Shutter Shake on the Sony A7?

[mpost]

I am looking to see if anyone has experienced Shutter Shake on the Sony A7?  I took a series of images outside using Aperture Priority (f11), ISO 400, Single shot drive mode and experienced numerous images soft or blurry.  I have heard of Shutter Shake on the A7R, but not the A7 using the Sony Zeiss FE 4/24070 lens.

I have posted a few here http://smu.gs/1qvSwDu

If you look at the last 2, they are taken a second apart and one is in focus and one out of focus.

Looking to see if this appears to be a camera issue or my shooting technique

thanks

marshall

[pegelli]

It looks more like misfocus then (shutter) shake to me.

[Jim Kasson]

I am looking to see if anyone has experienced Shutter Shake on the Sony A7?  I took a series of images outside using Aperture Priority (f11), ISO 400, Single shot drive mode and experienced numerous images soft or blurry.  I have heard of Shutter Shake on the A7R, but not the A7 using the Sony Zeiss FE 4/24070 lens.

Shutter shake is not as much of a problem on the a7 as the a7R. Use EFCS on the a7 to make sure:

http://blog.kasson.com/?p=5423

Jim

[mcbroomf]

Yes, these just look OOF.  In a couple of them you can find something that is in the focal plane and there's no motion blur.

[mdijb]

I agree.  There are areas in several images that are sharply in focus in some areas and OOF in others.  The ones that are not sharp overall seem OOF to me.  The Degradation cause by shutter vibration is more subltle than the OOF appearance in these images.

Former owner of A7r and new owner of A7

MDIJB

[mpost]

Thanks for all your comments.  Coming from a Nikon format, I guess I will just have to learn more about the Sony A7's focusing system. Also moving from a APS-C system to a full frame, also indicates some rethinking in terms of depth of field.

Again thanks for your comments.

marshall

[deejjjaaaa]

I guess I will just have to learn more about the Sony A7's focusing system.

the main thing is that you shall not assume that maximum contrast that CDAF finds (and locks on it) will always be where you think it is in a selected focusing area... that's not BF/FF (albeit teoretically BF/FF is possible for CDAF if there is a focus shift)

[Paul Roark]

I posted comparison test images taken with the Sony a7r on a light (but good) tripod, pole up, to show at least one data point regarding the shutter shake.  See http://www.paulroark.com/BW-Info/Sony-a7r-Vibration-GitzoTraveler-75mm.jpg .

Frankly, I think for non-telephoto lenses, the vibration alone is not the major cause of un-sharpness.

What I noticed early in my use of the camera was the extent to which the Sony, probably just due to the lighter body, is subject to producing un-sharp images if one is not very careful to hold the camera very steady.  My frame of reference is the Leica M9, where, as a practical matter, I could be much more casual (and careless) about such things.  The light weight of the camera is clearly a double edged sword.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

[Telecaster]

What I noticed early in my use of the camera was the extent to which the Sony, probably just due to the lighter body, is subject to producing un-sharp images if one is not very careful to hold the camera very steady. My frame of reference is the Leica M9, where, as a practical matter, I could be much more casual (and careless) about such things. The light weight of the camera is clearly a double edged sword.

Yup. I use faster minimum shutter speeds with the A7r than with any SLR or rangefinder I've owned. 2x focal length at least for handheld stuff, 3x fl with longer lenses. High res sensor, lightweight body, clunky shutter (though some of the clunk may be post-exposure)…it adds up.

I've had my M8.2s for six months now. Don't think I've discarded a single photo from them due to shake. Of course the 10mp sensor is more forgiving than the Sony's, but I take multiple shots of the same scene/subject when I can. The "keeper" is always the one with the best framing or light or facial expression. Shake-induced blurring just doesn't play a part.

-Dave-

[peterottaway]

At 10 MP your images won't be sharp enough to notice what you can see with a 36 MP sensor without an AA filter can deliver, real world circumstances and optics permitting. With a 300 mm lens even years ago with a 12MP sensor I was always trying to keep shutter speed to 1/1200 to 1/1600 type speeds. Yes sometimes I had to settle for 1/640 at times which were generally adequate as I wasn't generally shooting world class teams. But then again I often need those sorts of speeds to get acceptably sharp landscapes as well for quite a bit of the year. The current A7r doesn't make life easier in this respect but it is still the first camera I consider using.

One over lens formula should be regarded as your last possible chance and not as some sort of golden rule for technical perfection.

[AFairley]

Jim Kasson has a number of A7/r shutter shock investigations on his blog for those who are interested.  He seems to be a very methodical person....  http://blog.kasson.com/?s=Sony+shutter+shake