I’ve had the Sony Nex-6 for about 5 days now and have taken a lot more sample photos, and had a chance to test how fast the new hybrid PDAF/ CDAF actually is. To do that I simple let the dogs out back at my brothers house and played fetch for a bit. Sandy is a really fast dog, and getting shots with my Pro Grade equipment is not easy!! I honestly did not have the highest expectations about my keeper rate, and the results below my surprise you!!
I also took a bunch more Sample Photos today of a bright white Church to see how well the Sony Nex-6 would handle it!! The photos and 100% crops will speak for themselves on the Church photos, and I will explain exactly how I had the camera set for the running dog photos 😉
Sony Nex-6 Hybrid PDAF and CDAF Testing
Is the Sony Nex-6’s Hybrid AF System fast enough for running dogs?? No, but it’s not bad considering how fast the dog was!!
For this type of shooting your much better off using the LA-EA2 lens adapter and an A-Mount lens with a SSM focus motor. That will yield a much higher hit rate!! Next time I get a LA-EA2 in the Lab I will re-do this test and show you the difference.
I did still manage to get a few decent shots, but the camera did not accurately focus most of the time when the dog is running towards or away from the camera. This really is not a shock as it’s hard to get these photos with my Pro Gear !!
So how did I get any good shots you might wonder? Well, luck, timing, pre-focusing, etc… There are still ways to get tuff shots like this, but the point and shoot method will not yeild good results most of the time in my opinion. By the time the focus is locked the dog has moved feet in one direction or another. I was able to pan using speed priority mode (10fps) and get several sharp shots in a row, but panning is much easier on the focus system that moving towards or away from the camera.
Sony Nex-6 Settings for Test
Just so you know I had the Sony Nex-6 and the 16-50mm Power Zoom lens set to AV Mode, 50mm, f/5.6, ISO 100, ~1/500sec, Average Metering mode. I also used both auto focus modes – AF-Continuous, and AF-Single Shot. I was also using the Speed Priority Mode at 10fps. I have the original UN-cropped photo and then a 100% Cropped version so you can see the sharpness captured.
Note: I could have increased my aperture and ISO in order to get a deeper depth of field and maintain shutter speed, but that would have made the job easier on the lens and harder to judge accurate focus.
Sony Nex-6 Dynamic Range and Highlight Detail
Moving on to some more Sample Photos using the Nex-6, we have a few architecture genre shots with a brilliant blue sky and a super bright white Church lit by the sun. You may remember this Church from the Sony DSC-RX100 Review over Here >> a few months back.
It’s a great test subject with the columns, sheer height, and the way the sun lights it up in the afternoon is killer. I also like to use the bright white as an indicator of highlight detail retention. Note how much detail is in the siding!! Also note I used +2/3rds exposure comp to compensate for the bright white Church fooling the metering mode to under expose 😉
Be Sure to Click on these sample photos for the full size!!
Here’s another sample photo taken with the same setting on the Nex-6, but zoomed in to 31mm this time.
And finally a 50mm version.
Closing Remarks
As you can see from the sample photos above, the Sony Nex-6 and the 16-50mm lens do a pretty solid job all around.
That is about it for now, be sure to check out the Sony Alpha Forum as there is a bunch of New Articles, and Threads of interest!! See below for a few of the most recent:
Have a goodnight everybody and I’ll catch up with you on the forum!
Jay
