Sony’s former flagship camera, the Sony A1, has been gifted a rather extensive firmware upgrade, while at the other end of the imaging scale, the vlogger-friendly Sony ZV-E10 II has received a free 4K 120p upgrade license.
I recently debated with Digital Camera World head honcho, James Artaius, on the Bokeh Face podcast whether or not it’s wise to update firmware on day one (as well as offering our thoughts on paid upgrades), so make sure you give that a watch / listen because we'd love to hear your take.
But back to the aging – yet still mighty – Sony A1 and firmware version 4.00. You can visit the update page here. As you can see below, this is an extensive update; along with improved operational stability, you can expect the following tasty upgrades…
Do make sure you read Sony's literature regarding the update, including the correct update order for those who have missed previous updates in the past. Some update features also require the latest edition of the Monitor & Control app, and some firmware services may not be available in certain countries or regions.
Sony A1 firmware version 4.00
- Displayed shooting information adapts for both landscape and portrait orientations
- The Spot section of the Focus Area menu gets Spot: XL and Spot: XS options
- The Tracking section of the Focus Area menu gets Tracking: Spot XL, and Spot XS, Tracking: Custom 1, 2 and 3
- You can simultaneously delete and rate images stored on both memory card slot one and two
- Folder and file names can be displayed during playback
- You can cancel the scheduled transfer of selected images during FTP transfer
- Support added for the following Transfer & Tagging settings…
- Setting to automatically schedule FTP transfer of protected still images from FTP Import
- Setting to automatically schedule FTP transfer of protected still images and videos from FTP Upload Preset
- Setting to automatically protect still images transferred via FTP from FTP Upload Preset
- Supports the following Monitor & Control app functions:
- Focus map display
- IRIS operation bar display
- Supports the Write Digital Signature function for movies as part of Sony’s Camera Authenticity Solution
- Supports Scan and Tag, Photo Cropping, and Volume Photography Commands under the Volume Photography License (paid license is required for use)
- The camera no longer supports Security (IPsec), WPA, and WEP functionalities
The firmware also fixes two issues: A lag of one to two seconds where continuous shooting wouldn’t resume after a period of burst shooting, and an instance where the multi-selector on the vertical grip wouldn’t function correctly.
Sony ZV-E10 II 4K 120p
It’s not every day a camera receives an upgrade as good as this. The Sony ZV-E10 II can now capture internal 4K 120p for slick slow-motion footage. That’s up to 5x slow-motion footage with full AF performance, and that’s not all; you also get FullHD 240p for 10x slow-motion.
The word "license" might initially conjure up fears of payment, but this is completely free. However, it’s not bundled within a firmware update; hence, you have to obtain the upgrade licence via Sony’s Creators’ Cloud website.
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