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Great video Mark - I’ve been trying to learn all the new Subject Recognition features & this really helps my understanding - Many Thanks!

Thank you for a very helpful A7RV video.

Great video Mark. Im off to purchase my new R5 this morning so this has been very useful.

Thanks for another great video Mark 👍.

Amazing video as always! Thank you so very much

Thanks Mark. Really useful.

Great video Mark! Thank you!

What I observed with my A7rV is a HUUUGE increase of the focus spot in images of birds ... in the trees. In the past very often the AF was losing the bird if there were some branches between the lens and the bird. Now whenever the bird moves the AF finds it and lock perfectly. The branches get out of focus and the focus is made on the bird. For me (passing from A7rIII) it is a big increase of success ratio.

Mark: I think you are correct about the deep learning. The machine learning model has to be trained on a training set of images. That presumably takes place at Sony, or at a Sony contractor. What is incorporated into the camera is the resulting deep learning model, which takes some inputs (an image) and generates an output (the location of recognized objects, such as human or animal eyes. While there are forms of machine learning in which additional learning might take place on individual cameras (potentially with the ability to update and improve the global model, that is almost certainly not what is happening here. I think you are also correct that the hardware-based components of the deep learning recognition are taking place in hardware on the RV, and therefore can not be replicated on earlier models. However, it is possible for machine learning models to run in software as well. The question is whether or not the performance would be good enough to be done in real-time on the host camera. Depending on the camera, it might be possible to run the model in real-time for all, some, or none of the camera's frame rate options. For example, it is possible that α1 might be able to run the model for lower frame rate settings, but not for its highest settings. (Or perhaps for all settings - I don't know.) Either way, it would be worth asking Sony to incorporate the deep learning model into the firmware of all cameras that are at least capable of supporting it in software with acceptable frame rates.

So helpful! Thanks Mark!

Thanks mark, one thing that has remained consistant from Model ILCE-7 to Model: ILCE-7RM5 is DMF (Direct manual focus) and it is very useful.

I shot with my buddy’s a7rv last week, 4 models. I was completely blown away. It really is that good. I don’t know how Jared polin is saying it’s just ok and canons af is still better. There’s just no way..not even close

Hi Mr Galer, after a side step to canon, i went back to sony. I have the A7RV now, and subscribed back to your very good channel!

Thank you!

Very interesting, thanks for taking your time to explain this in detail. I can only hope that one day SONY will release RX10 V with the same 24-600 superb lens and all these new subject recognition algorithms. Almost 6 years since RX10 IV...

hey Mark I've been following your videos for a long time and I really enjoy learning from you recently something strange has happened to me with my Sony a7r3 and I couldn't find an explanation and I thought maybe I could try and ask you, I am using it with the Godox ad600 with the Godox x1t trigger. I've been shooting with this setup for over a year and always used a shutter speed of 1/250. all of a sudden when trying to shoot 1/250 the upper part of the photo is black. when going to 1/200 it works fine and I was just wondering if u have any idea why? I've read that when using non Sony flashes you need to use a shutter speed lower than 1/250 but I didn't change anything and this is really weird. I know this is off-topic but I'm really curious to hear what you think about this situation. many thanks for all of the knowledge you've shared over the years. and I hope you might have an answer for me. Thanks in advance :)

Thanks very much for your very informative videos. I have a Sony a7rv and have recently used it for dog portraits and have come across a small issue (but not a deal breaker). I set up the animal recognition so that tracking persistance was at 5 (lock on) so it stuck with the dog and recognition sensitivity was at 1 (low) so it wouldn't be fooled by anything else. What I have found though is that initially the camera locates the dogs eyes perfectly and tracks as it should do but after a while it then decides to only recognise the body of the dog even though the subject hasn't moved and the lighting hasn't changed. The only way I could get it to go back to recognising the eyes was to shut the camera down and start it up again.. at which point it went straight to eye recognition. I am not sure if I have tried to be too clever with altering the animal recognition settings or if it is a small firmware bug on the subject tracking algorithm. I might add most of the photos came out fine but one or two were not focused on the eyes as you would expect. I have done a video of this on my KZfaq page to show it happening and have also sent it to Sony as well. I would be very interested in your views please on what might are happening in what is otherwise a fantastic camera? Thankyou

Hi, Mark, Thanks for your informative video! But: When I take fotographs of Birds they are never as close as the Birds in your examples! Although the subject recognition works quit ok in many occasions. Sometimes, When Birds are at a certain distance they are not recognized. Can you give this and other limitations of the system some attention? Thanks Gerard

Hi Mark. Been learning about Sony system from your channel since 2019 and your video always very informative and insightful. I was wondering you can also elaborate on Teleconverter topics in detail because I wanted to know whether Sony Teleconverter is part of "G Master" family lenses or just a normal glasses lens. I mean, I don't want to invest in Teleconverter for my GM lenses while the converter level itself is not GM as well. I'm done using the Sony FE 200-600mm zoom lenses because the quality cannot match the Sony FE 70-200mm GM OSS II. Thinking to buy the Teleconverter but worried it cannot match the quality level of GM lenses as many reviews said the Teleconverter will drop the quality of the RAW image. Sorry asking this because I'm just an amateur. My camera is Sony A7RV, A7C and A7SIII. Thinking to buy the 2x Teleconverter and need to know the tips for this.

Very good video. Thanks very much. How about boat recognition?

Always enjoy your videos and explanations of parameters. Question, though, on the A7R5 Subject Recognition: I'm confused by the "Recog Trgt Select Set" and it's relationship to the "Recognition Target". Is it preferable to NOT check anything in the 'Select Set' group, since when you choose something in the 'Target' it selects it there? Would that stop the camera for looking for all those types when you're only trying to prioritize one? The Help Guide mentions "You can select the types of targets to which you did not add a check mark in 'Recog Trgt Select Set' by selecting 'Recognition Target'. So is there a reason to use the 'Select Set' function, for stills, or should they all be left unselected? Your thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

Thank you! Just give me 20% improvement and insects on the A74, is that too much to ask? Appreciate the little reminders you give like using the expanded spot you have a great teachers instinct.

Dear Mark thank you for the deep dive into AI AF algorithms and thanks again for demonstrating how complicated and unusful Sony's instructions are sometimes! But I can't conceal my frustration after feeling that by this video you are kinda making our minds ready for accepting there will be no real firmware updates for our current cameras cause there is no AI chip in them! You are the most honest sony ambassador I know and really enjoy your videos, but I'm totally sure things like auto subject recognition and the ability to sort out the priority in between is not that hard for other current cameras with the new processor. Also simple things like focus bracketing can be definitely shrink down to every other alpha cameras. Why shouldn't I be able to do what you did on 12:33 on my A7iv? That doesn't need another chip I'm sure. Canon used to be the king of cripple hammer... Sony is going the same direction and believe it or not this is a big big mistake! Why? Customers like me are the answer. Having almost 10 great lenses which I love them and two bodies and yet have the switching on my horizon! Why? 2 simple reason: Ergonomics which have never felt great again after last Sony SLT cameras like A99ii which were just perfect. And the second reason the hesitation to know which your camera is going to get any special improvement through the update or not. My oldie lovely a6500 got almost nothing through firmware updates and Sony even didn't bother to remove that silly NTSC warning everytime I turn on the camera! The camera which was a flagship for it's time in it's class. Now we here all A1, A7siii and other models whining and begging for firmware updates for years and we see absolutely nothing from Sony! I bet it is possible to give many of these new features to even older generation cameras by only a firmware update. Sure not everything but many are possible. And it doesn't need to have an extra chip for many things. Sony A9 got drastically improved in AF through its firmware updates. Nikon Z6ii and Canon R and R6 are another example. Nikon almost gave a version 2 of Z9 through updates only! Other companies like Fuji, Panasonic and Olympus are no exception. Sony really needs to shake a leg to keep it's loyal customers happy. I'm still mad they didn't give 20fps in A7iv in electronic shutter which definitely was possible. Yeah not as useful as it is in stacked sensor cameras like A9 and that's the reason it couldn't cannibalize the sale of them too. Crippling a camera gives the worst feeling a camera owner can ever feel.

Thank you for the informative and well presented content. Will shooting in apsc mode have less rolling shutter effect in electronic sent mode than full frame mode? Also would it not have been possible to give 12 fps in raw uncompressed in apsc mode? Thanks

Thanks for this video. I ended up selling my A7c to try out the 7R5 (+ a few $$!). I just shot my 1st race w 7R5 and it was noticeably quicker in AF as well as buffering (realizing this isn’t a sport camera). Also in btwn finishers I was able to quick-grab pix on the sidelines (which wasn’t always possible with the A4). Is it worth the extra $$? For me probably not since I only shoot pro part time but this camera is sooo much fun & my son can live with less inheritance lol!

In your personal opinion, Mark, have cameras become a bit too easy to use? Drawing on your automatic/manual transmission analogy, is it always better to use an "automatic", or would you prefer "manual" cameras?

Hi Mark, great video as always.Do you think automatic subject changing future update for A7IV possible?

Muy buen video, muchisimas gracias !! Hago fotografia de regatas de barcos de vela, querria saber si reconoce un velero o no lo hace, muchas gracias. I use to take pictures in sail boat races. Do you know if it works on sail boats? Thanks very much and merry Christmas

Thanks for the video. In case of the picture with three subjects, if I’m targeting a group picture with a deep depth of focus, can the camera track multiple subjects simultaneously?

Hi Mark, just a question: The AI system of the new a6700 works the same way with a the adjustments of the a7R V? 🤔

Hi Mark! Just wondering if you would know how many pixels would result from using a lens such as the 70-350mm G lens for Apsc on this camera?

Full time def is new for me, so my 100-400 and 200-600 will have it with Sony a7rv?

Mark, wouldn't choosing a subject to track be faster by usning expand flexable shot from the center area and then moving the camera to frame the image the way you want rather that choosing another subject frame?

HI great vids , having trouble with eye rec on static birds seems to go off stops working tried all the fine settings in bird focus , but comes back if turn camera off and on three's a few having similar issues with flaky bird rec, will there be future firmware to cure this or is it faulty camera , i have latest firmware

I have only had my a7rv a couple of weeks so forgive me if this is a silly question! Is it necessary to turn off this feature when taking landscape photos or similar?

Question: If you are a patron can you download videos to watch? I am out of cell service a lot and would like to watch videos.

One can only hope for the new upcoming aps-c flagship to have the same af + subject recognition abilities.

How is the focus tracking/speed compared to the A9 and a9ii?

Hi Mark. What about fast moving birds? Does the AF locks the bird without any issues?

Do you think the AF speed is more impressive than the A9II or A7IV? I'm looking for an upgrade from my A7III, with the A7IV being at €2450, the A9II is €3,5k and this A7RV €4,5k those are some great price differences.

Please Can you create a user guide for the sony a7R V for the setup in general?

Is it true that quite a few people are having problems with the this model when using the flash that the screen freezes? Are you aware of this? Because I have order this model specifically for focus bracketing so if the screen freezes on me on continuous shooting with the flash then this is going to be a very serious problem

I spent 4800$US for Sony 7RM5 and Sony 90mm macro to photograph single beta fish in a rectangular fish tank but with numerous subject tracking set ups auto focus rate is maybe 20% and rarely on eye or head.I tried my friends Canon R7 with adopted EF100mm old Canon macro lance and just set to animal focus and is much more precise and 90% images are sharp.No obsticals just small fish in a empty tank with water.Any suggestions?

My personal thoughts, as a Sony enthusiast/Sony A9 owner w/GM lens, I wish Sony would have done far more to this camera to compete with the 2 yr older Canon R5. I wish FPS was much faster (mech and e-shutter), 8K 30P, 4K 120P, far less rolling shutter, etc. While the AI processor seems nice, it seems to make the photographer work more, have more options/menus, vs working less “auto” like a smart phone… Just my opinion.

Great video Mark however as an A1 user this is completely unacceptable that a firmware update has not already happened. I have been a loyal Sony user for year's and if they are not going to support their flagship model then sadly then im going to rethink my long time support

I'm struggling to understand what makes the A1 2500GBP more than the A7RV.

I think that it would be so much easier if one could speak to the camera, let’s say to choose the recognition target on the fly, and I am sure it’s so easy for a company like sony to implement it….

Will it come to a1?

I was trying to take a picture of a woman walking with her dog, and rather than focusing on the dog focused on her instead, how do I fix this without fumbling into menus?

Any one who has "upgraded" from A9 to A7R V? I do not care for 10fps vs 20fps but I wonder if AF tracking (just human face/eye tracking) is significantly better and more reliable than on A9. Thx!

If Sony listens to you Mark please tell them APS-C camera shooters are waiting for a camera with all this newest tech. Then I'd upgrade from my a6500. For an enthusiast, the full frame is just too bulky to carry around casually. So Mark, speek to Sony on our behalf, please, won't you?

Camera does not learn, it was thought initially and thats it. It will only learn more if they train it more with future firmwares. Once they stop updating the firmware on some models, thats it, no more 'learning'. A lot of this AI stuff depends on the coders, how much images of animals they will feed the AI to 'learn', the more the better, and numbers are 100,000 and up to get decent AI detection.

Unfortunately this still doesn't help underwater photographers, no marine life recognition yet!