There seems to be a firmware update in Japan which is not available in any other country.
Version 1.21 for the A6000: http://www.sony.jp/ichigan/update/ILCE-7_7R_7S_7M2_6000_win.html. European and US Sony stores only have version 1.20 yet.
Version 1.21 for the A7II: http://www.sony.jp/ichigan/update/ILCE-7_7R_7S_7M2_6000_win.html. European and US Sony stores only have version 1.20 yet.
Our reader Nippa from SonyAlphaForum tested the new firmware and says:
Apparently improves low light focusing in some instances. Can’t say that I see any difference but the update using Win7 went smoothly.
Our reader David says:
I updated my A7r recently to 1.21 from 1.20 and noticed much better low light AF with the 28/2. Haven’t checked other lenses yet. It’s been available in Japan for about five days. Weird that it’s not on other Sony sites yet
And Flavio said:
On the website says the 1.21 replaces 1.20 because was found a bug on the 1.20 where the camera don’t start.
I have no info yet if that’s a mistake on Sony side or if the firmware will be released within days for all other countries too.
34 Responses
It’s for the whole A7 series. I updated my A7r recently to 1.21 from 1.20 and noticed much better low light AF with the 28/2. Haven’t checked other lenses yet. It’s been available in Japan for about five days. Weird that it’s not on other Sony sites yet
Did you update? or you just copy the feedback of the guy from japan. I am planning to update but I’m scared it might only have Japanese language since they released it only in Japan. I’m curious with the AF speed because I have a wedding to shoot next weekend. Please reply.
Updated mine, it was all in english. It worked fine, I haven’t noticed any real differences from 1.20, but I’m not having any issues.
opps sorry David it was you who said it.
On the website says the 1.21 replaces 1.20 because was found a bug on the 1.20 where the camera don’t start.
I wonder how you can update your camera to fix the bug if your camera don’t start lol
Try removing the battery while the camera is On, and place a new battery in
RX1 update, bro?
If SAR would know something about a rx1 update, he would post it.
Is it possible to install this update onto cameras that are not from japan? Does the language stay the same? Thanks for the info!
Yes. You can use the firmware on this site to update your camera. No this update will not change the language on your camera. If you prefer, you can wait for the exact same firmware v 1.21 to be posted on your country’s website. It usually takes Sony a few days to make their firmware available on all their websites across the globe. They tend to start with Asia first, then roll out region by region.
I’ve read the Japanese description and don’t see any mention of improved low light AF. It is like flavioross says. v.1.20 had a bug in which lens FW updates wouldn’t work. So they discontinued distribution of v.1.20 on April 1 and then on April 6 they released v.1.21 as a fix.
don’t update if u r in ver1.10.
my machine is a7r with sel1635z, after update the firmware to 1.20 and 1.21 i found some issues:
1. in low-light environment, more noises and display delay on both EVF and screen.
2. it cause my friend’s a7r freeze, he had to send his camera to Sony for warranty claim.
3. I don’t feel the AF speed was improved after updated.
I’m lucky to update my camera successfully, but it isn’t worth to take the risk to update.
Where is the Alpha A-mount A99 replacement?
Alpha A-mount A99 replacement will be the mighty Alpha E-mount A9. It will come soon, stay tuned! In the mean time, stock up some nice e-mount glass.
Improved low light AF on such a low key update? Apparently it isn’t even mentioned in the release notes.
I’m thinking placebo effect…
Or an unintended side effect of the new firmware. In that case Sony will hopefully fix it with the next firmware update, so AF in low light can get back to normal performance.
I see no changes in my update.
After the 1.21 update, the noticeable change is when enable focus illumination, it won’t give you a green big box anymore (which implys the camera choose to focus in the center area no matter what’s your desired focus point is)now it will dead on the focus point you set to. Which is a awesome improvement. You can finally enable focus illumination for better low light focusing
That would really be something if true.
What I really wish for is for Sony to enable the AF illuminator on external flashes. I have no idea whether they can get it to work in conjunction with OSPADF, though.
Tested it with the 1.20 update and it allready works there. It is great and fun! Thanks for telling!
illuminati at work here!
Thanks for the feedback, however I do also have the update installed on my A7 and none of the above info you posted seems to be accurate
You can also increase the focusing speed by disabling face-detection (all forms), and LOCK-ON AF.
The focusing system seems to always be ‘searching’ for faces when face detection is on, and will sometimes take a long time to focus in low-light as a result.
When these options are turned off, the A6000 (and A7ii) will focus MUCH more accurately and quickly in low-light, nearly matching its amazing focusing speed in daylight and indoor lighting.
However, I am VERY excited at the prospect of making the A6000 EVEN FASTER
The update works fine on US version of A7M2. Not in Japanese. Not sure what’s new though. Make sure you get the one for A7M2 if you have that camera. Here is the link for A7M2.
http://www.sony.jp/ichigan/update/ILCE-7M2.html
Scroll to bottom of page and select your operating system, Windows or Mac.
I updated my Sony A 6000 to version 1.21 yesterday. Everything stays the same and because I don’t know Japanese I can’t tell You about improvements.
I updated. The firmware updates are international — the verism file. What makes the Japanese cameras japanese language only is a hardware switch in the camera that tells the firmware to turn off other languages.
The update is in English so no weird Japanese writing. It’s safe
Where is the alpha A mount A99 replacement?
Can someone post a direct link to the mac version for A7II, maybe I’m blind and cant see it. Or will the the ILCE-7 work for the A7ii as well?
Change the win to mac in the URL and you’re no longer blind.
http://www.sony.jp/ichigan/update/ILCE-7_7R_7S_7M2_6000_mac.html
yea, i wasn’t thinking haha… thanks 🙂
a number of hong kong users report this japanese update is not suitable for machines (A6000, A7r) outside japan. while it didnt brick the camera entirely, it just didnt work. so may worth wait for the global v1.21
One curious thing – this time around, the update file is smaller, than the previous (V1.20):
FirmwareData_ILCE7V121.dat – 204 059 800 bytes (204,1 MB on disk)
FirmwareData_ILCE7V120.dat – 204 932 248 bytes (204,9 MB on disk)
Did the update too and can’t comment on any changes or improvements. At least yet.