Sony Firmware Update Lets You Close the Shutter When Swapping Lenses

Sony has released a major firmware update for the sports-focused a9 II, adding a bunch of useful high-speed shooting features and other usability enhancements, including one much-requested Canon EOS R copy: the ability to close the shutter whenever you swap lenses.

The laundry list of updates in Firmware Version 2.0 starts with the stuff most relevant to Sony a9 II shooters:

  • A new Hi Frequency flicker function helps to reduce the impact of flickering artificial light sources by “finely adjusting the shutter speed.”
  • You can now activate and deactivate Face/Eye Priority AF by pressing the same custom key.

Other relevant, but smaller, updates include improved FTP transfer, the ability to display the camera’s MAC address as a QR code, and support for displaying the Focus Frame in Sony’s “Remote Camera tool.” Then there’s the shutter update.

Version 2.0 “adds a function to close the shutter when you turn off the camera to prevent dust or debris from adhering to the image sensor when you change lenses.”

We’ve called out this seemingly minor shutter feature specifically because it’s been so adamantly requested by users ever since the Canon EOS R came out. The Sony a9 II’s target market is pretty narrow, but this update more-or-less proves that a simply firmware update is all it takes to add this highly requested feature to any Sony camera.

We’d expect it to show up in other Sony full-frame mirrorless cameras soon. In the meantime, if you own a Sony a9 II, you can read the full change log and download the update for Mac or Windows at this link.

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