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The highly publicized and anticipated FW update for the a9 is here.  It is like getting a new camera in many ways.  When you install this it completely reinitializes your camera and you will have to set it up all over again as it is a completely new and different FW, not just a basic update.

It changes the following:
AF system is completely revamped
Eye AF revamped
Touchpad operation
Increases the number CDAF points dramatically
User programmable ISO range limits
New focus peaking options
New zebra options
1:1 aspect ratio added
New RAW+JPEG options
New video options
New playback and image rating options
New button and dial customization options
New recording options for the two card slots
New app for phone communication with camera and new communication options including full time smart phone connection

And probably a lot that I'm missing.
https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/e-mount-body-ilce-9-series/ilce-9/articles/00220555

Some things will be deleted, e.g. MP4 recording. No going back to previous version, but that’s probably not desirable anyway. On the side, Sony will be releasing Imaging Edge to replace Play Memories and adding Transfer and Tagging. More here:

https://fstoppers.com/gear/worlds-best- ... sed-351469

https://www.dpreview.com/news/5069323951/sony-s-a9-gets-ai-powered-af-modes-and-a-redesigned-menu-in-firmware-version-5-0

Joe

Is it possible to save settings to a card and then reinstall them on the new FW?

Joe

SantaFeJoe wrote:Is it possible to save settings to a card and then reinstall them on the new FW?

Joe

I do not believe so.

Everyone seems to old fashioned about losing settings...don't write them down but use your phone to record the settings on the back.

Mike in O wrote:Everyone seems to old fashioned about losing settings...don't write them down but use your phone to record the settings on the back.

When I mentioned about writing the settings to a card, this is what I was referring to:

https://www.sansmirror.com/newsviews/2018-mirrorless-camera/jan-mar-2018-mirrorless/5-things-mirrorless-users.html

I think that’s better than images on a phone.

Joe

SantaFeJoe wrote:Is it possible to save settings to a card and then reinstall them on the new FW?

Joe

No, that has never been possible on Sony cameras and one of my biggest beefs.  An a7III, a7RIII or a9 can take hours to customize just the way you want.  If something happens where you lose the settings, the main board needs to be changed as I chronicled in another thread you have to start over.  Recording the settings on your phone is not a solution as you would literally have to record over 100 screens.  The base screens won't do it because often there are several nested screens.  i just went through this whole exercise.  My final write-up of the whole service fiasco that included a complete redoing of my settings is in my recent newsletter.  Just go to my website and click on Newsletter.  Every single other camera manufacturer lets you write the entire state of the camera to a media card or to a computer so it can quickly and easily be restored.  With Sony you can only write out shooting settings, not the whole camera and all of it's set-up.  Sony fans regularly point out that this is not an issue - it is an issue and a competitive disadvantage compared to everyone else.

Another way to describe the issue and why the lack of this calls into question the suitability of Sony cameras as a pro system is as follows:  Sony pro photographer is on an assignment at an event where Sony pro Support is supplying the gear (this happens at many major events), he spends the time before the event getting the camera set up to match his working style (the camera is nearly infinitely configurable),  the camera fails in the middle of this critical event, he gets another one from the on-site Sony Pro Support tent, he now needs to spend an hour minimum or more to reset up the camera, he doesn't get the critical shots he needed for the assignment.  In EVERY OTHER CAMERA SYSTEM, the pro would have written his settings to a media card or a laptop and just loaded the setting into the new camera in minutes and minimized his downtime.

Video that goes through the new FW from Sony ambassador:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... KbxJ6EbZJE

So the update has been out a while and I'm curious if any of you have put it to use in the field and have any thoughts on the cameras performance post update. Has the update made any significant leaps for the wildlife photographer? BIF performance?