14 DAY TRIAL // It's become somewhat of a habit for consumer electronics manufacturers to enhance the level of functionality provided by their various devices post sale via some very useful firmware upgrades that fix certain small bugs in the hardware/software interaction, and that's exactly what's happening right now with two of Sony's DSLR cameras, namely the α900 and α850α models. According to Sony, following this firmware update, the autofocus should prove to be quicker and more responsive than ever, thanks to improved AF motor control and smarter distance detection of out-of-focus objects. Creative options will also be extended by a broadened range of exposure value (EV) compensation settings, now increased from ±3EV to ±5EV. Plus, the selected compensation value is displayed in the navigation display on the main LCD screen of both cameras, while this boosted EV compensation range gives extra headroom when composing extremely high- or low-key images. Exposure bracketing range has also been increased from a maximum of 4.0EV (three shots at -2EV, 0EV, +2EV) to a maximum of 6.0EV (-3EV, 0EV, +3EV), this wider range granting added flexibility when capturing multiple frames at different exposure values – for example, when acquiring images for the creation of powerful post-shooting HDR effects. As a further refinement, a new menu option allows shutter release to be enabled, even when the camera body doesn’t detect an attached lens, a feature that's particularly useful for specialist applications such as astrophotography when the camera is attached to a telescope. Much in the same way as most of the other camera manufacturers out there, Sony's offering this firmware upgrade for free for the owners of the α900 and α850 35mm full-frame DSLR cameras, who will only need to access the required Sony support page, then download and apply the update while the camera is connected to the computer via USB in order to enjoy all of the aforementioned enhanced features.
alpha 900 getting a firmware update
hot right now