Colin Poe putts on 18 during the final round of the USADGC 2017 in Milford, Michigan at the Tobaggan course in Kensington Metropark. (Sony A9, 70-200GM, 1/1600, f3.5, ISO 640; Hoodman Steel SDXC UHS-II card) © 2017 Bob Carey

I’ve been away from blogging for awhile, but want to try to catch up and share with you some of my shots using the new Sony A9.

I’ve been shooting Disc Golf the past several days as my son competes in the United States Amateur Disc Golf Championships in Milford, Michigan. I shot the event for the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) and was using Instagram to share the photos throughout the event.

To capture the action, I used my Canon 400mm f4 DO IS II lens and the Sigma MC-11 adapter. It was an interesting pairing, as Sigma had indicated that their adaptor probably wouldn’t work with canon lenses and there were some initial problems with it being used on the A9. I love my 400DO, it’s light and I can handhold it with the mirrorless cameras. I’ve been using it extensively with my Sony a6500 and the MC-11 and getting fantastic results.

I did find some hiccups this time around. When using AF-C, the lens would lock on the subject for the first frame, but then in succeeding frames it was hit or miss whether it stayed locked on. I had been told this was a problem by my friend and Sony Artisan Patrick Murphy-Racey, but I was willing to take some chances with the combination. If I was at a 90degree shooting position to the action, I had no problem tracking the subject, but if the subject was coming towards me, I saw some missed tracking.

My Hoodman Steel SDXC UHS-II SD cards never let me down with the write speed more than ample for the Sony A9. I have never had a problem with Hoodman cards and I rely on them extensively for all my assignments.

The A9 is fantastic with the FPS count and tracking. Here is an example of shooting a tee shot where I shot on low FPS and was still able to get a nice sequence.

Brandon Oleskie makes his approach shot from the bottom of the hill on Hole two in the final round of the USADGC 2017 in Milford, Michigan. (Sony A9, Canon 400/4DO, Sigma MC-11; 1/3200, f4, ISO 640; Hoodman Steel SDXC UHS-II card) © 2017 Bob Carey

Alec Anderson putting on hole 15 during the second round of the USADGC 2017 in Milford, Michigan. (Sony A9, Canon 400/4DO, Sigma MC-11; 1/1250, f4, ISO 320; Hoodman Steel SDXC UHS-II card) © 2017 Bob Carey