Very frustrating evening

Got my 70-200 2.8 G and 85 1.4 G from the seller. 85 Woudn't focus for a darn and the 70-200 wasn't as tack sharp as I thought it should be. Shot several hundred photos and I was very disappointed. Was about to revert to my Canon stuff for good.

Then I started looking into the issue. My 85 wouldn't focus for nothing in AF-S mode... I researched it and found out that there has been a known issue and the resolution was to update the firmware. Sure enough... it needed updating and as soon as it was done both lenses are tack sharp... focus great... wow.

So.. one final test. Need to do some real world testing at my sons game and gonna give this setup about two weeks and if I'm still impressed then bye bye ALL canon stuff.

I'm slower to adapt, slower to change, and slower to make a decision. I also decided to migrate Canon to Sony. But I'm giving myself 6-18 months to really decide.

Admittedly, this means I'm kind of crippling the Sony as I will have just a few native lenses and otherwise I'll be adapting. But this is because one of my drivers is that I'm expecting to be out of the sports shooting game in 18 months, and I'm not really gung-ho to learn a new system and shoot sports with it too.

As I see it, it took me a long time to go from fair to good at shooting sports, and some chunk of that is my comfort in using Canon. I'd not be comfortable in assessing a wholesale change too quickly because the new gear will always be at a disadvantage due to my own ineptitude with it.

So I don't have great advice for you. My own path is different, but I guess I do caution to watch out for the difference between "the camera does this" and "I don't know how to make the camera to this."

So far I'm seeing that in situations I understand, the Sony can be very good. It also sometimes makes me crazy when I can't figure out a setting or don't know how to get it to do something. I think there is a nuance to the AF. Like....the Sony is super flexible and has great software. But it also acts like the AF sensors (despite having 600+ sensor locations) are not cross sensitive and so in some ways worse than Canon. That (IMO) is why it hunts in situations where (to me) it seems like it should not. That's the kind of detail that you can only learn by using and trying.

For now I still own the vast majority of my Canon stuff. I also have to fight off the urge to accelerate the move. Bonus was really good at work this year, and with a spring trip coming up I was super tempted to get a FE 24-70 GM or FE 24-105 G OSS. But why? The stuff I'll be shooting on this trip is landscapes, and the Canon 24-70/2.8 II is going to be perfect for that adapted. So I held off.

Hey....one more thing to remember. Your money is making about nothing in any interest bearing account. So it's not a horrible investment to leave your money tied up in Canon gear while you try out the Sony stuff. I know you (Talley) have enough cash in general to run two systems for a while. That's just money that won't be earning you a tidy 0.25% otherwise.

And if you go Canon - Sony - Canon eventually, having left the money in Canon will have been better. The vigorish on trading is a killer.

Talley wrote in post #18585871
Got my 70-200 2.8 G and 85 1.4 G from the seller. 85 Woudn't focus for a darn and the 70-200 wasn't as tack sharp as I thought it should be. Shot several hundred photos and I was very disappointed. Was about to revert to my Canon stuff for good.

Then I started looking into the issue. My 85 wouldn't focus for nothing in AF-S mode... I researched it and found out that there has been a known issue and the resolution was to update the firmware. Sure enough... it needed updating and as soon as it was done both lenses are tack sharp... focus great... wow.

So.. one final test. Need to do some real world testing at my sons game and gonna give this setup about two weeks and if I'm still impressed then bye bye ALL canon stuff.

I just went through similar with 85 gm..had it boxed up and everything ready to return. Then found out afc is the way to go, glad I took it for one more run of testing , it's am awesome lens

Your new avatar and sigline have me a little concerned, talley.

Everything okay?

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #18593129
Your new avatar and sigline have me a little concerned, talley.

Everything okay?

When I first saw the avatar I was concerned the moustache had gone up in flames.

He pushed th AF on that poor little Sony so hard it torched the stache.

rantercsr wrote in post #18587933
I just went through similar with 85 gm..had it boxed up and everything ready to return. Then found out afc is the way to go, glad I took it for one more run of testing , it's am awesome lens

Is AF-C suggested even for static subjects? What if you didn't use eye focus?

I never would have imagined requiring AF-C for slow/static subjects. Not saying it's a wrong approach but it's something I never would have thought to do for portraits. hmmmmm

According to some of the more knowledgeable fellas over in the sony lounge thread , they stay in afc.
And so I'm trying to do the same. Although now I have to get used to back button focus

I found a fault.

While half pressing shutter for focusing for AF-C... you cannot move the focus points via joystick.

I don't BBF because I will change focus points during servo so I keep index on the shutter and thumb on the joystick... that is how I do it with canon but cannot with sony.

That’s not a fault, it’s by design

then the design is a fault

Just saying.

on a serious note though why can’t you select the focus point before pressing the shutter button half way? I’ve been trying to think of a scenario where I would have to have the af engaged with a half press and then move the focus point but can’t (I appreciate we probably shoot different things). Just trying to help you work this out. Could one of the other focus modes be better in is scenario? Lock on af maybe? That lets the af point move with the subject of it moves away from where you started with the flexible spot