Sony A1 New A1 firmware update

[Merlinator]

Windows: https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/e-mount-body-ilce-1-series/ilce-1/software/00260268
Mac: https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/e-mount-body-ilce-1-series/ilce-1/software/00260271

 

[twamers68]

Just updated 1 of my A1’s took about 25mins plus download file time, all seems fine but will compare with my other body when I can. Also they didn’t just throw in a “Pro capture” mode and not announce it

 

[Paul stuart]

quite a long upload for very little that was nearly perfect 99 times out of hundred eye af ,i suspect it is going to set the camera up for big firmware next month,

 

[Merlinator]

apparently the bird eye focus is improved and battery drain issues have been addresssed.

 

[Malsam]

upgraded and use it on a perching owl under the canopy of the trees -pretty much my type of application in a tropical forest and vegetation. Can't see much improvement still have to go manual instead. Probably have to try birds in flight in the open over the weekend to see the difference (but I thought its already quite good )

 

[AlphaWorld]

Just updated 1 of my A1’s took about 25mins plus download file time, all seems fine but will compare with my other body when I can. Also they didn’t just throw in a “Pro capture” mode and not announce it

They are waiting until you least expect it, then they'll sneak it in. Maybe you have to give up waiting, and then it will happen. Or maybe they are waiting for you to sell your A1 and buy a Z9... (you'd do that so the rest of us could benefit, wouldn't you?)

 

[eViga]

apparentemente la messa a fuoco a volo d'uccello è migliorata e sono stati risolti i problemi di esaurimento della batteria.

Sei sicuro della durata della batteria?

 

[twamers68]

They are waiting until you least expect it, then they'll sneak it in. Maybe you have to give up waiting, and then it will happen. Or maybe they are waiting for you to sell your A1 and buy a Z9... (you'd do that so the rest of us could benefit, wouldn't you?)

I could pretend that i have sold my A1's and see what happens Would be a bit peeved if they put a "Pro capture" mode in the A1 II but not the original !! Would say that it would be my perfect camera with that added

 

[AlphaWorld]

I could pretend that i have sold my A1's and see what happens Would be a bit peeved if they put a "Pro capture" mode in the A1 II but not the original !! Would say that it would be my perfect camera with that added

I've read comments from a few people about what was the "one thing" missing from the A1.

You want the "pre-capture" feature (that's what you mean by "Pro Capture", correct?). Someone else quite vocally wants focus stacking (it's a "critical omission", apparently). Another person says that the camera must have dual CFexpress type B slots to be "taken seriously" (that's one I do not agree with). Yet another wants internal 8k video RAW. A few complain about the rear screen.

I don't think any camera can have all the features that everyone wants, but the A1 appears to have come closer than any previous camera I've owned. I am so delighted with what it does have - maybe I've missed seeing the critical feature that it doesn't have? Or maybe, as an amateur, I'm just not pushing hard enough to find the problems? You know what? Maybe I'm happier not knowing?

 

[Slug]

Did the upgrade and seems to work fine.
Have no idea what Pro Capture is!

 

[AlphaWorld]

Yes, I had no problems installing 1.31 either, although I admit I cheated and used a Windows machine

 

[twamers68]

Did the upgrade and seems to work fine.
Have no idea what Pro Capture is!

Worked fine for me, would say bird eye focus is marginally better but not earth shattering better !! Didnt notice any difference in battery life TBH

 

[Merlinator]

Sei sicuro della durata della batteria?

Questo è stato riportato nei post che ho letto.

 

[eViga]

Questo è stato riportato nei post che ho letto.

With the new firmware I came out yesterday and this afternoon, the first impression is that consumption has remained unchanged.

 

[Paul stuart]

marked improvement on battery

 

[Tim Mayo]

Con il nuovo firmware sono uscito ieri e questo pomeriggio, la prima impressione è che i consumi siano rimasti invariati.

Please do try to write in English Ettore since this is an English language forum and you'll generally receive more help when you write in English too. Thank you!

 

[dragonsdreams]

A number of forum members in other Sony groups have complained of worse bird eye focus especially with BIFs with the 200-600mm in particular.
There is a large thread about this on the Sony A1 group on the Fred Miranda photography forum (fredmiranda.com). If you use the 200-600mm I suggest you hold off the upgrade to 1.31. (the 1.3 seems to be okay for most).

 

[Slug]

A number of forum members in other Sony groups have complained of worse bird eye focus especially with BIFs with the 200-600mm in particular.
There is a large thread about this on the Sony A1 group on the Fred Miranda photography forum (fredmiranda.com). If you use the 200-600mm I suggest you hold off the upgrade to 1.31. (the 1.3 seems to be okay for most).

Bit late for that.

 

[dragonsdreams]

Bit late for that.

Have you noticed any detrimental effects?
At the beginning it just seemed like a handful of people had a problem but looking across a number of forums over the last few weeks it seems to be clearer that effected users are those with the 200-600mm (and possibly 70-200mm).
Not enough owners reporting at first but definitely respected bird (and in particular BIF) photographers such as Leon Kirkbride have noticed it.
I believe Colby Brown is taking evidence to Sony so it's being taken seriously.

 

[Slug]

I’ve always struggled to get consistent results with BIF. I think the latest update is better at finding the eye of small birds in busy backgrounds but it does not appear anywhere near as good as Canon R5 in tracking and holding focus with small birds in flight.

 

[Merlinator]

I just purchased a second A1 body and went out the past couple of days to check out the new firmware. I used both my 200-600 and my 600 F4. I definitely saw a difference in keeper rate. The 600 F4 shots were mainly all in focus except for the user error ones. I was shooting snow geese about 50 yards away yesterday with the 600 and it was picking up the eye of the goose with regularity. I had no small birds to compare to. Should have in the upcoming days.

 

[AlphaWorld]

That is very generous of you - buying a second A1 so you could test old firmware vs new for us!

 

[dragonsdreams]

After investigation by Sony the solution seems to be reinitialise the A1 (after backing up). This seems to solve most of the 200-600mm owners issues around eye focus for BIFs.

 

[Value]

Just bought mine had 1.20 loaded.

 

[Slug]

After investigation by Sony the solution seems to be reinitialise the A1 (after backing up). This seems to solve most of the 200-600mm owners issues around eye focus for BIFs.

What do you mean by reinitialize?

 

[Floridaplym]

What do you mean by reinitialize?

I've just got my hands on my new a1 and taking it to Galapagos and Florida with 100-400gm next week, hoping to see plenty of birds so keen to know if I should install this firmware update?

 

[AlphaWorld]

What do you mean by reinitialize?

Sometimes called a "factory reset" - it wipes out all the customisation, and can get rid of problems when something went awry.

On the A1, go to the Setup Menu, entry 2: Reset / Save Settings. It has "Settings Reset" and "Save/Load Settings". Choose "Settings Reset", then choose "Initialise" - that will clear your camera's changes (It won't undo the firmware update, though).

It does mean setting the camera up again, so you might try saving your settings first, and reloading them after the initialisation. Ideally, that should clear the problem. There is a chance that the problem will come back when you reload the settings, but it's worth a try. If the problem does come back, then do the Initialise again, and set the camera up again the slow way

 

[AlphaWorld]

I've just got my hands on my new a1 and taking it to Galapagos and Florida with 100-400gm next week, hoping to see plenty of birds so keen to know if I should install this firmware update?

Check if your camera already has the latest firmware: Setup menu, item 12: Setup Option: last menu entry Version. My A1 is showing 1.31.

If it shows a lower version, then you can consider updating.

 

[GracieAllen]

For the last 2 days I've been going through Sandhill Crane images that I shot in November with the A1 and 200-600 (I'm somewhat behind at the moment). After looking at a few thousand soft sandhill cranes at any distance more than about 40-50 feet, I'd about decided I'm incapable of getting a decent image, and that I should sell all the equipment and take up stamp collecting. I don't recall such horrid results from earlier in the year, or any other year with ANY camera I've had, and couldn't imagine there was ANY problem with body or lens, so problem has to be me! Thus stamp collecting.

Then I saw this and thought MAYBE I'm NOT totally incompetent, it MIGHT be the firmware update I installed as soon as it came out at the end of September.

I've been over the Fred Miranda and in the forums, but I can't find a Sony A1 forum where I can see the big discussion of problems after the 1.31 firmware update...

I CAN save all the settings and do a factory reset if that will actually work, but I'd like to find the discussion - can somebody give me a pointer to where it is? 'Cause by last evening I was thinking "I'm going to have to go BACK to Nikon" and I'd HATE to have to explain all that to the domestic associate...

 

[AlphaWorld]

For the last 2 days I've been going through Sandhill Crane images that I shot in November with the A1 and 200-600 (I'm somewhat behind at the moment). After looking at a few thousand soft sandhill cranes at any distance more than about 40-50 feet, I'd about decided I'm incapable of getting a decent image, and that I should sell all the equipment and take up stamp collecting. I don't recall such horrid results from earlier in the year, or any other year with ANY camera I've had, and couldn't imagine there was ANY problem with body or lens, so problem has to be me! Thus stamp collecting.

Then I saw this and thought MAYBE I'm NOT totally incompetent, it MIGHT be the firmware update I installed as soon as it came out at the end of September.

I've been over the Fred Miranda and in the forums, but I can't find a Sony A1 forum where I can see the big discussion of problems after the 1.31 firmware update...

I CAN save all the settings and do a factory reset if that will actually work, but I'd like to find the discussion - can somebody give me a pointer to where it is? 'Cause by last evening I was thinking "I'm going to have to go BACK to Nikon" and I'd HATE to have to explain all that to the domestic associate...

I doubt it’s the A1 update.

Doing a factory reset and setting up your settings again might fix it if your problem us an inadvertently changed parameter, but that is painful. Trouble is, the A1 is do configurable, there are lots of places a problem could hide.

If you don’t have it switched on, might I suggest turning on the setting that shows a green box on the “chimping” screen? If shows where the camera thinks it was focusing, so that could help you see if it was focusing on the wrong spot.

Oh, and a REALLY horrible thought: any chance you set the focus limiter on the 200-600? If you told it to limit focus to 10m, that might explain why birds over 40’ away were soft…