Sony Releases Major Firmware Updates for the Alpha 7S III, Alpha 1, Alpha 7 IV, and Alpha 9 III
Sony is releasing several firmware updates for their Alpha hybrid cameras, the a1, a7S III, a7 IV & a9 III.
a7S III Firmware update V3.00
The a7S III update, as with most firmware updates, the full list of tweaks and fixes is quite long. You can find the full list on the download page. But some much-anticipated updates are really worth our specific attention:
- True 24P 4K DCI
- Breathing compensation
- New video mode display
- AF manual assist
These two render the camera even more usable in both high-end cine front, as well as with affordable lenses (that tend to breathe heavily). The advantages of a true 24P workflow are rather clear, as it’s the most common cinematic standard. The 17:9 DCI now available in 24P is also available up to 60P. Zero-breathing lenses were also a standard, but one mostly applied to high-end, high-price Cine lenses. The hybrid revolution democratized the field, enabling high performance in much more affordable cameras. This, in turn, introduced affordable lenses to independent filmmaking. Designed for stills, those lenses needed no breathing compensation but once utilized for motion necessity arose. Sony’s clever solution doesn’t require you to replace your glass collection, just download a firmware update. Other updates include better dial customization, improved wireless file transfer, the ability to close the shutter while switching lenses, and so on.
A new video mode display will allow ISO, WB, aperture, and shutter speed changes via touch. A screen swipe will introduce a new quick menu. While these changes, coming from the ZV-E line, aren’t listed by Sony but have been approved by CineD testing. These are some major enhancements to overall operability and quiet workflow. AF assist functionality also trickles to the a1 and a7S III up from the a7 IV, enabling quick manual override via the focus ring, to set the AF on the desired subject or guide it elsewhere. The a7S III will now feature a red square rec indicator as well.
a1 firmware update V2.00
Sony’s flagship hybrid camera gains quite a lot of attention here, for both video and stills applications. Breathing compensation is here (though not for 8K, probably since there’s no resolution headroom), as well as timecode sync, 4K 30p UVC streaming, and some additional workflow updates. Along with some nice stills-oriented features, the a1 will now be compatible with the C2PA standard, as part of the ongoing authentication efforts by the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity. This means the camera will now be able to imprint a digital watermark of the original image, as taken, ahead of any modification. This imprint will tag along with any additional editing to enable full transparency regarding any alteration.
a9 III and a7 IV modest firmware updates
Both the a9 III and a7 IV will receive rather modest firmware updates with the V2.00 and V3.00respectively. The a7 IV will also get content authenticity C2PA standard compliance, as well as network streaming and direct cloud upload features. The a9 III‘s firmware update V2.00 is not yet available (due in April) and will include a few adjustments, since the camera is fairly new, with the first shipments reaching clients just a few weeks ago. These however will include C2PA compatibility, the ability to extract an image out of a video in a camera, Auto FTP transfer settings, updated SDK support, and more. New creator’s app support is also coming to all cameras with this update.
Price and availability
All current firmware updates are free to download, and all but the a9 III V2.00 are available for download. Here are the links directly to the a7S III, a1, And a7 IV.