New Firmware Coming for EOS 5D Mark III

[ejenner]

No one seems to have thought of the 'other' possibilities...

The camera is a Chinese counterfeit...

or Canon accidentally shipped a new modified model with new firmware...

I didn't think of the former, but is could certainly be the latter.

Now if I got that camera I'd certainly try hard to figure out if there was an additional feature before downgrading.

 

[tron]

No one seems to have thought of the 'other' possibilities...

The camera is a Chinese counterfeit...

or Canon accidentally shipped a new modified model with new firmware...

I didn't think of the former, but is could certainly be the latter.

Now if I got that camera I'd certainly try hard to figure out if there was an additional feature before downgrading.

Well ... yes there's that ... and... the fact that only ML developers could have an idea how to get - if it is possible - the firmware out of the camera (a dump maybe? just saying...)...

But rest assured there were no DUAL ISO or raw video recording capabilities in that 1.3.3 firmware ;D

 

[Hjalmarg1]

Crossing fingers it comes with the expanded auto iso speed options that can be found in the 7D2. Usable auto ISO, imagine that!

Also add the features available for stills and video with ML.

 

[Marsu42]

the fact that only ML developers could have an idea how to get - if it is possible - the firmware out of the camera (a dump maybe? just saying...)...

The ML devs don't know how to dump the camera's fw - that's why they have to wait for the first fw update (file) to be released with new cameras before even starting to work on it.

The one thing only the core ML devs *do* know is how to sign the small dummy firmware that enables loading ML from the card. It needs Canon's signing key. The shroud of mystery covers the fact how the first ML dev got hold of it this in the first place...

 

[chris_overseas]

The ML devs don't know how to dump the camera's fw - that's why they have to wait for the first fw update (file) to be released with new cameras before even starting to work on it.

Not entirely true, a custom .fir file that just dumps the ROM will also do the trick... The problem is the guy with the 1.3.3 camera has already downgraded to 1.2.3 so, unless someone else shows up with a 1.3.3 camera and is willing to be a guinea pig, the official update file is what we'll need to wait for. It's probably a good idea to wait regardless since 1.3.3 might not be the final version that gets released officially anyway. Another issue is that any .fir that dumps the firmware will need to be marked internally as 1.3.0 or higher and I don't think such a beast exists yet. As you mention though there are people who have the ability to do this (I'm not one of them) so hopefully that won't be much of a hurdle to overcome.


My thoughts on the speculation regarding version numbers, an attempt to block ML etc:

The big jump in version number from 1.2.3 to 1.3.3 is intriguing because AFAIK purely bugfix releases from Canon typically only increase the last digit (maybe someone can come up with counter-examples to this?). The 5D3 jump from 1.1.3 to 1.2.3 had several new features that introduced many internal changes, in particular WRT the display buffering and DIGIC registers. This made porting ML to 1.2.3 much harder. So while part of me hopes they've added a bunch of new features in 1.3.3 too, I'm also hoping it hasn't resulted in too many fundamental changes to the firmware internals

I doubt the "no downgrade" thing has anything to do with Canon trying to block ML. Far more likely it's just because there's a known chance of unwanted side-effects, or simply because Canon haven't exhaustively tested the downgrade process. Remember Canon said you couldn't downgrade from 1.2.3 to 1.1.3 either (possibly due to the AFMA glitches some people reported when doing so)? They didn't put in any checks to prevent downgrading 1.2.3->1.1.x but now in 1.3.3 they have. It seems more like a natural progression for them to add this check rather than anything sinister. To me it also hints that the changes from 1.2.3->1.3.3 may be non-trivial. Of course we'll know for sure once there's an announcement or a 1.3.3 firmware available for us to play with. Until then I wouldn't worry about it too much from a ML point of view.

Note also I don't think 1.3.3 is a hoax - everything seems perfectly plausible to me. The poster on the ML forums is not the same person who posted the screenshot on the Chinese forums, meaning it appears there were at least two cameras with 1.3.3 out in the wild.

 

[Marsu42]

The ML devs don't know how to dump the camera's fw - that's why they have to wait for the first fw update (file) to be released with new cameras before even starting to work on it.

Not entirely true, a custom .fir file that just dumps the ROM will also do the trick

Ok, I stand corrected (again ) ... my last information that they couldn't get the fw out of the camera.

It's probably a good idea to wait regardless since 1.3.3 might not be the final version that gets released officially anyway

I've never heard of Canon putting a "beta" fw on a customer's serviced camera, usually this happens right before the official release as far as I remember previous occasions.

The 5D3 jump from 1.1.3 to 1.2.3 had several new features that introduced many internal changes, in particular WRT the display buffering and DIGIC registers. This made porting ML to 1.2.3 much harder.

I don't own a 5d3, so I didn't follow that: What did they do to the digic registers that made so much work necessary? I only see that the 1.2.3 port takes ages to be released and is still sitting in the queue marked as "nearly finished". Maybe Alex just waited for 1.3.3 to be released

 

[chris_overseas]

Ok, I stand corrected (again ) ... my last information that they couldn't get the fw out of the camera.

I'm not sure about other camera models besides the 5D3, and certainly a brand new camera (with no firmware installer) is more difficult than one that is well understood. It may be that there isn't an easy way to create a .fir dumper for a new camera without having a legit .fir file to use as a starting point (each .fir file has to be specific for a particular camera model, and there are model IDs, checksums, special offsets etc in the .fir header that all need to be correct for the .fir to function). Once you know how to create a .fir for a camera though, creating a .fir that can dump an arbitrary ROM version is a fairly small additional step if you know what you're doing - which I don't, really ).

I've never heard of Canon putting a "beta" fw on a customer's serviced camera, usually this happens right before the official release as far as I remember previous occasions.

I agree and it's almost certainly the case this time around too. Presumably Canon do a limited early release of firmware for a reason though and if any last-minute bugs come to light it's possible they only release 1.3.4.

I don't own a 5d3, so I didn't follow that: What did they do to the digic registers that made so much work necessary? I only see that the 1.2.3 port takes ages to be released and is still sitting in the queue marked as "nearly finished". Maybe Alex just waited for 1.3.3 to be released

The comment here gives a bit of insight: https://bitbucket.org/hudson/magic-lantern/src/ffd1d533b1dc8891fbf411fd13c84256ec18cfa8/platform/5D3.123/features.h?at=5D3-123

Note that the broken zebras etc mentioned are one of the reasons why 1.1.3 is still being kept around. Another reason is that RAW recording is slightly slower on 1.2.3 to the point where it is harder to record 1080p continuous with 1.2.3. The performance drop is probably due to the display buffering changes (presumably for clean HDMI output) that were made in 1.2.1 and it's hard to know if there'll ever be a solution for that one.

 

[RGF]

Got my 5D M3 back from Canon Itasca last week and the firmware was still 1.2.3

On my 7D M2, there are multiple My Menu screens. This is a great addition I would really like to see that added to the other SLR (5DM3, 6D, 70D, 1Dx).

 

[Marsu42]

The comment here gives a bit of insight: https://bitbucket.org/hudson/magic-lantern/src/ffd1d533b1dc8891fbf411fd13c84256ec18cfa8/platform/5D3.123/features.h?at=5D3-123

Thanks, that's an interesting read. This is exactly what makes ML coding so annoying, you spend hours and days working around Canon code and might up ending with the insight that it simply won't work (anymore). One example are "focus patterns" on the 6d, Canon simply removed the fw code on 5d2->6d.

I just coded a ML "raw lock" for preventing accidental switch to jpeg or m/s-raw, and even this simple undertaking takes a lot of work as you can brick the camera and have to understand what's what in these darn Canon props anyway. I wouldn't touch the digic registers with a ten-foot pole if it can be prevented ... Alex has my undivided respect for getting this working.

 

[dcm]

A couple of observations:

• This doesn't follow the normal sequence. I'd expect 1.2.4 or 1.3.1 for the next version.
• Firmware is usually available on the web shortly after it appears on a body. Not there yet but there may be a delay due to holidays.
• 1.2.3 vs 1.3.3 is a one bit error in the text string. It is rare, but it happens.
• Only one instance reported so far.

Multiple instances with this version would be more compelling that new firmware is on the way. Anyone else with a new 5DmIII have version 1.3.3?

 

[lintoni]

A couple of observations:

• This doesn't follow the normal sequence. I'd expect 1.2.4 or 1.3.1 for the next version.
• Firmware is usually available on the web shortly after it appears on a body. Not there yet but there may be a delay due to holidays.
• 1.2.3 vs 1.3.3 is a one bit error in the text string. It is rare, but it happens.
• Only one instance reported so far.

Multiple instances with this version would be more compelling that new firmware is on the way. Anyone else with a new 5DmIII have version 1.3.3?

They'll have to rewrite manuals/documentation, if they're unlocking/adding additional features.
More than one instance - there's the Magic Lantern forum user and also the Chinese forum user that provided the photo.

 

[tpatana]

A couple of observations:

• This doesn't follow the normal sequence. I'd expect 1.2.4 or 1.3.1 for the next version.

Yes and no.

Quite often there's lot of internal versions before one is released out to the world.

So they could have had e.g. 1.2.4, 1.2.5, 1.3.0, 1.3.1, 1.3.2, and finally 1.3.3 is good enough they feel they can launch it out.

Also could be that the factory line mixed up internal beta-test unit (/FW) with the public units. Or ton of other explanations too.

But until it's confirmed from several sources, I'm not ruling out hoax.[/list]

 

[josephandrews222]

Hope it doesn't mess with 3rd party batteries. I am pretty fond of my many Wasabis, and they currently are supported.

I'm a bit late to this thread...

I have a quartet of much-loved Wasabi batteries for the 5KMkIII and have resisted upgrading from 1.2.1 because I was wary of what might happen.

Do the Wasabis work seamlessly (i.e. without error messages) with 1.2.3?

 

[mr_hyde]

Mine is working with 1.2.3

 

[fugu82]

Hope it doesn't mess with 3rd party batteries. I am pretty fond of my many Wasabis, and they currently are supported.

I'm a bit late to this thread...

I have a quartet of much-loved Wasabi batteries for the 5KMkIII and have resisted upgrading from 1.2.1 because I was wary of what might happen.




Do the Wasabis work seamlessly (i.e. without error messages) with 1.2.3?

My Wasabis are treated like my Canons under 1.2.3.

 

[josephandrews222]

Hope it doesn't mess with 3rd party batteries. I am pretty fond of my many Wasabis, and they currently are supported.

I'm a bit late to this thread...

I have a quartet of much-loved Wasabi batteries for the 5KMkIII and have resisted upgrading from 1.2.1 because I was wary of what might happen.




Do the Wasabis work seamlessly (i.e. without error messages) with 1.2.3?

My Wasabis are treated like my Canons under 1.2.3.

Thanks for the information. With your 'encouragement'...

I applied the update (1.2.1 to 1.2.3) and Wasabi batteries, in my 5DMkIII, are working flawlessly (so far...fingers crossed).

Also...a non-Canon vertical grip (here: http://tinyurl.com/mg8t9d5) also works with the 1.2.3 update.

Thanks for the responses.

 

[weilin]

Just got my 5Dmk3 from the Canon Jamesburg, NJ facility. I sent it in 12/29 for cleaning. firmware is still 1.2.3...

 

[SwampYankee]

Just got my 5DIII back from being serviced yesterday in the USA and the firmware remains 1.2.3