Canon Rumors

5D Mark II Firmware 1.1.0 Available

Looks Good
I just shot a video with the 5D Mark II & 35L at f/4. Woooo!

All the Fixes & Features

CR's 5D Mark II Updated

1. Includes a function to enable the manual exposure setting when shooting movies.
When shooting movies in manual (M) mode, the shutter speed *1, the lens aperture value *2, and the ISO speed *3 can be freely set to allow a greater flexibility.

Notes:
1 Shutter speed range: 1/30 sec. to 1/4000 sec.
2 Lens aperture range: Maximum to minimum aperture value of the lens used
3 ISO speed range:
Auto: ISO 100 to 6400 set automatically
Manual: ISO 100 to 6400, H1

2. Disables the function of the depth-of-field preview button when images are played back or when the menu screen is displayed on the LCD panel.
*There are indications that images being reviewed or the menu screen may suddenly disappear from the LCD panel. As this phenomenon may be caused by accidentally pressing the depth-of-field preview button, this firmware update disables the function of the depth of field preview to address this issue.

3. Fixes a phenomenon where the peripheral illumination of images cannot be properly corrected, even if the images were captured with the lens peripheral illumination correction function set to Enable.
Firmware Version 1.1.0 fixes a phenomenon where peripheral illumination may not be properly corrected due the type of lens used and shooting conditions.

4. Fixes the algorithms of the Auto Lighting Optimizer function when Custom Function C.Fn II-3 Highlight tone priority is enabled.

5. Fixes incorrect indications on the Arabic, Romanian, Spanish, and Ukrainian menu screens.

6. Changes the battery information displayed on the camera when using the optional Battery Grip BG-E6.
*If only one LP-E6 battery pack is installed in the Battery Grip BG-E6, the battery information for the empty battery slot shows the error message, Cannot communicate with battery. However, with this firmware update, this error message no longer appears, even if only one LP-E6 battery pack is installed.

You can DL from Canon: http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/firm-e/eos5dmk2/firmware.html

Rob Galbraith Speaks Again – 1D/1Ds Mark III AF

Mr Galbraith says “No, it’s not better”.

I stopped reading his reports about the 1D/1Ds autofocus issues after I couldn’t replicate them. 300 2.8’s, 500 f/4’s, telelconverters… I couldn’t make the camera AF as poor as he claims it does. I have no idea what to think really.

Here’s his report anyway.

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7-8740-9068-10086

cr

The Future of EOS HD [CR2]

24p omission explained?
This source explains why there’s no 24p at the moment. I’m trusting the information is legit, I personally lack the technical knowledge of HD video in the 5D2.

“The 5D MarkII will have 24p, it is already in a firmware running in testing.  It was not released due to time but it was planned to be released with the manual control.  This is not as easy as some people tend to believe. The codec data rate has 6 frames of spare bandwidth and the file size was still the same as the 30p in the cam I tested. They have to re-code the compression routine in order to run at full speed and not waste file size. This has introduced some problems in stability because the chip can only handle 30p natively and this is basically a hack. No Audio control planned or in the firmware as of yet.

Nikon is adding most of the same features soon in their cameras, Canon just wanted to release and get the claim of being first.”

cr

5D Mark “Free”

Onscreen Audio Meters
“It isn’t perfect by a long shot, but we’re making very swift progress this holiday weekend. I found the VRAM and was able to write a small task that monitors the audio levels at 30 Hz and draws a very simple level meter on the top of the screen. It is calibrated with 5 dB tick marks, but the ballistics are bad and it isn’t synced with the redraw period (causing it to flicker), but we’re running real code doing real work on the camera!”

From Cinema5D

cr

Hack This – LCD Screenshot

A little eye candy

Modified Firmware Version

From: Cinema5D

thanks Mik

cr

Hack This! – 5D Mark II Audio Control Gain Disabled!

From Cinema5D

Hax0red!

If Canon isn’t going to do this stuff, others appear very motivated to do so.

“As an early goal, I have disabled the AGC for on the AK4646 audio chip that the 5D uses by overriding the sound_dev_task() at 0xFF856E60 to call audio_set_alc_off() at 0xFF856B14. The level is much too hot due to the wrong levels selected (it defaults to max gain?) but there is no shift in quiet scenes anymore. This is an easy first step that provides a proof-of-concept modification for the 1.0.7 firmware.

I can also log the audio levels as they are being sampled, which will make it possible to do on-screen level meters at some point in the future. My next step is figuring out how to add menus for the AGC disabling, then tackling the MVR_start_record() and LVAE_* functions.”

Read Here: http://www.cinema5d.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2477

Hack in progress

cr

Harry Potter & The 5D Mark II

From Planet5D
“the crew working on the next Harry Potter movie has 2 Canon EOS 5D Mark II cameras on set for filming. And, they’re using Panavision lenses on the 5D2s.”

Read more here: http://blog.planet5d.com/…

That’s Iron Man 2 and Harry Potter apparently using the 5D Mark II’s. It’s safe to assume updated firmware is being used.

thanks mitch

cr

EF Lenses for Movies? [CR1]

From the world of interesting concepts
I received an email from someone claiming Canon has video dslr lenses on the horizon. How many? They didn’t say.

The concept is this; the lenses will have the manual controls a lot of videographers want… i.e. an aperture ring.

CR’s Take
Other than being a cash grab, I’m not sure why Canon would do it this way over a firmware update. Perhaps an adaptor with an aperture ring? A nice $200 accessory Canon can bilk you for!

I’m filing this under “unlikely”.

This IS a rumors site. I’m going to give you most of the information I get. With the new ratings system, it’s up to you to decide how viable it is.

cr

5D Mark II Firmware Update [CR1]

On the set
I’ve received informormation from a few folks that the new 5D Mark II firmware is on location on the Iron Man 2 set. Apparently the cameras are in Morocco at the moment.

cr

50D, 450D & 1000D Firmware Updates

50D 1.0.6
1.Supports the AF assist beam feature of the new flash, Speedlite 270 EX, which is scheduled to be released in April 2009.
2.Changes the error indications that are displayed on the camera.
3.Addresses the vertical banding noise phenomenon.

http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/firm-e/eos50d/firmware.html

450D 1.1.0
1. Supports the AF assist beam features of the new flash, Speedlite 270 EX, which is scheduled to be released in April 2009.

http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/firm-e/eosdigital4/firmware.html

1000D 1.0.5
1. Supports the AF assist beam features of the new flash, Speedlite 270 EX, which is scheduled to be released in April 2009.

http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/firm-e/eosdigital5/firmware.html

thanks everyone that sent this

cr