• AngusLynch09@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      Lots of people would love this feature. Prints and frames come in all sorts of different ratios, and it’s handy to know your composition will sit perfectly within those ratios.

      • Anaaatomy@alien.topB
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        10 months ago

        You actually make a good point, i would love to try out shooting with wide aspect ratios

  • Slarm@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    There are just two insightful comments on the PetaPixel article:

    Allen Mac:

    It’s likely due to patent issues - patent trolls demanding outrageous loyalties for using their ideas.

    Mick:

    100%, I guess they’ve got some large corporate client who has asked for this feature, so they’ve done a deal with the patent owners and offered it as the patent licensing fees they wanted, plus development costs. I doubt Sony is making a profit on this feature, they’re doing it to sell more cameras.

    That would make a lot of sense. I hope it is the case and not just milking it. On a body that expensive adding upcharged soft/firmware without a good cause is repulsive. Sony took a huge share of the market by dropping FF mirrorless, but with their competitors showing up ready to fight I don’t think they can afford to pull this stuff off unless they get into a cabal together…

    • sturmen@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      This makes the most sense to me. Assuming this is true,it would be idiotic of Sony to pay even $1 to those trolls on every camera they sell for such a niche feature. Better to pass the cost on to the people that desperately need it and pay for it out of corporate coffers anyway.

      • frankchn@alien.topB
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        10 months ago

        Seems like that particular patent has expired due to the non-payment of fees in 2014:

        PATENT EXPIRED DUE TO NONPAYMENT OF MAINTENANCE FEES UNDER 37 CFR 1.362

    • Omnitographer@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      A patent makes no sense here, an overlay on a screen is something computers have done for decades. I certainly can’t imagine how anyone could have a patent for something done by the bespoke hardware of each camera manufacturer.

      • Sarkos@alien.topB
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        10 months ago

        You’d be amazed at the ridiculousness of patents. Apple has a patent for detecting phone numbers in text.

    • ZeAthenA714@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      Meh, every time there’s a company that makes a greedy or stupid move there’s someone to comment “it’s probably because of patents”, but it’s almost never the case.

      Sometimes companies are just greedy.

    • ctruvu@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      pre printed gridlined screen protectors should be a thing. not like there are that many different screen sizes to have to account for

    • stoneyyay@alien.topB
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      10 months ago

      Yup. Screenprotectors are cheaper than this shit update. Although if Sony hears that you may be forced to use viewfinder if they detect an aftermarket screen guard, and disable your screen

      • Provia100F@alien.topB
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        10 months ago

        Sony should just introduce proprietary memory cards that only hold a certain number of pictures per card, and the cards are one time use only.

        Maybe something like 24 or 36 pictures, to make it manageable.

        • Fantastic_Raccoon103@alien.topB
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          10 months ago

          Sony has had a history with making proprietary storage cards for its handheld gaming devices instead of simply letting you use SD cards, so it’s not out of the conversation

        • rpkarma@alien.topB
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          10 months ago

          So I unironically wanted part of this haha, where I wanted a modern memory card with a small capacity to force me to use it like my film cameras.

          Then I realised I could get the same effect by putting a multi-GB useless file on it lol

  • ridiculid@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    My prediction is that by 2030, people (not me) will be paying monthly just to use the camera they paid full price for. Subscription based mandatory operating software and or monthly shutter click limit. Or maybe they’ll require a 60$ yearly fee for using non Sony lenses lol. Excited to see the next generation of uniquely creative greed! God has abandoned us lol

  • qqphot@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    I hate everything about how camera functionality is going to end up being a bunch of menu choices you have to subscribe to.

  • nataliephoto@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    This story has been bugging me for a bit because it’s being told by people who have no clue what they’re talking about. They’re not in this specific part of the industry and they have these hot takes that are wildly uninformed.

    First, this update is not for you. This is almost exclusively firmware designed for volume school portrait studios e.g. Lifetouch. $150 to update a camera is nothing compared to the time in post that custom gridlines will save. I would even wager Sony was directly asked by these companies to do this and they were like “okay but we’re going to charge you.”

    So, you have to understand how school portrait software works. You go to a school, shoot 500 something kids against a green screen, good to go, right? No. At some point you throw those photos into cropping software (usually provided by your lab) to get all the heads in the right spot and the right size. And the cropping software has these little ovals where you’re supposed to put the head and lines for the shoulders. Cool, right? Well it’s a ton of work if your photos are all different, someone has to go in and adjust that after the fact. And yeah, the existing grids can more or less get you there, but with custom grids you’re certain when you take the shot. They’re also helpful in this specific industry because the people taking these photos aren’t usually good at photography, so you can’t really trust their eye anyway. Certainly not across hundreds of different people. I’ve been shooting for nearly 20 years and I don’t think I could even be that consistent.

    Anyways, how did we used to solve this problem? Viewfinder masking!

    www.viewfindermasks.com

    So this company would hook you up with an updated camera (like on your 5D or more likely a Rebel, in this type of photography) that had a custom grid line that was exactly what you needed it to be. And it cost something like $200.

    So sony’s solution is a) cheaper and b) more flexible than what the industry has been doing for the last 30 years. The exact opposite of what most people are complaining about.

  • LeadPaintPhoto@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    A7vii no memory card slots, built in storage, 64gb for $4000, 128gb for extra $20/month , 256gb $30/, 512gb $50. 1tb $100/m Internal memory is 1tb in every body but must pay to use various amounts , failure to pay and camera deletes all stored files down to 64gb.

  • chndmrl@alien.topB
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    10 months ago

    Sometime next year you need to pay for autofocus. Oops you ran out of credits to focus!