Canon EOS 7D Firmware Version 2 Coming Soon

[adamfilip]

I love and hate. how canon can simply add features via just a firmware patch..
how they limit the cameras abilities on purpose..

Canon make the camera the best it can be and be only limited by the hardware. not the firmware..
If it could do these things.. and it was basically just locked out.. WTF is with that.. sure id be happy if i was a 7D user and I got new features.. for free.. that would be great. but it should have already been there..

[briansquibb]

Doesn't sound too exciting, some stuff that magic lantern can do on non-7d bodies - but the good thing is that Canon is updating firmware, even just too to sell their gps units. There doesn't seem to be support for the new radio flashes though.

AUTO ISO MAXIMUM SETTING Within the EOS 7D’s shooting menu photographers will have the ability to set a maximum ISO speed for ISO Auto, within the ISO range of 400-6400, so that you can minimise the amount of noise in your images.

It's as if my prayers have been answered... 

Yes, this is the very one feature my 60D has that I was missing on my 7D - yeah.

The 7d didn't have this - ugh! How did you 7d guys use auto iso in the first place until now?

You pointed the camera at the brightest point and got it to iso200. There were few times when light changes more than 4 stops in a shoot without you noticing.

The total range min shutter speed for AV and autoiso would be very welcome.

[TheFarmer]

Excited.

[LetTheRightLensIn]

Great!?! ...  I just went out and bought a Zoom for audio recording, because the 7D couldn't set the levels.  Looks like I didn't need to do that now.  I was really hoping for them to unlock the native 1080P  where it is effectively zoomed in.  One of the other bodies has that, and I think it would be very cool to gain a lot of focal length(not really focal length)  for free.

The zoom is still useful since the internal audio amp has horrible hiss. You need to hook a juicedlink pre-amp into it to get rid of hiss on internal recording (414 for ambient and low level sound, 200-level is ok for loud stuff or very close non-ambient mic). So the zoom would still sound way better unless you sell it and use the money for a JL or something.

[Marsu42]

Canon make the camera the best it can be and be only limited by the hardware. not the firmware..

Earth to Canon users: Canon doesn't want happy budget users, but unhappy premium users just before, but without actually jumping ship, resulting in optimal profit. But I agree, the unlocked raw rate after so many years is really a bad joke.

As for other features like auto iso, this is only a taste of what could be done with an open firmware, even magic lantern is just testing limits because the devs need to reverse engineer everything. New big marketing features on the 5d3/650d like in-camera hdr or multi-shot nr reduction are laughable, any half-competent programmer could do this in no time with a Canon sdk - actually ml did implement exposure fusion just like that, for free.

[crasher8]

Auto ISO max levels FTW but no Siri?

[DB]

Great!?! ...  I just went out and bought a Zoom for audio recording, because the 7D couldn't set the levels.  Looks like I didn't need to do that now.  I was really hoping for them to unlock the native 1080P  where it is effectively zoomed in.  One of the other bodies has that, and I think it would be very cool to gain a lot of focal length(not really focal length)  for free.

Ditto, but I went further and purchased a special expensive audio cable (50 bucks + almost same again in shipping costs) in the USA to connect my Zoom H4n to my 7D, so as not to damage it

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sescom-LN2MIC-ZMH4-MON-Cable-line-to-Mic-for-Zoom-H4N-with-monitoring-jack-4027-/390425137253?pt=Camera_Cables_Cords&hash=item5ae726d065#ht_950wt_1251

[gmrza]

I love and hate. how canon can simply add features via just a firmware patch..
how they limit the cameras abilities on purpose..

Canon make the camera the best it can be and be only limited by the hardware. not the firmware..
If it could do these things.. and it was basically just locked out.. WTF is with that.. sure id be happy if i was a 7D user and I got new features.. for free.. that would be great. but it should have already been there..

Look at it this way: The way things currently are, the fact that features can be enabled by 3rd party developers like Magic Lantern places pressure on Canon to update its firmware.  We all benefit.  If the hardware had never had the capacity to support these updates in the first place, we would have been poorer for it.

Camera manufacturers are not the only ones who do this.  I still remember one mainframe upgrade at a previous employer of mine.  To perform the upgrade, an engineer from ICL came on site and cut a couple of jumpers.... done.

[Richard8971]

Now i'm guessing a 70D is coming this fall that would make the 7D look bad and that we will not be seeing a replacement for the 7D till spring.

I would have to say that with the features on the new T4i, the 70D/7DII merge is looking like more of a reality. Why?

Here are my reasonings.

1. Current 60D is 5.3fps and T4i is 5fps.
2. They share the same 63 zone dual layer metering system.
3. They share the same 9 point AF system.
4. The T4i shares some features of the 7D like the built-in speedlite transmitter.

The 70D would have to be placed in the 7-8 fps range and likely sport a higher MP sensor. Like I have mentioned before, 18MP cannot be where Canon draws the sensor limit. The features found in the T4i would likely make it into the 70D as well.

That leaves us with the 7DII. Now, if it remains APS-C then it would have to have speed and features that exceed the 70D... hmmmm.

It makes more sence now than ever that Canon will "intergrate" the two lines. Either a 7DII OR a high performance XXD line camera (70D). The only other thing I can think of for the 7DII is a high performance (without APS-H or a "pro" body) line similar camera to the 1D series, but that doesn't make much sence. It would have to sport 10-12 fps (and perhaps a lower MP sensor) and have superior low-light capibilities, but I suppose anything is possible.

If Canon makes a budget FF, then this is the logical roadmap. The firmware update for the 7D suggests to me that this is where the line is going.

D

[Edwin Herdman]

I'm a bit shocked that they were able to improve the max RAW burst that far.  It's nearly doubled.  Wonder if it has something to do with newer CF cards, maybe?  I really don't see optimizations in the firmware data being able to push it that far.

I also think the faster scrolling in magnified image view is great.

[kdsand]

AUTO ISO MAXIMUM SETTING Within the EOS 7D’s shooting menu photographers will have the ability to set a maximum ISO speed for ISO Auto, within the ISO range of 400-6400, so that you can minimise the amount of noise in your images.

It's as if my prayers have been answered... 

I think you had indeed expressed some exasperated feeling regarding this. 

[kdsand]

AUTO ISO MAXIMUM SETTING Within the EOS 7D’s shooting menu photographers will have the ability to set a maximum ISO speed for ISO Auto, within the ISO range of 400-6400, so that you can minimise the amount of noise in your images.

It's as if my prayers have been answered... 

Yes, this is the very one feature my 60D has that I was missing on my 7D - yeah.  This also makes me happy I picked up a used 7D instead of waiting for a 7DII because I'm thinking this is going to happen later rather than sooner.  Now if they gave the 60D a firmware update to give it AFMA, I'd be doubly happy.
Diane

Yes
Give me AFMA please please please!

I wouldn't mind some increased frame rate & 5-7 bracketing.

[downunder]

What is the chance of firmware update for the 5d3 and 5d2 10fps ?

[x-vision]

I wonder if this means a delay in the release of the 7DII. 

It seems to me that the 7DII delay will be ... infinite  .

Don't forget about the upcoming Nikon D600.
The longer Canon delays the 7DII, the less sense it makes to announce a 7DII in the first place.
Unless the 7DII gets a FF sensor, that is.

[x-vision]

What is the chance of firmware update for the 5d3 and 5d2 10fps ?

Don't know about the 5DII.
I heard a rumor, though, that Canon will have a firmware update to add additional megapixels to the 5DIII  .