Sony A7 II's focus peaking is blind to horizontal patterns

[Guillermo Luijk]

After several years using the Sony A7 II, I realized this weekend that its focus peaking implementation doesn't detect horizontal patterns. It must use some simple just left to right edge filter:

http://guillermoluijk.com/misc/focuspeakinga7ii.jpg


I noticed this because with the camera in horizontal position, it was unable to display focus peaking warnings over a concrete road. Just rotating the camera 90º all the focused concrete aread appeared, so I had to shoot all the pictures in vertical position because it was a fast action scene and I lacked AF:

http://guillermoluijk.com/vuelta/vuelta3v.jpg


A horizontal composition would have been much better here (crop):

http://guillermoluijk.com/vuelta/vuelta3.jpg


What about your focus peaking? do you use it? can your camera detect horizontal patterns?


Regards

[Manoli]

This was examined in detail by Jim Kasson,
https://blog.kasson.com/the-last-word/sony-a7ii-focus-peaking-anisotropy/

Surprised you didn’t at least get some FP feedback fm that road shot. My A7II is on its way to Kolari Vision for the new ultra thin filter conversion, so unable to test but from memory, there are 3 FP settings on the A7II. The High was rarely satisfactory and I tended to use either the Med or Low setting mainly as an aid to zone focusing with medium wide-angles.