So the new V3 Sony A7III and A7RIII firmware is out!
Sony A7 owners rejoice! Well, A7III and A7RIII owners that is. Your camera now has new firmware and it adds a few things. First, it adds real time Eye AF which is pretty amazing if you are in the Eye AF crowd. It’s even better than before and yep, I have shot with this new feature. This update also adds real time Animal Eye AF as well as interval shooting for time lapse.
Just when you think Sony couldn’t add more, they do but hey, they have to keep up with the competition these days. The Panasonic S1 is incredible and as good as it is, these Sony’s are delivering the goods when it comes to features and IQ and Sony has a huge user base these days, so new firmware is always awesome to load up.
DOWNLOAD THE A7III FIRMWARE UPDATE HERE
DOWNLOAD THE A7RIII FIRMWARE UPDATE HERE
As I stated above, I was able to shoot with the Real Time AF feature in my Sony 135mm G master lens Review HERE. It was amazing.
Official press blurb:
New Firmware Update for Sony a7 III and Sony a7R III Boosts Eye AF Capabilities and Adds Interval Shooting for Time Lapse
Real-time Eye AF
Software Version 3.0 brings Real-time Eye-AF to the a7R III and a7 III, an AI-driven, enhanced eye detection system that’s based on the results of machine learning. Through machine learning, Sony has created a system that can detect—and focus on—the human eye even if the subject is looking down, partially blocked in the frame, turning or backlit. This feature is available in AF-C mode with a simple half-press of the shutter button.
Real-time Animal Eye AF
As with human eye recognition, Software Version 3.0 brings AI-driven animal eye detection to Sony cameras for the first time. Advanced subject recognition allows the a7 III and a7R III to detect and track animal eyes, and is the first step in a robust animal-tracking AF system.
The development of Animal Eye AF performance will continue, increasing the range of animals recognized by the system as well the system’s ability to track their movement.
Interval Shooting
This new software adds a built-in interval timer that can be set for anywhere between 1 and 60 seconds, with a total number of shots from 1 to 9999. AE tracking sensitivity is available to be adjusted to “High”, “Mid” or “Low” in order to reduce changes in exposure.
For more information on Software Version 3.0 for the a7R III and a7 III cameras, please visit AlphaUniverse.com.
This is exactly why I don’t buy Sony cameras. Thank God for Leica. Coming soon, color focus from Sony. Only focuses on red colors when set to red., yellow subjects when set to yellow and.. well, you get the idea. Like..we really need this nonsense!
And what happens when all your wedding shots turn out to be a disaster because you forgot the camera was set to animal-eye-focus and only the bride’s cat is sharp?
You can continue to buy overpriced cameras if you that’s your prerogative, or you just have money to burn. If you have used the Sony system, you’d know there’s no separate animal or human eye focus, it’s software runs both simultaneously; you don’t have to select individually. Or, just use regular back button autofocus? I’ll take all the extra options a FREE update offers.
Does anyone know when Animal Eye will work with my Sony a6400. My dogs and cats are my best test subjects (outside of a telephone pole in the backyard) and Animal Eye could vastly improve my game. Also, I’ll be doing an African safari in January.
You can always opt for manual focus if you like, the A7III still has a significantly better sensor. As a photographic tool the A7 is hands down a better than the Leica. To some, the Leica has a certain romantic appeal, and of course Leica optics are quite nice, for those who can pay them…
So does this mean we’ll get tons of sharply-focused javelina pics? Because, well, Phoenix?
I’ve been looking forward to this update, but… The last time I updated the firmware in my AR7III it was a nightmare.It helps me lots of time.
Does DMF now work with lens adapters? I recall that being promised.
IF Eye AF is assigned to a button(s), it will not be activated when the shutter release is pressed. Using the shutter release only works in one of the wide-area focusing patterns, but not in a spot pattern. When activated from a programmed button, Eye AF works for any focusing pattern.
So far so good; having eye AF on the shutter is a joy to use and frees up a custom button for something else. I assigned the center button to menu now that the Fn button scrolls through each tab so that you don’t have to keep going back up to the top to turn the page…dare I say Sony menu’s are becoming easy to use and somewhat intuitive. Animal eye AF surprised me as I didn’t expect it work on anything but dogs and cats. Yesterday I got some great shots of a trash panda (racoon) and a blue jay with my A7R III and 100-400 G Master, I was shocked to see the green box on the eyes of both…BRAVO Sony. I also observed that human eye AF has improved, it was definitely stickier as it tracked. Used to be I had to buy the next generation Sony camera to get these kind of improvements, that they came free for my A7R III and A9 is still quite shocking, in a good way 😉
I’ve been looking forward to this update, but… The last time I updated the firmware in my AR7III it was a nightmare. I own other camera and they update fairly easily. You follow the instructions and you’re done. I followed Son’s instructions for that pair firmware update and they didn’t work. Had to call SONY customer service, which admitted their online instructions were incorrect. Huh? Really, Sony? I only hope the time around it works more smoothly.
It does. Simply download the sw. make sure the cards are removed from the cam and that the battery is fully charged. start up the sw. wait until it tells you to connect the camera to the computer then acknowledge when connected. wait until it’s finished.
How about Eye Controlled auto focus? An improved version of what the Canon EOS3 had. It worked well for some of us and with the advances in technology seems to be something that would be welcome by many.
I remember them putting that in a camcorder many years ago. I forgot about it!
I imagine that they will add other animals soon, with peak Japanese tourist season at Yellowstone not too far off, it would make sense that Grizzly Bear Eye AF would be next on the list to be beta tested. We will have to hope that the Real-time Animal Eye AF works in tracking animals coming straight toward the camera at a good speed, otherwise their sacrifices will be in vain.
Nobody ever mentions that you can FINALLY assign the Menu button to another button. No more needing 2 hands to get into the menus! This one change alone is reason enough to upgrade!
Well thanks for mentioning It!
I know this sounds silly. But I’ve never taken great pictures of my two Bombay cats. Told ya. For those who don’t know, Bombay’s are all black cats with green eyes – bred in Kentucky to look like Black Panthers.
Taking pictures of Raven and Atari came out as fuzzy as M87 because they absorbed about as much light. But after v3 firmware on my a7iii, I was nailing shots like Starbuck in a Viper.
And pets complain less than kids when I try out my test shots! It’s frack’n awesome.