[Winder]

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I really love the Eye-AF and the overall AF speed. I quickly dropped the camera down low using the rear LCD to compose and make sure the image was level. I pressed the Eye-AF button and released the shutter. On AF-C High it fires off 4 frames with a single press of the button. 3 of the 4 frames had his eyes either closing or opening. I had one frame with his eyes fully open. I lowered the camera, composed, and took the shot in less than 2 seconds. I then checked the images to see if the camera even had time to focus and if the eyes were in focus. Nailed it at f/2. With AF points covering 93% of the frame I don't even have to worry about using the joystick to more the focus point or focusing and recomposing. Compose and shoot. I know a lot of people like to chant "its the photographer and not the gear" and there is a lot of truth to that, but in a lot of situations you depend on the gear to capture what your recognize as a good shot in that split second that you see it. The A7II and the K-1 both have a little latency in releasing the shutter and I don't think I could have worked fast enough with either of those cameras to get this shot. For anyone who primarily photographs people, the A9 is one of the best options on the market. The speed at which face detection and eye-AF work across nearly the entire frame is not matched by any other camera on the market the I know of. They Sony-Zeiss 35mm F/1.4 is also a great piece of gear. AF is totally silent are very, very fast. It has the Zeiss pop that I love.

[Mr. Ed]

That's a great shot. Thanks for sharing!

[The Squirrel Mafia]

That eye AF is very impressive. Sony has done a very good job with it.

[surfar]

Right at this moment rafael Nadal is playing a 4th round match at the OZ open tennis tournament.The commentators courtside made the remark of ALL those noisey camera shutters disctracting him while he was serving.So they were using CaNikon!(nobody would use Pentax!)

The golf and tennis world should be made aware that silent shutters are available and make them mandatory,cant have these distractions anymore!

[biz-engineer]

Pentax's got face recognition in live-view. I've just tried it on your image posted above with K1 and DFA24-70 (please excuse the image quality, it's a shot taken on the low res. monitor). But, if we were shooting the same subject at the same time, I'm sure K1 would have worked just fine, and we wouldn't need 4 identical frames.

[surfar]

Pentax's got face recognition in liveview. I've just tried it on your image posted above. Face recognition is instant. Perhaps you did not know about that feature.

This thread is about the $$$$$ony EYE AF. AF. AF

[BigMackCam]

Pentax's got face recognition in live-view.
...
I'm sure K1 would have worked just fine, and we wouldn't need 4 identical frames.

That may be so, but the OP is talking about the Sony A9

On the subject of the K-1, though, it has - as you rightly point out - face recognition, which is great for getting a face generally in focus (and Sony also provides a face recognition mode). Eye AF, which is a different mode, is better for ensuring critical focus specifically on the eye(s), which is especially useful if shooting with shallow depth of field...

[biz-engineer]

Eye AF, which is a different mode, is better for ensuring critical focus specifically on the eye(s), which is especially useful if shooting with shallow depth of field...

Yes, I think having eye AF is better technically, also because face recognition doesn't always work when not two eye are shown, e.g. hair of a model covering one eye, or when the face is seen on the side, I agree.

[Winder]

Pentax's got face recognition in live-view. I've just tried it on your image posted above with K1 and DFA24-70 (please excuse the image quality, it's a shot taken on the low res. monitor). But, if we were shooting the same subject at the same time, I'm sure K1 would have worked just fine, and we wouldn't need 4 identical frames.

The picture could have been taken with an 8x10 view camera had I been setup and pre-focused. That's not the point. I could have shot it with the K-1 had I been setup and waiting.... or any other camera for that matter, but I wasn't. First i would have had to put the camera into liveview and that extra second would have meant that I missed the shot. I didn't have 4 identical frames. I had 4 different frames where he was blinking in 3 of them. The number 3 shot is this one. Had I only taken one shot (the first one) his eyes would have been half closed. The K-1 liveview with face detection is simply too slow to pull off this shot unless you are setup and waiting. If you are setup and waiting then you can use the OVF.

You don't need to take pictures of the screen to show face detection will work. We all know it works. Would it have been fast enough to get this shot? My experience with the K-1 and 31mm LTD is "no" its not fast enough. Neither is my A7II. The Olympus OMD-EM1 MK2 is the only other camera that I have used that I have used that I think might be fast enough to get this shot the way I got it. I have not used a Fuji XT-2 enough to know.

[pearsaab]

excellent shot!!!

[normhead]

K-1 and 31mm LTD is "no" its not fast enough. Neither is my A7II.

It would be interesting to take that side by side with a K-P. You know 24 MP like the A9, 7 FPS instead of 20. It would be interesting to find out exactly how much frame rate you need to get the shot.

Your comparison with the K-1 is a little mystifying. It's field camera, as described by it's manufacturer. So you describe an "people/action camera" with a field camera and say "the people /action camera is better for portraits."

I am quite interested in eye tracking and face detection, my Pentax XG-1 has an implementation of it, so I like the concept, just not the Pentax implementation. Complaining that your K-1 does't do what it was not designed to do? You ruined it, for me anyway.

[gatorguy]

It would be interesting to take that side by side with a K-P. You know 24 MP like the A9, 7 FPS instead of 20. It would be interesting to find out exactly how much frame rate you need to get the shot.

Your comparison with the K-1 is a little mystifying. It's field camera, as described by it's manufacturer. So you describe an "people/action camera" with a field camera and say "the people /action camera is better for portraits."

I am quite interested in eye tracking and face detection, my Pentax XG-1 has an implementation of it, so I like the concept, just not the Pentax implementation. Complaining that your K-1 does't do what it was not designed to do? You ruined it, for me anyway.

Gosh when you can buy an A7RII for less than $200 where's the market for the A9...
Sony A7RII / A7R II / A7R2 Full-Frame Mirrorless DSLR Body | eBay

[biz-engineer]

Your comparison with the K-1 is a little mystifying. It's field camera, as described by it's manufacturer. So you describe an "people/action camera" with a field camera and say "the people /action camera is better for portraits."

You can always use a sledgehammer for a nail, just not forget to keep your fingers away. Using the world fastest camera to take portraits, I hope it works, otherwise I'm be very concerned by the money spent to accomplish the task.

[jlstrawman]

Gosh when you can buy an A7RII for less than $200 where's the market for the A9...
Sony A7RII / A7R II / A7R2 Full-Frame Mirrorless DSLR Body | eBay

No feedback as a seller? You go first.

[gatorguy]

No feedback as a seller? You go first.

Odds of actually receiving one not likely as good as winning Powerball.

---------- Post added 01-22-18 at 03:00 PM ----------

You can always use a sledgehammer for a nail, just not forget to keep your fingers away. Using the world fastest camera to take portraits, I hope it works, otherwise I'm be very concerned by the money spent to accomplish the task.

Yeah, it's a pretty pricey kit, and outside of fast sports photography where even there considering there's other less expensive sports combos, I don't know how you'd justify the price other than "I want it!"...
which is of course a very valid reason I myself use when buying camera gear. Or trucks. Or tools. .