AF-ON for ease of use, you may wish to assign it to the AEL button if you prefer to use the AF-ON button for back-button focus.

Travel and general photography

As well as offering powerful autofocus features designed for portraiture and capturing fast-moving sports and action, Sony cameras are incredibly versatile when it comes to day-to-day photography. For general everyday and travel photography with Sony’s mirrorless cameras , we recommend the following autofocus settings:

Recommended AF settings for general photography:

  • Focus Mode: AF-S
  • Focus Area: Wide (Face Priority in AF: On)

How to use: For general photography, we recommend you simply let the camera choose what to focus on. It will focus on faces in the scene, and prioritize nearer subjects over further ones.

Notes / Tips: If you wish to take control, just assign a button – like a central press of the AF joystick – to ‘Recall Custom Hold’* and set its options to activate AF-S Focus Mode and Center Focus Area, with AF activation. That will allow you to quickly revert to the tried-and-true ‘focus and recompose’ method if necessary.

*Only available on A9, a7R III and a7III Alpha cameras.

Landscape photography

Traditionally, landscape photography has been the domain of manual focus, but even with static subjects, autofocus can be a huge time-saver. Here’s how we recommend you set your Sony camera’s AF for shooting landscapes.

Recommended AF settings for landscape photography:

  • Focus Mode: DMF
  • Focus Area: Flexible Spot: M (or L)
  • Button Assignment: Assign a custom button to focus magnifier

How to use: Compose your scene, then place the AF point over a portion of the scene you want focused. Use the focus magnifier to zoom into that region, then half-press the shutter to focus. While the shutter button remains half-pressed, you can turn the focus ring on the lens to fine-tune focus, then take your shot.

Notes / Tips: Using this technique, autofocus quickly gets you close to where you need to be, then it can be fine-tuned to achieve the correct balance of foreground and background sharpness for expansive scenes.

Video

Advanced HD and, more recently, 4K video features have been included in Sony’s E-mount mirrorless cameras from the very beginning, and Sony’s E-mount lenses are optimized for movie autofocus requirements as well as stills photography. Traditionally, a lot of filmmakers would rely on manual focus when shooting video, but Sony’s mirrorless cameras’ hybrid on-sensor autofocus systems function just as well (and in exactly the same way) when shooting stills and video, making AF useful and practical for videography.

Here are our recommended settings for video:

Recommended AF settings for video:

  • Focus Mode: AF-C
  • Focus Area: Wide (Face Priority in AF: On)
  • Center Lock-on AF: On

How to use: On their own, Sony cameras are capable of intelligently focusing in video, prioritizing faces and nearer objects, and smoothly racking focus when switching between subjects to focus on. If you turn ‘Center Lock-on AF’ on in the menus, you can choose which subject the camera should track (even if it moves around the frame) by simply tapping on it on the LCD. If your camera has a touch-sensitive screen, to switch to a different subject, you can just tap on it.

Notes / Tips: You can even customize how quickly the camera refocuses on your subject. In the menu, ‘AF Track Sensitivity’ tells the camera how responsive it should be subject movement, with the ‘Responsive’ setting best used for constantly and rapidly moving subjects. ‘AF Drive Speed’ controls how quickly the camera drives the lens focus element: ‘Slow’ yields the smoothest results, but ‘Fast’ is great for rapidly moving subjects and run-and-gun videography.

Note: Remember to turn Center Lock-on AF ‘Off’ before returning to stills shooting, or set up a separate Memory Bank for video shooting so its settings don’t interfere with your stills settings.

This is sponsored content, presented by Sony. What does this mean?

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Guide: How to get the most out of Sony’s autofocus technologies

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Sony interview: ‘If cameras are going to develop, manufacturers have to develop mirrorless technologies’

16 Mar
Kenji Tanaka, Senior General Manager of Sony’s Digital Imaging Business Group, pictured in Yokohama for the 2018 CP+ show.

At the recent CP+ show in Yokohama, we sat down with executives from several major camera and lens manufacturers. Among them was Kenji Tanaka, of Sony. In our interview we discussed the new a7 III, as well as Sony’s plans to attract more professional users, without ignoring entry-level and APS-C customers.

The following interview has been edited slightly for clarity and flow.

What is your target customer for the new Alpha a7 III?

We describe it as a basic model but maybe our definition is different [to other manufacturers]. What we mean is that any customer can use this model. Many professionals could use the a7 III, I think. I hope that many kinds of customer will be happy with this model, so we’re not strictly defining a target customer for the a7R III.

The new Sony Alpha a7 III is ostensibly an entry-level model in Sony’s a7-series lineup but despite its relative affordability, it’s packed with features.

Sony had a very busy year last year – what are your priorities going into 2018 and beyond?

We’re displaying the 400mm F2.8 [at CP+] – of course many articles are written about the a7 III, but as well as the camera bodies, the lenses are very important. Especially lenses like the 400mmm F2.8 – sports photographers are a new category for us.

One of the most important lenses for sports photographers is the 400mm F2.8

Last year we launched the a9 and some sports photographers are already using the a9, for example at the Olympics, but one of the most important lenses for sports photographers is the 400mm F2.8. The weight is very light. Usually sports photographers use monopods because the lenses are very heavy, but the weight of our 400mm F2.8 is very light, and you can use it handheld, which makes it easy to create different kinds of photographs. We already announced the development of this lens, and the launch is scheduled for this summer.

How important is feedback from sports photographers?

It’s very important. Not only when it comes to quality, but also durability. The winter Olympics for example, with the low temperatures, whether a product works in those tough conditions is very important. Whether or not we will launch a new product, the proof of concept is very important.

For a product aimed at a hobbyist, maybe it’s less important but for the 400mm F2.8 we’re really dedicated to create a ‘monster’ lens.

Sony was showing a prototype of its forthcoming 400mm F2.8 at CP+, which Mr. Tanaka sees as an essential weapon in Sony’s arsenal of lenses if the company is going to attract professional sports photographers to the brand.

There have been questions about the weather sealing of a7-series and a9 cameras. Is this something you want to address?

In really bad conditions, in really heavy rain, will photographers keep on taking pictures [for long periods of time?] I don’t think so. In those conditions, most photographers will use some kind of rain cover. But of course durability is very important. Photographers should be able to shoot [in poor weather]. We have an internal ‘weather test’ and for each kind of customer we will aim to produce products with adequate durability.

For a professional camera, the requirement for durability is higher

Is that something that your professional users are asking for?

Yes. But we need a balance between durability, and size and weight. For a professional camera, the requirement for durability is higher, but for hobbyist kinds of camera, the priority is smaller size and lower weight.

Tamron and Sigma are now creating lenses for Sony FE – is this a good thing for Sony?

Yes, it’s a good thing. The E-mount is an open standard – anyone can create a lens for the E-mount system. Of course there are criteria for compatibility, but because we think that the E-mount is a good technology, we think that the open format is good for the market and good for customers.

Tamron’s first lens for full-frame Sony mirrorless cameras will be the upcoming 28-75mm F2.8 zoom. Sigma is planning its own range of native E-Mount primes and zooms, too.

How long will it be before Canon and Nikon join Sony and mirrorless full-frame becomes the norm?

This is just my personal opinion, but I think that maybe by next year’s CP+ you’ll see full-frame mirrorless cameras from Canon and Nikon. I think [by then] they will be participating in this market.

If cameras are going to develop, manufacturers have to develop mirrorless technologies

Just look at our technologies, like eye focus. All of those are made possible because of data from image sensors. In DSLRs, the data comes from separate sensors. The main imaging sensor is blacked out, 90% of the time by the mirror. The sensor is turned off. But the imaging sensor is very important. So if cameras are going to develop, and be able to capture the moment [more effectively], manufacturers have to develop mirrorless technologies. So within one year, I think.

Do you think we’ll see mostly mirrorless cameras at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo?

Yes.

How many of those cameras do you want to be made by Sony?

Many! But the professional market is very conservative, so we’re taking it step by step. We saw some photographers using the Alpha 9 at this year’s winter Olympics but of course the majority was Canon and Nikon. But the number of Sony photographers is increasing.

The Sony Alpha a9’s innovative wide-coverage autofocus system makes it a powerful tool in the hands of an experienced sports photographer.

A lot of our readers want more Sony APS-C lenses…

We know that some people think we’ve neglected the APS-C market, but it’s just an issue of prioritization. A couple of years ago we introduced the a6500. Then the next year we introduced the a9, and the a7R III. But we think that the APS-C market, and APS-C customers are both very important, because the majority of the market is APS-C, and we’re developing many kinds of APS-C products, so please be patient – we will never ignore APS-C.

Some of your competitors keep flagship products up to date over time with firmware updates. This seems like the opposite strategy to Sony. Is this something that might change?

We’re still in the early stages of challenging the market with our products, and the new model cycle is relatively rapid, compared to our competitors. But the next step is to increase our market share. And if we want to reach new customers, we need [to make] new types of cameras.

We’re still in the early stages of challenging the market with our products, and the new model cycle is relatively rapid

Sony makes a lot of key devices, for example image sensors and processors. I’m originally an engineer. Engineers always want to provide the latest sensor, the latest processor, and so on. Maybe this is one of the reasons our product release cycle is faster than some of our competitors. [But] user-upgradable software is very important. Our new model cycle is speedy, however I think that firmware updates are something we should offer.

Editor’s note:

Our conversation with Mr. Tanaka was candid and interesting, coming in the middle of a very busy period for Sony. The company has released a lot of high-end products over the past 18 months, and shows no signs of slowing down. We don’t know how far out the new 400mm F2.8 sports lens is, but given recent sightings of at least one working prototype ‘in the wild’ at the winter Olympics, it could be pretty imminent.

Mr. Tanaka knows that Sony won’t have the full-frame mirrorless field to itself for much longer, and welcomes the competition

Mostly I came away from this interview with the strong sense that Sony isn’t planning on resting on its laurels. Mr. Tanaka knows that his company won’t have the full-frame mirrorless field to itself for much longer, and welcomes the inevitable competition from established DSLR manufacturers like Canon and Nikon, as well as third-party lens manufacturers like Sigma and Tamron. As he correctly points out, some of the most useful features to emerge in the photography market in recent years could only have been possible thanks to mirrorless technologies, and Sony deserves enormous credit for developing and perfecting many of these technologies faster than any other manufacturer.

Sony will not ignore either APS-C users, or entry-level full-frame customers

It was very reassuring to hear Mr. Tanaka stress the importance of durability, as well as technology in Sony’s high-end cameras. Concerns have been raised about the ability of some of its products to withstand use in wet conditions, but clearly this is something that the company is mindful of – especially in cameras and lenses designed for professional use.

That’s not to say that Sony is focused entirely on breaking into the professional market. Mr. Tanaka was at pains to reassure us that Sony will not ignore either APS-C users, or entry-level full-frame customers. The new a7 III is proof of the latter point – a ‘basic’ model in Sony’s terminology, but one that I suspect will satisfy the needs of many enthusiasts and even professionals.

Previous Sony interviews:

CP+ 2017 – Sony interview: ‘We need to offer new imaging experiences’

‘We want to make lenses that can be used forever’: Sony engineer discusses G Master lenses

Interview: Kimio Maki of Sony – ‘the customer’s voice is the most important data for me’

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Sony interview: ‘If cameras are going to develop, manufacturers have to develop mirrorless technologies’

Posted in Uncategorized

 

HumanEyes Technologies shows off Vuze VR 360 degree 3D camera

21 Sep

At HumanEyes Technologies’ Photokina booth we had the chance to look at some of the first production models of the Vuze VR 3D 360 degree cam, first announced at the Cannes Festival in May. The camera uses 8 Full-HD cameras with wide-angle lenses that are arranged in pairs on the corners of the device to record 360 degree video in 3D. Of course you can also record standard 2D footage at a 4K output resolution and 30 frames per second. Each lens covers a 120 degree angle of view horizontally and 180 degree vertically.

A standard tripod mount allows for easy mounting to any camera support, including the combined tripod/grip that comes in the package. The camera is operated via a single button on the device and settings can be changed via the Vuze App on any smartphone. The app also allows for management of footage that has already been saved on the microSD card and for a preview of the final video. 

Stitching and editing of recorded footage is done in the Vuze Studio software on a PC or Mac and final results can be viewed on the included VR headset that is compatible with most smartphones. The Vuze will be available soon for $ 799.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on HumanEyes Technologies shows off Vuze VR 360 degree 3D camera

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Unified Color Technologies introduces HDR Expose 3 and 32 Float v3

24 Jul

HDR_Expose_3_box_shot_hi_res.png

Unified Color Technologies has announced HDR Expose 3 and 32 Float 3 – the latest versions of its HDR software. HDR Expose is the company’s stand-alone software, which works in the company’s ‘Beyond RGB’ 32-bit color space and attempts to manipulate chroma and luminance data separately, while 32 Float is a Photoshop plugin built on the same principles. The latest versions gain improved tone mapping tools that attempt to retain local contrast while increasing the overall range of tones included in the final image, along with upgraded alignement and de-ghosting.

News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Unified Color Technologies introduces HDR Expose 3 and 32 Float v3

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Fujifilm X100S retains retro looks while adding cutting-edge technologies

08 Jan

fujifilm_x100s.png

Fujifilm has announced the X100S – a significantly enhanced replacement for its X100 large sensor, fixed-lens compact camera. The X100S retains its predecessor’s classic styling but has been extensively re-worked inside, with a 16MP X-Trans sensor that includes on-chip phase-detection elements (a technology first utilized by Fujifilm), and a higher-resolution LCD in its Hybrid optical/electronic viewfinder. A faster ‘EXR II’ processor, along with the on-chip AF information help Fujifilm offer what it says is the world’s fastest AF. The X100S backs-up its rangefinder-esque looks with a digital split-image manual focus system, allowing fast manual focusing. A great many fine details of the camera have also been enhanced – we look in greater detail in our hands-on preview article.

News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Fujifilm X100S retains retro looks while adding cutting-edge technologies

Posted in Uncategorized