New Sony a1 firmware update V 1.32

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Only improvement I've seen confirmed from many sources is drastically faster startup and wake up times.

My guess is any AF stuff is going be placebo since Sony makes no mention of it. But one can only hope.

I'm updating as soon as I get home as startup times have been a real problem lately. Worse than on earlier FW
 
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arbitrage said:
Only improvement I've seen confirmed from many sources is drastically faster startup and wake up times.

My guess is any AF stuff is going be placebo since Sony makes no mention of it. But one can only hope.

I'm updating as soon as I get home as startup times have been a real problem lately. Worse than on earlier FW
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Try it and see.... I noticed a real hit in af performance from 1.30 to 1.31.... and it seems improved now....but i need a few more days with it to confirm.
 
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Wasn't going to bother but 'improvement in start up time' has piqued my interest. I seem to remember this got slower with one fw update. Cant remember which one.
 
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I can’t try it until next week , we are away and there’s no Wi-Fi . I even tried to download it using my phones mobile network but it stops after so long .
It would be really interesting and useful if people could post their findings , better , worse or no different .
For me the A1 was amazing with fw1.20 but it seems to have gotten worse for me with BIF (ok with perched) since I updated to fw1.31 and updated the 200-600 fw . I’ve brought another 200-600 with the older fw . So far it is showing better consistency with BIF so maybe my lens had an issue .
 
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I tested it today on fast flying shorebirds, diving terns & pelicans and other opportunities. It's awesome. My A1 has never been better. I thought the A1 was fantastic right out of the box, didn't really see any problem with 1.30 or 1.31 and now find it better than it's ever been since installing 1.32. I can't really quantify it but all I know is it finds the subject, locks on, stays locked on and delivers sharp images as long as there's no "operator error". Again, I'm not one of those who saw much difference with 1.31 but if you did I expect you'll be happy with 1.32. FWIW, here are a few recent images of fast flying shorebirds taken on 1.31.
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BrianSmall said:
I tested it today on fast flying shorebirds, diving terns & pelicans and other opportunities. It's awesome. My A1 has never been better. I thought the A1 was fantastic right out of the box, didn't really see any problem with 1.30 or 1.31 and now find it better than it's ever been since installing 1.32. I can't really quantify it but all I know is it finds the subject, locks on, stays locked on and delivers sharp images as long as there's no "operator error". Again, I'm not one of those who saw much difference with 1.31 but if you did I expect you'll be happy with 1.32. FWIW, here are a few recent images of fast flying shorebirds taken on 1.31. View attachment 61011View attachment 61012View attachment 61013View attachment 61014View attachment 61010
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Beautiful set👍👍👍
 
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BrianSmall said:
I tested it today on fast flying shorebirds, diving terns & pelicans and other opportunities. It's awesome. My A1 has never been better. I thought the A1 was fantastic right out of the box, didn't really see any problem with 1.30 or 1.31 and now find it better than it's ever been since installing 1.32. I can't really quantify it but all I know is it finds the subject, locks on, stays locked on and delivers sharp images as long as there's no "operator error". Again, I'm not one of those who saw much difference with 1.31 but if you did I expect you'll be happy with 1.32. FWIW, here are a few recent images of fast flying shorebirds taken on 1.31. View attachment 61011View attachment 61012View attachment 61013View attachment 61014View attachment 61010
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Brian, great bird shots. What lens were you using?
Thanks.
 
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BrianSmall said:
I tested it today on fast flying shorebirds, diving terns & pelicans and other opportunities. It's awesome. My A1 has never been better. I thought the A1 was fantastic right out of the box, didn't really see any problem with 1.30 or 1.31 and now find it better than it's ever been since installing 1.32. I can't really quantify it but all I know is it finds the subject, locks on, stays locked on and delivers sharp images as long as there's no "operator error". Again, I'm not one of those who saw much difference with 1.31 but if you did I expect you'll be happy with 1.32. FWIW, here are a few recent images of fast flying shorebirds taken on 1.31. View attachment 61011View attachment 61012View attachment 61013View attachment 61014View attachment 61010
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Really cool, Brian! Have you shot any peregrines lately?
 
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BrianSmall said:
I tested it today on fast flying shorebirds, diving terns & pelicans and other opportunities. It's awesome. My A1 has never been better. I thought the A1 was fantastic right out of the box, didn't really see any problem with 1.30 or 1.31 and now find it better than it's ever been since installing 1.32. I can't really quantify it but all I know is it finds the subject, locks on, stays locked on and delivers sharp images as long as there's no "operator error". Again, I'm not one of those who saw much difference with 1.31 but if you did I expect you'll be happy with 1.32. FWIW, here are a few recent images of fast flying shorebirds taken on 1.31. View attachment 61011View attachment 61012View attachment 61013View attachment 61014View attachment 61010
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~Hi Brian, nice images.....could i ask what focus mode and sensitivity setting you were using? Many thanks.
 
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I've had two full mornings on 1.32 shooting 400GM and 600GM (mostly 600GM).

All I can really say:
1) It didn't make anything worse
2) I'm not convinced it made anything better. I see lots of reports on forums about all sorts of improvements to AF including stickier tracking and better BEAF. I don't really see that...I think we see a lot of placebo effect with every new FW.

Also the startup time thing which so many people commented on I think is more an effect of just doing any FW update as it totally refreshes the entire FW file (ie it isn't a patch).
The A1 has such variable startup times for no apparent reason. I did a test before and after the update. Ironically my first test before was instant startup after the camera had been off for 4 days. A second startup test a few mins later was a bit of a delay. After FW the startup was very quick but no quicker than my first pre-test.

I'll be interested to see what David finds. Having a camera side by side one on each FW is going to give a better idea than any of us trying to go off of memory.
 
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arbitrage said:
I've had two full mornings on 1.32 shooting 400GM and 600GM (mostly 600GM).

All I can really say:
1) It didn't make anything worse
2) I'm not convinced it made anything better. I see lots of reports on forums about all sorts of improvements to AF including stickier tracking and better BEAF. I don't really see that...I think we see a lot of placebo effect with every new FW.

Also the startup time thing which so many people commented on I think is more an effect of just doing any FW update as it totally refreshes the entire FW file (ie it isn't a patch).
The A1 has such variable startup times for no apparent reason. I did a test before and after the update. Ironically my first test before was instant startup after the camera had been off for 4 days. A second startup test a few mins later was a bit of a delay. After FW the startup was very quick but no quicker than my first pre-test.

I'll be interested to see what David finds. Having a camera side by side one on each FW is going to give a better idea than any of us trying to go off of memory.
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Very interesting....you could well be right about placebo....or you may have a reverse placebo (nocebo effect) ....that it is better but you don't think it is :)
As you say David's findings will be very interesting...having both firmware on seperate cameras is our best hope of true comparison.
 
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Well mix bag for you all after this morning. I ended up focusing on a hummingbird nest. The camera without firmware update was shooting video and the af worked perfectly as always.

The camera with the update to 1.32 is working just fine. I didn’t see anything get worse and my experience with the a1 was positive with 1.31 as well. I’ll take some time this week and shoot stills side by side which should help.

I did remember some saying start up was faster so before I put them in the safe for the day I turned both on at the exact same time and the new firmware did turn on faster. I never really thought the a1 was slow but it is a solid second faster coming on with 1.32. I’m one who never lets the camera go to sleep. I’ve got a grip and 5 spare batteries so this has never been an issue for me.

I will mention the lighting today was fairly horrible, cloudy, rain and dim. Most shots at f4 1/400-500 and iso in the 6400 plus range. Not the most ideal conditions but the af nailed everything. So that’s a good early indicator.
 
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