SAR points out, that Sony might protect the FX line....
However there is no counterpart to the A1 in the FX line, dont see the reason to hold back.
The reason they may be holding back is they want you to pay $7000 for the A1II.
As a owner of two A1 (bought both brand new), I will be VERY hesitant to buy another new high end Sony camera, I may look at used A1II some years down the road or I may look elsewhere. But it's hard to beat the lenses available in E mount, at least in a short run.
Douglas L wrote:
The reason they may be holding back is they want you to pay $7000 for the A1II.
As a owner of two A1 (bought both brand new), I will be VERY hesitant to buy another new high end Sony camera, I may look at used A1II some years down the road or I may look elsewhere. But it's hard to beat the lenses available in E mount, at least in a short run.
The next iteration of the A1 better be more than just a few software features like focus breathing compensation and DCI recording. But I'm sure the FX line would like exclusivity on these features, but it would be penny wise, pound foolish on the part of Sony Imaging.
Sony is taking a hit on good will with these unexplainable policies.
Douglas L wrote:
Good for you! Sony sure needs loyal customers like you.
I'm certainly a little disappointed that Sony has kept some of the new features on lower end cameras that would be easy FW upgrades off of the A1 so far.
That said, I'll probably be a day 1 preorder for an A1II. It is hard to leave my established lens collection that I paid a good price for. I've tasted the competition in R5, R3 and Z9 and none of those would tempt me away. Canon has no interesting lenses that are any different than my 600GM/400GM. Nikon does have very interesting lenses but their flagship is 3rd place for me out of the 3 brands, their lenses are impossible to get and they are significantly more expensive than the Sony primes (over $20K CAD after taxes for the 600/4TC). Considering I paid around $13.5K CAD for the 600GM that Nikon price is crazy.
Based on current used prices I'd need to pay $2K CAD net to go A1 to A1II. Sure that will increase as A1 prices drop closer to the new body coming out. But even if it is $3K net for the latest and greatest 3-4 years after the A1 then I'm all for that.
Give me all the quality of life improvements I've found in the A7RV this past week, give me the AI chip, give me a Pre-capture feature in RAW, give me 30FPS in lossless compressed and maybe ~40FPS in lossy compressed and I'm sold. I don't even care if they change the sensor.
smpetty wrote:
I gave up, sold my A1, bought the A7RV, and haven't looked back. No doubt Sony will leave the A7RV suspended in "firmware hell" in the future, and I will move on. Again. Not a bad sales tactic for Sony.
This is kinda where I have always been with Sony bodies. Don't buy one if you're looking for a firmware update. Buy the need and if something pops up than that's a win but buy that need, The A7rV had it and I was not going to sit here and wait for the A1 to get up to speed on it. Sony has never been the update firmware guru of the photo world.
I know I caught a lot of shit when I sold my A1 but I knew better.
This won't be a popular opinion, but I hope the model changes to a subscription or pay-as-you-go system for firmware updates. I sympathize with vendors like Sony that aren't required to give away free updates to old cameras that compete with new ones. However, there should be an option where I can purchase these software updates rather than purchase a new camera.
I understand there are physical limitations to what can be upgraded via firmware. However, based on several posts here, it seems like the A1 processor can handle some of these enhancements.
If folks are happy with their camera and firmware, they will not have to purchase the firmware update.
Of course I'd prefer free firmware updates. But having choices and options are good. I'd be okay with optional, pay as you go, firmware updates.
rjensen11 wrote:
This won't be a popular opinion, but I hope the model changes to a subscription or pay-as-you-go system for firmware updates. I sympathize with vendors like Sony that aren't required to give away free updates to old cameras that compete with new ones. However, there should be an option where I can purchase these software updates rather than purchase a new camera.
I understand there are physical limitations to what can be upgraded via firmware. However, based on several posts here, it seems like the A1 processor can handle some of these enhancements.
If folks are happy with their camera and firmware, they will not have to purchase the firmware update....Show more →
Interesting that users complaining about Sonys lack of firmware updates are still going to upgrade to the next latest and greatest models. This is exactly what Sony planned .. give them your money 💰 while they alienate their existing customer base (same old Sony!). For those not invested in Sony, think twice if you expect regular updates. You won't get them! Sony prefers to sell you a new body with features that could easily be implemented via firmware . C'mon folks no matter how you slice it , a $6500+ camera shouldn't be left behind with outdated firmware. If Nikon can provide regular firmware updates and enhancements , so can Sony!
arbitrage wrote:
I'm certainly a little disappointed that Sony has kept some of the new features on lower end cameras that would be easy FW upgrades off of the A1 so far.
That said, I'll probably be a day 1 preorder for an A1II. It is hard to leave my established lens collection that I paid a good price for. I've tasted the competition in R5, R3 and Z9 and none of those would tempt me away. Canon has no interesting lenses that are any different than my 600GM/400GM. Nikon does have very interesting lenses but their flagship is 3rd place for me out of the 3 brands, their lenses are impossible to get and they are significantly more expensive than the Sony primes (over $20K CAD after taxes for the 600/4TC). Considering I paid around $13.5K CAD for the 600GM that Nikon price is crazy.
Based on current used prices I'd need to pay $2K CAD net to go A1 to A1II. Sure that will increase as A1 prices drop closer to the new body coming out. But even if it is $3K net for the latest and greatest 3-4 years after the A1 then I'm all for that.
Give me all the quality of life improvements I've found in the A7RV this past week, give me the AI chip, give me a Pre-capture feature in RAW, give me 30FPS in lossless compressed and maybe ~40FPS in lossy compressed and I'm sold. I don't even care if they change the sensor....Show more →
The only improvements in the A1 that would induce me to spend lots of money are improvements in AF (which probably requires the AI-AF processor) and raw pre-capture. Raw pre-capture could probably be implemented in a FW update but Sony is unlikely to deliver that. Higher frame rates with lossless compression, etc are nice but nothing that would pry any money out of my wallet.
The one capability that is a strong attraction to Nikon is the built-in TC in the 600/4. If Nikon had a camera body with the capability and size/weight of the A1, I would switch.
I don't expect much from either Sony or Nikon over the next year or two, so it is a question of whether Nikon will intro an A1-like camera (maybe in a year or two?) before Sony puts a TC in a 600/4 (probably 5 years to never).
dclark wrote:
The only improvements in the A1 that would induce me to spend lots of money are improvements in AF (which probably requires the AI-AF processor) and raw pre-capture. Raw pre-capture could probably be implemented in a FW update but Sony is unlikely to deliver that. Higher frame rates with lossless compression, etc are nice but nothing that would pry any money out of my wallet.
The one capability that is a strong attraction to Nikon is the built-in TC in the 600/4. If Nikon had a camera body with the capability and size/weight of the A1, I would switch.
I don't expect much from either Sony or Nikon over the next year or two, so it is a question of whether Nikon will intro an A1-like camera (maybe in a year or two?) before Sony puts a TC in a 600/4 (probably 5 years to never). ...Show more →
Agree, Dave. A lot of people complain about the size, menu and ergo of Sony cameras, I am pretty happy with the all these, especially the customization of the A1 and the easy access to the exposure compensation dial, which is a big deal to me. Nikon's 600 TC is really tempting, but like you said, until they make something like the A1, it's too early a jump. Will be interesting to see what the rumored Z8 is all about...
When the A1ii is released I'm probably going to pre order it. I'll do so knowing that the features it's released with is all it'll be capable of. If it meets my requirements I'll be very happy. For those of you who want more what did you do back in the days of film cameras? You bought one and that was it.
That being said I don't jump on new firmware updates unless I'm having an issue. If it works I leave it alone. I don't update my smart phones or apps on it. I still have a computer running windows 7 that does what I want it to. I didn't upgrade it to windows 8. My main laptop is running windows 10. While it always asks me to upgrade to 11 I haven't bothered. At some point I might but only because I can read up on all the people who did it and their experiences.
It would be nice if Sony made it possible to revert to older firmware revisions but that just opens up a new can of worms that most companies avoid.
Maxxus46 wrote:
Interesting that users complaining about Sonys lack of firmware updates are still going to upgrade to the next latest and greatest models. This is exactly what Sony planned .. give them your money 💰 while they alienate their existing customer base (same old Sony!). For those not invested in Sony, think twice if you expect regular updates. You won't get them! Sony prefers to sell you a new body with features that could easily be implemented via firmware . C'mon folks no matter how you slice it , a $6500+ camera shouldn't be left behind with outdated firmware. If Nikon can provide regular firmware updates and enhancements , so can Sony! ...Show more →
I'm angry about firmware 1.31 and my subsequent ruined shots. I had better accuracy with the A7rII, I am not kidding. I complained to Sony that I cannot revert the camera to prior firmware versions and they told me they would follow up with me. They did not. I also told them that if they did not fix the firmware, it would have a detrimental impact on their ability to sell the A1 Mark II because who will pony over $6,500 for a camera where the manufacturer gimps the camera with garbage firmware? I'm not going to upgrade.
I'd like just to get 1.30 back, as I think (human) eyeAF was a bit more precise then. I also think it's silly, Sony refuses to port some of the simple stuff, like chosing face/eye with joystick, but we already knew that when they didn't port colored AF boxes to older cameras.
I'll probably stay with A1, as trading it for A7RV doesn't look too good around here money-wise (and I'd probably go crazy having to switch between silent/EFCS/mech bokeh again), and I don't see A1 II worth its price anymore, as the support for a flagship camera is simply not there.
I don't shoot BiF like most here though but I do enjoy the electronic shutter.
Hands down the A1 is still top of the heap in its class (still outperforms the Z9 regarding AF even after all the Nikon updates ). That said, it doesn't excuse Sony for piss poor support. It's a flagship... Let's not allow Sony excuses for such a poor business model. By buying into their next flagship camera , we are just sending a message that it's an ok way to do business. We lose. Sony can do better but are choosing not to. We can also choose to not continue investing in their gear! I think this is going to be the big differentor between brands in the coming years, that is post sales support and continued updates. Who wants to replace a $6500 plus camera every generation? There should be no need to do so
Atlasman2 wrote:
Wait while their good will is eroding away!?
I'm leaning more towards a long standing policy of 'no promises' on firmware updates on new features.
Hey, I love my A1! In most ways it still represents Sony's best!
but I do enjoy the electronic shutter.