Courtesy: Tobias
SAR reader Tobias posted the full A7 ISO scale comparison on Flickr (Click here) before and after the firmware upgrade. There seems to be no noticeable difference. Another test at Talkemount (Click here) shows a major improvement on A7r JPG images taken with NR off.
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Firmware download links for A7R
Mac – Sony US, Sony Germany, Sony UK, Sony France, Sony Spain, Sony Italy, Sony Holland, Sony Belgium, Sony Austria, Sony Switzerland, Sony Finland, Sony Sweden, Sony Norway, Sony Portugal, Sony Australia
Windows – Sony US, Sony Germany, Sony UK, Sony France, Sony Spain, Sony Italy, Sony Holland, Sony Belgium, Sony Austria, Sony Switzerland, Sony Finland, Sony Sweden, Sony Norway, Sony Portugal, Sony Australia
Firmware download links for A7
Mac – Sony US, Sony Germany, Sony UK, Sony France, Sony Spain, Sony Italy, Sony Holland, Sony Belgium, Sony Austria, Sony Switzerland, Sony Finland, Sony Sweden, Sony Norway, Sony Portugal, Sony Australia
Windows – Sony US, Sony Germany, Sony UK, Sony France, Sony Spain, Sony Italy, Sony Holland, Sony Belgium, Sony Austria, Sony Switzerland, Sony Finland, Sony Sweden, Sony Norway, Sony Portugal, Sony Australia
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Specs and Store Links in US and Canada:
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A-Mount to E-Mount Lens Adapter at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony A to E adapter with mirror at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
A7/A7r leather case at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
A7/A7r vertical grip at Amazon, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony W Series Battery Charger at Amazon, BHphoto.
Sony FA-CS1M Off-Camera Shoe at BHphoto.
Semi-Hard LCD Screen Protector for A7-A7r at Amazon, BHphoto.
Specs and Store Links in Europe:
Sony A7r body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT
Zeiss 24-70mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, SE, PT
Sony G 28-70mm lens at Sony DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO.
Asia:
A7r at Digitalrev.
A7 at Digitalrev, Amazon Cina.
A7 with 28-70mm lens at Digitalrev.
0 Responses
Still much worse than ARW + RawTherapee
????
The Firmware changed the JPEG Image Quality, but no matter if its better or worse, its still much worse than when you develop the ARW with RawTherapee so why care about at all?
I am not convinced that this is worth the upgrade. I have no intention to buy the 70-200 zoom. So, the camera will keep working as before. I got used to the slow start and shutter lag (no change with the 1.02?). I do not want upset that either.
Whatever I need are not even broached. Will wait for FW 1.03 (perhaps in 2015 or would that be A9?).
Many people have been noting an improvement in focus speed and accuracy as well (with all FE lenses). Whether actual or perceived…
Placebo is a powerful thing
This is a rather harsh comment towards a company which consistently try to launch innovative products. Serously, would Sony issue a placebo firmware update ? Is their credibility that bad ?
That would not be the first time. Remember Nex 7 firmware update? “Better image quality” actually made it worse and it was made in RAW so there was no way around it.
The infamous bullseye color shift of A7/r were first introduced with “better image quality firmware” to NEX 7
I don’t think his comment is harsh on the placebo effect. Sony did choose the wording on their description of the image quality as ‘image quality improvements’. This is so nebulous as to invite wild speculation. They could have easily thrown in a few lines describing specific image quality improvements. On my A7R the boot time is the big improvement in this update and the other items are really difficult to test for given the information they provided.
I’ve upgraded my a7. Absolutely no difference in AF speed in bright light or low light. Only the insecure Sony fanboys are claiming there is improvement.
Mine comes on faster after. I have not tested the AF but I never had a problem with it. Somebody on this site claims his went from 9 secs to 3 but mine went from 3 secs to btwn 1 &3. Maybe it is possible to get a really good copy of a camera like you can with a lens. I had a nex-6 that was sent in for repair for the lens mount but when sony sent it back it was like a brand new camera. Everything was faster even though I had no problems with it being slow before and I had 2 of them so it was strange.
On my A7R I can tell the bootup speed is much faster. The other improvements are very difficult to gauge and in my testing small at best. I wish Sony had been far more specific than ‘image quality improvements’. Like the guy below says they might have used such nebulous language to introduce the placebo effect.
Stop dreaming. You got exactly the camera you bought. An software update can not increase the hardware, its like that.
Is there a change to the shutter lag? What does that got to do with hardware?
One touch zoom with manual focus lenses (as in NEX). Nothing to do with hardware.
All I am saying is that this FW update does not include these that concern me. The very few that would buy the 70-200 f/4 zoom (when available) would benefit and I am not one of them (also I will not be alone there).
For every single one who claims to see an “improvement” in image quality, there are more who show it otherwise (google would help to find those reports).
– Shutter Lag
– – Could be caused by the Hardware
– One Touch Zoom
– – Never heard about that, what is it supposed to do?
– Image Quality
– – RAW Image Quality is not changed (and will not change with the Firmware most likely)
– About the 70-200mm Lense
– – This is the only reason why this firmware was done at all. Look at the firmware for a99, they all added lenses, nothing more. The only firmware i evern seen who changed something was the a77 firmware in the beginning
Your comment here is full of BS and you are either trolling or plain unintelligent.
I am almost certain it is the latter (provided I am capable of making that judgment). Thank you for your valuable contribution.
???!!! Are there any benefits not to upgrade the firmware to 1.02 ?
no, at the least the camera will start up faster like mine did.
also the battery drain does not seam as bad but that could be my imagination.
Yes. See my reply to Vam898.
There’s a significant increase in startup speed, that alone is worth the upgrade. Besides, it’s called 1.0_2_, what exactly did you expect?
The upgrade requires like 2 minutes. Unless there is some flaw in 1.02 upgrading is a nobrainer.
There is a significant improvement in start-up/shut-down and shutter lag. Even if you do not care about using the 70-200 lens, this upgrade is definitely worth it.
My a7r definitely starts up much faster and the AF speed is noticeably increased. Haven’t had time to test image quality yet, but I had no complaints in that area anyway. Seems the update benefits the a7r more than a7.
I have noticed improved rendering with NR set to Normal from ISO 6400 and up on the A7.
If ISO is set to Low or Off, there is no difference after the firmware upgrade.
I am not sure that these images capture these differences. Also, you’d have to pixel peep to see the detail. The difference are most visible under low light when the old algorithms ‘blotched’ the image, especially for skin tones and soft face outlines.
A high-ISO test under decent lighting does not show such artifacts. when you dim the lights, the artifacts where more visible with v1.01 than with v1.02.
Or, to state this differently – most of us (A7 users) were NOT using NR=Normal at ISO 6400 and above, if shooting in JPG. After the v1.02 update you can and, based on my own test shots, the JPG images are actually rather decent, but do depend on subject material, ymmv.
I pixel-peeped the ISO 800 samples and I can see slightly less edge artifacts in the 1.02 shot. It’s a small difference, but it’s there. 1.02 is a tiny bit cleaner, at least at ISO 800.
Has anyone tested the firmware to see if there is more improvements in video mode with A7 besides the removal of color moiré (like a sharper video or better low light in video too)? How is C-AF in video mode with a7 after the firmware?
slt a-65 there will be no new updates?