A7R mk 3 autofocus voes

arj wrote: Wait a minute! So you are telling me the A7 series does not keep the lens aperture wide open until I press the shutter but it sets the aperture to my preset aperture and keeps it there until I change it? That makes no sense to me.

Why doesn't it make sense to you? It simply is a different way of doing things. It has some benefits and some downsides - like all things.

Wait a minute! So you are telling me the A7 series does not keep the lens aperture wide open until I press the shutter but it sets the aperture to my preset aperture and keeps it there until I change it?

That makes no sense to me.

If I remember correctly, the A7III will focus using phase detect at smaller apertures over f8, but the A7rIII won't. A7III was introduced after the A9 and inherited some of its AF performance. The A7rIII introduced at least a year earlier didn't have that and the AF points don't cover as much of the sensor. I think I have read that about turning of steady shot at very fast shutter speeds, but I have no experience with such fast speeds.

Using wide and stopping down to F10. In general the overall experience with the A7R3 is good and the keeper rate is high, but not so good when things start moving too fast around me.

Also, I noticed that disabling the OSS on the 200-600mm lens yields better results. Either the lens is overcompensating or just not performing better with OSS on. Tried all 3 modes, but just disabling OSS yields best results.

arj wrote: Hobgoblin wrote: If this is the A7riii and not the A7riiia what version of firmware does it have? There were firmware upgrades for the A7riii some time back which was supposed to upgrade the AF. Apologies, it is the A7RM3A. But as far I know that is basically the A7RM3 with upgrades to LCD and better battery life, no changes to AF as such.

OK then there is no upgrade as the A7riiia incorporated all the upgrades that had been released for the A7riii.

Maros,
I'm no expert at photographing jet aircraft, but I would expect it to be challenging for any camera and lens combo! Of course you need a very fast shutter speed and smaller aperture for more depth of field, but really I would not expect that aircraft to be that close so maybe they should be more towards infinity? Anyway the lens would also need to be able to focus quickly, which I would expect of that lens. Also the camera needs some vertical lines to lock on to. I'm sure there are members here that have experience here with jet aircraft and like I say, I don't. I shoot a lot of trains, and they are never that fast moving. I still have to remember t keep my shutter speed up. I use lock on flexible spot a lot. I know where the train is coming from and set the camera up to focus at the point. It will then lock on and track the train. I use the AF on button for focus (back button focus) and shoot in manual mode with auto ISO so that I have the shutter and aperture that I need. But I'm using the A7III not the "r".
Hopefully you get some input from others here that have the A7rIII and shoot aircraft. Let us know if you get this figured out. Have you watched any of Mark Galer's tutorials. He provides some good advise on settings for the A7III and A7rIII. I'm interested in what you find because I would like to eventually upgrade to an "r" series if the price is right.
Regards,
Kelly

Hezu wrote: Hobgoblin wrote: If this is the A7riii and not the A7riiia what version of firmware does it have? There were firmware upgrades for the A7riii some time back which was supposed to upgrade the AF. I still have a feeling that despite the firmware updates, α7R III lags a nod behind in AF capabilities when compared with the newer cameras (and α9 that came little earlier) and this is most evident in fast action situations.

I don't doubt that the A7iv and a7riv have better autofocus as does the A9 but the OP has the A7riii and if it was bought used or is older stock it may not have been updated to the latest version which was supposed to improve AF.