Love my Q3 but AFc & iAF is basically unusable

[justinkaplan]

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I know you can't compare the AF system of Sony to Leica however I would say this AF system is basically unusable for any type of even slightly moving subjects. I get that most are using AFs and recomposing but not only is that not doable for moving subjects its quite odd that a $6k camera can't use the feature sets that it offers. I really want this to work and have spent days trying to find hacks. Face and eye detect with groups as others have already said is impossible. The animal detect doesn't lock the eye which doesn't make sense with the beautiful 1.7 lens. 

I so badly want to make this work but feel the camera is meant for still subjects and things. Odd considering it's background with documentary and street photography which always has moving subjects. Just hopefull they will address with firmware but not sure if that will fix. If anyone has suggestions please advise again the camera is perfect for what it is if just the AF for moving subjects was cleaned up. 

[pcgarner]

Manual/zone focus. Forget the AF. This is an invented issue that no one even considered as a problem a couple decades ago. Be creative.

[justinkaplan]

6 minutes ago, pcgarner said:

Manual/zone focus. Forget the AF. This is an invented issue that no one even considered as a problem a couple decades ago. Be creative.

Correct, and manual/zone including the AF works for everything except not good with moving subjects within the frame. Again, love the camera just honing in on one aspect which is a big one for some. 

[FusionX.Photo]

There’s nothing wrong with the AF for moving subjects, I’ve captured skaters, cars, planes with zero issue but you have to use it in a different way to Sony. I came from a Sony A7IV and can get the same results.

[liggy]

I've never even tried to use the continuous af / tracking (if there is such a feature) on the Q2.  

Definitely use my Sony for anything that moves.  

[justinkaplan]

5 minutes ago, FusionX.Photo said:

There’s nothing wrong with the AF for moving subjects, I’ve captured skaters, cars, planes with zero issue but you have to use it in a different way to Sony. I came from a Sony A7IV and can get the same results.

Would love to hear what setting you use for this and how your process is different than with Sony. Thank you! 

[FusionX.Photo]

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50 minutes ago, justinkaplan said:

Would love to hear what setting you use for this and how your process is different than with Sony. Thank you! 

Well I don't use tracking as I do find that it's pretty useless but AF-C and field or zone works really well. I never relied on tracking with Sony either. 

I've also panned successfully at 1/60 AF-C, field, not saying it was easy but it's achievable, 1/125 panning isn't a problem.

Stick with it and practice, practice, practice because it's a wonderful tool. I have zero regrets ditching all of my GM glass and making the switch, i'm using it on professional and personal shoots.

I've seen a few people advise just using AF-S, that's poor advice in my opinion as the Q3 is more than capable of giving excellent results in AF-C.

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Edited August 22, 2023 by FusionX.Photo

[adrianh]

I think that AF-C performance is way higher with subjects moving parallel to the photographic axis, which is also the way panning works. The challenge is with subjects moving fast towards the photographer. They hopefully will improve on that via firmware updates. It was a similar issue with Nikon and they also greatly improved with time. However, not sure what the hardware combo (PDAF + Maestro} is able to deliver even after tuning….

[mholeica]

I use iAF and switch between face/eye detect and field for focus point. I shoot a lot of family candid pics including children so there is always some movement and iAF works well to track them when needed. If I know there will be a whole load of faces in the scene that I don’t want to focus on then I switch from eye detect to field focus. In general focus is pretty spot on, super sharp. Other settings are auto iso with max iso 12500 and min shutter of 1/250 (usually, if not too dark).

[justinkaplan]

7 hours ago, FusionX.Photo said:

Well I don't use tracking as I do find that it's pretty useless but AF-C and field or zone works really well. I never relied on tracking with Sony either. 

I've also panned successfully at 1/60 AF-C, field, not saying it was easy but it's achievable, 1/125 panning isn't a problem.

Stick with it and practice, practice, practice because it's a wonderful tool. I have zero regrets ditching all of my GM glass and making the switch, i'm using it on professional and personal shoots.

I've seen a few people advise just using AF-S, that's poor advice in my opinion as the Q3 is more than capable of giving excellent results in AF-C.

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Wonderful images! I think the main issue is I am so used to my Sony a1 which you put the spot focus on a human/or animal and it goes straight to their eye and will follow the whole room even with people walking in front. I didn't expect that and knew the sony AF was far superior however I still will say the AFc's continuous hunting and pecking is annoying and the tracking in comparison is elementary. Again, love this camera just trying to understand where it sits with my workflow. 

[FusionX.Photo]

5 hours ago, justinkaplan said:

Wonderful images! I think the main issue is I am so used to my Sony a1 which you put the spot focus on a human/or animal and it goes straight to their eye and will follow the whole room even with people walking in front. I didn't expect that and knew the sony AF was far superior however I still will say the AFc's continuous hunting and pecking is annoying and the tracking in comparison is elementary. Again, love this camera just trying to understand where it sits with my workflow. 

Thanks. I think if you're switching between the A1 and Q3 it's going to take longer to get to grips with it, if you can i'd try and spend a week shooting just with the Q3 and experiment. The clinical nature of the Sony AF is one reason why I switched, all too easy and I was getting extremely bored and uninspired to shoot.

[thighslapper]

I get the impression that Leica adds these features purely to show that they are 'keeping up with the opposition' to some extent rather than because they think it's something they actually think an all purpose street/travel/portrait camera actually needs. Unlike IBIS/OIS technology which they can use from Panasonic as they have a co-operative agreement I suspect their AF firmware is generated completely in-house. 

Their firmware/processing has always been a camera generation behind the likes of Sony/Canon/Nikon who probably employ more people in their software department alone than Leica has worldwide in the whole company. 

It will no doubt be better in the Q4 ...... but by then Sony will be in a different league again. 

[FusionX.Photo]

Incorrect, the AF is the same as in the Panasonic S5 II

[thighslapper]

32 minutes ago, FusionX.Photo said:

Incorrect, the AF is the same as in the Panasonic S5 II

Well that just shows they are not that bothered ....... as the S5 II AF, although improved, still lags behind the others. 

[FusionX.Photo]

16 minutes ago, thighslapper said:

Well that just shows they are not that bothered ....... as the S5 II AF, although improved, still lags behind the others. 

So you think a Leica should have AF that matches Sony ? Ridiculous expectation, it’s a totally different product. You’re not going to be tracking birds with a Q3, why do some people just moan and whine for the sake of it, buy something else and leave people that understand what they are purchasing to enjoy their cameras.

[justinkaplan]

5 hours ago, FusionX.Photo said:

Thanks. I think if you're switching between the A1 and Q3 it's going to take longer to get to grips with it, if you can i'd try and spend a week shooting just with the Q3 and experiment. The clinical nature of the Sony AF is one reason why I switched, all too easy and I was getting extremely bored and uninspired to shoot.

Agree 100% but have to use the Sony for my professional work which is heavily weighted in sports/lifestyle. My main purpose of the Q3 was personal work with hopes I could incorporate with SOME of the lifestyle work which I still think so.

[justinkaplan]

17 minutes ago, FusionX.Photo said:

So you think a Leica should have AF that matches Sony ? Ridiculous expectation, it’s a totally different product. You’re not going to be tracking birds with a Q3, why do some people just moan and whine for the sake of it, buy something else and leave people that understand what they are purchasing to enjoy their cameras.

It was clearly stated expectations were not that of the sony nor anywhere close. Having said that with the feature sets they have in the Q3 and with the marketing that the AF with phase detection is there I and many expected it to simply be better. Since it isn't the purpose of the post is to learn how others are utilizing it in those settings. Thank you. 

[FusionX.Photo]

1 hour ago, justinkaplan said:

It was clearly stated expectations were not that of the sony nor anywhere close. Having said that with the feature sets they have in the Q3 and with the marketing that the AF with phase detection is there I and many expected it to simply be better. Since it isn't the purpose of the post is to learn how others are utilizing it in those settings. Thank you. 

I wasn’t referring to your comments it was the one about Leica not being bothered.