Sony AI tracking for a6400 and a9 Firmware Update Demonstration And Guide by Gary Fong

Gary Fong writes:

At 2/100 sec evaluation speed for Continuous Autofocus, the Sony a6400 has the fastest responding autofocus currently on the market. It shoots ten frames per second, with the new AI Tracking. However, getting to the tracking is quite an ordeal, which I will explain here. First if looks for the eye-ball, then the face, then the object or person. And coming soon – ANIMAL EYE-AF. The a6400, at under $900 is an amazing deal. To really learn how to use it, SUBSCRIBE to get the first announcement on our a6400 premium, “unleash the power of your Sony a-6400” coming soon. Also, tired of the searching through the menu bars trying to find that function? Our mobile, “Feature Finder” app will soon be available for the a6400 so you can find your menu item quickly in a sea of over 200 commands.

Chris Niccolls from DpreviewTV: you should not buy the A6500 and wait for the replacement!


Sony A6400 preorders:
USA at BHphoto, Adorama, FocusCamera, Buydig, Amazon.
Europe at Calumet Germany, ParkCameras UK, Jessops.
Asia at Sony Australia and Sony Japan.

DpreviewTV just posted their Sony a6400 first impressions video:

What I like most of this video is his conclusion where he says don’t buy the A6500…wait for the replacement!
I don’t think he got some insider info…I believe it’s just his guts telling us that we should wait for Sony to finally give us this A6500 successor.

Sony A9 Firmware 5.0 Real Time Tracking Example Footage

Patrick Murphy-Racey:

These are two clips that I got to shoot when testing the new Sony A9 5.0 Firmware in Los Angeles last week. The new tracking feature is already inside the Sony A6400 bodies that will start shipping in February of 2019. This was a test of how the A9 was able to use the new hybrid tracking feature by combining the use of distance, movement, Face Detection, Eye AF, color, and pattern. By using all of these together the AI (artificial intelligence) residing in the camera’s programing is able to see the human body type, pattern of clothing & hair, movement, employ Eye AF and Face Detection all at the same time. This creates a very easy to use and even scary combination of auto-focus. I call it the “Spider-Monkey” AF setting. You kind of have to see it to believe it so I’m posting this video to show what it’s like in real time. There are two clips. Each clip is shown once in real time, and then the same clip is repeated at 45% speed so you can see what the camera is accomplishing. When you see the large rectangle flash, it is me shooting stills at 20 frames per second. Needless to say, I cannot wait to be able to employ the Spider Monkey AF system on most of my shoots once I get hold fo the firmware update again in March!