Sony A7C II/A7C R Firmware Ver. 2.00: They Quietly Slid In A Pretty Big Update To Me.
I was fiddling around with upgrading the firmware on my Viltrox 50mm f/2 Air…
…via USB-C…
…, a new to me process of loading the DAT file directly to the lens’ root folder, and it updates itself, and while I was at it, I decided to check to see if there was an update for my A7C II.
And there was, released in April of 2025, but I missed it. The fully detailed list is available on the firmware page, but the first bullet stood out to me.
- Allows you to set Recognition Target to Auto, enabling the camera to automatically select subjects such as humans and animals
For me, this is huge.
Let me back up. I really liked and appreciated the AF target features the camera had. Your choices were:
- Human
- Animal/Bird
- Animal
- Bird
- Insect
- Car/Train
- Airplane
So, what was my issue?
I am glad I imagined you asked.
I do not know what my damage is, but I had an uncanny habit of assuming I had selected the correct of the first two options above the last time I used the camera (Human and Animal/Bird) only to realize that I had not. So, the camera would struggle a bit to find the eye until I realized my error. Why I did this so often is beyond me. Quickly realized and resolved. Could be addressed by checking beforehand, which I did… sometimes. But I would still manage to have the wrong setting more times than I would like.
So this new option.
If it works, this new Auto recognition target should eliminate this “issue” (Quotes denote this being the mother of all first world problems.) entirely.
It works.
And works better than the brief description would let on. How so?
The icon for this new option shows human/animal/bird so I thought I would still have to choose the other object-based options, but no. Best I can tell it selects those automagically as well. So auto subject selection is now a set it and forget it affair for my purposes.
Nice.
Update: Just saw the video below where this feature is also available on Sony’s flagship A1M2.
After some brief googling, the best I can tell for other Sony cameras, this new firmware update is only available for the A7CII/A7CR, which is a shame. Personally, I have another non C A7 body and would love to have this option available. Up until now, the options matched perfectly, along with most of the menus on the two cameras. A main perk of using the same system after being able to share lenses. And I like this option so much I wish it were available for both. Two months on I am hoping Sony adds this to a firmware update for that camera also. The last update was in 2024, so fingers crossed.
The full list of A7CII/A7CR firmware updates is rather long, but there are a few others I would like to highlight that piqued my interest:
- Introduces support for the Framing Stabilizer feature, which automatically adjusts the composition to keep the tracked subject in the same frame position during movie recording mode
- Adds Dynamic Active mode to SteadyShot for movie recording
Of special interest was the Dynamic Active mode added to SteadyShot for video recording. This video does an excellent job of describing this feature.
I do not shoot video often so the prior stabilization was not an A7CII deal breaker for me. But it is good to know that if I ever intend to create video content, the A7CII is now an even more capable tool.
This is some odd Sony behavior. In a good way. More of what I expected from Fujifilm back in the day. Significant firmware updates free of charge two years after release? A while back the main reason I picked up a Fujifilm X-Pro1…
…was because Fujifilm saw fit to continue releasing updates for it until it significantly improved the AF on that camera. Along those lines while on another, of a few, Fujifilm benders…
…years after, I picked up a Fujifilm XT100.
Right off the bat, I noticed that the AF was… Ok. I was not thrilled that a brand new camera did not perform as well as I had expected. But after my X-Pro1 experience, I waited. Surely, Fujifilm would release a firmware AF tweak once again and make things alright. But no. Their AF fix this time?
They released the X-T200.
Womp, womp, womp. That was a nope from me. I pivoted away from Fujifilm cameras (APS-C ones anyway.).
Well, now. Look at you, Sony, with the two years on firmware updates. Good on you.
Now, if I could just ask that you release this update for my 2022 A7 model also, please and thank you.
In all honesty, I would be fine if they did not. But it would be nice.
Happy capturing.
-ELW
Eric L. Woods 