OSX + A7R ii woes

[bwud]

I'm new to the A7-line, and Sony cameras in general. I'm trying to attach my A7R ii to my macbook, running yosemite (10.10.4), via USB. It never recognizes it. Are there any drivers I need? There are no downloads on the camera page of Sony's website.

 

Also, the SD card reader doesn't mount SD cards formatted in-camera. Is that a common thing?

 

Thanks!

[Wesley]

You probably have to wait for the raw file update for Preview through the OS software update. My Mac currently in repair so can't check.

[bwud]

It doesn't even mount the camera. The camera LCD just sits there for a while displaying USB and then says "check attached device" (or something).

 

I download the transfer over WIFI application from Sony, but it evidently didn't come with drivers because the computer still doesn't recognize the camera.

 

Hmm

[Beekeeper]

I'm new to the A7-line, and Sony cameras in general. I'm trying to attach my A7R ii to my macbook, running yosemite (10.10.4), via USB. It never recognizes it. Are there any drivers I need? There are no downloads on the camera page of Sony's website.

 

Also, the SD card reader doesn't mount SD cards formatted in-camera. Is that a common thing?

 

Thanks!

 

Did you make the menu selections explained in this post for earlier versions by Brian Smith?   I found that the A7R2 requires the same selections to tether.

http://briansmith.com/how-to-tether-sony-a7-a7r-a7s/

[bwud]

Did you make the menu selections explained in this post for earlier versions by Brian Smith?   I found that the A7R2 requires the same selections to tether.

http://briansmith.com/how-to-tether-sony-a7-a7r-a7s/

 

Thanks. Unfortunately, no, it did not do the trick. I set USB more do PC Remote, and upon connecting the cable, the camera displays "Connecting" with a USB logo for a while, and then "Check the connected device." Meanwhile, the computer says "Cannot find a camera..."

 

I don't tend to shoot tethered. If I can't connect my camera to my laptop it's annoying but not a big deal. If I can't get the laptop to read the memory cards, that's a bigger deal. Perhaps a trip to the 7th circle of hell known as the apple store is in order...

[Wesley]

You tried a USB cable card reader and also the one on the Macbook?

[bwud]

My USB3 card reader must have kicked a tire loose as now it mounts the memory cards (SDXC UHS2) in the slot (which is USB-based).

 

Camera still won't play nice with computer, however.

[Guest all8]

I think you need to Connect as Mass Storage if you want to read files etc.

[bwud]

I think you need to Connect as Mass Storage if you want to read files etc.

 

Tried that too... :/

[Roger7]

I tried to update firmware on A7 ll without success. The new firmware was downloaded and I opened the ICON and installer came up. I followed the instructions and computer and camera connected but after some time I got error message of cannot update. Turn off camera and try again. Still no go. I selected Mass Storage as instructed but noted that the setting reverted to Automatic when I re-started the camera. I am using MacBook Pro with the new Beta El Capitan operating system.

 

Any advice ?

[Wesley]

I tried to update firmware on A7 ll without success. The new firmware was downloaded and I opened the ICON and installer came up. I followed the instructions and computer and camera connected but after some time I got error message of cannot update. Turn off camera and try again. Still no go. I selected Mass Storage as instructed but noted that the setting reverted to Automatic when I re-started the camera. I am using MacBook Pro with the new Beta El Capitan operating system.

 

Any advice ?

 

Use different computer or don't do this on a beta OS.

[Golem]

A windows desktop is under $200 and for

photographers running a Mac, perhaps a

Windows desktop is an affordable, useful

peripheral ... possibly a necessity ?

[Roger7]

UPDATE - problem solved and firmware update successful on the MacBook Pro. I had forgotten to remove the memory card in the camera on the failed first attempt. 

 

Those who use a MAC are not likely to need or want to use Windows. 

[bwud]

A windows desktop is under $200 and for

photographers running a Mac, perhaps a

Windows desktop is an affordable, useful

peripheral ... possibly a necessity ?

I do the vast majority of my photographic post work in my windows desktop, however I prefer the MacBook Pro to other high-res laptops. Travel = MacBook. If I can't get it to talk to my Sony, it's not a big deal, it's just a little weird.

[bwud]

Found the driver on sony's site.

 

http://esupport.sony.com/US/p/swu-download.pl?mdl=ILCE7&upd_id=10143&os_group_id=3

 

Unfortunately this link isn't accessible from the A7R ii downloads page, nor is it listed as a supported product, but it worked.

[erikig]

Just a heads up, I kept running into this issue. I was finally able to resolve this issue by switching my USB cable.

[Grimma]

Just a heads up, I kept running into this issue. I was finally able to resolve this issue by switching my USB cable.

 

 

Same issue - dodgy Sony USB cable. Problem fixed with a replacement.

[a6k]

Q: Number of programmers to change a light bulb?

A: It can't be done because it's a hardware problem.

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Preview should not need updating if the OS is current. I have 2 Mac's and they both read the raw files from a7Rii as downloaded from Imaging-Resource.

 

This may or may not be completely relevant, but I have no trouble getting my a6000 to show up in Finder as soon as it's plugged in. It shows some Sony app, too, but I ignore that. You can also set the Image Capture app to start automatically when you plug in from the camera to the USB port.

 

This actually works better than my wife's Nikon Coolpix P-600 which does not show up in finder.

 

In either case, using the SD card directly in the computer works fine. My MacBookAir has an SD slot, so does my MacMini. I don't know about the MabBookPro, but a reader should be OK, too, if a little slower.

 

OS preferences are like religion but I'm quite familiar with both Windows (including v10) and Mac. I find the Mac a lot easier to use for photography and my impression is that many others agree. YMMV.