Sony Gave Your Telephoto Lens a Memory
What changed in firmware 1.02?
Before this update, the A7R VI's built-in Preset Focus only worked with power-zoom lenses. With any other lens, you could only register and recall focus positions while tethered to a computer running Sony's Remote Camera Tool — not something you carry into a marsh. Firmware 1.02, released this week, lets you register and recall focus positions with non-power-zoom lenses directly on the camera. Some are still excluded, so check Sony's compatibility chart for your glass.
The same update fixes focusing becoming unavailable when movie mode is set to manual focus, fixes the monitor turning itself on at intervals while switched off, and includes the usual stability improvements.
What is Preset Focus, practically?
You save a focus distance to a custom button, and one press snaps focus straight there. For wildlife work, the use is obvious: pre-focus on the feeding station, the nest, or the patch of shoreline the animal keeps returning to. When the subject leaves the frame and comes back, one press puts focus exactly where you left it instead of hunting through the range while the moment walks away.
That is the real value. Preset Focus does not make your autofocus smarter. It removes the need for autofocus in the one situation where speed matters most: the second chance.
Should you update right away?
Probably not today. Firmware always deserves a little caution, and the same week brought scattered reports from owners of older A7-series bodies about focus quirks after updating. Give it a few weeks, check that your lenses are on Sony's compatibility list, and back up your settings before you install. New firmware is a tool, not an emergency.
Why it matters for you
The lesson is bigger than one camera. Professional wildlife work is preparation, not reaction: the shot is decided at the distance you expect the action, before the animal arrives. Most mirrorless systems have some version of focus memory — preset focus, focus recall, or a saved AF point. Learn the version on your body, practice assigning it to a button you can find without looking, and the next time your subject returns to the spot, you will be ready instead of hunting.