Florida Scrub Jays

Doug Jensen · March 29th, 2021, 04:12 PM

Camera: Sony FX6
Lens: Sony 24-105 f/4 and Canon 200mm f/2.8
Tripod system: Sachtler Aktiv8 head and Flowtech75 legs
Recording format: 4K XAVC-I @ 29.97p
Shooting mode: Custom Scene File (graded in DaVinci Resolve)

Bryan Worsley · April 1st, 2021, 02:17 PM

Absolutely stunning

Oren Arieli · April 1st, 2021, 02:25 PM

Lovely piece, Doug. Out of curiosity, would eye-focus work on birds? Was any of this shot with autofocus enabled?

Doug Jensen · April 1st, 2021, 06:03 PM

Thanks guys.

The second shot in this video was with AF. If you look closely you can see the camera is actually focused on the tree in the background instead of the bird which is much closer. Fortunately the shot is wide enough that I can get away with it on Youtube. I'm pretty sure that everything else in this video was shot with manual focus. The AF is just too unreliable for me to trust it for anything except human faces.

However, with that said, I did get a couple of cool AF shots of the birds and I used one of them at the beginning of the Focus Chapter of my master class. I put a nut on twig about 6 inches from the camera and then walked away with the camera rolling @ 120 fps 4K. One of the birds flies in, gets the nut, sits there for a second and then flies away. The unattended camera tracked the bird very well. I didn't want to use that shot in this video though because the nut on the twig is obviously a setup.

Bryan Worsley · April 1st, 2021, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug Jensen

I'm pretty sure that everything else in this video was shot with manual focus.

I thought you had likely used AF for the Osprey in flight ?

Doug Jensen · April 1st, 2021, 09:33 PM

Oh no, it was definitiley manual focus. I waited patiently for about 20 minutes for that guy to take off and there was no way I was going to let AF screw me over, which it absolutely would have done. With the exception of a few test shots I do with every new camera (just to confirm that AF can't be relied upon for wildlife), everything I shoot that isn't humans looking towards the camera, is always manual focus. The only exception to that rule so far is the Z90. AF is the best I've ever seen, but then again, it is has an integrated 12x non-removable lens that is finally tuned for the camera, which only has a 1" sensor and f/4 maximum aperture -- so not exactly super sshallow DoF. I have hopes that AF on cameras with big sensors, such as the FX6, might get there some day, but right now it's not good enough. Even if the focus is right on the money 90% of the time, if that 10% when it slips up comes in the middle of a shot, you're screwed. I'm not perfect either, but I'm still better than the camera in most situations.

Bryan Worsley · April 1st, 2021, 10:48 PM

I'd read that the AF on the FX6 is amazing...

https://sonycine.com/articles/the-ne...ister-chapman/

.... but I get your point - it's not reliable enough. Not that I could ever afford a camera like that - interesting nonetheless.

Doug Jensen · April 2nd, 2021, 05:09 AM

It is amazing when you're shooting human faces. For everything else, it is a gamble.

March 29th, 2021, 04:12 PM	#1
Doug Jensen Vortex Media Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 3,450	Florida Scrub Jays - shot with Sony FX6 Camera: Sony FX6 Lens: Sony 24-105 f/4 and Canon 200mm f/2.8 Tripod system: Sachtler Aktiv8 head and Flowtech75 legs Recording format: 4K XAVC-I @ 29.97p Shooting mode: Custom Scene File (graded in DaVinci Resolve) YouTube (Short URL) __________________ Vortex Media http://www.vortexmedia.com/ Sony FS7, F55, and XDCAM training videos, field guides, and other production tools

April 1st, 2021, 02:17 PM	#2
Bryan Worsley Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 439	Re: Florida Scrub Jays - shot with Sony FX6 Absolutely stunning

April 1st, 2021, 02:25 PM	#3
Oren Arieli Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: San Jose, California Posts: 919	Re: Florida Scrub Jays - shot with Sony FX6 Lovely piece, Doug. Out of curiosity, would eye-focus work on birds? Was any of this shot with autofocus enabled?

April 1st, 2021, 06:03 PM	#4
Doug Jensen Vortex Media Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 3,450	Re: Florida Scrub Jays - shot with Sony FX6 Thanks guys. The second shot in this video was with AF. If you look closely you can see the camera is actually focused on the tree in the background instead of the bird which is much closer. Fortunately the shot is wide enough that I can get away with it on Youtube. I'm pretty sure that everything else in this video was shot with manual focus. The AF is just too unreliable for me to trust it for anything except human faces. However, with that said, I did get a couple of cool AF shots of the birds and I used one of them at the beginning of the Focus Chapter of my master class. I put a nut on twig about 6 inches from the camera and then walked away with the camera rolling @ 120 fps 4K. One of the birds flies in, gets the nut, sits there for a second and then flies away. The unattended camera tracked the bird very well. I didn't want to use that shot in this video though because the nut on the twig is obviously a setup. __________________ Vortex Media http://www.vortexmedia.com/ Sony FS7, F55, and XDCAM training videos, field guides, and other production tools

April 1st, 2021, 09:33 PM	#6
Doug Jensen Vortex Media Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 3,450	Re: Florida Scrub Jays - shot with Sony FX6 Oh no, it was definitiley manual focus. I waited patiently for about 20 minutes for that guy to take off and there was no way I was going to let AF screw me over, which it absolutely would have done. With the exception of a few test shots I do with every new camera (just to confirm that AF can't be relied upon for wildlife), everything I shoot that isn't humans looking towards the camera, is always manual focus. The only exception to that rule so far is the Z90. AF is the best I've ever seen, but then again, it is has an integrated 12x non-removable lens that is finally tuned for the camera, which only has a 1" sensor and f/4 maximum aperture -- so not exactly super sshallow DoF. I have hopes that AF on cameras with big sensors, such as the FX6, might get there some day, but right now it's not good enough. Even if the focus is right on the money 90% of the time, if that 10% when it slips up comes in the middle of a shot, you're screwed. I'm not perfect either, but I'm still better than the camera in most situations. __________________ Vortex Media http://www.vortexmedia.com/ Sony FS7, F55, and XDCAM training videos, field guides, and other production tools

April 1st, 2021, 10:48 PM	#7
Bryan Worsley Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 439	Re: Florida Scrub Jays - shot with Sony FX6 I'd read that the AF on the FX6 is amazing... https://sonycine.com/articles/the-ne...ister-chapman/ .... but I get your point - it's not reliable enough. Not that I could ever afford a camera like that - interesting nonetheless.

April 2nd, 2021, 05:09 AM	#8
Doug Jensen Vortex Media Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 3,450	Re: Florida Scrub Jays - shot with Sony FX6 It is amazing when you're shooting human faces. For everything else, it is a gamble. __________________ Vortex Media http://www.vortexmedia.com/ Sony FS7, F55, and XDCAM training videos, field guides, and other production tools