Surprise Creation:
Dedicated Sony Firmware Update Computer
I wanted to update the Firmware of my brand new
FE 50/1.2 GM lens,
but could not!
Hard to believe, I know, but true!
So i borrowed a neighbor's A1, tried to update its firmware, same outcome, no go!
My M1 Mac mini was out - not supported by Sony update software.
Early 2009 17" MacBook Pro too old - its OS not supported by Sony update software.
Late 2013 "trashcan" MacPro, running Mojave - Sony firmware update process
did not recognize attached camera.
To make a long story short - the "trashcan" was truly trashy, had interfering apps on it, e.g. antivirus apps, etc.
So I wiped the internal SSD clean and installed the latest macOS Big Sur, version 11.4.
Then I added only the required Sony firmware update files. That's it.
Voilà a Dedicated Sony Firmware Update Computer was born.
Firmware update of FE 50 GM lens on A9 with non-Sony but quality micro-USB cable took only a few minutes.
A1 firmware update to version 1.10 took about 25 minutes.,
FE 70-200 GM lens to version 6.0 again took only a few minutes.
Of course, before returning the A1 Sony gear to its owner, I took a few quick shots.
The A1 Menu system is sufficiently different that I surely didn't know what I was doing.
Read the Fine Manual - RTFM - seems my next priority, now that I know how to update Sony firmware.
Preliminary reports seem to indicate that Sony indeed successfully fixed the A1 EVF/Eye sensor issue that frustrated many users.
A few quick throw-away
A1 + FE 70-200 GM images.
A 3840x1600 format crop.
Impressed that the A1 could handle this pretty featureless scene.
Leafs moving in a light wind.
Flowers.
Yup, the A1 is as impressive as I thought it would be.
A definite improvement over my A9.
I am hooked!