Thoughts on shooting high frame rate

[spudhead]

Ok people for the last 2-3 outings I have been testing higher frame rate on the trusty A9 in regard of focus hit and focus missed, now I for a long time I have seldom used anything but low rate on the a9 and sometimes mid rate believing that I hit focus more in these 2 modes. Having shot now for 2-3 outings high frame rate it seems to me personally that the focus hit and keeper rate have never been as low, yes I get the odd interesting shot I may have missed before but the miss rate has been an eye opener. so what are your thoughts based on daily use and yes I know focus settings and other factors play a part so what are you guys doing? Ok so I was still half asleep when I posted this so I was inviting replies from all the Sony model users not just the a9

 

[mikison]

I'm pretty much 100% high frame rate on my A9 for BIF, mid for anything else. I feel I get a pretty high keeper rate on high, I'd probably say that for me other factors cause me to miss focus than the frame rate.

I can't say that I've compared the two, so don't really have an opinion. Your thought is interesting though maybe I'll give mid a bit more of a go.

 

[iamdlewis]

What are your setting? When I used an A9 the camera lived at the high rate because changing the 2nd dial was 1) annoying and 2) I didn't want to forget to change and end up in something slow for BiF. My hit rate was over 90%. This was all with the 100-400GM which does matter.

Also does the hit rate matter or does the number of hits matter?

 

[spudhead]

What are your setting? When I used an A9 the camera lived at the high rate because changing the 2nd dial was 1) annoying and 2) I didn't want to forget to change and end up in something slow for BiF. My hit rate was over 90%. This was all with the 100-400GM which does matter.

Also does the hit rate matter or does the number of hits matter?

Hi I have just edited the question I was more interested in what people were doing on their Sony body what ever that might be a7 series a1 etc, more than just the a9

 

[iain clyne]

On my A9 I tend to use M rate for everything, on the A7iv I use high. I find I get the shots I want at about 10 fps. I personally don't want to be going through 20 or 30+ frames of the same or close to the same shot.

 

[Brownie]

It probably only applies to the A9's and A1. My cameras are slow by comparison, shooting RAW, the high burst rate is only 6 FPS. Since I really don't shoot small BIF I would have to apply my answer to larger soaring birds, race cars, and airplanes. In those cases the hit rate is almost 100%.

I have been invited to shoot Oval Track and Figure 8 on May 13, which will be a new adventure for me. The full-time track photographer says he shoots 1/250 to get panning motion. I'm expecting a LOT of failed shots, just hoping I get a few decent ones.

 

[Brownie]

On my A9 I tend to use M rate for everything, on the A7iv I use high. I find I get the shots I want at about 10 fps. I personally don't want to be going through 20 or 30+ frames of the same or close to the same shot.

Agreed. I'd like to be able to get 9-10 FPS, that'd be plenty.

 

[Raz]

With an A6500 at 10 fps, I can get one photo like this at a time (2022 NY Air Show).

I hope to be able to get a bit more with the recently-bought A9.

• ILCE-6500
• 126.2 mm
• ƒ/11
• 1/800 sec
• ISO 100

 

[spudhead]

It probably only applies to the A9's and A1. My cameras are slow by comparison, shooting RAW, the high burst rate is only 6 FPS. Since I really don't shoot small BIF I would have to apply my answer to larger soaring birds, race cars, and airplanes. In those cases the hit rate is almost 100%.

I have been invited to shoot Oval Track and Figure 8 on May 13, which will be a new adventure for me. The full-time track photographer says he shoots 1/250 to get panning motion. I'm expecting a LOT of failed shots, just hoping I get a few decent ones.

Hi Tim glad to hear the car shooting track side access is opening up for you as I know that is your subject of choice, and good look with this season

 

[spudhead]

On my A9 I tend to use M rate for everything, on the A7iv I use high. I find I get the shots I want at about 10 fps. I personally don't want to be going through 20 or 30+ frames of the same or close to the same shot.

Iain I have to say I do not want to wade through mountains of the same shots either

 

[Brownie]

With an A6500 at 10 fps, I can get one photo like this at a time (2022 NY Air Show).

I hope to be able to get a bit more with the recently-bought A9.

View attachment 37605

1/1500+ for jets and no reason to use f/11 on that shot.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

I'm not shooting with the super fast 20fps cameras of course, but I do have the A7RiV on High + (10fps). However, I shoot in short bursts of 3- 4 frames most of the time, unless its something specifically fast moving like Little Terns or the like.when I will keep shooting, but it's rare I shoot more than 10, as I can't pan fast enough to keep up.

 

[Deleted Member 5003]

On the A1 the high frame rate is required for shooting Raw at 30fps and max resolution for action or wildlife/BIF

Personally I default to to the above in order to achieve the best possible image subject orientation /position.

I accept the post image cull time is extended but feel my work flow and applications used, together with review experience
over time have minimised review time and value the best possible subject positioning over minimal additional review time .

I have owned the AR7iv, and own the A1 and A9ii and accepting the functional pros and cons of each camera find for the
reasons above I will always utilise the A1 at 30 fps for fast action/ movement as I know from past experience, even at 20 fps,
the options to select from a broader/unique range of subject positions are more limited.

Ultimately we all seek to shoot that perfect image, and to me, given the level of technology we have at hand and the price we
Pay for our equipment it does not makes sense not to use it to best advantage.

On the question of keeper rates versus frame rate I am with Mikison in that I do not find the frame rate per se materially affecting
My keeper rate over the other factors that can affect image quality.

 

[Sdawes]

I always shoot at the highest 30fps on my A1 and to be fair the keeper rate is always exceptionally high although it has worsened since the last last firmware update ( but thats another story ). I have always maximised the highest rate possible when I owned my A911 and A7RIV too as I believe it gives me the best chance of capturing the image that might just stand out from the rest .

 

[Deleted Member 5003]

I always shoot at the highest 30fps on my A1 and to be fair the keeper rate is always exceptionally high although it has worsened since the last last firmware update ( but thats another story ). I have always maximised the highest rate possible when I owned my A911 and A7RIV too as I believe it gives me the best chance of capturing the image that might just stand out from the rest .

 

[iain clyne]

My way of working comes from my days of being a sport and press photographer for 25+ years and working to dead lines.