The Sony a7r V has received a new update that makes it a much better camera to use for photojournalism, sports, weddings, and more. Firmware 2.0 gives photographers access to using the new Creators’ app in addition to a few operational stability features. We called the Sony a7r V back in from Sony, and have updated our review accordingly. You can see the updated text below.
Sony surely has a firmware update problem. They’d much rather their photographers buy brand new cameras for very minor features instead of giving out firmware updates. And this results in a few pretty big problems. At the top of the list is that they can’t move all of their cameras. We’re currently at the Sony a7 IV, but the company still has Sony a7 II and Sony a7 III cameras available for purchase brand new. What’s more, the older cameras are losing support in the Creators app. So you’ll have to use imaging edge to a certain point.
Update May 2023
Firmware 2.0 is now out for the Sony a7r V. Here’s what it added:
- Adds support for the Creators’ App
Note: The new Creators’ App mobile application replaces the Imaging Edge Mobile app. The Creators’ App allows you to transfer images from the camera to your smartphone, shoot remotely, and use various other functions. - Adds a function that improves security when connecting with the Creators’ App and Imaging Edge Desktop software for remote shooting and image transfers
Note: Please update the Imaging Edge Desktop software to the latest version (Ver.3.6 or later) - Adds a function to switch the face that is prioritized for focus with a custom key
- Improves the operational stability of the camera
The big new feature here for photographers is the addition to choosing which face to track. It’s a very welcome new option that will help lots of photographers. This is really important for event, wedding, and photojournalistic photographers. However, the implementation is finicky. The viewfinder, which is still one of the best in the world, makes it difficult for you to sometimes figure out which face is being detected. To notify you of which face the camera will prioritize, Sony will put a highlight around each individual face. Then they’ll have an orange indicator around the bottom of that subject’s face. If you’re visually impaired, this can be difficult to see. However, if you back up and look at the LCD screen, it becomes easier. In real-life practice, though, you don’t have the time to back up and look at the screen when you’re shooting. It pretty much guarantees that you’re going to miss a shot.
How can Sony improve this? Well, I’ve been hoping that you could change the colors of various things on their screens for a while. OM System lets you dial in various color parameters to change things like the rule of thirds grids, the target reticules, and all. But to be specific, you can dial them in by various points of color on the RGB scale. Sony should do this in addition to letting the user increase how thick or thin the indication lines are.
Further, I really wish that Sony would improve the face detection of people of color in low light. But that’s still not a feature that’s come yet or even been prominently talked about. However, in our conversations wi