Firmware version 6 for the Sony a9 was made available today, and it adds several important features, including the previously demonstrated Animal Eye AF mode. It’s great to see Sony adding so much functionality to the camera that is widely reported to be replaced with an a9 Mark II in just a matter of weeks!
List of updates
- Adds real-time Eye AF for animals
NOTES:- This function can be used simultaneously with tracking.
- Eye detection may not be possible, depending on the environment, animal type or the movement of the animal.
- It is not possible to simultaneously detect human and animal eyes.
(See the Support site for details).
- Addition of the interval shooting function
- Allows the operation with the wireless remote commander RMT-P1BT [sold separately here]
- Other improvements:
- [Focus Frame Color] can be selected.
- “My Menu” can be assigned to appear first when you press the MENU button.
- Improves the overall stability of the camera
Animal Eye AF doesn’t work in quite the same way as regular Eye AF, and you’ll need to select either one mode or the other, but pet and wildlife photographers will surely love this new addition. More details of this feature can be found here on Sony’s support site.
Another major addition to the a9 with this firmware is the intervalometer feature, allowing users to capture timelapses with ease. Between 1 and 9999 images can be captures at intervals of anywhere between 1 and 60 seconds. The camera does not turn these automatically into timelapses, but the Sony Imaging Edge app can do that, as can a whole host of third party apps.
Firmware version 6.0 for the a9 is available for free from the links below:
