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Firmware upgrade for A850/900

dhsimmonds

New member
The firmware upgrade to the A900 and A850 is likely to be announced by 2nd December. The new manuals have been leaked in Hong Kong according to 'Sony Rumours'. The latter show a screen shot of the manual listings.

The improvements are reported to be:

* Release shutter without lens (same as A580
* EV compensation upgrade from +3/-3 to +5/-5 HDR enhance from +2/-2 EV to +3/-3 EV (same as A580 upgrade)
* Improved AF speed and accuracy.

All seem very sensible to me! :D
 

edwardkaraa

New member
It's definitely good news, especially coming from Sony :D

What is most interesting for me is the ability to release shutter without lens, as it will allow me to use my unchipped ZS lenses in aperture priority in addition to full manual, for some more spontaneous shooting. Regarding the AF accuracy and speed especially with long lenses, I honestly have nothing much to complain about, but of course any improvements are welcome :)
 

edwardkaraa

New member
But you don't have any long FL lenses, do you ? ;)
Not at the moment, but they didn't say it's only for long FL. AF improvements should be for all FL. The longest I've owned was the 70-300G and AF was very accurate, but I can't comment on the AF speed because I never used it for any action shots.
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Keep us plugged in I have the 850 now and used it vey little and really need to get out and shoot with it but so far I like this system. Any improvement on any system is welcome
 

dhsimmonds

New member
Edward

I use very long lenses 85% of the time these days, ie 70-400G and 200-500 Tamron and I agree with you, focus accuracy is bang on and I have no complaints with focusing speed either!

So, I am expecting blistering focusing speed after the update, so I hope we that are not too disappointed!
 

edwardkaraa

New member
Edward

I use very long lenses 85% of the time these days, ie 70-400G and 200-500 Tamron and I agree with you, focus accuracy is bang on and I have no complaints with focusing speed either!

So, I am expecting blistering focusing speed after the update, so I hope we that are not too disappointed!
:salute:
 

philip_pj

New member
Well, looks like it may come to pass, after a lot of net talk about the 'crippled A mode' in the A900/A850 series - so good.

After automated wonders (sic) like the Fuji GW690 and Mamiya 7, M mode seemed just fine...but after using alt lenses on my partner's A700, it can be very handy for handhold grab shots, in conjunction with zone focusing.

The AF is one of the strong points of the series, at least with the centre spot, I like how the camera seems to 'think' for a millisecond, then latch on with generally deadly accuracy...very reassuring with long lenses - I still use the old Minolta 200mm APO f2.8 and I feel the great resolution of long lenses works very well with the Sony AF, for stationary subjects in any case.
 

philip_pj

New member
Guy,

There is a lot of information on these lenses, some of which I will list for you. My understanding is that yes, AF speed is the difference, due to different gearing of the focus mechanism. The best resources are dyxym.com, Kurt Munger, and M Hohner. Another issue is the compatibility with the matching teleconverters, 1.4 and 2.0, in APO and non-APO form.

A great lens despite its age, ultra sharp with minimal loss of res with the correct TCs - see links. 790 grams for the lens, built-in hood, filter, case. 170 grams for the 1.4TC. That is one of the reasons I bought one, to get the 200mm/280mm combo for long reach with minimal weight/bulk. Works great on the A900 and A700.

Some resource links:

http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/topic22154_page1.html
http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/teleconverters.asp
http://www.mhohner.de/sony-minolta/onelens/af200f28g
http://www.mhohner.de/sony-minolta/lenses.php?lg=e
http://kurtmunger.com/sony_minolta_af_lens_price_guideid221.html
http://kurtmunger.com/minolta_af_teleconvertersid230.html

Hope this helps, Philip
 

roweraay

New member
Seems like there are some "instant discounts" on several Sony cameras/lenses. But the one I am interested in, is the 70-400G, and there seems to be nothing on it !
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Guy,

There is a lot of information on these lenses, some of which I will list for you. My understanding is that yes, AF speed is the difference, due to different gearing of the focus mechanism. The best resources are dyxym.com, Kurt Munger, and M Hohner. Another issue is the compatibility with the matching teleconverters, 1.4 and 2.0, in APO and non-APO form.

A great lens despite its age, ultra sharp with minimal loss of res with the correct TCs - see links. 790 grams for the lens, built-in hood, filter, case. 170 grams for the 1.4TC. That is one of the reasons I bought one, to get the 200mm/280mm combo for long reach with minimal weight/bulk. Works great on the A900 and A700.

Some resource links:

http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/topic22154_page1.html
http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/teleconverters.asp
http://www.mhohner.de/sony-minolta/onelens/af200f28g
http://www.mhohner.de/sony-minolta/lenses.php?lg=e
http://kurtmunger.com/sony_minolta_af_lens_price_guideid221.html
http://kurtmunger.com/minolta_af_teleconvertersid230.html

Hope this helps, Philip
Thanks Phillip . I will get to reading
 
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