Sony Eye tracking AF coming in 2014?
The Canon EOS-5 A2(E) had Eye Tracking AF.
Yesterday I told you about the new three layer technology that will may appear in 2014. And so will the new Full Frame Mirrorless. The next key tech that may appear in this crucial year is Eye Tracking AF:
Sony is considering to implement that feature on their upcoming Flagship in 2014. They call it “Eye controlled Focus System”. This feature of the camera will track objects using some infrared sensors in the viewfinder following the eye movement. The advantage is the rapid change/move of focus points (e.g. from the middle to the border). The biggest disadvantage is that You will have to calibrate Your eye for this to work properly. Also this will only work using the viewfinder, it will not work using LiveView on the display. The feature can be enabled/disabled and will have a memory (calibration data) for 3 users. If or when this really comes in the final product, is uncertain. It will depend on the further development in 2013, but will be the absolute burner. Tests are promising, but the implementation might be to expensive for midrange products. We’ll see.
Note: this is not a new feature. It was in a real product from Canon – the EOS-5 A2(E) – built until 2000 (here on eBay). Can You see the similarities to the SLT technology?!? 
) Maybe Sony will be able to solve all problems and flaws and make this feature available for the “digital” photographic world.
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Special Thanks to the anonymous source for this! Hope to hear more from you in future 
One more thing: What is the “Flagship 2014″?
douwe bijlsma
5 months ago |I really hope that Sony comes with better AF for action/sport. I have the A77. But what I read about the A99 it is still not capable enough for that kind of photos. As a semi pro I see far better results with Canon and Nikon. The AF field is not big enough with normal lenses. Only for a few lenses it is better AF on A99. So it needs to be better for “normal” lenses aswell. Also the buffer needs to be bigger and the shots per second needs to be higher. And I would prefer an even better result on higher ISO, altough it seems that the A99 is alread far better then the A77.
fotowolf61
5 months ago |@Admin: Did you hear anything about a firmwareupdate for A99 to support more lenses with AF-D? Have you heart anything about A77 FW update, if it will ever come?
Frank
5 months ago |I doubt the A77 will get anything more than a firmware update for the lens database. I’m not expecting any improvements like the Canon 7D update or the v4 A700 update.
Sony aren’t exactly known for supporting their cameras. The A78(?) is the next major firmware update…
Gerard
5 months ago |Sorry Frank but I have to disagree with you on that.
I own the Nex 5 and the A700, both cameras did get some FW updates, the Nex5 got it when the Nex 5n was already on the market and it did get some nice extra features.
Most FW updates from Canon are bug fixes, you can tell everyone how great that is, but it is better when you don’t need them.
Frank
5 months ago |You obviously missed the “v4 A700″ bit.
Geir
5 months ago |The eye tracking was in EOS 5 and EOS 50n, and was refined in 50n. I think it was something about only working when camera were held horizontal on the eos 5. Not sure, i almost bought a used eos 5 back in the day but when someone grabbed it in front of me i researched a bit more and ended up with a new minolta 700si (which is why i use sony now)
the problem were people who used glasses. and of course that it wasn’t that many points to eye-track between. but i would guess it would be possible to add today, but i would prefer to have it turn on by a button press because i’ll be checking out the background and that would maybe make me miss the shot if the focus follows my eye.
spam
5 months ago |That’s correct, Eos 5 was horisontal only (at least reliably) Eos 50 was both horisontal and vertical. Eos 3 and Eos 30 also had this feature. And you could get DOF preview by looking in the upper right hand corner. It wasn’t perfect, but worked fairly well even on the Eos 5.
Denis
5 months ago |It should not be expensive. IR sensors are not costly, the firmware that supports it + calibration once written will not change much in the future, so not expensive as well.
Emacs
5 months ago |It’s a waste and overcomplicated IMO. Why not make a system that remembers a point and than just tracks it during recomposing? The result is about the same and no glass/profilation problem.
Alf
5 months ago |They do that. It’s call Tracking and I got it on my HX9v.
Khuzul
5 months ago |This would be awesome, a FF mirrorless with 3-layers sensor and eye tracking? I don’t think it’s gonna happen, but hell, that would be a game changer.
Joe
5 months ago |I really hope Sony push forward the release date for FF mirrorless so we don’t have to wait until 2014.
Emir
5 months ago |Andrea: The most common reason I hear people not using Sony (but Canon or Nikon instead) is the lack of lenses. Do you know if Sony plans to increase the lens development to tackle that? To me it seems as they realease way too many cameras instead of lenses.
Another thing is the in-house stabilization that Sony claims to result in cheaper lenses… but comparing the prices of top Sony G lenses with equivalents from Canon & Nikon, I can’t say that holds true…
Frank
5 months ago |The most common reason is that people don’t know Sony do A-mount cameras!
Go into most shops and it’s wall-to-wall Canon and Nikon. Ask around and all you get is people pushing you to their favourite Canon or Nikon, read a magazine and they all push and use Canon and Nikon.
It’s bugger all to do with lenses, the vast majority of users never get anything more than one or two anyway so lens choice is irrelevant.
Neo NiGHTS ®
5 months ago |I have to agree with Frank.
Despite the lack of really specialised lenses like a Tilt and Shift, or EXTREME tele… what does Sony lack?
At most is lacking a bit more entry-to-mid-level lenses like a 70-200mm F4.
The the G and Zeiss selection (although expensive. Just like the top glass of ANY manufacturer) pretty much cover all the bases. Not to mention, of course, used Minolta glass.
‘Lack of lenses’ really isn’t an excuse anymore.
Emir
5 months ago |I agree with you that most lenses are there for Sony as well, just informing what I hear in camera stores when I ask the employees why they don’t use Sony.
I do however have to agree partly, since I the other day was looking for top-of-the-line Macro lens, something corresponding to Canons 100mm f2,8 L, but couldn’t find anything… I’m also not sure about the full-frame stock, what’s available.
Couldn’t Sony (or Minolta) start producing old Minolta lenses? (like the Beercan etc…?) in order to entierly remove that kind of critic…
Another question I have: is there one / will there be made an E-to-alpha lens converter?
Colin
5 months ago |Emir, Sony has a highly-regarded 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens.
Gerard
5 months ago |Sony E to Alpha adapter is a strange adapter. AFAIK there are nice A-mount lenses for all the E-mount lenses, and they are cheaper too…
Then there is the registration distance. When you want an E2A mount adapter it needs some lenses in it to compansate for the distance between the lens and the sensor.
And yes there are several A to E mount adapters (one with a translucent mirror to make AF on the E-mount cameras faster…
Colin
5 months ago |While I agree in the main that Sony’s lens line-up is actually more comprehensive than many internet posts would have you believe, I do think they lack wide-angle prime lenses for users of APS-C cameras. For example, Sony’s widest (rectilinear) prime is a 20mm lens – for APS-C users this equates to the angle of view provided by a 30mm lens in traditional 35mm terms. A system with no prime wider than 30mm?
Colin
5 months ago |Just thinking about this again – it would also be nice if full-frame users had 24mm/35mm Sony prime lens options that didn’t cost $1400/$1500.
john
5 months ago |If you count ALL lenses in A-Mount from Sony/Minolta/Tamron/Tokina/Sigma/Samyang/Arax/Cosina/Voigtlander/Zeiss it totals more than 300.
Quite a few are discontinued or rare but they range from 4.5mm Fisheye to 1000mm and do include Tilt/Shift.
Personally I have 12 lenses in my bag 11 of which are discontinued and some as old as 1986 but still work as good as new.
So if you HAVE to have 1000mm AF lens with full warranty TODAY and have the megabucks to buy one you are probably already invested in CaNikon.
Carl
5 months ago |Of course, Sony doesn’t make money of used lenses, so it’s a lost opportunity to make a profit.
They don’t even make a single 28mm lens currently.
CTPhotographX.com
5 months ago |Oh… and here I thought the iISO hot shoe was the big problem against Sony.
I’m expecting the new shoe will propel Sony sales beyond CaNikon any second now. Any second now. Aaaaannnnnnyyyy second now.
redfern
5 months ago |LOL. I use the hotshoe example when illustrating that I think Sony are totally capable of getting rid of the native A-mount cameras. They already make you use native flashes through an adapter, so what is to prevent them from dropping native A-mount cameras and telling you to use your A-mount lenses via adapter on E-mount cameras in the future, with no native mount option? I really think that’s where this is heading, despite the people who say “the A-mount isn’t going anywhere.” I hate to be a naysayer, but in this case profit will dictate where Sony goes, and right now they are a much bigger player in the mirrorless market than in DSLR/DSLT.
Ian
5 months ago |funny!!
Roman
5 months ago |I’ve got a Canon EOS 50E back in the days with only 3 tracking points. The successor EOS-3 had 45 points! And if you looked in top left corner you got a depth-of-field preview. I really miss the feature!
andrew
5 months ago |Every bit as monumental as face detection and smile shutter… How do you compose a shot if the af point changes every time you move your eye around the VF?! On the whole I’d settle for more and better distributed af points.
Frank
5 months ago |I find AF points pretty useless and far too slow to select. Looking at an AF point is a winner for me.
Neo NiGHTS ®
5 months ago |Agree with Frank once more!
I really don’t understand those cameras with thousands of AF points….. since you have to go to one point from another, manually, you waste too much time doing so. Not to mention you have to take the camera off your face to move the dial/joystick.
Having something automated would be great.
Colin
5 months ago |AF speed and number of AF points are both irrelevant if the camera can’t figure out _what_ you want to focus on.
Frank
5 months ago |It’s one of the reasons I like focus peaking. At least I now have an indication that the subject may be in focus without being covered by a lit AF point.
I have my A77 set to drop to DMF after AF confirm, combined with focus peaking this is a brilliant feature.
Ian
5 months ago |as long as it works…if it’s jumpy and inaccurate, there is absolutely no point.
Mno
5 months ago |I have to agree here. The AF point selection method would have to be well thought out for this to be useful. If the chosen AF point were to jump all over the scene as I cast my eye around the evf, it would be all over the place.
Perhaps they will have some sort of ‘push and hold while selecting AF point’ button so as you hold the button, eye tracking kicks in then when you release the button, the AF point is then fixed.
However, given the rather slow movement of the a77 and a99 object tracking boxes, I hope they speed up the processing of eye tracking otherwise simply using the joystick will be quicker and possibly more predictable.
Overall, I think I prefer Sony to spend money improving their conventional AF system (and curing the slideshow effect) rather than gimmicky stuff. Get the basics nailed and then play with trick features.
michal
5 months ago |Deja Vu
Ren Kockwell
5 months ago |Oh so now Sony is copying Canon too. i thought that most sony people enjoyed going around telling other companies like Samsung how they copy everything. I geuss when sony copies, it’s not copying but innovation. LOL
Emir
5 months ago |What a mature comment, how old are you, 10?
I don’t see where it claims to be “innovation”, but rather a “feature”. Is CaNikon “copying” Minolta/Leica autofocus and claiming its invention? I don’t think so.
Carl
5 months ago |You mean Minolta copying Honeywell’s autofocus.
john
5 months ago |They also took the SLT basic design from Canon but improved upon it by including an EVF
Emir
5 months ago |I find it strange to use such terms as copying when it comes to this type of technology… because according to that type of reasoning, all cameras made today are copies of “camera obscura” dating back to the ancients…
E
5 months ago |I guess you would be able to turn this in and off.? So, yes I’d like to have this option available, combined with the subject lock already available.
If working properly action shots may become a lot easier.
If course, the 10 fps mode where you see the last shoot will have to be redesigned.
Having it, the worst thing that could happen us that i never turn it on.
Peter
5 months ago |I used the eye tracking feature in Canon EOS 50E and just loved it! It worked like a dream and made composing a picture very fast. Just looked at a autofocus tracking point on the viewfinder and pushed the shutter and the camera focused instantly to the tracking point I was looking at. I really miss this feature.
Frank
5 months ago |Thanks for the real-World usage input. That sounds like a great feature.
Carl
5 months ago |I like the sound of this Flagship 2014. Sounds like something that deserves a 36×36 sensor and AF sensors covering most of the frame, wouldn’t you agree, gentlemen?
travelshots
5 months ago |That would be fantastic! But will it work with users wearing glasses, especially varifocals?
Carl
5 months ago |The EOS-5 worked with glasses…to a point. Not sure about varifocals, though.
john
5 months ago |Just keep in mind the A77/A99 was rumored to have !SO in the hundreds of thousands.
fredrik
5 months ago |sony is good making eletronic stuff, but leave cameras to canon-leica-fuji-oly-nikon-hassy sony fails miserably when try to make a camera because is an electric company, not a photographic one… sony can you make my playstation4 instead of this crap cameras?
Troj
5 months ago |That’s like me saying you should leave the reasoning and talking to people who do know how to do it.
Freddo
5 months ago |Don’t feed the trolls!
www.martingamper.com
5 months ago |Feed the trools!!! Feed them!!!
Frank
5 months ago |It’s fun!
john
5 months ago |Feed them till they explode.
E
5 months ago |Lovely
All camera brands you list where once mechanical companies, or optical ones.
And all damn good at fine mechanics.
Oh, those where the days …. ( Oh, Nikon F3 is som $100 ebay, try one!)
Nowadays, cameras are all electronics, how are Nikon doing in producing sensors? They are pretty important in cameras isn’t they?
Camera business have moved from being optics centric to be electronics centric, and simply uses optical companies as subcontractors as needed.
Don’t like it? no worries, ebay will be your friend….
/E
obican
5 months ago |It’s an awesome technology. The EOS cameras featuring this technology were actually the only cameras where I’ve used anything other than the center AF point.
shamb
5 months ago |Downside: eye tracking would allow your better half to check what you were *actually* photographing, so a bit more professionalism will be needed from the shooter.
Lucas
5 months ago |Hehehe… you’ve got a good point there!
CTPhotographX.com
5 months ago |Now Sony can blame missed focus on the user for not looking at the right spot. Smart move!
nm
5 months ago |Glaucoma. Cataracts. Optic Nerve Tumors. Optic Nerve Cancers.
Awesome move Sony. What? Don’t you already have enough money troubles now? Drumming up some tech for future litigation?
Pentaprisms ‘looking’ better and better….
Christian
5 months ago |I assume, this eye tracking gimmick will never work properly… and what about wearer of glasses? They should better improve their current AF system instead of adding half-baked features. Sony should learn to develop cameras for ambitious photographers – not for idiots… we dont need another Picture-Effect-Mode or useless Apps, we need features for photographers! Watch out how many pros use Sony!!?? Btw, Sonys marketing strategy is very unpredictable and unreliable
Alphamale77
5 months ago |YES, BRING IT, this would be a knock out winner for sports photography!! Just make sure the buffer size is there to support the flow and a separate processor for the AF module. WINNER move
kchépegram
5 months ago |Could be great feature as long as it works better then Eye Start AF that was used on the a100.
Cyrus
5 months ago |Most probably a big pcccchhhtttt…
As it was with the famous 102AF points…
WK
5 months ago |Such a feature would sure be a enemy of composition, which is one of the main reasons to use a viewfinder. And with a moving subject that you are monitoring to reach the exact spot you want, well that’s going to be very frustrating.
There’s a reason why it’s not on all Canon’s now. Because it interferes with photography far more than it helps.
Even if it has an off switch which I expect most will use all the time, it means R&D money was spent on a gimmick when it could have been spent on more needed features for still photography. Though since Sony is so focused on video features it’s quite clear they don’t care about still photography.
Boooe
5 months ago |kudos for happy trolling!
TWM
5 months ago |Trip trap trip trap, Walt
Per
5 months ago |canon had this technology in a couple of cameras a while back (EOS 5, 50, 3 and 30 as mentioned in earlier comments). I used to think they’d soon introduce it in their DSLR’s as well but for some reason they didn’t. My guess is it’s one of those functions you’d eventually keep turned off as you don’t want focus to change as you’re checking your composition in the viewfinder. I don’t know, but there must be some reason people haven’t been complaining about not having it? Either way, it’s cool to see that technology coming back.
Peter
5 months ago |I can’t believe my eyes reading some of the comments above! Having used this feature in Canon many years ago I can tell you it works and it’s fantastic! Like someone mentioned earlier he uses most of the time only the center autofocus point and after pressing shutter halfways he has to compose the picture. Just think that you START with composing the picture and keep the composition and when ready to take a shot you just look at the focusing point you want to use and press the shutter-the picture is already composed!!! So much faster and more convenient! And in Canon you had the option to manually select the focusing point or use automatic OR use eye controlled focusing. Absolutely fantastic! I really hope that Sony will bring this feature to their cameras!
Alan
3 months ago |I used Canon A2E (aka EOS 5), Elan 7E (aka EOS 33) and, particularly, a pair of EOS-3 with Eye Control back in the day…
Tried out EC with those cameras and, yes, it worked… Just not for me. I found I tend to look all around the viewfinder, not just at the subject I’m focusing upon. I am checking composition and looking at what else is in the frame, not just staring at the subject constantly. That’s essentially what you have to do for EC to work best. EC was tracking following my eye and continuously refocusing at different distances. I found it to be a pain in the butt and more of a distraction than a useful tool, so after about 3 months trying to on my EOS-3s, I turned it off and never used it again. My “keeper” rate of in-focus images immediately improved. After I learned to use Back Button Focusing, my keeper rate went even higher and that’s how I’ve been shooting with Canon cameras, film and digital, for over ten years now.
So I think of EC as a gimmick… Some people will find it fun to use and useful to an extent. I don’t think it encourages particularly good habits or makes for more in-focus shots or faster shooting.
grant torres
5 months ago |‘Also, Andrea why are you now moderating posts on your site?’
…Because it is what good Sony employees do!
Spoon
5 months ago |You mean the Nikon package with serious design issues (left hand AF problems forexample)?