A7IV firmware 3.0 raw files not recognised in Lightroom

[PCM_81]

Hi all. The title says it all. Ever since the upgrade do 3.0, my ARW files aren’t recognised in Lightroom. I can open them in Photoshop to edit there or convert to DNG and import to Lightroom. 
Tried to modify the EXIG header relative to software version from 3.0 back to 2.1 but it didn’t do anything. 
Has anyone encountered this issue? is there any way this can be escalated or we just have to wait for a new version of Lightroom to come out?
Cheers

[XKAES]

This type of problem has come up in the past, and it has to do with third party vendors having to play catch up  when Sony comes out with something new.  Ask Lightroom when you can expect an update -- if at all.  They may tell you you have to wait for their next update.

[gjvanveen]

Same problem over here. I transfer the photos with FTP to my phone. Thsi work perfectly before 3.0. Now I can't open the ARW anylonger.

It is not a lightroom problem, but a Sony problem! 

Please solve this asap!

[XKAES]

How does that make it a Sony problem?

[JimBennett]

I have the same problem using Adobe Camera Raw.  Either Sony changed the ARW file without telling Adobe and other people who read ARW or Adobe haven't got round to updating their products yet.  Either way we're stuck.  Can we reset our cameras to v2.0 firmware?

[XKAES]

Here are some words of wisdom from another Forum:

Updating Firmware involves making a physical change to the relevant chip: a Programmable ROM. Once the change has been made it cannot be reversed except perhaps in the factory where, almost certainly, it will be easier and cheaper to simply replace the chip. By the same reasoning, if an update fails, then it will be almost impossible to reload the update as the failure may not be a simple omission, but an erroneous irreversible change.

FW updates are a major modification to your camera. This is why the maker's emphasize that you should start with a freshly charged battery as any interruption to the process could be fatal! It is also important to know that a FW update cannot be used to make all the changes that so many photographers seem to want. Some camera functions would need a new chip altogether as modifying the original chip isn't practicable.

[FunWithCameras]

On 4/3/2024 at 5:49 AM, XKAES said:

Here are some words of wisdom from another Forum:

Updating Firmware involves making a physical change to the relevant chip: a Programmable ROM. Once the change has been made it cannot be reversed except perhaps in the factory where, almost certainly, it will be easier and cheaper to simply replace the chip. By the same reasoning, if an update fails, then it will be almost impossible to reload the update as the failure may not be a simple omission, but an erroneous irreversible change.

FW updates are a major modification to your camera. This is why the maker's emphasize that you should start with a freshly charged battery as any interruption to the process could be fatal! It is also important to know that a FW update cannot be used to make all the changes that so many photographers seem to want. Some camera functions would need a new chip altogether as modifying the original chip isn't practicable.

Parts of this are true, but other parts are, at best, a bit misleading.

Yes, the firmware update process rewrites an EEPROM's contents.

However, it is possible to design a programmable device to have the code that loads the EEPROM in a separate memory chip (perhaps a permanent ROM), so that an interrupted update can be repeated. A lot of computer motherboards are designed that way, so a failed firmware update can be retried. A camera could be designed to work that way, too, but it is possible that it is not - perhaps because of the limited size of the main board in the camera. I'd like to hope that there is room for it, but maybe there really isn't.

The other part, about not being able to accommodate everything someone might desire due to the desires depending on other hardware is kind of obvious - we know, for example, that Sony's latest autofocus depends on the infamous "AI" chip - any camera without that chip cannot be updated to the latest autofocus. There are subtler problems, though - the size of an EEPROM is fixed - you cannot load more firmware into it than it can hold, so if your camera has, for example a 1 gigabyte EEPROM, and the additions you want would make the firmware 1.1 gigabytes, then something has to give, and that will, of course, be the feature you wanted the most... Or maybe the camera doesn't have enough RAM, or a fast enough processor, or ...

[FunWithCameras]

On 4/1/2024 at 7:13 PM, gjvanveen said:

Same problem over here. I transfer the photos with FTP to my phone. Thsi work perfectly before 3.0. Now I can't open the ARW anylonger.

It is not a lightroom problem, but a Sony problem! 

Please solve this asap!

Sony has no control over what other companies do - it cannot order them to change their software. Moreover, it cannot tell them how they should recognise file formats. If they choose a means of recognising a file that changes, that's not Sony's fault.

A little patience and it should be resolved.

[XKAES]

If you are lucky.

Just as with computer operating systems, the makers of new software often don't bother to write new drivers for older gear.

[martin182]

Yep updated yesterday all OK before, all bad immediately after.

Any raw file photo taken after won't work in Lightroom, Photoshop, Snapseed etc etc.

Can't find any information (bar this thread) or fixes anywhere as I guess it's a bit early. Not good for any Pro's trying to work for a living rightnow.

[EugeneS]

Yes, I had the same problem with this new firmware version for Sony, I upgraded from 2.01 to 3.00

ARW (raw) files, created with camera with new firmware didn’t open in Photoshop 2022, Adobe Camera Raw 14.5

Solution was to upgrade Camera Raw onto 16.2, and now it amazingly works 🙂

[Harlequin2]

Lightroom 13.2 with Camera Raw 16.2 woks OK.

[ksam]

How can you use Lightroom with Camera Raw ? Camera Raw is an addon for Photoshop, I have the same problem since I updated my firmware to 3.0 and with my Lightroom version which is 12.4.