Canon 7D Firmware update

[Andrew1]

http://www.gizmag.com/eos-7d-firmwar...onality/23143/

[ktuli]

Very welcome improvements... each of them.

The upgrade will add the ability to limit the maximum ISO sensitivity to any point within the ISO400 - 6400 range for greater control over exposure, and also the ability to adjust the ISO Auto range from 100 - 3200 to 100 - 6400.

I'm a little confused by that, but I am hoping it means the Auto ISO maximum can be set to anywhere in the 400-6400 range, thus allowing the user to select the maximum ISO for acceptable noise while in Auto ISO mode.

Nevermind - I think I answered my own question... I went to their specifications page for the 7D, and it already has the new specs listed...

ISO Speed Range
Manually set by user, in P, Tv, Av, and M modes — ISO 100 thru 6400 (in 1/3 or full-stop increments)
Automatic ISO setting in P, Tv, Av, and M modes — ISO 100?6400; User-defined maximum ISO limit can be set from 400 thru 6400, in full-step increments (Firmware Version 2.0.X is required)
When Highlight Tone Priority is active: minimum possible ISO is 200
Automatic ISO setting in Basic Zone modes — ISO 100 thru 3200

I was also curious as to how great the difference was in the Burst rates... so I had to pull out my printed manual for the original info:

Maximum Burst
JPEG (Large/Fine): approx. 110*/approx. 130**
RAW: approx. 23*/approx. 25**
RAW+JPEG (Large/Fine): approx. 17*/approx. 17**

*Figures based on Firmware upgrade (Version 2.0.X), ISO 100, Standard Picture Style and with 8GB CF memory card.

**Figures apply to 128GB UDMA 7 CF memory card.
Note: UDMA 7 CF memory card read/write speeds are not fully supported with the EOS 7D Digital SLR camera, if using UDMA 7 memory cards, the read/write speeds will be equivalent to UDMA 6

Original numbers are:

Maximum Burst
JPEG (Large/Fine): approx. 94*/approx. 126**
RAW: approx. 15*/approx. 15**
RAW+JPEG (Large/Fine): approx. 6*/approx. 6**

*Figures based on ISO 100, Standard Picture Style and with 4GB CF memory card.

**Figures apply to UDMA 4GB CF memory card.

So obviously the real benefits are seen for the RAW shooters.

I for one will be installing this shortly after release (will wait a short amount of time to see what results others report in case of any installation issues).

- Bill

[koolkat]

Hi, thanks for this link, information. Looks like this will be available 8/2012 and the RAW burst mode is interesting, ISO ranges will also be of interest. Will be downloading as soon as available.

[jasonkrasnov]

Canon made a smart move because it resolves a lot of issues that both filmmakers and photographers had. One feature I am thankful for as a photographer transitioning into video is the manual adjustments for audio recording levels.

So obviously the real benefits are seen for the RAW shooters.

Yes, but also for anyone who shoots on continuous. No matter what your camera's burst rate is, if you shoot continuously and fill the buffer though, the camera will either slow down dramatically or stop altogether, and that damn "card busy" light will begin to blink. I wonder if there will be any improvements made on the buffer as well by the time the update releases in August.

[ktuli]

Yes, but also for anyone who shoots on continuous. No matter what your camera's burst rate is, if you shoot continuously and fill the buffer though, the camera will either slow down dramatically or stop altogether, and that damn "card busy" light will begin to blink. I wonder if there will be any improvements made on the buffer as well by the time the update releases in August.

I'm confused what you mean here... this improvement is already being done to the buffer. The 7D already has one of the highest FPS on the market today at 8 FPS. This improvement is helping to fix the buffer full issue by clearing the buffer faster, thus allowing more consecutive frames at a time.

I've read in a couple places that it is actually somewhat easy to get a bit more mileage out of a max burst by releasing the trigger every so often instead of holding it down steady the whole time. So instead of "shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot" you would do "shoot, shoot, shoot, slight pause, shoot, shoot, shoot". The theory being that when the buffer does get full, it takes longer for the camera to clear it out and be ready for shooting again than it does if the buffer never gets completely full. I'm not sure if this actually works that way or not (it is one of those things that unless you have some pretty decent test equipment, it becomes very difficult to measure).

- Bill

[rpcrowe]

Thanks for posting this information on the firmware update. There seem to be significant changes in these updates. I also will wait a month or two before I upload the firmware changes to my 7D.

Regarding burst capacities; I have found that my UDMA 300X and 400X CF cards have far better write speeds than my older and slower cards. I never remember my wrte light being on for extensive time when shooting with slower cards in my 30D and 40D cameras. However, when I advanced to the 7D, there was a significant difference in the write speed of the faster UDMA cards.

I think it was because the 30D and 40D could not make use of the UDMA technology and because the 7D files were larger. However, I made use of UDMA cards in my 30D and 40D because the transfer speeds from the cards to the computer were faster when I used a UDMA capable card reader.

[ktuli]

As an update - this firmware has been released and is available on Canon's website (sorry - not going to post a link because it is one of those regional things, and I don't want to confuse folks by posting the USA link to the site).

I think (especially with an upcoming trip) that I am going to delay installing this, but I've already downloaded it to my computer for future use.

If others do install, please share your success (and hopefully not any failures) with us!

- Bill

[rpcrowe]

I try not to be the first person to use any newly evolved hardware or software.

I was one of the first persons to have a new style artificial knee installed. In fact I waited for an additional six months until the new prosthetic knee came on the market. It was supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread and was supposed to last forever. Unfortunately for me, it was defective in production and after two months of living hell, they recalled the knee. It is a heck of a lot easier when a company recalls a set of tires on your car than when they have to cut out and install a second knee.

Once bitten, twice shy! I will wait until I hear how other Canon users like the new upgraded firmware before I install it in my camera....

[Ady]

Hi All,

I've applied the 7D v2 firmware and it appears to be exactly as advertised. I've had a good run through the new/enhanced features, with the exception of manual audio levels and compatibility with the GP-E2 GPS unit, I haven't found any issues... yet. I've only updated one body so if the worst does happen I'm still good to go but it is looking perfectly stable so far.

Personally I'll be making most use of the increased burst capacity, the configurable auto ISO and the file naming. The RAW processing and JPEG resizing may come in handy but with such a small screen to work with I'm not sure how useful it will really be.

If I do spot anything amiss I'll post here ASAP.

Cheers,
A

[koolkat]

Thanks Adrian for the early information on V2.0. Looking forward to additional information. I can agree with Richard regarding downloading too soon. Just for the fun of it I downloaded V1.25 onto a flashdrive just to have that OS stored somewhere. I'm not sure if you install V2.0 and then decide you do not like it if you can then reinstall V1.25. O'well, it's a thought.

[ktuli]

By the way - in case folks missed it - Canon released the v2.0.3 firmware for the 7D.

- Bill

[GrahamS]

Firmware version 2.0.3 does exactly what it says on the tin. Provided it is installed correctly, you have nothing to fear. Thank you, Canon!

[Dermot]

How does one actually install this new version of the fiirmware? THanks

[Colin Southern]

How does one actually install this new version of the fiirmware? THanks

Canon will include instructions with the download, but in short ...

1. Download it

2. Uncompress it

3. Put the uncompressed FIR file on a CF / SD card

4. Put card in camera

5. Select firmware update form the setup menu

Best done on a full battery.