Ralph: A7RIV + FE 200-600 G AF Tracking Test (Patreon)

I am currently testing the Alpha 7R IV with the FE 200-600 G. There have been reports surfacing online that the 200-600 does not play nicely with the RIV when tracking quickly moving subjects and will struggle to focus accurately. Theoretically the AF tracking of the RIV should be superior to the RIII and I have not had issues when using my wide aperture prime lenses with the IV. The FE 135 G Master performs beautifully with the RIV. I have also tested the FE 200-600 on multiple occasions with the A9, A9II and A7RIII cameras with great success. I have only recently acquired my own FE 200-600 G lens and have only used it on my A9II camera until today to shoot fast action.

This morning's shoot involved Ralph doing dozens of runs while he pursues his favourite pastime of chasing seagulls. Although I have lots of images that are acceptably sharp, I have to report that I am used to a higher rate of pin-sharp images and less missed focus shots from shooting action with an R.

Ralph is a big high-contrast target and I was surprised the RIV would prematurely abandon its AF Tracking icon in favour of the dancing green squares (indicating it was struggling to identify its initial target). The last image of the four is an example where the camera would often drop focus on a whole series of images forcing me to release and reacquire more often than I am used to.

In light of these finding I feel that I cannot currently recommend the FE 200-600 G lens to A7RIV photographers who plan to use this combo for fast action photography until a lens or camera firmware update resolves the problem. I have no idea if this problem is global or isolated to a certain batch of units. For A7RIV photographers I would currently recommend the FE 100-400 G Master or consider the  A9 or A9II cameras if most of your work involves capturing fast moving subjects - especially at high ISO values.

I'll keep you updated if I find out more information.