The Good, The Bad, and The Unexpected After Another Week
Took the RX1R III out for some family time yesterday and decided to put the continuous autofocus through its paces. My daughter on the swing seemed like the perfect test subject for AF-C tracking.
The reality? It was rough.
The camera struggled to maintain face lock even in good light with a relatively predictable subject. What’s interesting is the focus points were hitting where they should be, but half the images weren’t in focus. This makes me suspect the older Zeiss lens with its leaf shutter simply can’t keep up with the tracking demands.
If I’m right, this could be the RX1R III’s fatal flaw for action photography.
I need to run the same test with my a7cR (same sensor, same AI tracking) to confirm whether it’s a lens limitation or something else. Honestly, I can’t see how this camera could come close to what my a1 II delivers for moving subjects. More testing definitely needed for the 30-day review.
Plot twist at the car show:
The digital zoom feature continues to impress me. Being able to reframe to 50mm or 70mm equivalent and see that full preview on the screen makes composition so much easier when I couldn’t physically move closer. Sure, it’s just cropping, but doing it in real-time beats trying to visualize a tighter frame through a 35mm view. Made me wish Sony had pushed it to 90mm equivalent.
The stealth factor is real. Not one photographer at the show recognized what I was shooting with. There’s something refreshing about flying under the radar while still capturing quality images.
All of these images were captured with the RX1R III with the 49mm Shortstache Everyday Mist Diffusion Filter attached. Just check out the glow from the lights on the Charger.
Rediscovering the camera strap life: I’m actually enjoying carrying this thing around my shoulder again. Forgot how natural that feels compared to always having cameras locked away in bags. Makes me want to test my a7cR the same way – maybe I’ve been overthinking the “protection” mindset.
Speaking of gear drama: Just got my 100-400 GM back from repair – $820 later. First damage in 20+ years of shooting (can’t say the same for drones 😅). Looking forward to sharing my experience with camera repair and why a Sony Pro Membership is worth it.
Coming up: Family travel, then work travel, hopefully with time to properly test the Leica Q3 for that comparison video. The continuous AF findings definitely need more investigation though.
