F3: F3 Firmware Update, any news?

petermullett

petermullett

Well-known member
Is anything yet known about the supposed upcoming Firmware update for the F3.....Any news, guesses or rumours?
What realistically do you all think we could expect?....What would you like to see?
 
Good question Peter. I asked Peter Crithary at Sony on their own forum about this a few weeks ago. It's in the works but not explicit timeline for delivery. He has not updated that thread recently either.

Musing here... I think when you look at things around the timing of their delivery of this firmware, there will be a reluctance to deliver it soon, particularly if it involves significant feature increase, unless they are seriously concerned about F3 sales between now and NAB. I am willing to wager they are VERY concerned about F3 sales right now.

On the other hand, if they deliver it ASAP with say the Slog RGB 444 feature set fully unlocked in this firmware update with some workflow improvements in the menu system, it will stem the tide on the decreasing valuation of the camera. This would be good for both Sony and existing F3 owners. It would help reduce the flood of F3s going on the used market and buoy up the price of the F3 which would help their bottom line as they don't want to loose 4 to 5 months worth of camera sales while people hang out waiting for the independant field reports on the F5 and F55.

Sony I imagine is in a difficult spot coming to a decision on both the release date and the feature set given the marketing push on the F5/F55 right now, however, I am confident they will release something significant with this update and do it soon to generate sales and make the camera relevant in their expanded product shelf.

Frankly, I am quite amazed at the number of people unloading their F3's at any cost just to line up for the F5 or F55.

What I am hoping is that Sony along with a robust firmware update will offer an equivalent to an early adopter program for F3 owners who intend to buy an F5 or F55 offering a meaningful discount to F3L and particularly F3K owners who will keep their F3s as B-Cams and purchase either an F5 or F55 as their A-Cam. This way it will seriously slow down the flow of F3s going into the used market and help prevent the devaluation of this rather decent camera and provide an incentive to Sony's existing (and loyal) client base who would continue fleshing out their Sony ecosystem rather look elsewhere given what is happening with other products from competitors.
 
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From what I recall reading, the firmware update are only minor changes and support for some of the add-ons, and I don't think Sony is concerned about impacting sales of any camera. There will be folks who want the F3, and those who want the F5 or F55.
 
Andrew Stone said:
Good question Peter. I asked Peter Crithary at Sony on their own forum about this a few weeks ago. It's in the works but not explicit timeline for delivery. He has not updated that thread recently either.

Musing here... I think when you look at things around the timing of their delivery of this firmware, there will be a reluctance to deliver it soon, particularly if it involves significant feature increase, unless they are seriously concerned about F3 sales between now and NAB. I am willing to wager they are VERY concerned about F3 sales right now.


Frankly, I am quite amazed at the number of people unloading their F3's at any cost just to line up for the F5 or F55.
Click to expand...


A seriously thoughtful posting, thanks Andrew....
I too am amazed at the rumours / reports of people trying to "unload" their F3's, as you say " at any cost".
That's just nuts.....
If the reason for trying to sell is that they can plonk down cash from the sale of their F3 as a deposit for an F5 or F55 then all I can say is that they've lost their minds. If, as mentioned elsewhere on this forum earlier, they are getting around 5-7K USD for the camera they'd be far better off not selling the thing and keeping it as a B camera for if and when their newer F makes an appearance.
I sold my EX1R soon after buying the F3 and almost instantly regretted doing so. Sold fully loaded for around 4K USD even now I wish I kept it and used it as a B cam' to the F3.
Anyway, here's hoping that you're right about Sony being concerned about F3 sales and not planning to simply dump interest in the system and move on, up, to the F5 series.
 
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