News Sony at the CP+ show: (snip) “From March 2024, α1, α9 III, α7 S III, and α7 IV will also support Creators Cloud

[Brownie]

This next firmware update is going to add Creator's Cloud connectivity to several cameras. I don't think I want it based on some of the complaints I've seen around the web. Unless they release some neato features with this firmware or are fixing something seriously wrong, I probably won't update them.

This is from an interview with Sony that covers several other issues. There's a Q&A text version you can read that's mostly mumbo-jumbo generic corporate speak, and a video I didn't watch. Not going to post the entire thing, click if you dare.

Sony interview at the CP+ show: “We will be number one in 2024” and “From March 2024, α1, α9 III, α7 S III, and α7 IV will also support Creators Cloud” – sonyalpharumors

www.sonyalpharumors.com

 

[alexpler]

Creators Cloud is a great idea and has a nice layout, but it failed most of the times I tried to upload anything (from my smartphone, as the a7c is not compatible yet). Too bad, because Imaging Edge is not good either but I have to use that for now.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Leaving aside the cloud thing, which I don't think I want anyway (such thoughts can change!) I preferred IEM. It was much more stable and reliable, and IIRC, it could do stuff like delete on-camera from the mobile device.

As to A7iv supporting it (shouldn't that be the other way around?) it did when I bought mine 4 months ago. Firmware 2.1, I think. I just missed being able to carry on with Imaging edge!

What's new, If I understood my quick glance correctly, is a coming ability to upload direct from camera to cloud. I'm assuming that the control will be with the Cr'app, but the upload data path will be direct, cutting out the mobile. That could be interesting to some people, I guess.

BTW: Cr'app scored a point over me the other day. I was struggling with restart camera, restart mobile (which I regularly have to do) and just gave up. About an hour later I noticed the airplane-mode icon in the viewfinder . Point to Cr'app. One of very few.

 

[AlphaWorld]

My answer to all the networking stuff is a bit luddite - I have my camera permanently in aircraft mode - all the radios off. Probably makes the batteries last longer

Yeah, it means I can't upload my photos to Sony's cloud - d'ya think I care?

 

[DavidN]

My answer to all the networking stuff is a bit luddite - I have my camera permanently in aircraft mode - all the radios off. Probably makes the batteries last longer

Yeah, it means I can't upload my photos to Sony's cloud - d'ya think I care?

I also have mine in permanent aircraft mode. I used Mark Smith’s YouTube video to set up my A1 and he recommended it. It seems he’d heard of people scanning for Bluetooth signals and if your camera is in the back of your car they may be able to pick up what it is.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Yeah, it means I can't upload my photos to Sony's cloud - d'ya think I care?

Nope. I'm sure you don't! I wouldn't much, either, as I use a USB cable to transfer pics at the end of each day. But I do need to do the "sharing" thing every day, so I need to transfer pics to phone or tablet. So wifi. (Actually, it can be done with usb cable, but I only found that out recently.)

And one day, I'll get around to making the FTP thing work to my computer; it should be faster. But I'm getting home with 50-200 pics, not thousands of BIF bursts, so speed is not really a big deal; it's just nice to make things work.

 

[AlphaWorld]

Nope. I'm sure you don't! I wouldn't much, either, as I use a USB cable to transfer pics at the end of each day. But I do need to do the "sharing" thing every day, so I need to transfer pics to phone or tablet. So wifi. (Actually, it can be done with usb cable, but I only found that out recently.)

And one day, I'll get around to making the FTP thing work to my computer; it should be faster. But I'm getting home with 50-200 pics, not thousands of BIF bursts, so speed is not really a big deal; it's just nice to make things work.

If you have a site in the cloud it may be easier to set up a cloud SFTP site (no, I haven't done it, but I know it can be done in AWS, for example). SFTP would give you the ability to upload securely and with authentication (so no one else can upload or download). With the new firmware you can even take the images in the camera that you want to upload and upload them selectively.

If nothing else, it would mean you'd be one of the elite using the new firmware the way it's intended to be used!

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Yeah... But no

I'm trying to think of a way that uploading to "the cloud" from the camera would work for me. It would be sort-of-cool.

From taking the pics, there is a forked road. a handful, I send (Whatsapp) to the musicians I'm photographing, often while the concert is on. That means camera-->phone.

Otherwise, they get uploaded (USB cable) to my PC. If and when culled and post-processed, they get uploaded to a cloud site (I use pCloud) and links are distributed to those with interest. pCloud does not have ftp access.

I can't see a way that Sony's cloud fits there.

 

[AlphaWorld]

Yeah, FTP does feel more "corporate". It's great for companies with specialists who get it all set up. It is possible for individuals to use it (especially if you set up an SFTP server on AWS, or Azure, or Google Cloud), but the catch is that if you want to deliver images to people outside that world, yeah, no. I think your camera -> phone -> WhatsApp sounds sensible for delivery to musicians.

The Sony cloud - that feels like Sony reaching out to gather us in (like Facebook, like Google, ...) - I finally get to say "I'm too old for that sh*t!"

I am not even transferring my images over USB. I use a card reader.

It may well be that we see cameras without removable storage, where the built-in terabyte (or so) can only be downloaded over a wireless network. But I think we are safe for a year or two yet :-D

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Yeah, FTP does feel more "corporate". It's great for companies with specialists who get it all set up

I remember using ftp on the command line. But it seems to have got more complex due to the changing security risks over the past twenty years.

I tried the ethernet connection to a7iv. With an adapter I knew people had used successfully. All I could get was silly message like "Can't recognise cable."

 

[AlphaWorld]

I remember using ftp on the command line. But it seems to have got more complex due to the changing security risks over the past twenty years.

I tried the ethernet connection to a7iv. With an adapter I knew people had used successfully. All I could get was silly message like "Can't recognise cable."

You can still use FTP from the command line, but I use SFTP - it's rather nice that you don't have to enter passwords - register your public key with the server, and the authentication "just happens". Plus the key pair is SSH, so you may already have it set up.

If the cable was previously used for 10Mbit or 100Mbit Ethernet, that might explain it. The Ethernet port is (I believe) gigabit Ethernet, which require all four pairs to be wired straight through. Slower speeds only require two pairs.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

It was a recently-bought cat-6 cable with a tp-link adapter. cat-6e, I think.

 

[AlphaWorld]

It was a recently-bought cat-6 cable with a tp-link adapter. cat-6e, I think.

That should be good all the way to 10 gigabit!

I'm using 10GbE over cat 6e between the Mac Studio and my NAS (via a 10GbE TP-Link switch). The adapter you mention - is that going into the computer? Or do you have a switch? If it's going directly into the computer you'll need a crossover cable.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

the a7iv uses it's usb-C port for ethernet, so that's where the adapter goes. The other end of the yes-very-capable cable goes to the router. Of course, even a brand new cable can have problems: I can't remember whether or not that one had been used before or not.

Anyway, having looked at it again since the first couple of weeks during which I was excited about new possibilities on the camera. It's ok: I'm still excited by the autofocus and tracking