Own A Sony a6700? Don’t Forget This Important Firmware Update
News | By Stephan Jukic | April 20, 2024
Sony’s recently released firmware update for the brand’s a6700 APS-C mirrorless camera is called 1.03 and is worth downloading if you own one of these cameras.
With firmware update version 1.03, Sony aims to fix several video recording issues with the a6700 camera. These include problems with recording and timecodes in particular.
You can download the firmware through Sony’s website or via the Creator’s App. Here’s a brief breakdown of what’s what:
The generally excellent Sony a6700 was a July, 2023 APS-C camera release for the brand’s more economical Alpha ILCE lineup. It’s similar to the still more affordable Sony a6400 and is the direct successor to the a6600, but incorporates some features from Sony’s much pricier, premium a7 IV model.
This model is remarkably robust for its low price and compact size. It contains a 26MP Exmor sensor and includes Sony’s BIONZ X4 image processing engine.
The a6700 can also shoot video at numerous resolutions including 4K UHD at 120fps and 1080p video at up to 240fps. It captures still photos at up to 11fps.
Another powerful aspect of the a6700 is its AF, which is not only extremely fast but has 759 different Phase Detection points across the camera’s sensor space. Other features of the a6700 include S-Log 3 gamma curve and support for custom LUTs.
In other words, despite being one of Sony’s more affordable mirrorless cameras, the a6700 packs in a lot of photo and video power across the board.
However, it has had a few minor issues with its video recording and timecode processes that were apparently brought to Sony’s attention through user feedback and in-company product review.
Specifically, these problems have involved:
- An issue in which movie recordings weren’t being kept under certain shooting scenarios.
- The a6700 restarting spontaneously if many faces are recognized simultaneously during movie clip shooting.
- Timecode not always being retained after a camera restart
Sony’s firmware update 1.03 fixes all of the above while also improving exposure stability during movie recordings using extended ISO, and generally smooths out the stability of the a6700.
In other words, this is a fairly modest firmware update for a limited series of video-related problems.
If you only use the a6700 for photo shoots, you might not have even noticed these issues. Also, it seems that only some a6700 units even had any of the above video problems.
With that said, installing this free firmware certainly won’t hurt. You can get it for free directly from Sony’s website right here if you’re a a6700 owner, or you can use the Sony Creators’ App on your phone to download and install the firmware directly to your camera.
Check out these 8 essential tools to help you succeed as a professional photographer.
Includes limited-time discounts.
Stephan Jukic is a technology and photography journalist and experimental photographer who spends his time living in both Canada and Mexico. He loves cross-cultural street photo exploration and creating fine art photo compositions.
