dcstep

Why would I do that? I'm generally shooting fast moving birds, hand held, so it'd slow me down and be awkward to take my eye away from the EVF. Also, I can't see how it'd be superior to Bird Eye ...

Sorry, but I can't help you. I don't even know what you mean by "white box tracking." I never take my eye off the EVF. I put whichever mode I'm in, Wide, Center, Spot on the subject,, let the ...

In my case, it's eye tracking, not the face box. It's a small AF site, like just on site.

No reason to release, but with my a1 it stays on and continues to track. I don't remember with the a9. Still, if it did stop and you released the shutter button, it's easy enough to recapture, ...

I almost never do video, so I do everything in the EVF. For dogs, I'd use Tracking - Center Fixed and put the center set of AF points on the subject, let the camera find the face and eye and it ...

You decide between Wide, Center and Spot as you're setting up. For the OP's dog, it'd be Center. For birds flying against a blue sky it'd be Wide and for a bird in a bush it'd be Spot. In my case, ...

Assuming there's enough light, I use f/8 as my default for all telephoto shooting.

Let's be realistic and not get too caught up in the idea that there should never ever bee motion blur. There's a trade off between shutter speed and ISO. The eye is not disturbed by a little blur. ...

1/500-sec. is too slow, but something like 1/1250-sec. will work much, much better. Raise the ISO accordingly and use competent noise reduction.

Oh yes, it's normal when the subject is coming straight at the lens and the AF is only adjusted 120-times per second. It's a classic issue with every AF system currently available. The issue is ...

Dogs are not this fast, so 1/1000 to 1/2000-sec. will generally do the trick and allow lower ISO: With the a9 and a1, I tried with and without IBIS and OSS (shooting 100-400mm GM and 600mm GM, with ...

Thanks. For stills, I use, AF-C, Tracking - wide, Tracking - Fixed Center and Tracking - Flexible Spot S.  Wide is when the background is relatively low contrast, Center is when BG might be an ...

OP needs to try to get closer, set his a9 in a Tracking - Mode and leave Animal Eye detect on (someone said that'd slow AF down, but that's not worth worrying about). Dogs are not extremely fast ...

The 14mm GM is smaller, faster and lighter and better for astro photography. Yes, the 12-24mm G is an excellent lens. You seem to love UWA lenses, as do I. I think you'll love either the 12mm GM or ...

Comparing in the same conditions is an absolute must. Atmospheric distortion will vary hour-to-hour.

Do you have shots with the 100-400mm from the same shoot? If not, then you need to a repeatable comparison, such as shooting a highly textured brick wall from 25-yards or more, then look at 100% ...

So, when you over cook, you turn it down to compensate. I think that you're wrong about atmospheric distortion. Still, if you don't like the lens, return it.

Looks over-sharpened to me. Try moving that slider to the Left and watch the edge of the mountain as you do it.

Given that distance and those conditions, I wouldn't judge the lens. The atmospheric conditions are going to cause distortion, which focus cannot correct. BTW, nice recovery in post, although I ...

I said "most animals" and haven't tried it with people.