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Features/improvements of the Sony Alpha mirrorless system

sttotev
Explorer

Features/improvements of the Sony Alpha mirrorless system

I've been using Canon for 6 years and switched to Sony 10 months ago. Here is what I think should be added or removed in the current line of bodies' system menu. I have an A7R Mark II, but I know this will apply to the other bodies as well.

 

1) ability to see file size while reviewing photos/videos

2) removal of the 'running on NTSC/PAL' screen when camera starts/wakes up. Extremely annoying and time-wasting when you try to quickly capture the moment 

3) ability to set continuous manual AF point selection - instead of stopping at the edge of selectable points, the AF point cotinues to the opposite edge. In Canon this is called "Manual AF pt. selec. pattern"

4) ability for quick menu where the user can choose which options to include from the menu system. Canon allows 6 options to include, which is enough, but could be increased. 

5) option to shoot lower MP RAW files - i.e. 18, 24, 32 or similar. 

6) option to assign shutter as "start movie" button

7) option to assign specific AF areas to the AF/MF switch button - i.e. when you hold the AF/MF button and press halfway the shutter, it could initiate all AF points not depending on the currently set AF area pattern

😎 RAW image processing in-camera

9) option to set the joystick thumb dial as an exposure compensation. This is the Canon default and it took me quite a while to get used with Sony's way. If the option is present it will be much better for photographers switching from Canon to Sony to make the transition easier. 

 

 

Now, about the connectivity features and apps (iPhone user perspective):

1) iOS 10 supports RAW. The PlayMemories app should be able to get the RAWs from the camera

2) when shooting RAW only, the camera should be able to send higher quality jpeg files to the app by converting them on the fly. We don't need crazy quality here, but 15-20 MP should be more than enough (see point 8 from the top list)

3) the remote app needs a total rewrite. It is slow, buggy and extremely inconvenient and slow to start and use. Think 3D Touch actions or iOS widgets to speed things up.

4) the connection to the camera needs to be faster and simpler. The best option would be if it had bluetooth, but unfortunately it doesn't. I hope to see this in A7R III

5) make all apps free. Sony is not a software-oriented company. Why charging your customers for half-baked rarely updated apps? Especially when they have already spent 2-5 thousand investing in your camera bodies? Apple charges a lot for its products, but doesn't charge for (most of) its software. Take an example. 

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