dbfalconer Loc: Salida CO

Does Clear Image Zoom work with adapters? I have a Sony a6000. Borrowed Canon70-300 with Metabones adapter (no glass).

If I have it set up correctly, the Clear Image Zoom does not seem to work with this combo. And the picture at 300mm is not too different from one from my 55-210 (without Clear Image Zoom).

With CIZ and my 55-210, I get much closer. Quality seemed fine on camera screen. I am unlikely to ever print larger than 11x14. Hobbyist only.

Thanks for thoughts.

Rab-Eye Loc: Indiana

I have an a6000, but I’m unfamiliar with Clear Image Zoom. What is it?

dbfalconer Loc: Salida CO

I’m just figuring it out! Some disparage it—loss of quality? It greatly increases your zoom—but may not be any different than cropping later. I’m just not sure! I keep reading pages 101-102 in my ‘bible’—David Busch’s Sony a6000/ILCE-6000 Guide—-still trying to understand.

a6k Loc: Detroit & Sanibel

"I have an a6000, but I’m unfamiliar with Clear Image Zoom. What is it?"

CIZ is Sony's proprietary version of digital zoom which is enhanced with their programming which does a good job of recognizing known shapes and thus improving them. It's much less effective at nature for the same reason.

CIZ does not work, of course, on raw format images, only video and JPG.

In my testing, nature shots are better off cropped in post processing and even up-sized in some cases. I found that of all the tools I tried, CaptureOne did the best job of doubling the pixels in each direction (ie, 4X the pixels). Since I shoot raw anyhow, that's a better choice. YMMV.

One detail: if you set "quality" (first tab, first item) to raw+JPG you cannot do CIZ.

dbfalconer Loc: Salida CO

Thanks. Very helpful.

Rab-Eye Loc: Indiana

Thanks. That makes sense. I shoot raw and never use digital zoom, so I never paid attention to the name.

lhardister Loc: Brownsville, TN

The short answer to your question is "yes", Clear Image Zoom on Sony a6000 does work with adapters. Or, perhaps, that should be qualified to say that the use of an adapter does not per se disable the CIZ function on that camera.

As a6k pointed out, the image quality should be set to JPEG; the CIZ function will not work with RAW. Since your Sony 55-210 worked in CIZ, you must have had the quality set to JPEG.

It is not clear what you meant by simply saying that the borrowed Canon 70-300 lens "did not work" when you used an adapter to attach it to your a6000. I have a Canon 70-300 "nano" version, and it did "work" in CIZ on my a6000 to render an image, actually a pretty decent one, at focal length of 300mm and 2x magnification in CIZ. However, I was indoors, using standard indoor lighting, and the combination would not autofocus--so I had to resort to manual focus.

The failure/inability to achieve autofocus with lenses attached via an adapter is a common problem with such combinations. The use of a "faster" lens, that is, one with a larger aperture opening when capturing the image, or shooting in relatively bright light would increase the probability that autofocus would work. If you can obtain or borrow, say, a Canon 50mm f/1.8 or f/1.4 lens and attach it with your adapter, it should work. If not, then perhaps there is a fault with the camera or the adapter.

Best regards,

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Yes, CIZ will work and does work very WELL thank you ! You MUST be shooting in JPEG ! - so many people in the raw religion will poo-poo it ! - please do not listen to them. And you do not loose any pixel count with CIZ ! CIZ is an AI algorithm for pixel enlargement automaticly done IN CAMERA.

Yes, I have done tests using a Canon 300mm f2.8 with the Canon 2X II and 2X CIZ - my conclusion, is the results look slightly different - but one is not "better" than the other - just different - SLIGHTLY. You must of course optimize your cameras/lens native IQ to expect the best results from the CIZ ! So, for me, CIZ is BETTER than using a 2X extender mostly because you do not loose 2 stops of light.

Sony A77II, Sigma 100-300 f4 @300mm f4, 1.7X CIZ for effective 510mm, 1/500 from bodypod ......

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(Download)

Toment Loc: FL, IL

I have 100mm macro Tamron with Fotodiox adapter and can use CIZ when quality is jpg only.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Yes, most people don't ......even SONY users .......it is one of the main reasons I switched from Canon to Sony 4 years ago !
.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

I found that CIZ had very limited utility in its current iteration. It is a bit more than the simplistic description of enlarging pixels. A better description would be AI assisted zoom, where the camera compares what is on the sensor against an object database, then optimizes the image based on the comparison. As one article says, if you point it at a bicycle, it will recognize 2 round objects and not make the mistake of optimizing for a fish.

https://www.redsharknews.com/technology/item/2921-what-is-really-going-on-with-sony%E2%80%99s-clear-image-zoom

https://www.diyphotography.net/heres-sony-mirrorless-cameras-allow-double-lens-focal-length-without-losing-quality/

I too have found that shooting raw and optimizing in Capture One produces superior images to using CIZ. CIZ is jpeg-only (not even raw+jpeg), , you can't pick a focus point, you can't use it in movie mode, when Smile Shutter is activated, or when drive mode is set to Cont. Shooting, Spd Priority Cont. or Bracket:Cont.

It's a good thing that the camera is otherwise amazing and truly cutting edge. It is not enough to get me to "switch" from Nikon, and frankly, I didn't even know (or care) about the feature when I bought my Sony. Though I do respect that for some, it's a pretty neat gimmick. Fisheye lenses are neat gimmicks too.

dbfalconer Loc: Salida CO

Good to get all kinds of opinions. I’ll certainly try it for myself. I’m learning so much from UHH. Thanks all!

dbfalconer Loc: Salida CO

Great shot! I’d be delighted with results like this! Thanks!

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

gessman Loc: Colorado

Wouldn't it be nice if those folks who say they have a better method would show their CIZ shots and then the same shot and what they got with their "better way." Or at least show how CIZ messes up nature shots and let you decide if CIZ is good enough for you. All anyone has shown me is that it can make distant foliage in shrubbry look like it's curled up in places. I've seen no examples of anything grotesque it has done like turn a bicycle into a fish.

Gene51 is primarily a Nikon shooter and has every lens anyone could want. He recently got a Sony RX10IV which has a 600mm zoom lens so he has little need to use CIZ but perhaps your urge to shoot certain subject matter with your 210mm lens is why you might want to use CIZ.

a6k is always negative about CIZ without respect of why a person might want to use it but he rarely posts any pictures to justify what he says about it.

I believe, and will continue to do so unless someone here can show me otherwise, that CIZ is an in-camera function independent of any specific lens or adapter combination so if it didn't work with your 70-300 and metabones adapter perhaps you missed something in the menu. Anyone here care to correct that assumption?