I would like to hear from you what kind of improvements and fixes you would like to see coming with the next A77/A65 firmware upgrades. I will collect your suggestions and put them together to make a POLL.
Thanks!
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223 Responses
i would suggest the zoom when preview the pictures. it was over zoom…so every time i need to zoom out again…
The zoom button brings you to 1:1 resolution, so that 1 pixel on the monitor is 1 pixel on the picture. Great thing to check how sharp it is. That is standard on all Sony DSLRs. I love the feature, you exactly know: this is the 1:1, on other cameras you don’t know when you reached that zoom level.
Me too, I think this is a great feature and should be left alone!
yes it’s a great feature. one touch and i will know whether my shots are sharp or not.
Tethering!!!!!
Tethering
^yes we need this feature^
+1
most important!!
– EVF/LCD switching speed!
– menu/function toggle speed!
– Faster completely shutdown time!
– Faster wake up time!
-improved ISO performance.
– ability to off noise reduction.
– ability to choose preview picture in LCD only (EVF show what you see from lens)
– ability to change menu mode. kinda miss a700/850/900 menu mode
You forget direct response when chagning EV, AV, shutter speed, … settings.
Easier switching between video and photo playback modes.
Absolutely! My current workaround is to shoot another photo and to get back to photo preview. Haven’t found out an elegant alternative yet. Maybe someone can help me with that!?
Hi Christopher the other way is whilst viewing your photo or video to press menu/view mode… its a pain in the bum there should be an option to view all.
Custom burst modes would be nice, like if you could set the burst speed to optimize how long you want to hold down the shutter.
Can you do a poll on firmware fixes for the NEX-7? Ive got a ton of suggestions for that.
+1
Oops, double-post.
Wider Bracketing: +- 3EV
It already gives up to +/- 6.0 EV!!
Doh!I better wait for an NEX-7 poll!
They should revise the exposure bracketing to allow more flexiblity with faster setup. For instance, you would set the mid point and then dial in the symmetrical range from there. Yes, dialing it in and not have to go through a few more keystrokes. This is really nitpicking though.
Also, being able to trigger external flashes without having to cover the popup flash would help a lot. While we’re on the topic of flash, how about being able to control the power ratios and groups of off camera flashes from the camera menu?
The a65 needs wider bracketing. It has the same 3 photos with +/- 0,3 or 0,7 EV steps as our Sony a100. That is not enough for HDR, and a65 even has a built-in HDR function.
All of above hehe
Better jpeg quality
No CROP On video mode
AF In SHUTER SPEEED Video mode
Tethered shoot
Auto slow shutter mode
Audio gain table
Hi loempoer. There is a crop on video mode because of the electronic image stabilization and that is why the overheating issue is virtually non-existent. It monitors and views the image pixel by pixel and it requires a small border around the frame to give it margin to move within.
Hmmm if the SSS need some space on the sensor surface to work, so it crop the video, then why there are no crop when taking still photo? The SSS also work the same way right?
Well at least give us crop free video capture, when SSS turn off… 😀
Thxfor the information, john 😀
Yeah the stabilization is different in stills. Its using image-sensor shift stabilization.
No worries 🙂 🙂
The first thing Sony should address on the next firmware should be improvement of the JPEG engine. Not everyone wants to shoot 24mp raw casually.
^very true^
+1.
This is definitely one of the major concerns that makes me hesitate on buying the a77 or a65.
If high ISO jpegs are a “major” concern, then you should be shooting with a Nikon. Use the correct tool for the job. Personally I couldn’t care less what jpeg is like, I haven’t shot it for years.
Ability to set the Video button to require being pressed for at least two seconds before taking effect. An alternative would be the ability to disable the video button.
Allow using Auto ISO in manual mode.
Allow reassigning the help button to toggle SSS.
I have given up to count the times I accidentally pressed the video button. It’s driving me nuts. Especially during photo sessions with a model, where it breaks the flow. Alternatively, I would also be happy with customizing the video record button to attach it to some useful photo-related function (I am not using the video function at all).
However, I am not sure how you could use the Auto ISO mode in the manual mode. You mean that you preset the aperture and shutter speed, while ISO is chosen automatically? Now that I thing about it, this would indeed be nice. Especially when defining a max/min ISO setting.
Also a +1 for re-assigning the “?”-button. Just like the video button, the “?”-button is pretty useless for me.
Christopher
Tethered shooting!!! With lightroom support!
You have to speak to Adobe about that.
tethered shooting and remote control [USB] is a BIG miss
– Improving The Image QUality on JPEG
– Tethering like a700
– Fix the bugs, when using samyang FE 8mm, pop up flash didn’t fired
-Ability to choose fps between 3 to 8.
-Agrees on all points mentioned by Don’z
-When using digital zoom to check for focus in modes other than MF, whenever you press AF/MF toggle or hold button to release AF clutch, camera jumps out from digital zoom mode. Very annoying. The only workaround is to switch to MF.
-I wonder if 16 or 18 MP RAW is possible. Else, pixel binning.
-Ability to customise exposure compensation physical button.
-Quicker scroll wheel response
-Full time EVF. Else, make the EVF view to auto turn to LV whenever camera detects eye goes to EVF regardless of what screen the LCD is at.
I’m in love with my A65 but if Sony ask me what would I would like for the next firmware:
1.-Square format in camera and
2.- by menu switch between 24mp and 16mp RAW pictures to increase low light camera capabilities.
Changing from 24Mp to 16Mp to increase low light capabilities is impossible as the photosites on the sensor is a physical limitation.
– Tethering
– Improve JPEG quality
– Faster on/off
– cRAW
The A77 actually does cRAW, even while it’s called “RAW” in the menus.
Tethering
Improved ISO performance
Improved JPEGs
VAST IMPROVEMENTS IN HIGHER ISO SETTINGS, ESPECIALLY JPG, BUT ALSO WITH RAW. GETTING TO BE THE SAME BROKEN RECORD PLAYING HERE SONY!
– Ability to change drive mode (time delay) for HDR
– Ability to review all media (photos and videos) at the same time
– Better JPEG processing
– Ability to annotate photos
For the next firmware of A77,
-Switching from NTSC to PAL mode.
-Better noise control and defenition on poor lignted scene.(Nex-5n)
-Audio level control.
-Better JPEG quality.
-Have decent image quality , above a Nex-5N.
-Have a PMB with possibility to convert PAL AVCHD to make an AVCHD DVD in NTSC.
I think the option of choosing a reduction to 16MP plus pixel binning idea is a really great idea but a huge deal for a firmware update.
I’d like to see some of the Jpeg features in RAW (smart teleconverter, pano, HDR, etc).
Yes this is good Dave. Exactly what I desire too… All in RAW with multiple sizing options or at least Smart Teleconverter 1.5x, 2x, 3x in RAW. Then a ratio’d pixel binning downsample from there too.
My suggestions are of course tethering support and audio manual control. And also the ability to turn off NR in JPEGs.
Please give us PAL TO NTSC and vice versa in movie mode!!!
How about Hyper HDR mode. I am a real estate photographer. The current 3 photo combination of the HDR images I take with my A33 (which I assume is same in A77)gives me a nice image to further edit in lightroom, however, sometimes I have a VERY dark room with a VERY bright light coming in the window. The 3 level bracketing doesn’t give me enough room on both ends to capture enough pixel info to end with a decent HDR image. Still is to brigt on one end or to dark in the other. I suggest either an adjustable up to -5, 0, +5 for the 3 shots or better yet, a 5 photo HDR image covering a broader range. This resulting base image would handle the high dynamic range and I can adjust the flat toning in photoshop to reconstruct the contrast.
Try DRO level 5.
A77 HDR mode is up to +6EV comp.
Adam, does that mean +6 and -6 or is that the extent of the entire range (6 stops). That would be what I have now in my a33
An option to sacrifice megapixels in order to achieve better low light performance.
(also slightly related, in future cameras, it’d be rad to have a “low light” mode, that allows the mirror to reflex, allowing the 1/3rd better low light performance. Transparent Mirror is awesome, but I think it’d be totally feasible to have an option to allow it work like a traditional SLR when you want it to. )
Add a custom button to EV BUTTON
Screen automatic rotation
Reply to accelerate sleep mode
do something about that lag on the dials already
color banding in 24fp vid mode
Allow Smart Teleconverter to be useable in RAW. Allow for 1.5x, 2x, and 3x.
Allow lower MP in RAW, down to 18mp, 12mp, 8mp, 4mp…
Allow for multiple formating on chip in RAW.
Classic sizing: 4/3’ds, 4×5, 8×10, 11×14, 16×20…
Modern sizing: 2:3, 4×6, 6×9, 13×19, 24×36…
Square format in RAW mode too. Toss in an oval format while you’re at it Sony.
We don’t want to do all that cropping, and your EVF can change the view perfectly to fit any desired format.
We don’t always want to shoot highest MP in RAW. Allow in camera downsampling or at least RAW for Smart TC.
The a900 allows APS-C format in RAW, making for a 10mp file when desired. It is often desired.
I personally am happy with the camera as it is.
ISO is much better than my A700 which I upgraded from
Don’t really have much issue with Lag, and startup seems fairly quick on my camera. Yes shut down takes a while, but turning it off means I am not going to use it so the length of time that takes doesn’t bother me.
The ONE thing I can say I would like to see:
Tethered Shooting – I used this a lot on my A700, especially for product photography and was led to believe that the A77 was going to have this feature.
Sony never said that the A77 would have tethering, so you were led to believe it by them. 😉
Yes it should have it though. 😀
allow changing from PAL to NTSC (50p -> 60p) !!
I would like to have a manually programmable steady shot feature, where you can dial in what focal length you are using. This feature is used on Olympus cameras, and would be really nice when using any manual lens such as an M42 mount.
Steady shot not just for every Alpha lens, but every lens able to mount on the camera.
Excellent idea.
You mean that the stabilizer doesn’t work when you don’t use a sony lens or what?
Manual audio control is by far my biggest wish – that is a real oversight from Sony
Tethering would be nice
Faster switching between AF-points – would be nice if you could choose a mode where you only had crosspoints for instance
Auto ISO in manual
Yes Manual Audio is necessity.
Manual Audio is definitely needed. badly
also tethering is much needed
Feature Request:
-Real Tethered shooting
– add an interval timer! at this level of camera, we are smart enough to go in the menu to use it. it won’t confuse us.
-More auto bracketing options (7x1ev, 5x3ev, 5x2ev, 5xev). just make the variables open so we can choose. if i want 10 shots at .5ev, LET ME – i am smart enough to know when and how to use this, i’m not scared of options
-Add another auto-focus type — center cluster 5af points around the center
– find a way to make multi-exposure ISO work with RAW. The camera does long exposure noise reduction with RAW, so i KNOW they can find a way to make this multi-shot iso noise reduction work too.
– add a bracket drive mode so i press the shutter button ONCE, and it drives through and takes all the bracketed shots (or interval timer) — this way, i could use bracketing with the infrared remote.
Bug Fixes
– continue to make things faster (menus, wheel response, evf switching)
– make the light meeter utilize the full scale when you switch to manual mode – right now, it cuts it in half for no apparent reason as soon as you spin the wheel to ‘manual’ mode. really annoying for a manual shooter.
– change the color or find some way to otherwise indicate the center (0ev) autobracket frame – at +-3ev autobracket, you can’t see all of the bracket points on the meter when in manual mode, so it’s difficult to know if what you think is 0EV is 0ev
– faster shutdown
– faster startup – time from power switch to active image in the EVF
More to come…
– Better off camera flash control.
– Find a way to make it so the on camera flash does not show up in photos when it’s just triggering my real flashes.
– wireless flash group power control
– video ISO – 1600 max?!? make it 6400 but add a warning that when at 6400, you can only shoot for 10 minutes at a time or something.
Just fix the lag. I’d be happy enough if that’s all it did.
Though I wouldn’t mind max video ISO being bumped to 3200 while they’re at it. Very annoying that my A77 is less capable for video than my A55 in low light or with a slow lens.
agree, bump the ISO of video mode up to not only 3200 but also 6400. the canon t3i can do it, why not the a77?
Because the sensor draws more power and gets hot.
Evf contrast correction.
Real histogram when effect preview is turned off (look at luminous landscape). Better jpg engine in high iso
Hey, while we are on firmwares, it seems the firmwares version .05 for NEX-3/5 and VG-10 is out in Sony’s Japan website:
http://www.sony.jp/ichigan/info2/20111215_dl_win.html
Bought the LA-EA2 a month ago, can’t wait to try!
Tethering!
Tethering!
It’s so nice people talking about firmware upgrade while the one promised a long long time ago from my A580 will never come 🙁
Who promised it? A rumour site or Sony?
Just tested the NEX-5 ver .05 firmware on Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 and Minolta 70-210mm f4. Working fine!
1. much more improvement on image quality especially when using high ISO since a77 is much worse than NEX7.
2. quick response because it’s not quite fast enough yet.
Turn your EV up to +0.3 and then the image quality should be identical. There is still no evidence to support your statement (that I’ve seen) because all the criticism of the A77 has been high ISO not IQ. That 1/3 stop of light is gone forever so there is little point continually mentioning it.
Or have I completely misunderstood? If so then I apologise.
MF Assist in DMF mode as in NEX-5/5N.
here’s what i mean: in my NEX-5 settings:
1) Menu -> Camera -> AF/MF Select -> set to “DMF”
2) Menu -> Setup -> MF Assist -> set to 2 or 5 sec
With these settings, when you half press the shutter and AF beeps, turn the fine adjustment focus on ur lens and the MF Assist kicks in, giving you 100% crop view of the the image you are shooting. In this view, you can finely adjust the focus manually. I’m not sure if i have missed this setting somewhere on my a77 but i spent a lot of time looking for it and there is non.
the only way to get a 100% crop view of your subject is to set one of the buttons to “Focus Magnifier” and finely adjust the focus to your liking. it would just be much easier to finely adjust the AF and automatically zoom in 100% view as it was in the NEX rather than pressing the “Focus Magnifier” then zoom 100% then focus. it’s just time consuming doing that on the a77.
another thing, to a77 owners, have you notice the weird noise when you put a different lens (say minolta 50mm f1.7) and set your camera to “A” focus (the dial MC C A S under the lens release button), try and keep on half pressing the shutter to focus on a subject and after the lens focuses, the camera produces this “chk.. chk.. chk..” sound.. but in “S” mode or “C” it doesn’t.. weird… do you guys have the same issue?
More reactivity. It’s still darn slow to change aperture or speed with the knobs even after the FW update
Maybe a suggestion on the poll itself: please make a distinction between owners of an A77/A65 and people that do not own an A77/A65 but might be interested in buying one if this or that feature would be in the next firmware. E.g. repeating the option two times, one time for owners, one time for others.
My biggest problem with my A77 is noise in RAW files – already from ISO 200 on. I have to apply diverse tricks in Lightroom to get a quality comparable with that of my A700. I am very disappointed. 24 MP was the feature I wanted at least.
The same here. I’m more concerned about noise in RAW at low ISO. So…
1. Better noise handling in RAW at all ISO’s.
2. Color the AF points in the EVF because they’re hard to see.
3. Tethering.
4. Display the Flash and Ambient comp together like on the A700.
5. Improve the lag.
6. Press Movie button for 2 sec to start recording.
7. Improve the JPEG engine.
i’d like the option for image preview, when pressing the zoom button to not zoom 100% right away, but zoom in 10% the first time then using the dial to zoom 20%, then 30% etc.. basically zoom the other way around like the way nikon or other camer does in image preview when zooming in and out.
Actually I prefer Sony’s way of zooming. You want to check whether it’s in focus or not. A quick click will do.
Ah yes, another one I’d like to add.
When zoom, zoom it to the focus point used instead of only zooming to the centre part of the pic. Use the same style as the A700.
If its an option, I’m fine with it. Because I *LOVE* the 100% 1:1 view to INSTANTLY see sharpness ;)… I hate the N/C implementation and always laugh how long N/C users need to see if it is 100% sharp or not ;)…
Manual audio control! Or at least a multiple range of sensitivity settings of the ACG like they have in some of their consumer camcorders. This is such a mystery to me as to why they left it out – these guys were the innovators for camcorders – I don’t get why they don’t get it!
agreed. the sensitivity settings would be a decent alternative at least. Sony basically just wants us to have to buy their dedicated video cameras instead of supporting the niche they have of HDSLR Filmmakers, its really disappointing
Will Sony really read and consider what we are saying on this page?
1. Option to decrease the megapixel count in favour of better light sensitivity in both still/video mode.
2.Full manual controls with video while in autofocus and not just while in manual focus.
I have the NEX 5n also, and it is way better for video with an ISO that goes to 3200 with full manual controls and auto focus, whereas the A77 only goes to 1600 and to use manual aperture/SS will only do manual focus!!!
The most important things for me would be:
* solve the problem with the flash (pictures tend to be much too bright)
* Push the jpg-pic-quality
* Pixel-binning would be great (in raw…)
* faster Shut-Down-Speed
* Let me choose Raw + Jpeg when i’m using one of the creative modes.
(miniature, etc. ) so that if i need the original Picture i can use the raw-file
Features:
Quality Mode; make Raw&XtraFine choosable
More control over NR
Ability to customise Menu (e.g. to hide options not wanted or used)
Support of more lenses for the inBody correction
Tehtehring and setting the lens focal length in the menu manually for using steady shot with manual lenses.
INSTANT menu and settings response. It’s ridicolous that it needs half a second to set the EV +/- or aperture or whatever to show up. When I turn the wheel I expect it to instantly show the new setting. The A700 and even the cheap A200 camera did this, why does such a fast camera need half a second!?
Most have already been said but in order for me:
– Faster response times
– Better quality JPG images (engine)
– Improved ISO performance
– Faster preview and image browsing
– Tethered support
– Faster power on/off times
– Improved tonal range (shadows) in EVF
– Ability to change/select PAL or NTSC!
– Higher ISO setting in video mode
– Increased buffer/faster processing algorithms
– More optimised processing/coding to allow for better battery life (or new high capacity battery that is backwards compatible would be great!)
– Manual audio control
– cRAW
When the camera is in RAW mode, don’t disable the panorama or hdr features. If the user selects the panorama or hdr mode, then the picture would be stored in JPEG with no need of returning back to jpeg mode.
exactly what I want too
Tethering that supports photobooth softwares!
Show selected autofocus point with different colour. (use red, current darker-black-on-black is just wrong and almost invisible )
Linux support
Yes!!! Don’t forget Linux.
I live in Sweden and if I ever use a DSLR/SLT for HD video I want to be able to use 24p, both in order to save memory space and since that is the native blu-ray format. I am not interested in 25p.
Lets focus on wishes, but firstly correct the bugs:
Bug fixing:
When previewing videos, the sound up control dont work, you have to do sound down first to get sound up to work.
The direction of adjustment of f-stop in P-mode goes in opposite direction than in all other modes incl video. I have the front wheel set to adjust the aperture. Turning leftwards brings the aperture down (higher number), right brings it up (lower number). In all other modes and as fx in A700, the aperture goes down (higher number) when turning the wheel towards right.
The limitations of the build-in flash, fx. when using it as wireless control for remote flash. After 16 shots the flash gets really really slow. This does not have to be 16 in a burst, but just 16. This is a real bummer !
AF in low contrasty scenes is bad. Also when shooting in direction of bright light but a part of the scene is dark/shadow, its almost impossible to get focus pointing at the dark parts. (FX: shooting towards sunset, lower half of the scene is a fence or plants, no focus on this)
ISO > 1600 in video modes. I call this a bug, not just an enhancement request.
Far too small steps in zoom when turning the wheel when zoomed in in preview.
Enhancements:
– CRAW and/or lower mp in raw
!!- Ability to set EVF for shooting AND LV display as preview 2-5 sec. Its really annoying that preview affects you vision of the scene through the EVF.
– MF assist for use in raw or DMF-mode
!!- Improve the peaking mode. In many cases the peaking mode does not work properly, giving too little informations.
!!- TETHER !!
– AF in fx manual video mode
– Interval timer
– Ability to set zoom level when pressing zoom in preview
– Improvement of handling noise in jpeg
!!- JPEG engine clearly needs improvements, no smearing, thanks (buy the technology of the jpeg-engine from Olympus ?)
!!- Ability to set a small delay between first shot and the burst of shots when pressing the button in continuous high, so it is possible to shoot in continuous high but be able to only fire one shot ! Then if burst is needed, you just keeps the buttom pressed. How it works now, you cant use continuos high setting in daily work with cam so no possibility to react on sudden scenes – meaning the photographer loosing valuable photos. (this is getting worse when front curtain shutter is set to no, even in other shooting modes)
!!- Audio control in video
Same as a700/850/900, I would like to control the A77 by USB with my computer. I want to be able to use “Remote Camera Control” !!!!
And please SONY guys, a software for PC, mac, android.
focus peaking option even though when shot in full color, evf will show it in black and white with [red] color only for the peaking. makes it alot faster to see.
ability to change digital zoom settings in menu. i zoom in to maximum to manual focus, but dont need that extra middle zoom. it is a wasted step, an extra button press. i just want maximum zoom in, then normal zoom out right away.
what i need?
1. cRaw of coz
2. better noise control (good jpeg)
3. tehtehring
4. faster respons (menu,shutdown,startup)
5. more tweaking in creative style (miss my a700 zone setting)
6. customizable “?” button
customize ‘?’ button, and maybe ‘movie’ button for those who is not too concern about video.
Many previously mentioned (with good reason) but here’s my list in no particular order.
1. Auto-Iso in manual Mode
2. Re-assign “?” button to SSS toggle
3. Improved JPEG Engine
4. Full uncompressed RAW and Non-lossy cRaw modes as per A900
5. Noise Reduction OFF setting
6. Fix control lag
7. Fix menu lag
8. Faster shutdown
9. 1 second press delay on movie button or ability to re-assign for another function when not in control dial initiated video mode.
10. NTSC/PAL switching (europeans like 60p and 24p too)
11. Pixel Binning in video and photo modes (aim for clarity and resolution of GH2)
12. Smart Teleconverter in Video mode
13. Tethering
14. For all those modes which require changes from RAW to JPEG mode or whatever (HDR etc), just make the change automatically and revert to previous mode when we return to PASM, stick 2 second pop-up on the rear display to say “Now in JPEG Mode” if you want, but save us all the menu clicks.
15. Oversample at the ADCs in 3fps and single frame shooting modes and 24/25p video (do it in 8fps photo if you can). Get rid of some of that noise.
16. Clean uncompressed HDMI video out during recording. Let us see what this thing can really do!
17 low light monochrome EVF option as per Dimage 7i, you could even add an optional red shift to it, the Astronomy photographers would love it.
a. NTSC/PAL dual boot (ie. World Cam capability) for video — should be eventually extended to ALL AVCHD-capable compact and SLR models;
b. Improved in-camera JPEG processing;
c. Full manual video control and with added features (eg. zebra pattern).
1. set minimal shutterspeed when using auto-iso.
2. fix playback function, just show movie and photo in list/one overview.
3. ttl issues, I seem to still have some, more than with the a900.
4. customizable ? button. (lets say SSS, button)
5. faster operation, especially shutdown.
6. iso3200 in videomode.
7. more customizable EVF color/toning.
I have two simple questions fro anyone who has an A77 (I’m thinking of getting one)
1) I understand that at 12 fps with a buffer that can only hold about 18 pics you get a burst of 1.5 seconds, a bit short. What if you set the size and quality to 6MP and standard – giving small jpg files. Does that help ? Does it affect what the buffer can hold and thus the length of the burst ?
2) Is it possible to switch between the US and Europe video settings (i.e. can you have 24,25,50 and 60 all on the same camera) or is it hard wired for a region ?
thanks
Nick
– Automatic switching to jpeg when any of jpeg-only features is enabled (probably as menu option)
– Auto-ISO in M mode (it’s a must)
– Autofocus in S video mode with Aperture locked to 3.5
– Magnification available in teleconvertor and video modes
– NR off for jpeg, better jpeg quality
– Iso 3200 in video mode (1600 sometimes is just not enough for 50fps)
– Get rid of all lags, at least of dial lags
– Timelapse drive mode
– +/- and ? buttons assignable (they are just useless now)
– Steady shot assignable
– Button mappings stored individually in memory recall slots
I would suggest an aperture enhancing function in new firmware.
The sensor would project a virtual transmogrification hyperalgorhythm that causes the lens to pass more light. In effect, an f1.4 lens transmits the same amount of light as if it were f1.0. Although I would add that DoF does not change – this is still limited by the physical characteristics of the lens. (Just added for clarification so I am not shot down in flames by an assortment of cyber “Red Barons”).
1st. – faster response to input
2nd. – fully customizable buttons (atleast the ?, iso and video rec buttons)
3rd. – custom bracketing would be awesome for timelapse (with iso,ev and white ballance all changeable in one and the same bracketing)
4th. – higher continuous focus refresh rate, currently it feels like just one refresh every 2 seconds, it should atleast be 2-5 times a second
5th. – i would wish for a unified interface between alpha and nex cameras, as i tend to switch between them all the time and its a pain to my slow brain 😉
I’m seeing a lot of great ideas but there’e one problem with a lot of them: it takes much more than a firmware upgrade to make them happen. FIRMWARE folks, firmware.
which of those things are not a solvable in software?
Sorry Gunnar, I didn’t intend to “reply” to your post, I just hit the first “reply” tab at the top thinking it was for an original post.
However, since you asked, how would software be able to make the buttons fully customizable? Some of your other suggestions do seem to me that it would take more than just software updates to improve upon but I’m not a programmer so maybe you can explain this?
no problem,
as far as i know the alpha and nex lines both run some kind of linux as firmware, so i guess all knobs/dials are basicly external inputs to the firmware and therefor it would internally make no difference what button/dial you map to what function.. its not that the A77 like in old times consists of several modules that hardly talk to each other, its more a little computer which organizes all functions and interfaces.
i would guess for Camera makers its nowadays the hardest thing to optimize their specific camera os to run fast and to design a useable interface to access all the features in a straightforward way. i think the hardware side of sony cameras (NEX or Alpha) is as good as it gets, its just that their software side could use a little tuning..
focus magnification in video mode(come on…)
iso 3200 in video mode
manual audio levels
yes, focus magnification for video.
Thanks for the explanation.
I’d like to be able to re-define the ? button to record an audio memo (i.e. take audio notes). I saw a photographer doing this using a Nikon D3something camera at a sporting event. It seem very useful vs. trying to quickly scribble some notes on a paper.
Tethered shooting – steering the camera and accessing the data in every Way!
– I want to access the raw-photos (fast) while shooting in studio (and not via WiFi card or any work around!!!)
– Steering the camera via pc. Why do i have to use a Remote Trigger for timelaps, HDR or other trigger-work if I have a notebook with me and check the data after shooting anyway?
– Access life-view with the Computer, Ipad, iphone or Android systems! It’s anyway part of the SLT-System that you have a digital view-finder. Why not sending the data to other devices? It should not be a problem to realize that.
I know that other “bug fixes” or problems with refresh rates are more important in daily use for photography, but why is it a problem to implement this in the future. The A77/65 is a master piece of hightech developement and it is expensive enough to make every technical aspect usable, that is possible today – especially if it is only necessary to develope software and no hardware improvement is necessary! Or make the software Open source and the comunity can develope the features!
Nothing new here but summing up my wishes
– JPEG/iso improvement (obviously)
– Manual Audio Control (at least sensitivity settings of AGC)
– Option to preview pics on LCD only, leaving EVF ready to take a pic
– Automatically switch to JPEG if mode is selected that is not raw compatible
– Autofocus in S video mode (lock at wide open aperture)
– Timelapse mode (really should be included looking at other modes sony uses)
– allow ? button to be assigned (ex. for SSS)
– All control delays fixed
– Variable magnification of teleconverter mode
– Auto iso in manual mode
– NR off, or adjustable
– Higher iso limitation in video (sad the a55 can do this better than a77)
– Clean HDMI video out
– Better Buffer rate
You are right on! Also the ability for tethered shooting and control is a mark of a professional or near professional camera. Why this wasn’t done in the first release, I can’t imagine.
Tethering was supposed to be in that. idk how it got left out. lol
ALSO, forgot that i want the sutter button to trigger video capture in dedicated video modes. much more convenient
Please help me understand what is “clean hdmi” mean?
Autofocus in Manual, Aperture priority, Shutter Priority exposure video mode !!
Make the ? Button customizable!!!!
Tethered shooting
Better JPG quality….its still mushy on v1.04
I second that AF! with other manual control.
Pretty embarrassing when you are standing to the next guy using other lesser pro-sumer camera and he’s getting all the shot, while I am waiting for the camera to buffer…ARGH! I though my Canon G10 was slow…I just the camera less then 10 day I am giving it a chances.
More re-assignable buttons,
Autofocus in S,A,M video modes (can’t believe it’s a limitation of the hardware),
Fix the bounce flash exposition errors,
Fix unnecessary flash burst on pressing AEL button for aperture dial in M mode with WL external flash,
Properly name the action of the central button in the context of the menus (exit, set, use, etc.) now it’s “exit” most of the times.
Wireless flash (triggering an external flash with the popup) is limited to 15 shots within a 2 minute period. Once you hit the limit, you must wait 8 seconds between each shot. Previous Alphas did not have this limit and it is the main reason I returned mine.
Flash over exposure with TTL. Using either the built in flash or external.
Auto ISO choice goes way too high for flash shots.
EVF needed more brightness adjustment levels. Even at its brightest, it was sometimes difficult to see in bright sun light with glasses.
EVF brightness adjustment could be relative to its auto setting instead of auto or totally manual.
Tethered capabilities…a must have!!!!!!
– enabling the auto focus option in dedicated video modes (A/S/M)
– possibility to assign video start/stop to regular shutter button in dedicated video modes (A/S/M)
– assigning other functions to video button
Sorry for the long post here and possible duplication of some ideas. Here’s my list (recently posted on sony.co.uk forums….)
A77 firmware enhancement requests:
Video:
1) pal/NTSC switchable video for travelling videographers
2) manual mic gain control for audio in video.
3) video button to be customisable (like ael/iso buttons) or have an optional ‘double press to record’. I’m not alone in having quite a lot of 5 second movie clips of my feet, usually taken while flipping out the screen.
4) in the dedicated manual video mode (from the mode selector knob on the top left of the camera) allow the normal shutter button to start/stop recording. Using the record button is ergonmically unsound and in manual video mode the shutter button just doesn’t do anything
That’s all I can think of for video. Here are a few photo ideas
1) make the controls as responsive as the A55/a700. Even with 1.04, there is still some control lag especially annoying in local AF mode and moving the active AF point with the joystick.
2) quicker EVF/LCD switching. Even with 1.04 there is still some lag.
3) implement a Lowest Shutter speed to allow better control over autoiso
4) allow autoiso in M mode (yes I know it wouldn’t be truly M mode then, but you would still have the option of selecting ISO manually of course). In this mode, still allow exposure compensation like in A or S modes. (this would be a sport shooters ideal setup and would make many more sales)
5) allow full customisation of the Drive Mode, WB, top plate ev+/-, Movie and smart teleconverter and ‘?’ Buttons. You can already customise the ISO, AEL, AF/MF buttons so it should be simple to extend this to the others. (ironically, you can change the ISO button but not the ? Button at the moment. Surely most users of a camera at this level/cost never use the ? at all)
6) not sure if this is possible but when using smart teleconverter, would it be possible to electronically stabilise the EVF view? This would also be handy when using Focus Magnifier view.
7) implement tethering in the same way as on the a700. (very very important!)
8) some kind of pixel binning to allow saving lower resolution RAW files (16 or 12mp choices would be ideal). I like the freedom/leeway granted by raw in tweaking exposure and WB but rarely need 24mp
9) fix the hung flash issue I described in a thread on Dyxum
10) In MF mode, when I press the af/mf toggle button (rear top right of camera) the camera AF triggers in AF-S mode. All very nice but please add an option for it to trigger AF-C mode or AF-A mode. This would be roughly equivalent to the canikon ‘back button autofocus’ that seems so popular with sport shooters
11) When zoomed in (focus magnifier) in AF mode and I notice focus is a bit ‘off’ I press the AF/MF button to adjust focus. Sadly, it drops back to the zoomed out view. It would be great if it stayed zoomed in and far more useful.
12) an ‘OVF simulation mode’ where the EVF always always shows the TTL view ready to take a photo. After taking the pic, have auto review send the pic to the rear LCD only, keeping the EVF in live view mode. When autoreview has timed out, blank or power down the rear LCD. Reason: with the top plate LCD and ability to change settings in the EVF, I don’t need the rear LCD for changing settings and often flip it inside out to hide it I’d like to use it for autoreview only but the current 1.04 autoreview shows the image on the LCD and the EVF. With auto review off, the camera handles better but I keep having to press the playback button to chimp my photos.
12) bring back the steady shot indicator scale! The a55, a700 and presumably many other alpha cameras had this little bar scale to show how steady you were holding the camera. Very useful! But sadly it has disappeared from the a77
13) add ‘steady shot on/off’ to the list of custom features available on the customisable buttons. This would alleviate the missing steady shot switch, lamented by so many a700 upgraders.
14) for the shutdown sequence, park the lens at infinity FIRST. After that I don’t care how long it takes to shutdown completely. Try putting a lens like the tamron 90 macro back in your bag before the shutdown is complete. The wind-to-infinity currently as the last step can have dramatic effect on a camera in a crowded bag!
15) what happens to the “brightness” option in the creative styles? The a700 had this but it’s just not there any more. Same for zone matching
16) JPG only modes are not available in with RAW. Fair enough but couldn’t the camera offer a warning then shoot a jpg anyway? Perhaps panoramas/hdrs could save the raw files as well as the jpg
17) customisable raw+jpg to allow different jpg sizes/qualities to be recorded beside the raw file. Again, the a700 had this.
18) NOise reduction off for JPG files. The a700 had this. The a77 has auto or weak only.
19) EXIF field for copyright info. After all this is supposed to be a semi pro camera isn’t it?
20) EXIF info for focus distance and AF point used. (ok this is a minor one but occasionally of interest to me)
21) the AF points are black in the live view. Against a dark background, they are almost totally invisible. In LOcal AF mode, as I jog the active AF point around using the joystick, I’m almost guessing which point I have selected and need to to trigger the AF to make the active AF point light up green. Combined with the lag between joystick action and AF point actually changing, this can be a frustrating experience. I can’t recall exactly how the a700 handled this but I never had a problem being able to see the AF points perhaps the a77 points could turn red briefly while you are jogging them around and later on when composing, the live view could show them as a black box with a white outline. The screen resolution is so fine, an extra box of white pixels around each black box would hardly be intrusive and enhance the camera greatly.
22) Bring back quick Navi (as seen in a700/a900/a850) – teh best camera UI ever!
Well, that’s just a few ideas! Don’t get me wrong, the a77 is a fabulous camera. My A700 is now sold and the a55 has gone the same way. With a few minor tweaks, the a77 would be unbeatable for me and I’m sure the things I’m asking for are not hardware dependent. In fact, I’d pay for some of the things listed above!
Cheers
Take advantage of the BIONZ
– implement different NR algorithms like TOPAZ for Lightroom.
– give the ability to do in camera image processing. For example enhance the mode for single colors. Give the user the ability to choose the are where colors should be in the B/W image. More effect and postprocessing modes. Final images right out off the camera are awesome. Most customers don’t want to do post processing at the computer
– Open an API to developers where users can implement own alogirhtms for the camera (image processing, JPEG, Control) maybe not a hardware level but a little bit above.
– Do realtime processing when doing long time exposure and show it on the screen, or even better on android / iphone devices…
So the user can see in realtime what the camera has seen until now. That would be amazing for light or laser painting, for lightning shooting and anytere else where you do long time exposure. Let the camera be tethered by Android or iPhone devices for that purpose and every other purpose.
-Do a 6MP mode where 4 Sensor Pixels contribute to one image pixel in order to reduce the noise! (awesome and nobody other does)
-Option to preview pics on LCD only, leaving EVF ready to take a pic and Display imaging parameters of the Camera in the other Time
-automatically switch to JPEG if mode is selected that is not raw compatible and back if Mode is suitable for Raw (would be awesome)
-allow ? button to be assigned (ex. for SSS) (SSS on a button is essential)
And the other things allready mentioned
-Improve the Jpeg Engine (better quality and Noise control)
-make a NR off mode
-Higher update rate (or even customizable) for continous AF
-more low level raw
-Auto iso in manual mode
-Timelapse mode
-Tethering
-More HDR Options
-Manual audio control
dont preview every picture even in single photo shooting mode
when my eye leaves the evf, the lcd show me back the last photo i shot.
Just like the ovf!
I’m not sure whether to buy an a77/65 or not.
Since this will be my first DSLR/DSLT, it’s also
a committment to a system and a manufacurer.
Regarding firmware update, the following points are decisive for me:
– improve time lag for camera handling
– improve jpeg quality
– offer a sort of Auto ISO mode, meaning that you preset the
aperture and shutter speed, while ISO is chosen automatically (see
Christopher above)
Improvement of video quality.
The output video should have a resolution near 1080 and not under 720 like it is in the moment.
cu…
How to you reckon that video is 720? My files seem to be 1080. Are you saying 1080 is interpolated from 720? What is the source of the opinion?
You have a topic on the french sony-alpha forum : http://www.alphadxd.fr/viewtopic.php?f=169&t=66160
Merci! That’s kind! Will follow it!
Software lower iso than 50 if possible,e.g iso. 10
Hi all,
I want just to ask… Are you still experiencing the shutter button bug after updating to firmware 1.04? I did update, and in single drive mode, on rare occasions firing takes two shots instead of just one… I just hope it’s not a physical defect resulting from a faulty shutter button…
For stills shooting, I’m happy with my A77.
As for shooting video:
– Remove the artificial limitation of not being able to auto-focus in S/A/M modes. It’s already possible with the “switch off” trick, so we know the camera CAN DO IT. Make it official.
– Give us a double-bitrate mode (48mbit/sec) for enthusiasts – shouldn’t be much of a problem for the encoder, and no problem for Class10 cards – much higher quality video though.
– A “flat”, less contrasty picture profile for Color Correction.
those last 2 opinions are great and hadn’t seen those yet, but definitely agree that would be amazing. I’ve been hoping for a hack (like magic lantern for canon or GH2 Hack) for these reasons and if sony did this there’d be no need. They need to support the video shooters because that’s making up a very good portion of the consumers buying these cameras
Here’s my list:
Fixes (Not many that I have run into so far that effect my workflow):
-Fix the “Unable to Magnify” bug. (Yes, it’s still there in v1.04. I’m surprised no one else mentioned this.)
-Speed up the shutdown process when turning off the camera.
Improvements (These aren’t deal breakers, but will make a great camera even better camera) :
-Allow Creative Styles to be applied to the JPEGs when shooting in RAW+JPEG mode and possibly just tag the RAW with the style that was applied to the JPEG.
-Allow the ability to actually turn off the noise reduction for the JPEGs and RAW. (Just like they did with the A700 and A900)
-Allow peaking mode to be turned on/off via an assigned button.
-Improve peaking mode. I’d like to be able to see peaking even when using the magnifier option. (Maybe it does do this and I am just not noticing or need to turn peaking on high?)
-Allow autofocus when using the magnifier option. For me it goes to manual focus when using the magnifier.
-Offer a 5fps mode for continuous shooting to go with the current 3fps, 8fps, and 12fps options.
-An actual uncompressed RAW option.
-Allow ISO3200 video recording, even if it is only for a shorter duration than the current 29 minutes that the camera is capable of to prevent overheating.
-IF SSS is turned off for video, allow use of a larger portion of the sensor to eliminate the extra crop video mode receives. Hence, possibly improving video quality further and taking better advantage of wide angle lenses.
Most important to me:
Ability to shoot video in auto mode at f/2.8.
Is unsolding the 24mpx sensor and solding the 16mpx one possible via firmware? 😉
Just down-sample your images to 16mpix.
HAHA! Are you serious or are you joking? C’mon, I can’t believe you’re serious…! 😉
When shooting in dedicated speed priority mode (12fps) and the aperture must be locked, lock it in the widest possible setting. Shooting indoor sports with a 2.8 lens but the camera locking the aperture at 3.5 is kind of annoying, and it would make sense that keeping the aperture wide open would be easier for the camera in the first place.
-Tethered Shooting
-Customizable ‘?’, REC buttons etc…
-Manual Movie mode, allow shutter button to operate movie stop/start
-5fps
-Auto JPEG when switching from RAW to JPEG only feature…HDR, Pano
-Selected autofocus point. Highlight against the picture.
Fw 1.03 lag was unacceptable. 1.04 vastly improves lag issues, I’d like to see ‘more’ usable features with .05/2.0, and less emphasis on the camera being slow…or maybe I have one of the few a77’s that work properly?!?!
.clipping highlights option without resizing the image.
Add intervalometer capabilities.
Yes! This should be easy enough…
Customizable +/- EV and ? buttons
Saving of focus mode in the memories, like it is in the A700.
1. “?” button redefinition.
2. +-2EV bracketing in A65.
3. Ability to use optical stabilizer while shooting video.
4. Improve buffer capacity for lower resolution JPEGs.
5. It would be very good not to exit magnification mode on semi-pressing shutter-release button.
6. Ability to convert RAW to JPEG inside the camera and to delete RAW and JPEG data separately to save space.
7. Ability to turn off high-ISO NR COMPLETELY.
8. Include Uncompressed RAW option.
9. Include downsized (6Mp?) RAW option.
Why you ISO noise so high ?
1. Faster switch between screen and EVF
2. Faster start-up (not big deal, but)
3. Allow to have the infos on each lens, and related AF corrections
(It must be somewhere in memory, so just to allow to see it).
3. To have the list of lens corrections, or at least to ensure that lens is recognized.
4. On the screen with all seetings availables (like A700 ones), allow to navigate on it
like with the A700 and selected one to modify directly on this display.
maybe it is, but I failed to do it, like with my A700, that was nice, when I try with
my A77, it switch to the screen with menu bar on left and right, you loose something.
5. Nice job from Sony anyhow.
1) using jpeg extra fine image size 6m i had 1.34 src 12 burst. Xtra fine size 24m i had 1.24 sec of burst.
My SD car is a sandisk Extreme 30 mb/s hd video 16 gb.
I would like to have the ability of shooting with like something between 10 and 7 frames. Or sort of a burst rate control, so you can costomize it for the job.
2) record settings: ’50i 24m, 17m and 50p 28m, 25p 24 and 25p 17m
Im not shure if this is PAL or NTSC
Just remove the “extra-crop” in videomode when steady shot is deactivated, so a wide angle lens becomes a wide angle lens.
– First of all : improve JPG quality. Without nice JPGs, what is the use of all the creative modes, and optical corrections that don’t work in RAW ? And I would be happy not to have to process from RAW every picture I take !
– better colour control : sometimes I get over-saturated colours, especially red
– customizable ? button : help pages can be appreciated when browsing menu, but not while taking pictures
– customizable REC button, and the ability to start/stop recording in video mode using the shutter release button
– set focus to infinity immediatly when shut off.
-Clean HDMI out
-Button assignable SSS
-Selectable menu items for custom lcd display
Along with faster response, better jpeg, … what the others said )
1) Better JPEG-Engine for improved JPEG-Quality.
2) “SteadyShot” On/Off selectable with the Fn-Button.
“SteadyShot” On/off selectable within the customizable buttons.
3) No control lag.
4) (At least) the opportunity to review photos and videos like they have been shoot in terms of the time.
5) Sepaeration betwenn photo and movie settings (ISO, aperture, exposure).
Further on I love the idea to have 6MP resolution (4 sensor pixels contribute to one image pixel).
1. continuous burst shooting to at least 24 shots
2. shorten the waiting time after burst shots (e.g. writing images to memory while shooting photos)
3. Allow changing shooting format (i.e. jpg, raw, etc) via Fn key (just like A900) instead of entering Menu and change it.
4. more responsive GPS locating cabilbility
5. Tracking objects somehow I feel too impossible to use.. it takes too many steps to set the target.. most of the time, the target ran far away.. please make it easy and simple to track (e.g. create a mode to track whatever object in center focus point upon semi-press the shutter)
6. improve EVF performance in dim environment
– jpeg quality improvements
– option “noise reduction” off
– allow more buttons to be adapted (?-buttom, more modes on teleconverter-button)
– some kind of mid burst speed would be nice (3 pictures per second, 5/7 pictures per second, 10 pictures per second selectable)
– adjust the folder structure – the thing with seperated folders for stills and the 2 video modes is annoying -.-
All modes compatible to RAW, not only JPG.
Better image quality at high ISO also on RAW.
erm, the whole point of RAW is that there is no processing…
this thing is bugging me
the spot AEL toggle. it will reset itself if u review the photo, unlike A850 where it remained toggle. bug or intentional?
clipping indication during shooting mode. not only in playback mode like today.
and no flashing. better in zebra style like DSC-R1
My wishes would be:
– clean HDMI out
– no PAL/NTSC-Versions differences
– Video (without steady shoot) with full sensor (1.5x crop factor)
I have the Alpha 65. My strongest wishes for firmware updates:
1) The AE-Bracketing Function is not useful for HDR. There should be at least a steping of 2EV (not only 0,3 an 0,7).
2) The ?-Button should be possible to change to all the functions as you can change the AEL-Button.
Remove auto ISO restriction in M mode, as well as the restrictions on setting other than auto ISO & changing EV compensation in Auto mode.
Allow the histogram and level gauge to be on the screen at the same time.
Have the ability to swich OFF the video button or otherwise disable it, to prevent accedental pressing.
Allow auto playback of just taken images to be on LCD only, rather than in viewfinder.
And Stop the requirement to reset the camera to default mode when upgrading fimware!
more bracketing options at least +-3 EV
i would like to have the focus check (digital focus zoom) in video mode, too! this would be awsome
A built-in DOF calculator.
Add a new DOF priority mode.
– Video recording with no limit to ISO (atm video can only shoot at ISO 1600)
– Intervalometer if possible
How about a Fibonacci spiral grid overlay for help with composition.
And if possible, maybe something like the in-camera double-exposure feature of the Canon 1Dx.
I have tried but cannot really come up with any issues I want fixed with my A77 – I love it and it is still way exceeding my capabilities. All I want from Santa is 1)Gary Freidman’s new book on the A77/65 and 2) the chance to buy a second battery…..
Why can’t you buy a second battery? Peanuts on eBay!
A77 firmware enhancement requests:
1) pal/NTSC switchable video for travelling videographers
2) manual mic gain control for audio in video.
3) video button to be customisable (like ael/iso buttons) or have an optional ‘double press to record’. I’m not alone in having quite a lot of 5 second movie clips of my feet, usually taken while flipping out the screen.
4) in the dedicated manual video mode (from the mode selector knob on the top left of the camera) allow the normal shutter button to start/stop recording. Using the record button is ergonmically unsound and in manual video mode the shutter button just doesn’t do anything
That’s all I can think of for video. Here are a few photo ideas
1) make the controls as responsive as the A55/a700. Even with 1.04, there is still some control lag especially annoying in local AF mode and moving the active AF point with the joystick.
2) quicker EVF/LCD switching. Even with 1.04 there is still some lag.
3) implement a Lowest Shutter speed to allow better control over autoiso
4) allow autoiso in M mode (yes I know it wouldn’t be truly M mode then, but you would still have the option of selecting ISO manually of course). In this mode, still allow exposure compensation like in A or S modes. (this would be a sport shooters ideal setup and would make many more sales)
5) allow full customisation of the Drive Mode, WB, top plate ev+/-, Movie and smart teleconverter and ‘?’ Buttons. You can already customise the ISO, AEL, AF/MF buttons so it should be simple to extend this to the others. (ironically, you can change the ISO button but not the ? Button at the moment. Surely most users of a camera at this level/cost never use the ? at all)
6) not sure if this is possible but when using smart teleconverter, would it be possible to electronically stabilise the EVF view? This would also be handy when using Focus Magnifier view.
7) implement tethering in the same way as on the a700. (very very important!)
8) some kind of pixel binning to allow saving lower resolution RAW files (16 or 12mp choices would be ideal). I like the freedom/leeway granted by raw in tweaking exposure and WB but rarely need 24mp
9) fix the hung flash issue i described in another thread here
10) In MF mode, when I press the af/mf toggle button (rear top right of camera) the camera AF triggers in AF-S mode. All very nice but please add an option for it to trigger AF-C mode or AF-A mode. This would be roughly equivalent to the canikon ‘back button autofocus’ that seems so popular with sport shooters
11). When zoomed in (focus magnifier) in AF mode and I notice focus is a bit off’ I press the AF/MF button to adjust focus. Sadly, it drops back to the zoomed out view. It would be great if it stayed zoomed in and far more useful.
12) an ‘OVF simulation mode’ where the EVF always always shows the TTL view ready to take a photo. After taking the pic, have auto review send the pic to the rear LCD only, keeping the EVF in live view mode. When autoreview has timed out, blank or power down the rear LCD. Reason: with the top plate LCD and ability to change settings in the EVF, I don’t need the rear LCD for changing settings and often flip it inside out to hide it I’d like to use it for autoreview only but the current 1.04 autoreview shows the image on the LCD and the EVF. With auto review off, the camera handles better but I keep having to press the playback button to chimp my photos.
12) bring back the steady shot indicator scale! The a55, a700 and presumably many other alpha cameras had this little bar scale to show how steady you were holding the camera. Very useful! But sadly it has disappeared from the a77
13) add ‘steady shot on/off’ to the list of custom features available on the customisable buttons. This would alleviate the missing steady shot switch, lamented by so many a700 upgraders.
14) for the shutdown sequence, park the lens at infinity FIRST. Aftere that I don’t care how long it takes to shutdown completely. Try putting a lens like the tamron 90 macro back in your bag before the shutdown is complete. The wind-to-infinity currently as the last step can have dramatic effect on a camera in a crowded bag!
15) what happens to the “brightness” option in the creative styles? The a700 had this but it’s just not there any more. Same for zone matching
16) JPG only modes are not available in with RAW. Fair enough but couldn’t the camera offer a warning then shoot a jpg anyway? Perhaps panoramas/hdrs could save the raw files as well as the jpg
17) customisable raw+jpg to allow different jpg sizes/qualities to be recorded beside the raw file. Again, the a700 had this.
18) NOise reduction off for JPG files. The a700 had this. The a77 has auto or weak only.
19) EXIF field for copyright info. After all this is supposed to be a semi pro camera isn’t it?
20) EXIF info for focus distance and AF point used. (ok this is a minor one but occasionally of interest to me)
21) the AF points are black in live view. Against a dark background, they are almost totally invisible. In LOcal AF mode, as I jog the active AF point around using the joystick, I’m almost guessing which point I have selected and need to to trigger the AF to make the active AF point light up green. Combined with the lag between joystick action and AF point actually changing, this can be a frustrating experience. I can’t recall exactly how the a700 handled this but I never had a problem being able to see the AF points perhaps the a77 points could turn red briefly while you are jogging them around and later on when composing, the live view could show them as a black box with a white outline. The screen resolution is so fine, an extra box of white pixels around each black box would hardly be intrusive and enhance the camera greatly.
Well, that’s just a few ideas! Don’t get me wrong, the a77 is a fabulous camera. My A700 is now sold and the a55 has gone the same way. With a few minor tweaks, the a77 would be unbeatable for me and I’m sure the things I’m asking for are not hardware dependent. In fact, I’d pay for some of the things listed above!
22) Bring back the quick navi user interface (as seen on a700/a900/a850) – often lauded as one of the best ever camera UIs
Cheers
*I would like to have “auto iso” when shooting in “M” mode
* Would like to be able to program the Rec and ? buttons for example to a SS on/off
* A faster continuous focus refresh rate
* Can always benefit with added IQ in RAW and JPEG …. every camera can ask for that 😉
* Can always benefit by improvements in Noise reduction without losing detail … another every camera could benefit from item
@Khalil: I also experience the double actuation issue with 1.04.
My wishes for firmware improvements:
– brighten up the deep dark shadows in the EVF at situations with higher contrast
– faster switching between monitor and EVF
– possibility to use EVF as viewfinder and monitor (back displaly) for image review automatically
– a continuos shooting mode that is appropriate for panning at a speed of 5-8fps (panning with current 8fps mode is crap)
– Auto ISO in M mode
– ? button customiseable (e.g. for SSS)
– 5fps mode
– allow auto-HDR when RW+JPG is set, even if it only records jpg
– contrast AF like A580
– tethered shooting
– when pressing the backside AF/MF button in zoomed in mode, the camera should not return to unmagnified view
Add tethered shooting in the A77, please. A must have feature. My A700 and KM Maxxum 7D both have it!!!
hmmm… cheaper price :p
Improved ISO performance(similar to the D7000) and improved IQ.
-Option to disable to forced focus to infinity when power off.
-Improved shut down speed for fast and safe switching og lens.
-Immediate response to aperture setting (at least as good as A33/55)
1) Noise Reduction Noise Recudctio Noise Reduction
2) Audio Level Control
Sorry for longer post, but hope it will hit it’s target.
I’m very excited about this camera and I really want to buy it. Anyways, I’m rather a very experienced starting professional (photography is my profession) than just enthusiast.
I really like SONY,
BUT there are few things, I would like to ask SONY to get fixed. At the moment, I’m still neither 80% convinced. Meanwhile waiting the most important things to be fixed, I’m curious who will offer me better overall solution. Canon and Nikon will show out very soon brand new rivals for the A77.
I would like an extra OPTION to be added for fixes where applicable.
In order of importance for me (some of not my ideas too):
1. Add the complete JPEG NR off option!!!
Everyone has to admit, the A77’s RAWs are amazing, why to throw away all this quality for JPEGs?
2. show the 16:9 HD video crop always in video mode, not just after starting to record. Please!
3. add 720p video shooting mode option.
4. Really, please, in Manual video mode. Unlock the ISO lockdown. You can not remove manual photography mode because some customers in this price category could set it wrong and get wrong exposed pictures. Comeooooon. You have just made a great camera for a great price. A lot of semi-professionals are very interested in it and they know what they are doing. If you are an amateur, you shoot in Auto mode anyways…
5. Remove the limitation of not being able to auto-focus in S/A/M modes. It’s already possible with the “switch off” trick, so we know the camera CAN DO IT.
6. Solve the buffer handling for cont. shooting. At least allow to shoot pictures to already freeed buffer space. There is something to work with, as David noted in his extensive and very good review. What happens here basically: “Shooting panoramas – which have to start with exactly the same frame by frame 24 megapixel data readout – I counted 42 frames apparently firing at something close to the 12fps maximum, then creating a panoramic JPEG, and the finished 6.7MB JPEG file was written to card and the buffer cleared before I had time to see if the light was still on. “ review link: http://www.photoclubalpha.com/2011/10/17/the-sony-alpha-77-tomorrow-today/
7. OPTION to keep the aperture at 3.5 or wider, if the lens supports it n the 12fps and video.
8. (essential) Notification and automatic switch to JPEG when switching from RAW to JPEG only feature…HDR, Pano, ….
9. ‘OVF simulation mode’. Preview of just made picture showing only on LCD leaving EVF showing you the TTL view.
This is very important in the continuous shooting mode!
9.1 even better don’t preview every picture even in single photo shooting mode.
When my eye leaves the EVF, the LCD shows me back the last photo i shot.
10. NO image stabilization option for video.
11. Clean HDMI output option !
12. AF points blinking red briefly while you are jogging them around and later on when composing.
13. start/stop recording in video mode using the shutter button . Logical, not? Or if opted to shoot with record button, allow to do a photography with the shutter button in the video mode!
14. more customizable buttons (at least the “?” For SSS on/off !)
15. would be nice to have around 5 fps continuous shootingmode. There is a big lag between 3 and 8fps.
15.1 Timepapse photographies?(crazy and not important) Would be even nice to have like timelapse option (just set manually the delay to make continuous shooting. Absolutely modificable by the user in format “hh:mm:ss,ss” hours, minutes, seconds and 1/100ths of second of course until the 3fps mode border). Camera can go to power save mode between too delayed shots.
16. some kind of Manual Audio levels control in video.
17. Higher update rate (or even customizable) for continous AF
18. Well, I really don’t see the advantage of having 24Megapixels in APS-C sensor size. I would prefer 16 or 18 and less noise. If I will own A77, I will shoot in the 12 Megapizel resolution. This could this use some pixel binning to improve image quality, not?
19. On shutdown, park the lens at infinity FIRST.
20. SSS indicator scale!
21. Not so important for me, but Tethered shooting via USB cable?
– and make a good manual to all of this so everyone can make his way using all this great features.
Don’t get me wrong SONY, I spent a lot of time getting this together trying to make the A77 as great camera as it really can be. There is still a lot of possibilities and I think, you can thank to all the people trying to help you with their good ideas.
I do a lot of video too and now I’m searching for something, that could give me reasonable alternative to much expensiver semi-pro videocameras (I know, I can not expect to do a pro videos with DSLR camera. Actually with a good lens and few accessories I can :D)
Can SONY please explain me the (almost) 1$ = 1€ price conversion policy?!
I´m european customer and this really pisses me off. It is not a firmware issue, but can be fixed too 😀
SONY please, listen to your customers!
I remember the A77 big advertising campaign that sonyalpharumors started months ago. Promising people extraordinary high ISO from “many” source including “photographers” that at the time were “testing the camera”. Hi ISO are quite similar to many others cameras and worst than any “older” Nikon and Canon FX camera. Maybe is time 4 people to start testing by theme self’s cameras and lenses instead to trust everyone.
And is time for many to stop been addicted to shop everything new and understand that it’s all about advertising and keep people buying more and more and spend money than in most cases people have only “in their credit card dreams”
Remember a good photographer is the one that can use even a cheap camera to do a state of art. The others are just dreamers.
I am not pushing any camera. I was the first to post the NEX-5n Click issue and the A77 lag issue. And I got some feedback that Sony wasn’t really happy about that.
1. JPEG output quality
2. internal buffer increase, fast continue shots better than a55
3. low light high ISO output better than a55
These features should be include in update for A77 and A55( please?)
1)Focus lockfor video shooting
2) manual audio level controls and metering
3) assignable button. could a mode change assignt shutter button for start/stop shooing video?
These features should be include in update for A77 and A55( please?)
1) Focus lock for video shooting
2) Manual audio level controls and metering
3) assignable button. could a mode change assignt shutter
button for start/stop shooing video?
Custom bracketting is very important for me as I am looking for a camera to do HDRI imaging, mainly for panoramic stitching in HDR for commercial 3D graphics. This is to capture the full dynamic range of a scene, which will be stitched together for a spherical panoramic map. This image, would then be used to light CG graphics, particularly for automotive photography.
The camera would also be used to capture the background for the scene using separate captures.
5 brackets with 2ev difference would be great, and 7 brackets with 2ev difference would be even better.
The option for 3ev would also be extremely useful.
Currently, 3 brackets with 3ef difference does not provide enough range for 80% of the scenes I shoot.
Currently, Nikon seems to be the only manufacturer that has this feature within a reasonable price range, as only 1 series Canon bodies can do this.
There are many photographers using Auto Exposure Bracketing for use in HDR imaging but currently not much hardware that can do this.
ADMIN: I’m simply a photographer. In my 23 years of photographic career I never been a fanatic of this or that brand, why should I be?? If I need a tool only to be good than fanaticism does not help me have the job done correctly.
3 years ago I bought a A900 (after reading top good review from luminous-landscape.com and not only) with a (Sony) Zeiss Planar T* 85mm f/1.4 ZA (after reading top good review from photozone.de) and tested directly against my old Nikon D200 and my 20 years old Nikon zoom 35~70 AF f2.8
Nikon D200& 35~70 Nikkor with her “only” 10mp have a much better resolution than the A900 with the Zeiss. Compare by your self but do it shooting long distance subjects like trees and you’ll see. Zeiss Planar T* 85mm f/1.4 ZA have the worst Lateral chromatic aberrations results that I ever test in a lens. And it’s not fault of my lens copy as many people like to think. I can understand why Photozone had such good critiques even for that matter.
One more thing, Sony’s flash commander mode is so bad and untrustworthy. With Nikon commander mode every flash give exactly the right amount of light you tell them to.
Anyway as I said in my first comment photographer ability counts at the end and not gear.
And again if you describe something like if is a Rolls Royce and than you tell people that the defect is that it consuming too much petrol well…….people will keep want to buy one.
– Option for lower resolution raw files (e.g. 16Mp)
– Ability to customize the ‘?’ and exposure compensation buttons
– Ability to preview picture only in LCD, leaving the EVF ready to shoot (not sure if hardware would allow this to be implemented, though).
– Video recording start/stop should be triggered by the shutter button when in video mode (which also would allow use of wired and wireless remote shutters for video).
Give AF in video mode with f 1.8!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not only 3.5!
Here are some firmware suggestions to improve VIDEO on Sony’s A77:
1. On-screen HISTOGRAM in video mode
2. Manual control of ISO above 1,600.
3. Setting a custom white balance in VIDEO mode (currently you have to set it on a photo mode first).
4. Disabling the Auto-Gain control. Currently the audio solutions for the A77 suck.
5. Previewing Audio levels. It would be nice to get a visual preview of the audio levels.
The following would be nice to see when shooting STILLS.
1. Adjusting the EV levels while shooting in Manual Mode.
2. Fix all the the above mentioned video problems.
Thanks
CLEAN HDMI OUT !!! – PLEASE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MANUAL AUDIO LEVELS
THANX
Sly
When in movie mode on mode dial, the shutter release should become the same as the movie button.
allow high iso/atleast iso3200 selection and no f3.5 limit on autofocus in video mode
One important advantage of image stabilizer systems located in the lens is that image in optical viewer is stabilized too, which makes a lot of sense with long focal lengths especially. Sony SLT´s seem to have all the necessary hardware implemented to eliminate this issue:
Since image stabilizer / steadyshot works by means of shifting the sensor and EVF shows the image produced by this sensor, it should be an easy task to modify firmware in order to initiate “steady shot” system when shutter button is pushed down to pre-focus. This would significantly reduce the EVF image shake when long focal lenghts are used and make the choice of image section through EVF a lot easier in those cases.
It´s known that A55 had a heat problem in video mode due to permanent sensor shift, which became a serious issue after appxy 20 min of permanent video shooting, so the camera had to be turned off automatically to allow cooldown. Thats why A77 uses an electronic stabilisation (with higher crop) for video.
This heat problem would certainly be not an issue, if sensorshift stabilisation would only be initiated for maybe 5 to 10 sec during pushing shutter button half way down, but make work with long focal lenghts a lot easier and more fun.
I have owed the Alpha 700 prior to the Alpha 65 and I found the ability to lock focus on the camera without locking the exposure a very useful feature – now that I use the A65 for both photo and video, it seems independent exposure and focus lock would be even more useful. At present, if I want to lock focus and then shift origin of the shot, exposure will not adjust, so I must frame the exposure zone first, lock exposure, shift the origin of the shot to use the centre of the AF zone to quickly choose the exact object I wish to focus on and lock focus, then shift back to the original zone and take the shot.
At the moment, because of the extra step, I don’t use the lock functions very much at all as it takes too long to setup a shot.
In video mode, sometimes a person may be moving in front of a distant background and I don’t want the continuous AF to lose the subject. If I had focus lock without exposure lock, I could activate it when the person is in motion and let go when they are centred again. The A700 has it as an option in the menu – should focus lock also lock exposure or not?
Ahh – I just checked and the focus lock appears to have changed to being always separate from exposure lock in the new 1.04 firmware. Video appears to be smoother and now I can control focus the way I like it.
D’oh! Only separate focus lock in Video mode! I still want an option in the menu to separate focus and exposure lock in still image mode.
Hi Sony,
I’m Jochem, a video and animation professional from the Netherlands that wants you, Sony, to succeed in the hdlsr market. It’s is growing so fast! You must be aware that the A77 is a potential winner amongst all the other hdslr’s. But it’s a winner with a chronic disease, and you, Sony, you have the cure. You need to show the world that you have learned from the mistakes or loose ends Canon’s hdslr’s have made and fill in those gaps. This way there will be no good reason NOT to buy the A77 if you want to shoot beautiful filmic video and professional photography.
These points for the next firmware version are not to be taken lightly. Letting them lay unresolved will kill this winner before getting it’s golden medal and the A77 will be only a ghost when Canon or Nikon’s new line ups are out. My point is clear. I’m available for you if you have any questions.
1) Focus magnification for video
2) Manual Audio Control
3) PAL/NTSC switch for flexibility and traveling users
4) Shutter button should be the record button while in videomode
5) Live on-screen histogram in videomode
6) Autofocus with shutter priority, we need that 180 shutter for a film look
7) Autofocus with aperture priority so we can shoot with autofocus on f2.8 and below
8) Auto iso in manual mode
9) Higher ISO limitation in videomode (3200 >)
10) If SteadyShot is turned off for video, allow use of a larger portion of the sensor to eliminate the extra crop video mode receives. Thus making shooting video in photomodes easier to compose, possibly improving video quality further and taking better advantage of wide angle lenses.
11) Clean HDMI video out
12) Control delays fixed
13) Double-bitrate mode (48mbit/sec) if possible.
14) A “flat”, less contrasty picture profile for Color Correction. (such as cinestyle for the Canons)
13) Tethered shooting
14) Allow peaking mode to be turned on/off via an assigned button (the ‘?’ button should be good)
ps. Why did you go for the weird hotshoe? Can’t you just pack a little adapter with the camera if you do?
thanks for listening. Good luck Sony!
Greetings,
Jochem
Micro Focus adjustment for the A65
Better JPEG engine. One comparable to the others around.
This must be a bug (either firmware or mine).
If I use Auto-ISO (MFNR) for night shots on a tripod, then you can’t use a wireless remote shutter?!?
Steps:
1. Switch to P mode
2. Press the ISO button and select regular “Auto”
3. Press the (Drive) button and select Remote Cdr.
4. Press the ISO button again and select “ISO AUTO”
5. Press the (Drive) button.
Result: Camera won’t allow a remote shutter and displays the dialog “Invalid with this ISO sensitivity setting. Available in other than Multi Frame NR.”
Firmware 1.04
With the A700, when you needed to adjust exposure, you pressed the exposure compensation button and you could adjust either flash exposure, the camera exposure or both. With the A77, you can only adjust the camera exposure, the flash exposure is in another place. If there is another firmware update (I have v1.05) this should be fixed so that the exposure button provides the ability to adjust both types of exposure.
Everything has been touched on .
I would like to have one in camera editing option.
To be able to crop the photo than save as a new file.
Allow Multiple exposure mode in a single frame (like stacking)
Allow the focus indicator to display when live view is previewed in Zoom mode.
Allow lower ISOs, even less than 50 , to eliminate or at least reduce the need for ND filters.
Every time I use the buit-in flash, it seems to blowout the picture. I’ve tried setting the flash compensation as low as -2.0, and it still
seems to consistently happen. Higher ISOs make the problem much worse (ISO 400 or higher).
• Clean HDMI out
• Cinematic (2/2.35/2.66) aspect ratio guides/grids (most important for me)
• Histogram in video mode, and possibly less video crop when image stabilisation is disabled?
• Higher video bitrate
1. better low noise in high ISO
2. automatic ISO setting
3. Medium and Small RAW setting
Better high ISO and jpeg engine.
tethering support for the A65 would be lovely thank you very much…. and some way of getting around the 29 minute video recording duration.