Sony Alpha A55 Snowboard Sequence

[Photo-John]

I took the Sony Alpha A55, PhotographyREVIEW.com's 2010 Camera Of The Year, out for a day of snowboard photos last week. Pat Branch, another photographer, rode for me and I got to really test the action abilities of the A55. And it is impressive - especially when you consider that it sells for $799. This sequence was shot at ISO 800 with the kit lens and then put together using the Photoshop Photomerge tool. I don't believe there's another $800 camera that could produce a sequence like this.

[cozmocha]

I like it. What fame rate did you shoot at? Use every shot?

[Pete7D]

which frame is the main one? the on ethe guy is in the middle of the picture?
I dont know how to create a photomerge.sorry

[NoKnees]

Nice set! Good to see what the a55 is capable of doing out in the wild and in good hands... My plans are to hold out and pick up the a77 when it's released, if the budget will allow. Seeing what the a55 can do right now makes it harder to wait.. ;)

I would imagine the focus tracking did fine with that particular sequence, as the distance to subject shouldn't have changed much. A few quick Q's...
- Did you shoot center/spot with AF-C, or manual/prefocus on the rock and just let'er rip, or?
- Did the screen/evf flicker/blackout cause any issues with subject tracking for you?

Anyway, nice photo.... Makes me miss winter that much more... I know, most of the country is getting pounded, so I shouldn't complain, but.... I'm tired of sunshine and warm weather when I should be heading to the hills to ride pow... Oh well...

[Photo-John]

I like it. What fame rate did you shoot at? Use every shot?

Sorry I didn't reply sooner. Been super busy with all the new product announcements this week.

I had to actually check the manual to see what the burst rate was. The A55 can do 10 FPS but only in a special mode. I'm a manual exposure guy so I was shooting in shutter priority in high speed burst mode. That's 6 FPS. And no, I didn't use every shot. The was one after the first that I left out. They were just too tight before he picked up speed.

[Photo-John]

-Did you shoot center/spot with AF-C, or manual/prefocus on the rock and just let'er rip?

I pre-focused for this one. No need for continuous AF. In fact, that would be too risky with this shot.

-Did the screen/evf flicker/blackout cause any issues with subject tracking for you?

The EVF does black out between shots. It caught me off guard with the first burst I shot (in the park). But after that I remembered and compensated for it a bit. It's not a problem for a photo like this. But if you're trying to pan with your subject you have to be attentive and lead a little to make sure you don't lose him/her/it.

Glad you like the sequence. I'm working on another, panoramic rail sequence from the park. I'll post it in this thread when I'm done.

[NoKnees]

Thanks for the details on the shoot. I've had pretty good results keeping things locked with Sony's AF on basic panning action shots, no matter the background. It's just when things are moving towards or away with busy backgrounds that it occasionally gets distracted. Makes sense to pre-focus rather than track in this case, no need to take any chances.

The two things keeping the a55 at "good" for action photography and not "great" are the limits on the 10fps functionality and the blackout of the EVF causing a lag when tracking the action. I'm curious to see how Sony address those in the a77 later this year.

Looking forward to your next sequence.

[Photo-John]

Took me a while to figure out how I wanted to do this one. But I am quite pleased with this. I think it also shows off the A55 well.



Click on the photo to see a larger version in the gallery.

[NoKnees]

Yep, the last one turned out well. The blue/green colors compliment each other well. I like the display style too.

I may have to steal that for a collage here at home.. ;)