Sony a7II Firmware Update FW 2.00 adds Uncompressed Raw + Third-Party Lens PDAF

Published: November 17, 2015

Sony a7II firmware update FW 2.0 adds Uncompressed Raw, Phase Detection AF for third-party lenses with Smart adapters and the option to assign Movie recording to a Custom Button.

With firmware update FW 2.0, Sony a7II becomes the latest Sony full-frame camera, along with a7SII, a7RII and RX1R II, to offer 14-bit Uncompressed RAW capture through a menu selection.

Menu > Camera Settings > RAW File Type > Compressed/Uncompressed

Sony-a7RII-Uncompressed-RAW

It also becomes the second Sony camera, along with the flagship a7RII, to offer fully-functional phase detection AF with DSLR lenses. The firmware update activates the 117-point focal plane phase detection AF sensor on the a7II for lenses beyond just the native Sony FE lenses.

This includes Sony’s extensive collection of SSM and SAM A-mount lenses, which can be utilized along with the Sony LA-EA3 mount adapters, Canon EF and EF-S lenses using Canon Smart Adapters and Contax G lenses using Techart Contax G Smart Adapters. (This post explains what you can expect.)

Menu > Custom Settings > AF System > Phase Detection AF/Contrast AF

In addition to these feature upgrades, the MOVIE button can now be assigned to a custom button.

Menu > Custom Settings > Custom Key Settings > (Select Custom Button) > MOVIE

Supported OS:

Mac OS X versions 10.7 – 10.11
Windows 10, 8, 8.1, 7 (with Service Pack 1), Vista (with Service Pack 2)

Download Links:

MAC | WIN

Before Updating Please Read:
Bulletproof Guide to Sony Camera Firmware Updates

PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW ALL INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY!

Supported Image Processing Software

Before using Uncompressed Raw make certain it’s supported by your software.
Here’s a list of Image Processing Software that supports Sony Uncompressed RAW.
 

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49 thoughts on “Sony a7II Firmware Update FW 2.00 adds Uncompressed Raw + Third-Party Lens PDAF”

  1. It should be noted that “This includes Sony’s extensive collection of A-mount lenses, which can be utilized along with the LA-EA3 mount adapters” includes only SOME of these A-Mount lenses. I have the 500mm Sony f8 lens and it is not supported, for example.

  2. Brian,

    So the smart adapters are ones that send lens information back to the camera? So one that has the motor for focusing. Do. You think they will release an update like this for the a6000?

    1. The only motorized Smart Adapter is LA-EA4 which uses it’s own 15-point AF system – not the camera’s – so it will not see any improvement with this update.

      No update has been announced for a6000 cameras.

  3. Pingback: Sony a7II Firmware Update will add AF System Selection

  4. Hi Brian
    Would be great, if you could test some lenses with LA-EA3/A7ii.
    Especially lenses currently not available for E-Mount (e.g. Tamron 150-600 for Sony).
    Keep up the great work!
    Daniel

  5. Thanks Brian! I was expecting the same Auto-ISO implementation of the a7RII as well (with a configurable min shutter speed), but I couldn’t find any information about it. I guess they didn’t include it. Bummer, but I’m looking forward to make some experiments with the new uncompressed RAW format.

  6. Thank you Brian!

    I’m perhaps one of the few who had found the lossy RAW to be a real-world issue as my macros often require some fairly heavy manipulation in post. I had rented the a7r II (with current firmware) from LR last week and did indeed find, for the first time, that my finished images were free from the artifacts which had been such an annoyance ever since buying the a7II.

    And thank you Sony for being willing to update our older cameras via this firmware update and for not just confining it to your two flagships.

    UPDATE TIPS…

    I thought I might share a problem and its solution which I had encountered the first time I updated the a7II. The update would hang, and a call to Sony tech was unable to resolve the problem.

    The answer appeared on a forum post which I came across. I always have the battery grip attached (the grip and the spare batteries are genuine Sony), which evidently can in some cases cause trouble during the update. By removing the grip and and replacing one of the batteries directly into the camera’s bay I found that the update went smoothly.

    Perhaps this is a bug which has been fixed by now, but if not then hopefully this may be of help in some situations.

  7. Hi, thanks for all the info! I’m wondering… is the update file/software the same for every language version/region of the camera body? (I’m Italian, but i imported mine, in fact i have no ITA language on my menu, have i to search for a specific region’s update?)

    1. This is a global update. Sony Europe posted it first so that’s where the links go. I’m not certain there is a separate website for Sony Italy but you could search.

  8. Have you or anyone on here updated? I’ve been doing compressed/uncompressed tests with identical conditions and settings and examining in ACR extensively and see … zero visible benefit or difference. The only difference is that while some artifacts are gone – other random ones in different places appear. I wouldn’t think it’s my lens, but maybe? I’ve been using the Sony FE 55 1.8 – testing at f8. And I mean REALLY examining – I’m a retoucher by profession.

  9. Hey Brian,

    I did the update and the phase detection isn’t allowing me to turn it on with the laea3 adaptor and any with the correct lenses. Do you have any suggestions

  10. Hi Brian! Thanks for the great work and info that you provide.

    With the new firmware, does the A7II + LAE3 + A mount lens (SSM/SAM) autofocus as quickly as the same A mount lens on a camera such as the Sony A77?

    1. I have only tested a7RII against a77II (not a7II -vs- a77) and the answer depends on the lens. Wide to moderate telephoto actually appear to be slightly faster on a7RII than a77 – but super telephotos 400mm and up were slightly faster on a77II

  11. Brian, I am considering purchase of Sony SAL500F80 500m F8 Mirror lens for use with my Alpha 7 II and LA-EA4 A-mount adapter. Will this lens and autofocus work with this setup. Regards

  12. Did this also activate pdaf on a6000 since a6000 also receive 2.0 updates. Would like to use laea3 with sigma lens on a6000.

  13. Pingback: Canon EF Smart Adapter Tests for Sony E-Mount Cameras

  14. I’ve just bought an a7ii and am planning to update to software 2.0 to take advantage of the improved focussing. Do you know if the compressed files in v2 will still work with lightroom 2015.1? I know that the new uncompressed format won’t but I don’t want to update and find that I can’t use lightroom or my other software for the compressed files either.

    1. Yes, a7II compressed Raw have been supported since LR 5.7.1 which was the final update of 2014, so LR CC 2015.1 will support them. But is there a reason you don’t want to iuittr update to LR CC 2015.3?

      1. Thanks Brian. I’m actually using the standalone equivalent (6.1) but had a bad experience updating to 6.2 (import issues and other problems) and had to revert to 6.1. Spent ages getting everything set up. Don’t need to risk 6.3 update if a7ii compressed files have not been changed during the v2.0 sony update. Would you say the uncompressed format is worth trying?

        1. 99% of users won’t see any difference between compressed and uncompressed RAWs – but it’s there for the one percenters. LR 6.3 seems to have addressed the complaints about LR 6.2

          1. Thanks Brian. BTW I really like your website. I’ve just swapped to Sony after 30+ years of shooting Canon (for photos; although I’ve always bought Sony for video). Now have an A6000 and an A7ii, I like the portability. The A7Rii was tempting but way over priced. I could get a Canon 5DSR for that money!

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  16. I don’t see an option to access the uncompressed RAW function via a custom button. Am I just missing it or is it simply not there?

  17. Karen Boyer Guyton

    I have just purchased but not yet received the a7Rii and one e mount lens. As a Minolta/Konica Minolta/Sony user for decades, I have a large collection of a mount lenses. I purchased the LA-EA4 thinking it would be the better adapter choice, but just heard about the firmware update making the EA3 possibly the better option. I’m wondering if I should exchange it or consider getting the EA3 in addition. Thoughts?

  18. Hi Brian,

    Could you confirm, even after update to 2.00 and SSM/SAM lens, the A7 mark 2 would NOT allow me to autofocus while video recording with LA-EA3? Even tho it uses camera seonsor’s PDAF?

  19. Hi Brian,

    I have the Sony A7ii and want to know whether I can get truly loss-less and uncompressed RAW output from this camera.

    If so, as of which firmware release is that supported?

    One more thing: Where can I find a summary of the feature changes from firmware release to release for that body?

    Cheers from Germany

    HB

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