Sony α7r Mark III Wish List / Feature Suggestions 17 Things we want to see next

[Narek]

Since the introduction of the excellent Sony α7r II this year I cant help but think of the features that the next iteration of the camera will bring, and set a new bar for Full Frame Interchangeable Lens Camera once again. Althougt the α7r II seems to have many and killer features, there's still a lot of room for improvements.

 

With that said here are the 17 things I like to see for the successor of the a7r II, that will keep all of the features of the 7r II, but also add these 17 things that will make it the best Full Frame Camera... Ever made!

 

#1. New Name

 

Ok, I work at one of the biggest camera stores in my country and even my boss when talking about the Sony cameras many times confuses the names. 7a II, ar7, as7 and so on. He never gets confused with the Nikon cameras. Why? because they have simple names that's why. The alpha 7r II or how Sony likes to call it the ILCE7RM2/B. Huh?! What's that? Sony is absolutely terrible at naming their products. So I want a new name simple enough that even my grandmother can remember it. Get on it!

 

#2. Dual SDXC Card Slots

 

Even though the α7r II is aimed at pro's. Having just one card slot is not professional at all. In fact, it's amateur. I, and I think all of the pros, would like to see this changed.

 

#3. Revamped Menus and User Interface

 

Ok, this is the most complained about feature of the Sony Cameras. the User Interface. Everybody is complaining about it and nobody likes it. I own and have own many Sony products myself over the years and the one consistent thing that has been bad about Sony products is the UI. Sony... if you cant do it yourself, which you obviously can't, please, acquire a company that can. And have that Time-Laps app by default in the camera for Christ sake!

 

#4. Faster Start-Up time

 

Faster start-up time helps to capture that fleeing moment in life. And makes you confident to keep the Camera turned off to save battery and know that it will come back to life immediately when you need it.

 

#5. Touch Screen OLED Screen

 

Nothing is more intuitive than touching to focus or to change a setting or to zoom. The iPhone has been demonstrating this since 2007. And no screen has better contrast to review our stills and clips than an OLED screen.

 

#6. Large Battery Capacity

 

What is inside that grip area of the body? Just cram a huge-ass battery inside there. Because 270 shots in a modern pro Full Frame camera is just laughable. Especially when you think that it shoots 4K video also. Which btw brings me to the next feature request.

 

#7. 10 bit RAW Video (internally of course..) and Unlimited Recording

 

For that ultra flexibility while editing in post our amazingly artistic videos with no time restrictions.

 

#8. Unnoticeable Rolling Shutter or Global Shutter

 

Action or fast moving subjects look absolutely abysmal with that god awful Rolling Shutter. Do another Innovation and make the first Pro Full Frame camera for Action movies. It will be another huge innovation Sony!

 

#9. 16 Stops Dynamic Range, Stills and Video

 

The current α7r II has a decent 14 Stops of DR in photos, but let's live up to the potential and promise of digital and finally leave film and its 15 Stops in the dust. (The D810 is almost there with 14.8 DR). Color depth is great at 26 bit. No complaints there but your're welcome to improve it even more.

 

#10. Faster Autofocus

 

Who doesn't like fast? Do your thing and add more of those cross focusy things to make focusing as fast as lightning.

 

#11. 10 fps Continuous Shooting

 

I don't mind the current 5 fps, but if you want to get those sports and wildlife pro's on board, and get all that cha-ching $$$, gotta have the speed to keep up with their demands.

 

#12. GPS

 

Apart from when, I also need to know where exactly I took those cat photos! Come on GPS is in everything these days. The cheapest phones have them! It's useful for reference and organization that the pro's need.

 

#13. AC WiFi

 

Again. Who doesn't like fast? Gotta transfer all that 42MP files fast and effortlessly. For better workflow and freedom.

 

#14. No Overheating

 

The fastest car in the world, (Bugatti Veyron), has like 10 fridges in it. Why can't you cramp on of those fridges in the new body but still keep it small and lightweight? Come on Sony, if you can't do it... somebody else will.

 

#15. RAW Histogram and Preview

 

Many of you may not know this but the photos that you see on the viewfinder or the LCD screen of the camera are actually Jpegs of the RAW files! Which are of course not representative of the real RAW captured data. No more lies Sony! Give us the true previews and histograms of our RAW images! ;P

 

#16 Variable Low-Pass Filter

 

Sony has done it in the RX1R II! Now just put that thing in the next alpha 7 model. No more R's and two models of the same camera, with and without Low Pass filter.

 

#17. Get rid of the mechanical shutter

 

Why do we need a mechanical shutter in an all digital camera? I don't get it. (I also don't care so don't bother explaining it to me.) Getting rid of that mechanical shutter will not only make the camera more reliable but also more power efficient, and ninja silent of course, so we can creep around and attract no attention whatsoever... Mooohahahahahaha.

 

Ok, pretty big list of feature ha? But I know if one company can do it it's Sony.

 

For whoever is reading this feel free to add more feature suggestions if you want.

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[bdp]

I second most of those things above, especially #10, faster autofocus. Actually probably faster tracking is what I need most. All the hype and videos about this camera's tracking abilities have left me a bit disappointed, to be honest. Yes it can track, but shooting a person walking towards me will focus on the body, leaving the eyes soft. Using Eye AF is not fast enough to get even 50% of the shots in focus if shooting at a wide aperture. And I'll add:

 

#18. Faster processor/bigger buffer!!

 

I'm so sick of seeing the message "writing to memory card. Unable to operate" when shooting in continuous and trying to review a burst. Even with the fastest card available. This is worse with uncompressed RAW, so adding a lossless compressed RAW option might be a good idea too.

 

#19. USB 3.1 

 

Please. It's 2016. (nearly)

 

#20. Auto Review on monitor only.

 

Keep shooting with an uninterrupted view through the viewfinder, and take your eye away to see the latest shot on the monitor. Just like a DSLR. I imagine this could easily be added to existing models with a firmware update.

 

Someone send this list to Sony!!

[jaclarkaus]

#1. New Name

 

Name is fine, but using "part numbers" in general use is dumb. 

 

#2. Dual SDXC Card Slots

 

Don't care - smaller is better, and with huge cards available now, capacity is no longer an issue, which is really why two cards were included in the first place. Pros use 2 or more bodies to cover failures, and I for one, will put a camera away if it only has one slot out of two working, as you can't know exactly why the first one stopped.

 

#3. Revamped Menus and User Interface

 

I got used to them, and to be fair, they have improved a lot over earlier Sony camera, but people still like to whinge. I see no real functional difference between them now and Leica or Canon, but a Favourites menu, like Canon, in addition would be good

 

#4. Faster Start-Up time

 

Agreed, especially when turning off to save batteries, but the current 'wake from sleep' is good on the A7RII

 

#5. Touch Screen OLED Screen

 

 

I must be the only person who hates touch screens. I turn them off very soon after trying them on just about anything. Touch screens make sense when they are a 10" screen held 12-15" away, but not on a small screen when the buttons are already under my finger.

 

 

#6. Large Battery Capacity

 

Again, totally disagree, although larger capacity in THE SAME SIZE would be good. If you really want more battery life, use a grip. If you want it light, use one battery and pocket spares. No problem there as it gives you best of both worlds. Battery last the same for me as several other cameras (Leica M9) and spares are cheap (they even include a spare with the new camera!). Having said that, my Canon 1DIV can go days of heavy shooting on a charge, but the battery is 3 times the size and it doesn't have an EVF and the screen is usually off. .. keep it small for me.

 

#7. 10 bit RAW Video (internally of course..) and Unlimited Recording

 

Time restrictions are a feature of some tax regimes, not the design. Never shot more than 5 minutes in a single take, and given lack of decent OSS for video, unlikely to. Additional size files, along with 4.2.2 or whatever, should be done via an Atamos, as people want that, typically need a bigger monitor anyway, so why not include one that records?

 

#8. Unnoticeable Rolling Shutter or Global Shutter

 

Agree, rolling shutter, along with (and more importantly) poor Steady Shot for handheld use, are two really big issues for me, Steady shot being the bigger. Any moving shot needs a gimbal, which is dumb when you are cropping FF to S35 anyway, why not improve the OSS to roam around the whole sensor?

 

#9. 16 Stops Dynamic Range, Stills and Video

 

Neither my screen nor my printer can output that, so why bother? Sounds like a 'First World Problem'.

 

#10. Faster Autofocus

 

Along with faster response on the EVF. Too slow to adequately shoot sport in my opinion - I know you 'can', but why would you?

 

#11. 10 fps Continuous Shooting

 

No point unless they improve #10 above

 

#12. GPS

 

Absolutely, and make it directional while you are at it, not that it's going to improve battery life ...

 

#13. AC WiFi

 

 

Prefer put the effort into Low Power Bluetooth

 

#14. No Overheating

 

Overheating is vastly over-exaggerated problem for my use. Don't use it for video for long time, so not an issue for me ... BUT ... heat comes from electricity, which comes from the battery, which flattens it faster ...SO ... DO NOT IMPROVE THE COOLING, REDUCE THE POWER CONSUMPTION. Fix the problem, not the symptom.

 

#15. RAW Histogram and Preview

 

"Many of you may not know this but the photos that you see on the viewfinder or the LCD screen of the camera are actually Jpegs of the RAW files! Which are of course not representative of the real RAW captured data. No more lies Sony! Give us the true previews and histograms of our RAW images! 

Don't really care - stop chimping. Files have such leeway anyway, and the screen too small to be meaningful, not an issue for me as I just use it as a double-check for major exposure errors.

 

#16 Variable Low-Pass Filter

 

Don't care. Gimmick. You only find you have Moire in post anyway, so can't go back and turn it on then!

 

#17. Get rid of the mechanical shutter

 

There are a lot of technical reasons why it's there, so I don't really care, and it saves them from having to include a 'fake' sound so you know you have taken the shot!

 

#18. Faster processor/bigger buffer!!

 

Never had that issue until the Uncompressed file (which I do not use), but then I don't use it for sports (covered above)

 

#19. USB 3.1

 

Totally agree, along with larger plugs which are more robust

 

#20. Auto Review on monitor only.

 

Totally agree. Reviewing on the EVF is a waste of time. Review can go to the screen at same time so saves the swap over delay

[dclark2171]

I think a medium raw option would be nice. I know you can shoot in crop mode, but that changes the crop of FF lens image. I would say the FPS will be along the lines of the new Leica. 

[Kiril_Karaatanasov]

16 bit RAW us needed to reflect 16 bit dynamic range. I think current sensors can come close if all 16 bits are recorded

 

Sent from my D6633 using Tapatalk

[ViRuS X]

Whoa .. A7R II has just got out of the oven !

 

it's like you just finished lunch and feeling your stomach is full, yet you are asking what's for dinner today ! 

[Atrox]

My wish: Make full sensor readout and cropmode. Fullframe just fuse 4 pixels together to create one bigger, just need little more pixels. Voilà no need for the 7s anymore.

[DennisHH]

The ability to do focus stacking with a program like Helicon Focus. 

 

No more paint chipping off on edges of camera body. 

[Sator]

I suspect that a good many of these features are being held back to be put into a new body i.e. the "a9". To include many of these features, such as improved heat sinking and larger battery, you need a larger body. Possibly also true of dual memory slots and ??? also USB 3. I think Sony are running out of room on the a7 body to include more features. Sony are holding back many of the requested features for a bigger, more expensive professional body. I guess the request people forgot to mention was they wanted the price kept the same as the a7RII...a request that will probably be denied.

 

The a7 line will retain most of the problems it has currently in order to maintain it as a compact and minimalistic line. It may even keep the same batteries to maintain the compactness of the line.

 

I have read interviews with manufacturers saying that electronic shutter technology is improving but it hasn't advanced to the point where they can completely replace mechanical shutters. This is true not only of Sony, but of all makers. There isn't much point in complaining that Sony isn't including technology that isn't yet available in their cameras. 

[pgambino49]

Good list. I like it, although I don't care about the touch screen. Try to use it during a Toronto winter if you can.....

What personally I would like to have is a different way to upload firmware updates.

 

Instead of its cumbersome technique, why Sony don't use a method similar to the one used by Nikon and Canon?

I mean, downloading the update to a memory card on your laptop, put it back into your Sony camera and let the camera run the update.

 

Maybe it is too simple....

[ivansinger]

All those things, except rubberize and weather proof it, give it a fully articulated screen that folds back towards the body, and maybe even throw an A-mount on it. Just a thought...

[FDP]

There are some good points here. You can't have most of them without a slight increase in the camera size though. 

#7 (10bit RAW video) and #8 (rolling shutter improvements) are my biggest gripes currently. Dual SD would be super useful too. 

 

I disagree on:

#5: This is a stupid feature that people ask for with some frequency (making me afraid that Sony might actually cave). You know what a touchscreen layer does? It makes the OLED look a little worse. Also the LAST thing I want are smudgy fingerprints all over my glorious articulating screen. Also, good luck using a touchscreen when the screen is articulated. What might be a nice compromise here would be to improve the phone tethering support so that an attached phone could control all features of the camera/act as a full tethered control unit, with touch screen focus. Why degrade something great when you can have your cake and eat it too?

 

#12.GPS - Nope, I would prefer to not take up space inside the body with something my phone can provide. Sony should just make it easier to pair a bluetooth GPS directly to the unit, or grab that kind of data from a tethered phone. We live in the second decade of the 21st century. Everybody has smartphones. Connect to the damn thing better. 

 

#17. No mechanical shutter. This is absolutely idiotic. If you cared to understand why I would help explain it, but instead you basically said: "I want more dynamic range but no mechanical shutter, and I don't care why I need the latter I just want the former. Also, I'm ignorant and I want to stay that way". Do you expect a positive response on this one from anyone?

 

I would add: 

#101: Better tethering. Allow remote shooting with all modes (including SLog2/3). Actually, just give us this as a firmware update on the A7RII... seriously, what the hell Sony?

 

#102: Higher res/better color/HDRI capture using pixel shift techniques. This could also be an added as a firmware update on the A7RII. Some of us would even pay for this one... some of us.

[forumhero]

#21 - Magnification Face Lock -- When using native manual focus lens (loxia, etc) it would be great if magnification could zoom in on the subject's face (if face detection is enabled) instead of the center of the frame. This would make it so we can quickly change frame and/or composition and focus on the face/eyes without moving the camera. 

[daemorhedron]

Better tethered shooting, with live preview. Technically this is doable with current Sony API, which is how Capture One has done it but the implementation is crude and the fact that Sony doesn't even have their own software to do this is kinda shameful. Canon has had unified software that allows this for years. It is a great way to add touch screen to existing systems and to deal with the anti touch screen whiners at the same time. Which brings me to....

 

Touch screen absolutely. I can't believe that people even whine about this, it's absurd. Don't like it, don't use it. It's really that simple.

 

No mechanical shutter is literally the next evolution and something I would love to see too.

 

The dream would be to allow for a high res mode for supreme detail or even NR, you would think it's very possible even via firmware update but I can understand releasing such a creature as a whole new system to buy.

 

Better adoption of the ISO hot shoe, or an emulation mode of some kind. I like the idea of the multi interface shoe, but disappointing that existing triggers for well established standards don't work (you lose toys like TTL, HSS, and you just KNOW there are people who take this as flame bait lol). Even worse, many companies don't even appear to be working on coming out with anything for Sony. I hope all this changes soon, lighting changeover was a bit PITA for me to hop over to Sony!

 

More short term, I can't believe the limitations on the a7II for what appears to be no reason either. Why no Eye AF in AF-C for example?

 

All I can say is Sony has done a truly amazing job of improving a long stagnating industry mixed with experiementation based on customer feedback. Keep up the good work Sony, thank you for all your efforts!

[gunther]

Some very good ideas.

But,pls Sony,make the frame bigger for us guys with BIG hands.

If all of these goodies were put in a lge A mount camera the cheer would be heard on the moon!

A mount I know is old school to some,but there is a lot of us out there with a lot of Amount gear.

Having shot A7R11 for 2 days my fingers were sore!!Absolutely gobsmacked with the image quality.

To Sony.....size does matter.

Besides,a bigger battery will fit!

 

[jaclarkaus]

Some very good ideas.

But,pls Sony,make the frame bigger for us guys with BIG hands.

If all of these goodies were put in a lge A mount camera the cheer would be heard on the moon!

A mount I know is old school to some,but there is a lot of us out there with a lot of Amount gear.

Having shot A7R11 for 2 days my fingers were sore!!Absolutely gobsmacked with the image quality.

To Sony.....size does matter.

Besides,a bigger battery will fit!

Then put a grip on it!

[Narek]

I wanted to add on more thing,

Since this camera has some great Video Features I also want to see

 

#22. Built in Variable ND filter

Just like some Sony camcorders or cameras (like the RX100 IV). But with image quality remaining unaffected when appling the variable filter. Which should go down to at least 5 stops.

 

That's it.

[Frank Sanders]

#21 - Magnification Face Lock -- When using native manual focus lens (loxia, etc) it would be great if magnification could zoom in on the subject's face (if face detection is enabled) instead of the center of the frame. This would make it so we can quickly change frame and/or composition and focus on the face/eyes without moving the camera. 

 

+1

Should be possible by firmware update

[addicted2light]

I second almost every point (I just don't care for video), especially the ones about pixel binning and high-resolution mode with sensor shift. I'll just add:

 

#23 Cheaper price

Mirrorless are apparently far easier to produce than DSLR (check LensRentals and others), and Olympus is already putting IBIS in cameras at the 500€ price point. I understand that Sony is (rightfully) "milking" the market being basically the only kid on the block with full frame mirrorless. But at 3500€ (A7r II) they are definitely limiting their own market too much IMHO, and almost stepping in Leica territory.

[NASA]

Support for PS Vita games

[Lawlors Landscapes]

I seem to be the only one wanting more than two Memory Recall options?

The RX100 has 3 memory recall options under one "MR" on the control wheel. Therefore a simple software update would achieve at least 3 MR on each of the 1 & 2 MR control wheel options on the A7 series.....

 

Why do I want more than two?

Like most Landscape Photographers I shoot mostly in A priority, RAW, Manual Focus, Flexible Spot and Autofocus through the AF/MF button only, ISO 100 etc.

MR1 must be on the "wife" setting, or to be politically calmly correct the "partner who despises having to change any camera settings" setting, so when I pass the camera to her to have Auto everything in an instant

MR2 is set up for S priority fast moving objects, wildlife, Continous Autofocus, tracking focus etc.

 

For a third I would love to allocate to quick video settings, continous focus, auto ISO,

When I jump to the video on the fly, changing ISO to Auto and AF to AFC is a real delay, let alone remembering to change it back when I go back to A.

 

Q) Why I can't I allocate Continuous Autofocus, Focus Area and Auto ISO as standard under the Video Mode and Auto Focus Single Shot and Zone Focus Area as standard on the Auto Mode without effecting these settings for my PASM modes, as in why are AF, Focus Area and ISO global settings effecting all modes but the MR modes? If I could allocate them as above to Video and Auto modes I would not need 2 of the MR options?

 

And if this is not possible back to my original question, why not more MR options, I could use up to 6,

 

I hear of all kinds of great settings I would love to jump to, just today I read Ken Rockwell suggesting Landscapes be shot on Vivid +3 saturation and Portraits on Standard +1 saturation, I know these settings don't directly don't effect the RAW file and I can change them in Lightroom after, but I would like options like this in MR buttons.