Sony Announces Custom Gridline License Available for Alpha Camera Bodies

[Canon Rumors Guy]

SAN DIEGO – Nov. 28, 2023. Today, Sony Electronics announces a new custom gridline license planned for the Alpha 7 IVi in March 2024 onward, and more camera bodiesii in the future. The new license offers the ability to import up to 4 customized original gridlines. The gridlines can be displayed on EVF (electronic viewfinder) and LCD

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[el peso]

What i nice feature to have! I'm curious why Canon still does not have it. Simple geometry shapes like rectangles might be created/configured right in a cam like now tracking clusters in R6 Mark II — it's very convenient. Some more complex shapes should be created in an external software and then imported to a cam. I'd like to have frames for 4:5 and 1:2.7 Hassy's X-pan ratio.

 

[LDS]

And you have to pay $150 for such a feature? This is just the preview of how many silly ways marketing depts. will introduce to squeeze customers.

 

[Cochese]

There is absolutely no way in hell that I\'d ever pay $150 for something that equates to a setting. It\'s a cost that makes no sense, but I am positive some hardcore fanboys will pay it and act like it\'s 100% worth it

 

[EricN]

I have been shooting wider than I need and cropping since I learned cropping was possible. Chances are with wildlife you do that already. So, I can't imagine paying when Canon already gives basic grids.

 

[RunAndGun]

We’ve had frame lines and the ability to create custom frame lines in professional video cameras forever, including Sonys, and now they want to charge users $150 for the ability to do it in a stills camera. Insane.

 

[J.NicDavidson]

These fill a specific need for a specific industry. And, it\'s an industry that is still primarily DSLR\'s due to the ability to add this feature onto the mirror (some companies were charging $250 to do this). Volume photography, think anything school, sports, resorts, theme parks, cruise ships, etc. all utilize this feature in some form for consistency across multiple photographers of varying skill levels. We have just under 500 photographers and photograph hundreds of thousands of students a day - all of which have to flow through a production facility as fast as possible. When you calculate the value an item like this brings, in a volume setting like this, the investment is minimal versus what the alternatives are.

 

[vikingar]

These fill a specific need for a specific industry. And, it\'s an industry that is still primarily DSLR\'s due to the ability to add this feature onto the mirror (some companies were charging $250 to do this).

You see this across many industries and it's always the same thing: it used to cost X$ to do something physically, now it's digital and technically no-cost but we'll charge you 2/3 of X$.

You're getting great savings compared to before, rejoice!

Personally seen the great savings verbiage in the healthcare sector and it drives me nuts.

 

[J.NicDavidson]

You see this across many industries and it's always the same thing: it used to cost X$ to do something physically, now it's digital and technically no-cost but we'll charge you 2/3 of X$.

You're getting great savings compared to before, rejoice!

Personally seen the great savings verbiage in the healthcare sector and it drives me nuts.

True, and that's how business works. Create a win-win scenario and you have recipe for success. There is cost associated with the product - I spent a year of back and forth calls, meetings, and flights with Sony engineers to determine how possible this was, how custom it could be, and if it was worth their development time to tackle the project. This wasn't a "snap your fingers" and there it is, there is real development cost and time. I, for one, am thankful they were willing to work on this project (and many others in the pipeline) for volume photographers.

As a Canon photographer most of my life, prior to working with Sony on this we had mentioned the need for such items to Canon with little interest from their B2B reps and engineers. Hopefully Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Panasonic, etc. all decide this is worth exploring which will drive the cost down. But again, the cost is minimal to what it does for production purposes on the backend.

 

[jam05]

These fill a specific need for a specific industry. And, it\'s an industry that is still primarily DSLR\'s due to the ability to add this feature onto the mirror (some companies were charging $250 to do this). Volume photography, think anything school, sports, resorts, theme parks, cruise ships, etc. all utilize this feature in some form for consistency across multiple photographers of varying skill levels. We have just under 500 photographers and photograph hundreds of thousands of students a day - all of which have to flow through a production facility as fast as possible. When you calculate the value an item like this brings, in a volume setting like this, the investment is minimal versus what the alternatives are.

You can do it yourself for free. Its not rocket science. Custom grids have been available for decades. Its a grid line. The ability to move and/or adjust grid lines isn't new. Magic Lantern did it for free.

 

[J.NicDavidson]

You can do it yourself for free. Its not rocket science. Custom grids have been available for decades. Its a grid line. The ability to move and/or adjust grid lines isn't new. Magic Lantern did it for free.

Since you can do it for free, and Sony has decided there is a market for this, maybe you should undercut the price point and make some money. I’ll be happy to pay a discounted rate to install our custom masks into all our Canon cameras. We’ve got 300+ Canon’s awaiting your ability.

 

[EricN]

Since you can do it for free, and Sony has decided there is a market for this, maybe you should undercut the price point and make some money. I’ll be happy to pay a discounted rate to install our custom masks into all our Canon cameras. We’ve got 300+ Canon’s awaiting your ability.

Buy a focusing screen for your slr or dslr and you can modify it anyway you want, but you may want to take it to someone that specializes in etching nameplates for trophies. You'll still have the original screen if you don't like it

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Focusing-Screens/ci/290/N/3777857692

There's a grid on the R5 and I think most people can figure out how to use it without any help. I don't know about the other cameras.

 

[EOS 4 Life]

Magic Lantern did it for free.

Magic Lantern did a lot for free.
It is tough to compare with that one.

 

[EOS 4 Life]

Buy a focusing screen for your slr or dslr and you can modify it anyway you want, but you may want to take it to someone that specializes in etching nameplates for trophies. You'll still have the original screen if you don't like it

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Focusing-Screens/ci/290/N/3777857692

There's a grid on the R5 and I think most people can figure out how to use it without any help. I don't know about the other cameras.

The Sony one allows for custom grid lines.