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Canon 7D Updates Firmware to 1.2.2, Considers Buying Rosetta Stone

Didn’t quite get this out yesterday, but the EOS 7D has received yet another firmware update. And why paraphrase what it does when we can just quote direct from the horse’s mouth?

Firmware Version 1.2.2 incorporates the following fixes.

  1. Fixes a phenomenon in which the set aperture moves when shooting movies in manual exposure mode using some Canon lenses (such as macro lenses).
  2. Fixes the AF point-selection behavior of the C.Fn III-7 (Manual AF pt. selec. pattern) custom function when set to [1].
  3. Fixes the AF point display for the viewfinder electronic level when shooting in the vertical position.
  4. Corrects misspellings in the Spanish and Thai menus for applicable products.

The Version 1.2.2 firmware is for cameras with firmware up to Version 1.2.1. If the camera’s firmware is already Version 1.2.2, it is not necessary to update the firmware. Note that cameras with the Version 1.2.2 firmware (and also Versions 1.2.0, 1.2.1) cannot be downgraded to a previous firmware version (such as Version 1.1.0).

Itchin’ to have your Thai more grammatically correct? Then hit the external link below and fire it up.



Looking For a Good Starter Kit?

So, we at Roberts know how hard it can be when you’re just getting going in DSLRs. You need a camera, and a bag, and an extra battery, and the kit lens usually isn’t enough, it all adds up quickly.

So, we’ve put together a special kit to help you out. We started out with the Canon EOS Rebel T2i, an 18 megapixel shooter with an impressive ISO range, high-rez LCD screen, and 1080p HD video recording. Instead of the usual Canon 18-55mm IS, we’ve paired it with a Sigma 18-250mm f3.5 – 5.6 DC OS HSM, which has over four times the reach of the kit lens and has built-in optical stabilization and hypersonic focus motors. Then, we’re throwing in a bag, extra battery, UV filter, and HDMI cable. Just add your own memory card (SD/SDHC, not included) and you’re ready to get shooting.

And there’s a video:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j2YI3B7LXQ



Canon EOS 7D Gets New Firmware (Not a Pre-Announcement)

This is how we like it, actual firmware, actually available at announcement. Handy, that. Announced last night is version 1.2.1 firmware for the Canon EOS 7D. What’s it got to offer, you ask? Canon, want to field this one?

Firmware Version 1.2.1 incorporates the following improvements and fixes.

  1. Extends the timing at which the high temperature warning indicator is displayed and the timing of automatic shut down of the camera due to a rise in internal temperature during Live View or EOS Movie functions.
  2. Optimizes program shift when the ISO setting of the camera is set to AUTO.
  3. Corrects a misspelling in the French-language menu.
  4. Corrects a phenomenon in which vertical magenta-colored banding appears in still images taken in movie-shooting mode.
    (This only occurs when in Manual exposure mode and when the ISO speed is set to “H”. Note that this phenomenon only affects units with Firmware Version 1.2.0)

Firmware Version 1.2.1 is for cameras with firmware up to version 1.2.0. If the camera’s firmware is already version 1.2.1, it is not necessary to update the firmware.
Note that cameras with firmware Version 1.2.1, 1.2.0 cannot be downgraded to a previous firmware version (such as Version 1.1.0).

If you can’t wait any longer to load it up into your camera’s silicon, hit the external link below (view full post if not showing).



Canon EOS 5D Mk II’s New Firmware Might Have Problems

So, that last firmware update for the Canon EOS 5D Mk II, the one that gave us Christmas in March and brought better video options to everyone on the ‘nice’ list? Well, turns out there might be a fly in the milk. Er, ew.

Quoth Canon:

Recently we have discovered a malfunction that occurs with Firmware Version 2.0.3, in which the manual recording levels for C1/C2/C3 are changed and the camera becomes unable to record audio if the power is turned off (or if Auto power off takes effect) after registering “Sound Recording: Manual” in the camera user settings.
We apologize very sincerely for the inconvenience, but we are going to stop making this firmware available for download. For customers who have already updated to the new firmware, when using the camera with the mode dial set to C1/C2/C3, please either set the sound recording settings to Auto.
We are currently preparing firmware that will correct this malfunction. As soon as those preparations have been completed, we will let you know on this Web site. In the meantime, we apologize for the inconvenience this represents, but please wait until the fixed firmware is ready.

So, well. We’ll keep you posted on when the fixed one makes it’s way out. If you don’t use C1/C2/C3 while setting manual levels ever, well, you probably won’t notice anything wrong and can keep happily shooting away, since nothing seems to be wrong with using it as a camera.



Canon EOS 5D mark II Gets Video-Rocking Firmware

OK, so, this was actually posted yesterday, which means most of you 5D mark II shooters probably already have it, but, if you haven’t heard yet there’s a new firmware in town. This one is for the video shooters, adding new frame rates (including real NTSC instead of the machine-perfect 30fps), new audio sampling quality, and an on-screen levels mixer for the audio.

Anyway, the firmware is up on Canon’s site. So, hit the external link below if you want to grab that.



Canon Hits 50 Million EF Lenses

So, Canon has announced the production of its 50 millionth EF lens. I was surprised at this—Nikon did celebrate 50 million first, despite Canon being a larger company—until I remembered that Nikon was celebrating the F mount, which they’ve never abandoned, but Canon’s only been running on the EOS/EF mount for some 20ish years, having used the wildly different FD mount before. So, congrats, Canon, on this your newest milestone, and hopefully many more to come.

Oh, and that 50 millionth lens? It was one of the new EF 100mm f 2.8L Macro IS USMs. Just for the record.



Canon EOS 1D Mark IV firmware update available

Canon’s firmware update for the

EOS 1D Mark IV is available for download from Canon immediately.

What’s the update do you ask?

This firmware update (Version 1.0.6) incorporates the
following enhancement:
Firmware Version 1.0.6 enhances the AF tracking performance.*
*AF performance has been enhances[sic] for receding subjects and for subjects that are approaching at a low speed.

Right on, Canon.



Forumbusters: Don’t Hate on AF-S

So, if you own both a computer and a camera, there’s a better than average chance you’ve encountered one of the many online gear forums, where people discuss camera equipment. And, while a lot of useful information can be learned from these forums, they also rival the Mos Eisley cantina for biggest dens of inequity going, and I’ve lurked on them long enough to notice there are several popular fallacies that seem to never go out of style, which is sad because they frequently stand in the way of better customer satisfaction.

So, we’re going to start addressing a few of these as a respected dealer of equipment, with all our insider knowledge and decades and decades of experience with camera equipment over the ages.

And first up is AF-S. AF-S is Nikon’s designation for lenses with an integral ultrasonic motor for focusing, introduced in 1996. Now, if you’re new to equipment, you may not know that auto-focus cameras used to use a body-based focus motor and screw drive system. Nikon’s AF-S comes under fire because starting with the D40, they started leaving a body-based motor out of their cameras, forcing users to buy AF-S lenses if they wanted autofocus. This gets decried a lot as a shameless attempt on Nikon’s part to force new lens sales and cut-off the used market. AF-S gets a lot of hate.

Of course, never mind that Canon switched entirely to in-lens focus motors when it created its EOS system and EF mount in 1987, making it’s entire FD line-up completely unusable with new cameras. Or that Olympus and Sony’s DSLR systems also use only in-lens AF systems. Or that in lens AF systems are faster, quieter, and more accurate. Obviously such technological improvements must be bad, right?

Simple answer: if you’re a new DSLR customer and can afford it, go AF-S. Even though the more expensive bodies still support the body-motor, in-lens focus motors have been the future for the past twenty years. They might cost you more than the old used ones, but they’ll continue to work going forward on all Nikon bodies. Plus, don’t forget that focus motors aren’t all that’s improved in the past twenty years: lens coatings, exotic lens elements like aspherical elements, and even basic lens formulas have all continued improving and the newer AF-S lenses will yield more than just a focus motor for your money.



EOS 1D Mark IV tested by Brad Mangin

Anybody who knows me knows that I’m not a professional sports photographer and that putting a 1D Mark IV in my hands would be about as useful as putting me behind the wheel of any car that’s won a NASCAR race in the last decade. Can I figure things on the exposure triangle? Sure. Much past that, things get iffy.

Fortunately, Canon puts samples in the hands of guys like Brad Mangin, who is a professional sports photographer. You can see his first hand use of the EOS 1D Mark IV with the 400 f/2.8 (on and off the 1.4x tele-converter) in the Detroit Lions vs San Francisco 49ers game here, complete with a RAW file downloadable from his server.




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