Dreamliner wrote:
Did anybody have noticed any IQ improvements in high ISO as well? I know that this may sound stupid but I'm asking because there is a theory that says that sometimes a new firmware can also make some "secret" improvements that are not announced to the public.
I haven't cycled through all the ISO settings but did use ISO 640 (my fav for low light) and RAW output looks exactly the same as FW1.25 (blue channel starting to get a little noisy). I don't shoot JPEGs but Canon could easily increase or improve JPEG NR defaults. I don't have any JPEGS from the prior FW so I have nothing to compare.
Dreamliner wrote:
Did anybody have noticed any IQ improvements in high ISO as well? I know that this may sound stupid but I'm asking because there is a theory that says that sometimes a new firmware can also make some "secret" improvements that are not announced to the public.
I suppose there's nothing "stupid" or wrong with hope...but I have to say that it makes no sense (to me) that there would be an improvement in IQ and Canon would choose to keep that a secret instead of screaming it as loud as possible to get every last bit of marketing out of it. Hey, I hope it's true too...but I wouldn't even bet a single penny that it is. Having said that, I'm 100% certain that someone will (very shortly) start a post on the 'improved IQ' with all sorts of unrelated images to 'prove' the point.
Chris Anthony wrote:
I'm only getting about 23-24 using a transcend 600x udma card. Im not much of a burst shooter, so maybe there specific settings I should be using to test this, for example, I was at f4 iso 100 with shutter speeds in the 1/1500-1/2000 range. Any help would be appreciated.
That's interesting because the 7D CF card comparison chart at Rob Galbraith's site, (updated April 2012 with FW 1.2.5) shows the Extreme and Transcend 600x to have similar write timing. Perhaps there is something about the update that benefits the Sandisk cards more than the Transcend? Canon RAWs are lossless compressed, so there might be some variation in timing depending on ISO and subject content. For example, if you shoot black frames at ISO 100 the file size will be smaller and theoretically the camera should be able to process those and write to the card faster than say wide angle images with a lot of detail, even if the shutter speed, aperture and ISO were the same as the black frames.
Just so I don't unnecessarily start worrying at some point that something has gone horribly wrong, how long does the update take (in minutes)? This will be my first attempt at updating the firmware on my camera so I am a little nervous. Thanks!
cemphoto wrote:
Just so I don't unnecessarily start worrying at some point that something has gone horribly wrong, how long does the update take (in minutes)? This will be my first attempt at updating the firmware on my camera so I am a little nervous. Thanks!
Chris
When I did mine, I got it started and left the room. When I came back 2 or 3 minutes later, it was done. I have no idea how much sooner it finished before I returned to check on it.
If you just make sure that you have unzipped the file and make sure that it is the unzipped file that you have copied to the memory card, you should be able to just follow the prompts that the camera gives you and be able to complete the update without issue. I'm not sure whether Canon still puts this in their instructions, but it used to be the case that the instructions told you to do the upgrade with no lens mounted to the camera and to use a 1 or 2 GB CF card. Even if doing those two things is no longer necessary, I still do it that way.
Les- Thanks for the information, that helps a lot. I am going to use the EOS utility to update so hopefully that will make it go at a similar pace. Thanks as well for the ideas about taking the lens off the camera.
Has anyone had any problems with this? I just updated mine and now it's actually slower than the previous firmware version. I get 4 shots on high speed burst before the camera starts to stutter. Also - there's a 4 in the bottom right of the VF where there used to be an 8 indicating the state of the buffer.
Darren Irwin wrote:
Has anyone had any problems with this? I just updated mine and now it's actually slower than the previous firmware version. I get 4 shots on high speed burst before the camera starts to stutter. Also - there's a 4 in the bottom right of the VF where there used to be an 8 indicating the state of the buffer.
Any ideas, anyone?
Not done the update yet (I think I will wait a while ) . But have you checked that all the usual suspects that kill the buffer are turned off.?
Things like hi iso NR , original decision data etc.
I'm not having any problems after the update either, took around 100 shots today just playing around no issues save for not getting as much buffer as some, I'll continue to play and see if I can't get more out of it
rscheffler wrote:
That's interesting because the 7D CF card comparison chart at Rob Galbraith's site, (updated April 2012 with FW 1.2.5) shows the Extreme and Transcend 600x to have similar write timing. Perhaps there is something about the update that benefits the Sandisk cards more than the Transcend? Canon RAWs are lossless compressed, so there might be some variation in timing depending on ISO and subject content. For example, if you shoot black frames at ISO 100 the file size will be smaller and theoretically the camera should be able to process those and write to the card faster than say wide angle images with a lot of detail, even if the shutter speed, aperture and ISO were the same as the black frames....Show more →
I was shooting straight blue sky but I'll try some other subjects later, I have another transcend 600x I'll try also
Ian.Dobinson wrote:
Not done the update yet (I think I will wait a while ) . But have you checked that all the usual suspects that kill the buffer are turned off.?
Things like hi iso NR , original decision data etc.
HI ISO Noise is your culprit, turn it off and you will be fine
Hi Rob and John - Thanks very much. You were right - as soon as I turned off high ISO noise reduction the buffer indicator showed 24 and I am now getting all the benefits of the new firmware.
I can't update it. I try to copy the firmware file to the CF card but Windows 7 gives me a cannot copy error. It looks like I have to do it with a dedicated CF card reader.... which I don't have. Yeah screw that.
andyjaggy82 wrote:
I can't update it. I try to copy the firmware file to the CF card but Windows 7 gives me a cannot copy error. It looks like I have to do it with a dedicated CF card reader.... which I don't have. Yeah screw that.
Update using the EOS Utility. Instructions are in the PDF that came with the firmware right below the CF card method. I always do it this way and never have tried the CF method. I have Windows 7 64-bit and the latest EOS Utility and camera drivers. Did this yesterday and it all worked great.
Just flashed it into my 7d. Increased burst depth which I doubt I'll ever need. Perhaps I can shoot the entire length of Usain Bolt creaming everyone at the track.
Auto ISO can be defined. So it will be useful to me. Some accounts seem to indicate it has improved ISO NR? That would be swell.
I'll play around it more later. Overall it's great to see Canon producing a firmware with significant upgrades.
