New to the A1 II with Version 3.00 Firmware: Mode Dial Control Set

'Mode Dial Control Set' is a significant new feature that has appeared with the Version 3.00 firmware update for the A1 II (A1M2) camera. The second item in the 'Benefits and Improvements' list on the Firmware Download page reads:

• Allows you to select whether to change the Shooting Mode, Drive Mode, and Focus Mode using the dial or through the menu.

It is the ability to change the Focus Mode from the Menu that took my interest. This could potentially have an impact on the registered memories and my PAL workflow that I showcase in the eBooks. It would now be possible to recall a Focus Mode with the memory recall rather than having to manually check the Focus Mode dial each time you recall a memory.

One of the limitations of owning a camera with dials for both Drive Mode and Focus Mode (A9 and A1 cameras) is that when recalling a registered memory (MR) from the Shoot Mode dial the Memory Recall cannot override what is dialled into the Drive Mode and/or Focus Mode dials. With the A1 II and A9 III cameras we acquired a '*' setting on the Drive Mode dial that allowed us to select a Drive Mode from the menus rather than from the dial. This also allowed us to recall a Drive Mode with a registered Memory Recall (MR), but only if the Drive Mode dial is first turned to the * position.

When I first saw this * option appear on the Drive Mode dial, I asked Sony if they would consider adding this option for the Focus Mode dial as well. A year has passed, but the ability to adjust the Focus Mode from a menu is now possible after installing the Version 3.00 firmware for the A1M2, but its implementation is not a clear-cut/easy as with the * option on the Drive Mode dial. After installing Version 3.00 firmware on my A1M2 I then had to read the manual to see how I could implement this new feature. This is what has been added to Sony's Help Guide (Web Manual).

Focus Mode Dial:

Sets whether to change the focus mode using the focus mode dial or the menu. ([Set with Dial]/[Set with Menu])

By selecting [Set with Menu], you can change the focus mode using [Focus Mode] in the menu.

This was not entirely helpful as the Web manual did not then list where in the menus you could access the 'Set with Menu' feature.
I found it in Setup > Accessibility > Mode Dial Control Set (I would have chosen to place the option at the top of the Focus menu or in the 'Dial Customize' menu).

Advantages & Disadvantages

The advantage of choosing to assign 'Set with Menu' to the Focus Mode Dial is that you would then be able to recall a Focus Mode that has been registered to the Memory Recall settings (1, 2 and 3).
The disadvantage of choosing to assign 'Set with Menu' to the Focus Mode Dial is that you now have a non-functioning Focus Mode dial, and the only way you can change the Focus Mode is via the Menu (Focus > AF/MF > Focus Mode) or by resetting the Focus Mode Dial from the 'Mode Dial Control Set' menu to 'Focus with Dial' and then urning the Focus Mode dial to your preferred setting. This is not as quick as turning the Drive Mode dial away from the * setting.

Because of this disadvantage I have decided NOT to make 'Set with Menu' as the default option for the Focus Mode dial for my A1 II CAMSET, but I will, in future, be registering a Focus Mode to my PAL settings for the A1 II camera so that A1M2 Patrons have the choice to recall a Focus Mode when working with my PAL workflow. I hope that on a future A1 or A9 model that we will see a better implementation of this feature. What I asked Sony for, when the A9 III was first launched, was whether the * option on the Drive Mode dial could also allow the Focus Mode to be changed via the menu, i.e., one * to control both dials.

Check out my PAL workflow seminar here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/65658314?collection=34689
Download my A1 II CAMSET here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/116039797?collection=34676