I use both the A6400 and an A6600 and enjoy using them both. The animal eye AF allows me to concentrate on composing the image rather than always checking for critical focus.
thanks, what a straight forward easy to inderstand video. I can now use recall 2 which is set up for portraits and simply switch between animal and human eye detection - brilliant!!
Just got my a6400 for xmas. All new to me but I did just like you said in this video. Had no idea. So enjoyed your video and have subscribed. Thank you so much. Northern Michigan.
Cheers Robert. You can use Eye AF with the tracking modes when shooting stills. Although animal eye AF rarely works well when your subject is moving very fast.
Hi Tim, I’m new to Sony and its AF. You mention that other tracking is disabled when using animal AF, but in the video where Frank’s (beautiful dog) eyes aren’t visible, it looks like the camera switches to different focusing options like zone or am I mistaken? Thanks for the video.
Hi Matt. It's the tracking focus areas that are disabled, but if you use a none tracking focus area like wide or zone it will still track the eye. But if something comes between you and your subject then it will jump to that instead, whereas a tracking focus area should stick to your subject or jump straight back to it if anything comes between you. Hope that helps!
It will occasionally work on birds perched but it works better on mammals and when the eyes are clearly visible. I’ve not seen it work on birds in flight yet but unless they are extremely close then often the depth of field is great enough that it doesn’t really matter so much.
No. It's doesn't work very well for birds in flight. But I don't think it matters because unless the bird is practically at the end of your lens the depth of field will be large enough that the eyes, head and body will be in focus anyway. It only because an issue when they are very close and you are shooing with a fast aperture lens like f/2.8 or f/4. Tim
Thanks Tim for the great video I'm currently shooting MFT Panasonic G9 and 100-400mm, I photograph aviation really but the odd bit of wildlife. I been considering going FF but with budget restraints, obviously the A9 is the best body for wildlife. Would there be older body of the A series that would be good for the more predictable shooting like aviation? Or would you consider aviation to be just as demanding as BIF I'm wanting to get some more dynamic range and detail. I also been looking at the A7R Vl in APSC mode sound good with the extra magnification but this would mean me selling all my kit. I would appreciate any advice thanks Justin
Thank you Justin. I don’t think You really need the a9 for aviation. I’ve shot some with the a7III and a7R III and both are more than capable. The planes are generally bigger than birds so a lot easier to track. If you can stretch to the a7R IV then this would be a great choice with all of that cropping power and 26MP in APS-C mode. I’ve not used it yet myself but only heard positive things said about it. Otherwise I’d probably go for the a7R III over the a7III for the additional megapixels, you should get some good discounts on it now along with some good used deals with people trading in the IV. Tim
I am using a6400 I find the photographs of animals over sharpened at places and some places too soft and photo quality feels like a digital camera what do I do?
I guess it's always subjective and will also vary depending on the lens that you are using. You could always soften them in post if you feel that there are too sharp.
There are no stupid questions Peter! :) Currently the a6400, a7III, a7RIII, a7R IV and a9 all support Animal Eye AF with the latest firmware updates. - Tim
I’m interested in this system for wildlife, does this animal af focus on birds? Presently using back button centre point focusing on my canon, which is fine until the action gets close.
Hi Christopher. Right now Animal Eye AF is really only meant for animals with dog or cat like faces. It will occasionally work on birds too but it’s certainly not guaranteed. It also works best for slower moving subjects at present so birds in flight are definitely out of the question. Still, I generally find that with BIF shots I’m not normally close enough for depth of field to be an issue so eye af here isn’t so important. This is also the first version of this technology, it will no doubt be improved upon with new firmware updates and camera release. All the best, Tim
@@wanderingfool6312 I've never used the RX100V but I do have the IV which has been a great little pocket friendly camera. Another option might be to hire an 6400 fora weekend to see how well it works for you.
Eye AF doesn't really work for groups of people so your best bet is to use face detect and also step the aperture down to something like f5.6 or f8 to ensure the depth of field is sufficient that everyones eyes are in focus.
The Eye AF in video will really only be beneficial if you are shooting with an aperture like f/2.8 or faster and close up, otherwise Face AF will get the job done.
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That's the stillest dog I've ever seen in my life. Kudos to being able to take as good of pics you could with them lol
Cheers Domiinick! He's a handful! :)
Tim is also a very good Dog trainer !!
I use both the A6400 and an A6600 and enjoy using them both. The animal eye AF allows me to concentrate on composing the image rather than always checking for critical focus.
This video was SO clear and helpful! Especially as a new Sony shooter. Thank you!
Thank you Jessica. Glad to hear it helped. Enjoy shooting with the a6400! 🙂
thanks, what a straight forward easy to inderstand video. I can now use recall 2 which is set up for portraits and simply switch between animal and human eye detection - brilliant!!
I've been considering upgrading my A55 to the A6400 animal eye tracking has sold me on it :)
Your channel provides very informative contents regarding Sony cameras. Subscribed!
Thank you! :)
Does it work with fish
I don't know. But if you get to try it please let me know! :)
Did you get to try it?
Hello! Does this setting work for photography or just for video?
Great video! Thanks! It was very useful and easy to follow.
Very clear directions. I was able to follow along precisely pausing and playing to make the adjustments to my Menu settings. Thank you very much!
Glad it helped!
Just got my a6400 for xmas. All new to me but I did just like you said in this video. Had no idea. So enjoyed your video and have subscribed. Thank you so much. Northern Michigan.
Congrats on the new a6400! Glad that the video helped and thank you for subscribing! :)
How useful is this on a6400 for photographing birds? like will it also keep the body and feathers in focus as well?
Hello, is it possible to save a picture from the 6400 4k video inside the camera?
Nice Tim! Will have to update mine soon👍🏼 thanks for sharing
Thanks Kenny! Need to play around with it a lot more, but I think it might even work better on my a6400 than my a7III!
Awesome and helpful!
Will eye detect work on birds in flight?
Nice video. I wish you would show result and make comparison when af animal is open or not. 👌
Such a handsome dog!
Thanks again Alex. He’s a pest at times though. He started chewing a cupboard today!
Looking to get the A6400 but am not sure on lenses. Can you give me a few good examples of great lens options for mainly taking pictures of dogs.
Sorry for the slow reply Andrew. Did you find a lens? The Sony E 18-135 would be a good option. Or the Tamron 18-200.
Thanks for sharing! Lovely dog too :]
hello, the a6500 does not support?
top five best dog footage. Great video too!
Thank you very much!
Awesome, thank you for the video. I have both the lenses you used, just waiting for a dog to photograph!
Thanks for watching Simon. Good luck finding a dog or another suitable animal! 🙂
Thanks Alpha and Frank. Does the a6600 allow use of eye auto focus with tracking modes ? Thanks. Frank is a Rock Star !
Cheers Robert. You can use Eye AF with the tracking modes when shooting stills. Although animal eye AF rarely works well when your subject is moving very fast.
@@AlphaShooters thanks !
Thanks. Love your dog.
Could you ask sony to make the video record button to be a customizable button 😃
Thank you, I'll tell him! :)
3:09 I can't believe I actually laughed at this...
Hi Tim, I’m new to Sony and its AF. You mention that other tracking is disabled when using animal AF, but in the video where Frank’s (beautiful dog) eyes aren’t visible, it looks like the camera switches to different focusing options like zone or am I mistaken? Thanks for the video.
Hi Matt. It's the tracking focus areas that are disabled, but if you use a none tracking focus area like wide or zone it will still track the eye. But if something comes between you and your subject then it will jump to that instead, whereas a tracking focus area should stick to your subject or jump straight back to it if anything comes between you. Hope that helps!
Hi. Thanks for the video. Does this work for bird photography, especially for birds in flight? Have you tried it? Regards from Portugal.
It will occasionally work on birds perched but it works better on mammals and when the eyes are clearly visible. I’ve not seen it work on birds in flight yet but unless they are extremely close then often the depth of field is great enough that it doesn’t really matter so much.
Thanks!
Thank you, very helpful!
Glad to hear the video helped Claudia :)
Can this work with birds? I don't think it worked for me.
No. It's doesn't work very well for birds in flight. But I don't think it matters because unless the bird is practically at the end of your lens the depth of field will be large enough that the eyes, head and body will be in focus anyway. It only because an issue when they are very close and you are shooing with a fast aperture lens like f/2.8 or f/4. Tim
Thanks Tim for the great video I'm currently shooting MFT Panasonic G9 and 100-400mm, I photograph aviation really but the odd bit of wildlife. I been considering going FF but with budget restraints, obviously the A9 is the best body for wildlife. Would there be older body of the A series that would be good for the more predictable shooting like aviation? Or would you consider aviation to be just as demanding as BIF I'm wanting to get some more dynamic range and detail. I also been looking at the A7R Vl in APSC mode sound good with the extra magnification but this would mean me selling all my kit. I would appreciate any advice thanks Justin
Thank you Justin. I don’t think You really need the a9 for aviation. I’ve shot some with the a7III and a7R III and both are more than capable. The planes are generally bigger than birds so a lot easier to track. If you can stretch to the a7R IV then this would be a great choice with all of that cropping power and 26MP in APS-C mode. I’ve not used it yet myself but only heard positive things said about it. Otherwise I’d probably go for the a7R III over the a7III for the additional megapixels, you should get some good discounts on it now along with some good used deals with people trading in the IV. Tim
@@AlphaShooters thanks Tim i will look into the A7R lll especially as the prices are dropping due to there new releases. Thanks Justin
I am using a6400 I find the photographs of animals over sharpened at places and some places too soft and photo quality feels like a digital camera what do I do?
I guess it's always subjective and will also vary depending on the lens that you are using. You could always soften them in post if you feel that there are too sharp.
sorry for stupid question, i'm new to photography. which models has this features?
There are no stupid questions Peter! :) Currently the a6400, a7III, a7RIII, a7R IV and a9 all support Animal Eye AF with the latest firmware updates. - Tim
I’m interested in this system for wildlife, does this animal af focus on birds? Presently using back button centre point focusing on my canon, which is fine until the action gets close.
Hi Christopher. Right now Animal Eye AF is really only meant for animals with dog or cat like faces. It will occasionally work on birds too but it’s certainly not guaranteed. It also works best for slower moving subjects at present so birds in flight are definitely out of the question. Still, I generally find that with BIF shots I’m not normally close enough for depth of field to be an issue so eye af here isn’t so important. This is also the first version of this technology, it will no doubt be improved upon with new firmware updates and camera release. All the best, Tim
Alpha Shooters Thanks for the quick response. I might get a rx100v5a as a second camera in the meantime then. Contemplating moving to Sony.
@@wanderingfool6312 I've never used the RX100V but I do have the IV which has been a great little pocket friendly camera. Another option might be to hire an 6400 fora weekend to see how well it works for you.
Does the animal AF work in video mode? For some reason my 6400 does not allow it
I'm afraid not Joe and sorry for the slow reply. None of the Sony cameras currently support animal eye AF in video mode.
Does the Sony a6400 have eye af for human being. I mean for continuing tracking of my subject (s).
Yes the a6400 can track both human and animal eyes.
How can the Sony eye af detect the principal person if I am shooting a group of 10 persons in a wedding photographs.
Eye AF doesn't really work for groups of people so your best bet is to use face detect and also step the aperture down to something like f5.6 or f8 to ensure the depth of field is sufficient that everyones eyes are in focus.
Does this eye AF also work in video mode?
Not with the a6400 I'm afraid, but the a6600 does support Eye AF in videos.
@@AlphaShooters How much is the difference between Face AF and eye AF?
The Eye AF in video will really only be beneficial if you are shooting with an aperture like f/2.8 or faster and close up, otherwise Face AF will get the job done.
@@AlphaShooters Thank you so much.
What if you want to photograph a dog’s face next to a human’s face?
Very informative video, tnx
Glad that it helped Ivan! :)
Will it work with video?
Afraid it won’t work with video Steve, just like human eye af doesn’t work with video. Tim
Buy the Sony a6400 or Check Prices/Deals & Reviews
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Is it available in video mode?
No just stills. The a6600 gets eye AF in video mode but only for humans not animals.
Does "Animal" mean Birds?
No. There's no support for bird eye AF with the a6400 although it might work on some birds.
@@AlphaShooters Thanks.
Beautiful dog 😊
Thanks. I'll tell him! :)
@@AlphaShooters do that :)
I wanna see the pictures you took!
Sorry that I didn't include the photos here. Will definitely add them to future videos!
Just discovered that if your dog or animal has hair in their eyes, the camera has a hard time getting eye af.
Yes it won’t work too well if the eyes aren’t clearly visible. Guess your dog may need a trim! 🙂
Michael Concepcion and this is a surprise?
The dog wanted food
You used him for ur footage
Now he deserves 50 percent shares in ur channel revenue😂😂😂😂
Lol.. My UA-cam revenue does not even cover his food bills :)
How to record that? Mean record eye tracking on photo mode?
Just follow the video ;) Is there something that wasn't clear?
@@AlphaShooters ah, mean screen record on camera, how to record that?