Improved Video and Autofocus Controls Are Here for Your Sony a7 IV and a7R V Cameras

Sony Alpha Firmware Updates

Released as Sony α7R V Ver. 4.00 and α7 IV Ver. 6.00, these firmware updates are certainly some of the more notable updates for these popular Sony cameras since they were originally released.

The main crux of the updates for both is set to be added shooting and playback functions, including switching things up with the layout of the shooting info displayed on the screen (which can now support both portrait and landscape orientations).

Here’s the full list of new features and improvements with each of these updates.

Sony α7 IV Ver. 6.00

Addition of shooting and playback functions

• The layout of shooting information displayed on the screen now accommodates both portrait and landscape orientations.
• Added “Spot: XL” to the “Spot” option under “Focus Area”.
• Added “Custom 1”, “Custom 2”, and “Custom 3” to the “Custom” option under “Focus Area”.
• Added “Tracking: Spot XL”, “Tracking: Custom 1”, “Tracking: Custom 2”, and “Tracking: Custom 3” to the “Tracking” option in the “Focus Area” menu.
• Added “Golden Ratio” to the “Grid Line Type” options.
• The menu screen can now be displayed enlarged.
• During or after video recording, clips can now be flagged with three types: OK, NG, or KEEP.
• During video recording, when using “Simultaneous Recording” or relay recording (automatic media switching), the remaining capacity of both media cards is now displayed.
• During video recording, the audio level is now constantly displayed on screen.
• Relay playback between media cards is now possible.
• Images can now be filtered for playback using multiple conditions, such as “Rating”.
• Custom key settings can now be assigned to the AF-ON button, AEL button, and Delete button during playback.
• Support has been added for registering and switching between multiple IPTC Presets.
• Support has been added for the “electronic signature writing” function for videos, utilised in the Authenticity Camera Solution. (Requires installation of a licence (paid)

Addition of FTP Transfer and Network Functions

• You can now schedule FTP transfers while writing to media.
• Protected videos and still images can now be automatically scheduled for FTP transfer.
• Videos/still images transferred via FTP can now be automatically protected.
• Specified images can now be prioritised for transfer during FTP transfers.
• Monitor & Control functionality is now supported.
• Focus map display

Other

• Improved operational stability.

Sony α7R V Ver. 4.00

Addition of Shooting/Playback Function

• Added “Spot: XL” to the “Spot” option in “Focus Area”.
• Added “Custom 1”, “Custom 2”, and “Custom 3” to the “Custom” option in “Focus Area”.
• Added “Tracking: Spot XL”, “Tracking: Custom 1”, “Tracking: Custom 2”, and “Tracking: Custom 3” to the “Tracking” option in the “Focus Area”.
• Added “Golden Ratio” to the “Grid Line Type” option.
• The menu screen can now be displayed enlarged.
• During or after video recording, clips can now be flagged with three types: OK/NG/KEEP.
• During video recording, when using “Simultaneous Recording” or relay recording (automatic recording media switching), the remaining capacity for both media cards is now displayed.
• Relay playback between media cards is now possible.
• You can now filter images for playback using multiple conditions, such as “Rating”.
• Custom key settings can now be assigned to the “AF-ON” button, “AEL” button, and “Delete” button during playback.
• Support for registering/switching between multiple IPTC Presets has been added.
• Support for the “electronic signature writing” function for still images and videos, utilised in the Authenticity Camera Solution, has been added. (requires license)

Addition of FTP Transfer and Network Functions

• You can now schedule FTP transfers whilst writing to media.
• Protected videos and still images can now be automatically scheduled for FTP transfer.
• Videos/still images transferred via FTP can now be automatically protected.
• Specified images can now be prioritised for transfer during FTP transfers.
• Monitor & Control functionality is now supported.
• Focus map display

Other

• The “Security (IPsec)” function is no longer supported. Please use the more secure “Access Authentication” function, set to “On”, going forward.
• The “WPA” and “WEP” functions are no longer supported. When connecting via Wi-Fi, selection of “WPA” or “WEP” is no longer possible. Please use the more secure “WPA2” or “WPA3” from now on.
• Improved an issue where focus might not reach infinity during focus bracketing.
• Improved an issue where colour reproduction could change during exposure bracketing with lossless compressed RAW, even when white balance was fixed.
• Improved operational stability.

How to Download and Install

You can find both of these updates on Sony’s website, where they’ll be free to download and install. Simply follow the directions on each of these links below.

• Sony α7R V (ILCE-7RM5)
• Sony α7 IV (ILCE-7M4)