I like it when I can start the new week with a good Sony news-rumor :=)
A source (Thanks!) sent us this text but don’t try to click on the download links. They will work form October 18th only!
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PRESS TEXT
Please be informed that the new firmware version 1.06 for SLT-A77 & SLT-A65, and firmware version 1.03 for SLT-A57 & SLT-A37 will be available soon.
Japan is going to make an announcement for this firmware update, but we will handle it as a download content for regional website as it’s only a firmware update.
1. Target date of posting the download on Sony Asia website is 14:00 SG Time (GMT + 8hrs) on Thursday, 18 Oct 2012.
SLT-A65 Firmware Upgrade
Ver.1.06 (Microsoft Windows)
http://www.sony-asia.com/support/download/518235
Ver.1.06 (Apple Macintosh)
http://www.sony-asia.com/support/download/518237
SLT-A77 Firmware Upgrade
Ver.1.06 (Microsoft Windows)
http://www.sony-asia.com/support/download/518232
Ver.1.06 (Apple Macintosh)
http://www.sony-asia.com/support/download/518233
SLT-A37 Firmware Upgrade
Ver.1.03 (Microsoft Windows)
http://www.sony-asia.com/support/download/519325
Ver.1.03 (Apple Macintosh)
http://www.sony-asia.com/support/download/519329
SLT-A57 Firmware Upgrade
Ver.1.03 (Microsoft Windows)
http://www.sony-asia.com/support/download/518238
Ver.1.03 (Apple Macintosh)
http://www.sony-asia.com/support/download/518240
2. Applicable Model & Version
Model Name
Firmware Version
SLT-A65, SLT-A77
1.05 or earlier
SLT-A37, SLT-A57
1.02 or earlier
3. Additional Features / Improvements
· Lens compensation function is extended to the following lenses
Ø SAL30M28, SAL50F14, SAL2470Z, SAL2875, SAL70400G, SAL70200G, SAL35F14G, SAL1635Z
· Addition of capability to enable/disable the MOVIE button (applicable to SLT-A77 & SLT-A65 only)
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I don’t know yet if there are more new features and fixes. Hope yes!
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For US readers. You save $100 on the A77 open box deal at [shoplink 14756 ebay]Beachcamera (Click here)[/shoplink].
129 Responses
Links are down 🙁
It says they aren’t available until the 18th. Maybe try then 😉
opps, sorry, deleted
the firmware is not attractive enough, just two tiny tiny “improvements”…. am i too greedy? 🙂
“I don’t know yet if there are more new features and fixes. Hope yes!.”
“capability to enable/disable the MOVIE button (applicable to SLT-A77 & SLT-A65 only)”
YES!!!! FINALLY!!!
I am glad Mr. Kenta Honjo listen to my concern:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/post/41701251
YOUR concern?! Feel free to pat yourself on the back, but you said yourself in the dpreview post that “he gets lot of feedback about this, and they are working on a fix”.
Sounds like he had already listened. 😉
looking forward to the new firmware, but what can i expect from it?
preformance?
iso?
ets?
i would prefer that to be another customization button instead of on n off…
The fact is.. any one wanna do movie would use the WHEEL and do it properly!!
it makes more sense on an NEX than an AXX
as long as it can act as some other function button in any other mode but movie mode… every body happy 🙂
At least, we can deactivate the movie button now. I think that’s a really good thing.. anyway, apart from that I love my A77
At least it gives me the feeling that sony did not abandon their “old” cameras. Let’s hope that there will be more improvements are at least that there will be a 1.1 or even better a 2.0 version soon.
i have a few issues with the current firmware of my just arrived a77:
1. Make the questionmark and Exposure compensation button customizable.
If you put exposurecompensation in P, A, S on a wheel, Exp-Comp Button becomes useless, questionmark Button is useless after reading the manual.
2. The effect of the Exposurecompensation is just visible for up to +-2 EV, more is possible but you don’t see the effect on screen or in the viewfinder
3. Make automatic playback adjustable for Display or Viewfinder, my wish would be to have no playback in Viewfinder but on the screen.
4. It’s not possible to do wireless flash with manual settings for the internal flash, why not?
Perfect would be the option to turn off the flash for the Lighting, that it just works as trigger and has no influence on the Light.
5. It is not possible to af a AF-On button with AF-C, ju can decouple AF from the Shutterbutton, but then ju can only use AF-S with the AF/MF Button.
I would love the option to decouple the AF from the shutterbutton and activate AF-C with the AF/MF Button
6. Tethering
+1
Especially for ? button.
Wish I could assign focus peaking settings to it.
Fixing stuff with flashes would also be appreciated.
ps. I wonder if Sony will ever try to make profiles for Minolta lenses that don’t have equivalents in Sony’s lineup, like beercan or 80-200… would be good, surely appreciated by many people. But that’s just wishful thinking.
only three days to go then…hope there’s more improvements than that, otherwise there’s no point in most users upgrading. Hopefully we’ll get some of the new A99 stuff in there.
Indeed, me too. However the video button thingy is most welcome, it appears to be a real bug-bear to some. The only time I hit it though is when adjusting the diopter.
Having it (and the ?) as custom functions would be very useful Sony!
Yes, I finaly can remove the glued rubber ring around the movie button! Lens correction is nice, but not really important for RAW-photographers like me.
J.
Agree, better, Sony, lets make lens correction modules for LR.
Great to know that the “older” (haha) bodys like A77 are still not forgotten in this “each-month-new-body-race”. Most of us didn’t even believe any more that there will be more FW-updates – appreciation for Sony!
To disable the movie-button is a very needful feature endeed, and it shows again that Sony does hear to our voices here and there. Hope for more features as well, but I am quite happy already at this state.
No NEX-7 Firmware Update yet 🙁
… but a good reason for a hope …
“· Addition of capability to enable/disable the MOVIE button (applicable to SLT-A77 & SLT-A65 only)”
This for NEX-7, please.
While I’m on the topic of NEX-7 firmware, I’d also like the ability to set a button to switch between LCD and EVF, and to be able to customize the function of the exposure compensation button (since that function is in most cases duplicated on one of the control wheels anyway).
Nice… both mentioned features are great. Compensation for the 24-70 Zeiss is nice to have. And i do indeed press the movie button a lot by accident. Hope the overall responsiveness will also improve a bit more…
I would very much like some lens compensation (distortion, chromatic aberration) also for the RAW data, as it was introduced with ne new RX-100. This would be a big time-sparing step for RAW only photographers!
” Addition of capability to enable/disable the MOVIE button ” – FINALLY!!!
😀
It felt like forever till we get this feature.
+1
Movie Button on/off would be highly appreciated on NEX7. 🙂
…ok and what about the NEX-7!?
What a bummer, if they leave us hanging on with still FW 1.0!?
Sony come on, you can’t be serious!?
Wonder if they did’nt sell enough Units of the NEX-7 to justifiy this Costumer-Ignorance?
Auto repeat on zoom buttons for A65. With no rear dial wheel It´s a must have.
this is a minor firmware update. I would like a major firmware update that fix jpg quality and possibility to have effects and/or corrections in RAW also! Too many months for only a minor firmware upgrade? not so good…
I think that they forgot about most important fix with this patch:
– JPG engine.
Implement one from RX1 and I guess 90% of people will be happy. 😉
awww, 1.06 version, don’t expect big changes… 🙁
What about the NEX-7??? Still waitin for a update :-(((
Too bad this firmware update wont make people better photographers. They blame lack of sheer skill and discipline on firmware.
Ill be updating my a57 so I can give my 5d mk3 a well deserved rest.
Who said it will? Have you been listening to the voices in your head again?
Frank = Troll . . . Don’t feed trolls!
I guess everybody who you don’t agree with is a troll.
No. just to the negative sarcastic ones. . . .
Good news!What is the good????this is joke for people who own sony camera.they just make fun of us with this firmware.
o_O enjoy your life little bit more instead of trolling?
i was hoping for a good firmware update like Canon did with the 7D, increasing the buffer… oh well… i will have to survive with 1 second burst of raw’s until it starts to choke (and i’m shooting at 8fps!)…
The A 77 should be able to do 2 seconds of RAW in 8fps mode with a fast card, the equivalent of 15 frames and clear the buffer in less than 8 seconds.
no freaking NEX-7 update, what crap.
custom “?” button 🙂
Da hell? When is the Nex 7 update? Been longing for it! Hope they better implement a better update on the Nex 7 since they are taking a hell of a time to do it! Sony, please don’t leave out the Nex 7 customers, Thanks!
NEX 7!!!! where the heck is nex7 firmware update
~??
Much too little…Much too late. This is news but not good news.
Yes, being able to disable the movie button is good and lens compatibility will be welcomed by some, I suppose, but Sony just are not listening. We NEED a better Jpeg engine so we can get decent pictures AND use all the cameras facilities, better noise reduction and better ISO performance on the A65/A77 cameras.
If their firmware writers are so bad that they can’t write a decent Jpeg engine, then how about them using their dubious skills to enable all the facilities which are not available at present when using RAW.
Sony, if you are serious about supporting your existing cameras, then do it properly and listen to your public.
performance? noise (jpeg)?
I tend to agree with everyone about the much needed jpg engine improvements. a lot of the camera’s goodies are jpg only, yet the jpg rendering is pretty weak. please either turn on these features for raw or improve the quality of the jpg engine. What’s the use of having all these features advertised when you are forced to use the vastly inferior jpg mode to use them?
What’s the problem with movie button? I never pressed it unintentionally.
What would be really great to see, is ability to set the low limit for exposure time in A mode.
Like: I want to shoot something dynamic with open apeture. If I set S mode, it will often close aperture more, then I want it, if I set A mode, it will often set exposure lower than needed for clear shots.
And, of course, we can fix both in M mode, but it is not good idea for dynamic shooting.
2 Maxbl4 – take A77 put F58 + 24-70 + battery grip on it. And walk one two three hours taking fotos. If tumb is long enough You will got from one to ten short video. And if You turn main display backward and will open it only for low angle foto – You will start video much more often.
Looking forward to this but to be honest was expecting something a little better than just 1.06, something like 2.0 or 1.5 would have been good to included some of the A99 features that have been missing from our A77 and really though would have been added to our A77 shortly after launch (eg, Tether Support which most low end SLR camera’s support now days)…
My fingers are still crossed for a better update list as for a 6 month long update the current suspected release notes are looking very disappointing as they stand right now.
If they have managed to get some of the basics working with the A99 firmware surely they can now bring these basics to the A77 (eg, Auto ISO, Tether support, better buffer handing, better responsiveness, “?” button assignment (such as flash power), improved JPEG engine, improved ISO quality as well as an updated RAW format that in-beds things like lens correction, effects and Multiframe NR..etc..etc.)
To be honest I find the picture quality of the A77 in good light to be very good and have been most happy with the camera and is why I think Sony really need to add Tether support quickly as it can be a great studio camera with the high MP sensor with great quality light (this is a very good strength of the camera and very surprised Sony has not tapped into this market yet as so many are upset and asking for it)
+1 For selectable flash power toggle button. Like: you press and hold configured button and can change flash power using one of the wheels.
How about Nex-7 new firmware Andrea? Any info yet??
where is the Full-Frame Update for the NEX-7!! Sony?? 😛
I hope there are more updates than the ones listed. If not, it took entirely too long to get this out IMO.
I know it might not be technically possible, but if they could add the focus limiter from the A99 to the same (on A77 useless) button, I would totally freak out. As a matter of fact, that is the only functionality I desire, except for manual audio levels in video and a little bit snappier UI response.
this should work from ADI so is theoretically possible as long as you have an ADI lens.
Tethering support! A camera in this price-range and class must have it! Even much cheaper Canon or Nikon can do that. Why doesn’t Sony implement this feature in the A77 ?!?!?! ARG
Agree, for what Sony was trumping to be one of the most digitally advanced SLR camera’s around to miss a basic feature like digital tether support and expanding on it is mind blowing…
I will be a bit miffed after many months all they can only deliver are few lens profiles and a movie button tweak…. that is a weeks worth of work for a software engineer… why so long for the update?????
How about implimenting the things that people actually are crying out for:
1: Better Jpeg engine
2: Tethering
3: Enable the use of all functions while using timer delay or remote ie HDR
4: Control over effect tolerances
My guess is that they have so many new cameras to write firmware for, they don’t have time to develop for existing ones. If Sony stopped churning out cameras so quickly, they’d be able to concentrate on firmware updates.
The next big A77 firmware update will be in August, the A78.
Sony sales dont allow firmware update coming to a77 cause you dont buy they now half baket camera(a99).this update is only to clean they hands from it.do you what will be 1.07? I tell you what.new function to delete 1000 pictures at once.why? Couse they noisy and useless.i really need this funtion on my a77.please sony make believe.
Stop the glue sniffing and then come back.
wtf hahaha his writing skills are very impressive..go away
Good that CZ 24-70 is finally supported.
So the A77 got update, so the SONY-NEX 7 will possible get an FW update next !!!?
I just hope they fixed the flash exposure issues and the “Unable to Magnify” bug that is still present on the A65 and A77s.
Now there is an update about the moist wanted features (at least) …
… and again I hear mostly complaints!
Even if the could & would update all the above lists, some would still find a flaw or two.
This is really saddening!
Mostly complaints because we have waited the best part of a year for very minor updates. I think most people were expecting a better Jpeg engine at bare minimum.
+1 , I have to agree, disabling Movie button is no big deal for me but I understand many want it so that’s great (but lest be honest it should not have taken more then 1 developer 1 hour to make the coding change)…
As for the lens updates this should of happened along time ago and it’s nothing special for the A77 as I’m sure the lens data would have been available but needed to be loaded into the firmware and again if Sony have written the firmware correctly adding lenses across camera’s should be a simple and quick process so in my view this firmware update as it stands should not have costed a single coder a business week tops to get written and put through QC testing.
I think that’s what people are complaining about IF what has been published is in fact correct it means Sony has not really been working on the A77 much at all and for there flagship/top of the line APS-C camera that is missing many basic features the competitors have and have had for many years (even older Sony’s had such as tether support). I can’t see any excuse for not including it after a year of release.
Being able to disable the movie button WAS the most wanted update.
But now I suppose that most a77 owners have adapted so they pull out the screen at the upper left corner, however clumsy that may feel with the left hand under the lens. I know I have. So now this update is rather uninteresting.
If, on the other hand, they unlocked Auto Iso in Manual, that would get me excited.
Haha, that’s a funny joke. After such a long time, we should see version 2.0, not just a tiny bug-fix. I’m not even hoping for many more features than the listed two, otherwise they would have chosen a different number.
From a software perspective, this is just ridiculous. It should take a firmware programmer about 1 hour of work to include a new switch for toggling the function of the movie button. Creating the lens profiles might take a little longer, but it’s certainly not a firmware programmer that creates these. This makes me believe that there isn’t even a single programmer employed to improve the firmware.
I’m crossing my fingers that currently, all firmware programmers are super-busy updating their E-mount flagship NEX-7 and therefore, noone can take of A77 & co.
I’m not usually one to moan about firmware updates and the stamping of feet from users irritates me immensely, but let’s face facts, with the NEX-6 announced, the NEX-7 needs a major firmware update if Sony wants to sell any more of them.
could not agree more…
bummer… none of the 2 mentioned enhancements justifies the upgrade.
I would wish for:
– better noise performance
– multiframe eposure that can be triggered with external remote or with timer
– better AF accuracy in certain conditions
– some other new features like timelapse etc.
– some video features, e.g. faster fps would be awesome
Overall, Sony should just simply make the FW open and allow features to be added / removed. Dont like video? simply remove it. Dont use certain stlyles? replace them or remove them to free up memory and speed up the camera. The 2 tiny features should take no more than a few hours to be added if you are a developer who knows how the FW is structured. So why did this super small update took so long? Come on Sony, you can do better!
I think they will update it. It may be the last update but I think they will. I see a lot of nex-7 on ebay right now. I was almost tempted but I will wait for the nex-6.
For me, my A77 works very, very well …
Now I look for 70-200 “ssm 2”
Wish they’d just add peaking to the A35.
But what about a55/33?
Don’t hold your breath for updates to discontinued models.
Let’s not rush with our expectations. The major gripe I have is flash going to 1/1 power when your subject is black or deep toned, the rest is practice and “hard wiring” your brain to reach for the right button. Jpeg works fine, set it to 12mp, noise reduction high, vivid -1 contrast that’s it. Clean files every time and watch the histogram for proper exposure.
I am glad to see some support with firmware because Sony needs to do a better job with supporting their cameras and improving them when they can. The jpeg engine definately needs some work. There is no reason Nikon and or Canon should be better in that department. I always thought they could fix the noise issue with firmware but I waited for years for that with the 850/900 which never materialized. I wouldn’t hold your breath for the 65/77 on this subject. I hope I am wrong. What is this lens compensation support? I am not familiar with this.
Hi Poke, the Lens compensation automatically compensates for light falloff at the edges (shading), chromatic aberration, and distortion for the attached and supported lens while shooting.
So you do not have to correct your shots after taking all the work is pre-done for you on the supported set of lenses. It’s a very nice feature and works with the kit lens as well as a few others I think around 6-10 lenses at the moment from memory.
You can also use the old DOF preview button to visually ‘see’ the difference and corrections being made. very good feature!
What? No one here as said something like “I hope v1.06 turns the EVF into an OVF!!!!”
Come on Sergei, I bought a 24mp camera and expect to use it as such and get decent Jpeg’s out of it, I don’t expect to have to downgrade it to 12mp and turn the noise reduction to high to solve Sony’s problems.
Someone else said the A77 takes great pics in good light, well, I’m sorry, shooting wildlife outdoors isn’t the same as being in the studio where you can control these things.
I really like my A65 and I want to be able to use all it’s facilities but I cannot do this when shooting RAW. I also want good shutter speed which I cannot get because of the poor ISO and noise performance (and no, I cannot afford £2000 f2 lenses and the like, I ain’t rich like so many seem to be). So here I am with a camera I love but which lets me down because of a poor Jpeg engine, ISO and noise, all of which should have been sorted before release or shortly after.
Sony should be ashamed of themselves for not addressing these problems after such a long time.
Hi Keithyman, it was me who commended on the A77 taking great studio shots or when you have good light!
However I was referring to why Sony has not added Tethered support as the camera performs really well when you have good quality light so adding tether support can make this camera shine for so many studio users.
I agree JPEG engine could do with some work however I have found if shooting RAW I can do about 99% of what I need to, Multiframe NR support would be nice with RAW but it’s a post process engine that runs so you can understand why it’s not included with RAW, as RAW is what is says, RAW format as in no processing as been done and you can do what you like with it and achieve similar or better results to what the camera can.
One really good feature the new A99 is that Sony has released a new RAW format that can include things like Lens compensation and similar details so when you view your RAW file the program can apply the filters/options you sent when taking the picture… REALLY good feature/idea this is perhaps some of the features/options can be done similar with the A77 but a new RAW format will be needed for this and of cause all your applications will need updating and support for this new format…etc…
Lets wait and hope for a much better and more feature rich firmware update (fingers crossed!)
All the best!
Hi John
Thanks for your reply. Yes, I had understood that your main concern was with the tethering but your comment regarding good light was the one which caught my eye.
As an amateur photographer, I use my A65 predominantly for wildlife and nature and do no studio work at all so you can see why I, like so many others, need good Jpeg, ISO and better noise reduction to get the best shutter speeds and quality in many differing circumstances.
I certainly can’t afford Sony’s big firmware update in the form of the A99 or expensive lenses or Photoshop/Lightroom etc but I am considering saving for either the new Paint Shop Pro x5 (using x2 at present) or Elements 11 in an effort to get a better Jpeg converter than Sony’s along with the other processing facilities and maybe try using RAW more).
I do appreciate that many facilities have to go when using RAW because of exactly what it is but why they disable ‘focus magnifier’ and the like in RAW is beyond me.
Too many people dismiss Jpeg because they work in studios or have the best lenses and processing software and so can shoot their work in RAW only, they don’t realise that there are so many amateurs out there who don’t and can’t have these facilities (or the storage space for so many Raw pics). Your understanding of this is appreciated.
Yes, John, let’s hope for a much better firmware update….but to be honest, I’m not holding my breath.
Cheers 🙂
Tests show that Sony ISO rating in a77 is understated. It is 2/3 higher than competition. You will get the same shutter speeds with a77 at iso 1000 as Canon 7d/Nikon d7000 at iso 1600 ( exposure is based on histogram) try it yourself. Sony’s jpeg engine is fine and high iso noise reduction works well compared to what I saw from Canon (complete loss of details on crop cameras). There’s no aps-c 24mp camera that will deliver better results, A77 is right there with the big two, considering the difference in iso ratings.
Hi Sergei
I have to disagree with this statement, I’ve done testing with an older Sony A700, Sony A350 as well as played around with the Sony A850 (although have not done directly comparisons)…
Some of the A77 reviews that have been published incorrectly said what you have above in that as the SLT ‘mirror’ blocks some of the light it means you get slower shutter speeds or lower ISO quality which is not the case at all and simply a mis-interpretation of the SLT technology.
The Sony sensor has been adjusted (boosted if you like) to compensate for the SLT mirror (just as they need to adjust every sensor to reproduce similar results across the settings/ranges/brands..etc..
I find it very wrong if those reviews have not been updated with accurate information as they are by no means accurate in any way…
What they are basically trying to say is my picture will almost be 1 stop darker than a competitors at the same settings which is simply wrong, inaccurate and shows a complete mis-understanding for the technology.
P.S. I’m not having a go at you by any means, I understand that you are simply repeating what the ‘professionals’ have reported and published and logically should be correct and accurate, however this is not true.
No offense taken. Here’s a link to a Solid Test between competing models; Sony a77, Nikon D7000, Canon 7D
http://club.foto.ru/forum/522/626338
The guy doing the test found that at the same iso/shutter/aperture combinations Nikon and Canon underexpose the images and needed to have 2/3 EV adjustment in Raw conversion to match the Sony
link to the image crop comparison with no EV adjustments at iso 1600 for a77 and iso 2500 for Nikon Canon. Note the exposure settings are the same:http://fotkidepo.ru/photo/351453/38820QYBa1Wp0E0/x8SYR91ZKN/714492.jpg
Hi Sergei
Thanks for this link, I unfortunately can’t understand what has been said as I don’t understand Russian my self but I have a friend that does and will get him to translate it for me (Google translate did not work very well)…
I’m very interested in this testing as I did similar tests (although I just used the same settings on all cameras) and I seemed to get very similar results across the camera’s which is very interesting to me..
I’ll see if I can get hold of the A850 again as well as my older A350 and the A550 to see if I can run a similar test with all these camera’s… I use to have a cannon 550D but recently gave it away so can’t compare with it unfortunately.
Just been looking into this a little more and noticed that the laboratory testing also seems to say that the Sony ISO seems to be on par with the other brands mentioned which is odd?
http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Cameras/Compare-Camera-Sensors/Compare-cameras-side-by-side/(appareil1)/734%7C0/(brand)/Sony/(appareil2)/680%7C0/(brand2)/Nikon/(appareil3)/619%7C0/(brand3)/Canon
Will definitely need to look into this a little closer to find out what is going on any why the different results.
Thanks once again for sharing… very interesting indeed!
I made the mistake of buying the A77 without checking if it supports tethered shooting (I thought I didn’t have to at this price point) and I happen to work with stop motion animation a lot. I was hoping for a firmware update that would enable it, but looks like this will not happen anytime soon (and what a shame because I really like the camera). 🙁
+ 1
or should I say ” + 4,765,145 “
Add me to the list of those waiting for the Nex-7 update.
How about custom button for SS on/off? I shoot on and off tripod all the time (landscape & wildlife) and turning on and off SS is a pain. I wish they kept the slider like the old Axxx where it’s so much easier to see if the SS is on or off.
I really hope a firmware for the Nex-7 and not a 1.01 but a 2.0 !!
Especially with the problem of heavy distortion and vignetting that had been seen on the upcoming 10-18 mm lens.
The problem was observated by a nex-7 user on photokina (dixit Dpreview)
I hope a firmware which can resolve the problem and for the nex Zeiss 12mm F 2.8 too !!
I know many are looking for more, but it’s a good thing for Sony to update firmware. Let’s consider it practice for doing more updates.
The A65 needs X-Fine JPEG, and both A77 and A65 need a better JPEG engine. I find hard to grasp that the A65 produces JPEG in Fine mode almost as large as a pocketeable 16 MP camera that I have.
AF Range like a99 is what i am dreaming
So I think I know a potential solution or two to everyone’s complaining, and I don’t think it will be easy. Bear with me here as I explain. Sony has nothing to gain from sustained engineering other than customer satisfaction. It puts them, as a money-bleeding company, in a bad spot. Customers want fancy A77 firmware, Sony needs to make money. Sony also is trying to stay in front of the market by offering 1-2 little niche features which set them apart, albeit not by much but apart nonetheless, from Canon, Nikon and others. I get the sense Sony is making more money from the Nex bodies and the low end Alpha bodies. They release a ton of them, but little updates to existing bodies and very rarely do we see a new lens that isn’t a wholesale innovation above and beyond the Minolta engineering and the stuff Tamron is building out of plastic. And they’re obviously making a ton of money selling sensors. And they’re totally playing the “use everyone else’s lenses” game for the Nex bodies. Maybe my perception is off the mark here. Who knows? Sony does a pretty good job of obfuscating these details for their stockholders’ benefit.
I wonder how many people buy the A99 because they love their A33-A77 and want something different? I can tell you I preordered the A99 because I love my A77 and I loved my A390 before it. Or how many people have held on to their A850 and will buy the A99 to replace it. I can’t figure someone is going to go all-in right off the bat. $3000 for a body, and a stark bare minimum of $400 for a new lens if you don’t troll eBay for Minolta Maxxum glass. You’re not buying low-end used Minolta glass if you’re starting new with a $3000 body. Right now for the A99, Sony may as well be banking on the fact that their current base wants to upgrade because their current body doesn’t do something the A99 will.
To my point, if you’re looking to get your A77 or Nex-7 (or whatever) updated to 2.0, you need to encourage the folks who are buying Nex-6’s and A99’s to use the hell out of the PlayMemories Camera Apps feature. If Sony copies Apple, Google, or Microsoft and takes a cut for the applications and it becomes a revenue stream for them, they’ll be encouraged to update their equipment to support the applications. Apple’s application store prints money, as they say. If you have a device compatible and you’re thinking of buying an application, buy it! If you’re a capable developer and Sony allows development, build it! Once Sony realizes the potential for revenue here, the updates will come quicker. If the A99 has a feature a revenue-generating application requires, and they can add the same feature to the A37 or A65 (or whatever) to provide more people access to purchase said application, don’t you believe Sony would do it?
The other thing I believe will drive Sony to provide more and better firmware is for us, as a user base, to not demand an upgraded body. Canon gets this to a certain degree. They did a wholesale firmware upgrade to their 7D which added major improvements as well as new features. Why? Because, to the target user base, the 7D is enough. So what happened when Canon offered this large firmware upgrade? They sold more 7D’s. Don’t ask for a new A78/79 or A77 v2. The A77 is good enough. When Sony sends you the survey, FILL IT OUT. If you don’t get a survey, go their website and submit feedback. Ask for these features. Show them you will stay loyal and if you aren’t someone who can afford a new body or new lenses, show them you will turn your friends and family on to the Sony system. Make them believe firmware upgrades will mean more revenue.
BTW: Thanks sony for keeping your products up2date. It should be no different than the PS3. Now, pls, a decent JPEG engine to start! We need a 24MP-level output on the A65 and beyond !
I would like to disable the video button myself. I have pressed it several times by accident.
Dear Mr Sony
Its been 7 months since your last firmware update and you have manged to do a whole week of work to the firmware…. congratulations!!
Now could you please make you firmware open source so we can have the firmware our cameras deserve.
Kind Regards
Dan
Nex 7 update or very few will be buying the Nex 8. So when is the NEX 7 firmware update coming, you know, the one that allows you to cancel the movie mode button? I see they moved the button on the NEX 6, an admission that it was in a bad place, so fix it please!
Come on SONY, what about the people who bought the A55/A33’s?
They’re just giving up the nex-7, never offering any support
http://www.sony-asia.com/support/download/545920/product/slt-a77v
Yep this is crap
Wow, this is a fucking wast of time if there’s nothing more than that!
Read carefully!
“I don’t know yet if there are more new features and fixes.”
And the Nex-7?
My wish, disable the “crop” in video PLEASE!!! That crop cost too much for an 10mm ultra wide. Thanks!
please, please, please! Tethered shooting for Alpha 77!!!
I concur. TETHERING PLEASE! Please allow me to tether my Sony camera to my Sony laptop……..*through clenched teeth* …..please. I love my a77….we need this.
Just a heads up for whoever wants tethering on the a77:
I hope you’re aware that this might be technically impossible as there may not be hardware enough inside the camera to be able to use wireless tethering meaning no one would ever be able to implement it for the a77 through firmware.
Sony should be able to make an accessory that will make tethering possible…
But as for firmware, without the hardware it’s simply not possible.
Possible in a700 but not in a77?? don’t think so. there is enough hardware but not enough intention from Sony!
I’m sure, thats not a huge thing to make tethering possible
greeting from switzerland
Thethering in previous Sony models A700/A850/A900 and the new A99 is done through the USB port. So this would be possible technical wise and should be opened at least on the A77 as a APS-C top model, like it was the case with the A700.
I hope the bring back also Quicknavi or Quicknavi Pro for the A77 as a top APS-C like they did for the A99. (But probably not with this FW 1.06 update – which seems to be a minor release step).
Only the new NEX5R and NEX6 allow wireless thethering, because of their integrated wifi-module.
My 2c to clarify this.
I’m referring to wireless tethering though.
Through the USB-port should be fully possible with a firmware upgrade, but Wi-Fi like the NEX-5R and 6 is what I’m saying would at least require an accessory.
Hmmm. Wonder how that leave us A35 users… Probably out in the cold. 🙁
@Admin: Any updates or more details?
Version 1.06 available !!! Updating now…
where? I am searching all sony sites and haven’t found any information yet
Where?? please send the download link??
nex 7 firmware update also in 😉
why no update for A580??
Full list of improvements for SLT 77 Sony Asia support
This utility updates the SLT-A77V camera firmware to version 1.06 and provides the following benefits:
Improvements over version 1.05:
•Provides support for the following automatic compensation compliant lenses:
◦ SAL30M28, SAL50F14, SAL2470Z, SAL2875, SAL70400G, SAL70200G, SAL35F14G, SAL1635Z
Benefits provided by previous updates and included in version 1.06:
•Provides support for the following automatic compensation compliant lenses:
◦ SAL24F20Z, SAL85F14Z, SAL135F18Z, SAL70300G, SAL35F18, SAL50F18
◦Vario-Sonnar T DT 16-80mm F3.5-4.5 ZA (SAL1680Z)
◦DT 16-105mm F3.5-5.6 (SAL16105)
•Improves Auto review response
•Improves the responses for the front/rear dials
•Improves response between power SW operation and power off
•Improves AF response with 500mm F4 G SSM (SAL500F40G) lens
•Improves AF accuracy for scenes which include overexposed areas
•Improves the responses for the front/rear dials when assigned for exposure compensation
•Improves picture quality for 24p movie recording (NTSC regions only)
•Improves overexposed images while in ADI flash control
•Improves usability
http://esupport.sony.com/CA/p/swu-download.pl?mdl=SLTA77V&upd_id=7980&os_group_id=6
hi dude, U said “Addition of capability to enable/disable the MOVIE button (applicable to SLT-A77 & SLT-A65 only)”. anyway, this setting is found on A37 too.
I don’t know why SONY is not using its standard technologies like DLNA in SONY SLT cameras? People with BRAVIA LCD/LED or Laptops having the DLNA support would love to connect SLT cameras. How difficult is it for SONY to make use of already available technology.
Apart from the Tethering capability through wifi/OTG cable SONY should consider DLNA in its next models. Otherwise DLNA is a waste technology if they don’t make SONY products compatible with each other.
Canon has a very advanced application called, EoS Utility that can remotely take over the DSLR camera and off course applications like dslrcontroller are a plus point for Canon. i Just wish to connect my Samsung Galaxy Note to Sony Alpha 77 as a secondary display.