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G-2 new firmware 1.0.1.0 improvements ONLY

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To Warren, Martin and Nick - skepticism is a healthy thing.

Warren's suggestion is excellent - Phil could put this issue to rest once and for all. And we all know he's done review updates before. These G1/G2 upgrade threads seem to be piling up, so maybe he has some motivation to settle the issue (:-).

Now for my $.02. I have G2 Firmware 1.0.1.0 so take what I say accordingly. I couldn't resist checking out the autofocus. I think 0.5 sec is a good guess for autofocus in either decent and dungeon light. But it is almost impossible to manually measure intervals this short with a reliability better than about 0.3 sec. Human reflexes just aren't good enough.

Earlier posts cited Phil's G2 review with the early firmware as giving 0.9 sec autofocus time. Now the difference between 1/2 sec and 1 sec should be noticeable for most people. So this may not be a placebo effect, and if it is real, then thanks Canon!

Having said that, the people reporting a 5X optical zoom firmware upgrade, bless their hearts, may have been using something a little stronger than a placebo. (:-) cheers GKL
 
I think we should copy & paste the entire thread about the D30 firmware here. The same placebo effect is in operation here as was there. Can someone post some timings, taken in a controlled, repeatable setting and showing the improvement in speed. I did a timing comparision before and after the D30 update and the results were identical.

As for some posters saying it improved motion blur at slow shutter speeds: hogwash, simply not possible. Same goes for sharpness and zoom (5X) improvements. Canon would be bragging all over town about how they spent the time to tweak the firmware to provide a better product for their customers. Same as Creative Labs releasing tweaks of the Soundblaster drivers and Nvidia releasing faster Geforce drivers. Vendors LOVE to brag about how they improved their drivers, in my experience. Why should Canon be any different?
HSH said:
I have read so many threads in this forum about this new firmware
but none focused on findings of the likely improvements. I'll
list them below what other users have reported:

1) Battery charging fixed - official statement
2) Focus faster
3) Puts it in ready mode quicker when first switched on
4) One thread claims G2's flash is now more powerful (?)
5) One thread claims it has increased the optical zoom to 5X
without any hardware upgrade (???)

Anything else in
1) color handling
2) sharpness
3) focus in dark settings
4) flash light accuracy
5) Macro
6) handling of WB
7) Anything that you found but not listed
Click to expand...
--'Life in Prism' http://people.va.mediaone.net/tbackher
 
Everytime you get a firmware update, you get the entire firmware to load, just like a bios update on a motherboard. That's why it's so big.
effzee said:
Willie G. said:
wonder if these things really happened or is there some form of
group hysteria/ "firmware placebo effect" here??? i guess i can't
say seeing as i've always had these "features"....

any other original 1.01 owners out there thinking this too?
Click to expand...
No, it's real. There's no way to prove it to you, of course, but
just ask what they stuffed into 1.5Mb of firmware. It wasn't just a
battery charger update.

The AF and MF improvements are no illusion. Ditto the start-up and
flash power...

you don't like the MF window? it's crystal clear now. Or doyou
mean the basic function of the thing? It's sill clumsy...

--
Willie G.
Kulmbach. Germany
Canon G2
  • my eyeglasses are from Carl Zeiss -
http://www.pbase.com/effzee
Click to expand...
--'Life in Prism' http://people.va.mediaone.net/tbackher
 
Ted B. said:
Canon would be bragging all over town
about how they spent the time to tweak the firmware to provide a
better product for their customers.
Click to expand...
I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that Canon is using a more refined build of the firmware for the G2, similar to what they put into the S40 or later cameras in development. They're not likely to talk about improvements, because that's like admitting there were problems that the firmware update addresses... not something that gets you good press, necessarily.

Autofocus speed, change in startup sounds, startup (boot) timing, better resolution in the macro mode... all these sound possible to me.

I haven't done the update yet, but will soon. I want to get a firm and steady look at the before and after effects. I want to take some pictures before and after, as well to see if it addresses some issues.

I'll probably get to that this weekend after I hear some more of these claims.

Bryan
 
I agree with Ted, however the sharpness could have been changed easily. There have been a few complaints about the default sharpening on the G2 (I know some people like it). It wouldn't be hard to change the default sharpness up a little (like +0.5 on the 1.0.0.0 firmware).

Jeff
Ted B. said:
As for some posters saying it improved motion blur at slow shutter
speeds: hogwash, simply not possible. Same goes for sharpness and
zoom (5X) improvements. Canon would be bragging all over town
about how they spent the time to tweak the firmware to provide a
better product for their customers. Same as Creative Labs
releasing tweaks of the Soundblaster drivers and Nvidia releasing
faster Geforce drivers. Vendors LOVE to brag about how they
improved their drivers, in my experience. Why should Canon be any
different?
HSH said:
I have read so many threads in this forum about this new firmware
but none focused on findings of the likely improvements. I'll
list them below what other users have reported:

1) Battery charging fixed - official statement
2) Focus faster
3) Puts it in ready mode quicker when first switched on
4) One thread claims G2's flash is now more powerful (?)
5) One thread claims it has increased the optical zoom to 5X
without any hardware upgrade (???)

Anything else in
1) color handling
2) sharpness
3) focus in dark settings
4) flash light accuracy
5) Macro
6) handling of WB
7) Anything that you found but not listed
Click to expand...
--
'Life in Prism'

http://people.va.mediaone.net/tbackher
Click to expand...
 
i was so excited by all i've been reading about the firmware update, i almost peed in my pants ;-) just kidding. i was skeptical though so, before updating, i took a series of set shots noting the focus speed. afterwards, i took the same shots. here are four of the before/after shots:

http://www.pbase.com/prouddadof2/g2_firmware_beforeafter

i can't believe i forgot to take a 'before' shot to test the built-in flash! but, i guess because i never use it, it didn't occur to me.

as for focusing (and this is HIGHLY unscientific), it IS indeed faster. i could say, "one thousand" before but after the firmware update, it locks at "one thou..."

-bink
 
NKH said:
as for focusing (and this is HIGHLY unscientific), it IS indeed
faster. i could say, "one thousand" before but after the firmware
update, it locks at "one thou..."

-bink
Click to expand...
Thank you, BINK! You put a portion of my mind at ease... Beer will have to take care of the rest I guess...

--Willie G.Kulmbach. GermanyCanon G2- my eyeglasses are from Carl Zeiss - http://www.pbase.com/effzee
 
I just tested startup speed from power switch on to lcd image visible and it is around 6 seconds (two tries, 12 seconds total). The manual focus screen looks no better than before and I STILL find it almost useless, due to the limited number of steps and the difficulty in determining, via the lcd, if the subject is REALLY in focus. I couldn't say how much faster it might be, as I didn't do any 'before' timings in any controlled environment.

My car, however, is definitely faster when it's waxed and when the tires are new. And it's zero to sixty times went down when my new Alpine head unit was installed.

Short of accurate, repeatable timings, this is all just imagination. We all took a sugar pill.
Bryan Siverly said:
Ted B. said:
Canon would be bragging all over town
about how they spent the time to tweak the firmware to provide a
better product for their customers.
Click to expand...
I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that Canon is
using a more refined build of the firmware for the G2, similar to
what they put into the S40 or later cameras in development.
They're not likely to talk about improvements, because that's like
admitting there were problems that the firmware update addresses...
not something that gets you good press, necessarily.

Autofocus speed, change in startup sounds, startup (boot) timing,
better resolution in the macro mode... all these sound possible to
me.

I haven't done the update yet, but will soon. I want to get a firm
and steady look at the before and after effects. I want to take
some pictures before and after, as well to see if it addresses some
issues.

I'll probably get to that this weekend after I hear some more of
these claims.

Bryan
Click to expand...
--'Life in Prism' http://people.va.mediaone.net/tbackher
 
One Thousand One is about the most inaccurate way to time something ever tried. Totally subjective and different for every person who tries it. Try using a stopwatch. That's why most digital watches today have that feature. Mine does and I used it and powerup time is 6 seconds flat.
binkybarnes said:
i was so excited by all i've been reading about the firmware
update, i almost peed in my pants ;-) just kidding. i was skeptical
though so, before updating, i took a series of set shots noting the
focus speed. afterwards, i took the same shots. here are four of
the before/after shots:

http://www.pbase.com/prouddadof2/g2_firmware_beforeafter

i can't believe i forgot to take a 'before' shot to test the
built-in flash! but, i guess because i never use it, it didn't
occur to me.

as for focusing (and this is HIGHLY unscientific), it IS indeed
faster. i could say, "one thousand" before but after the firmware
update, it locks at "one thou..."

-bink
Click to expand...
--'Life in Prism' http://people.va.mediaone.net/tbackher
 
Here's the thing: Wherever Canon is maintaining this firmare, there is a current version that has all the fixes and tweaks that they've been playing with over the last six months. Then they run across this battery problem that they determine is important enough for people to have. Do they go back to the 1.0.0.0 firmware and make the battery fix, release that, then go to the most recent version and make the same fix there (and not release it). Or do they just make the fix in the recent version and release that, assuming nobody would mind a few "optimizations" thrown in? A responsible software company would do the former, or the latter with a full list of optimizations/changes. But Canon is not a software company by trade, so it is totally plausible that we got slipped a few extras in with the battery problem fix.

I wonder if Phil has time to re-run his timings with the new firmware?
Bryan Siverly said:
Ted B. said:
Canon would be bragging all over town
about how they spent the time to tweak the firmware to provide a
better product for their customers.
Click to expand...
I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that Canon is
using a more refined build of the firmware for the G2, similar to
what they put into the S40 or later cameras in development.
They're not likely to talk about improvements, because that's like
admitting there were problems that the firmware update addresses...
not something that gets you good press, necessarily.

Autofocus speed, change in startup sounds, startup (boot) timing,
better resolution in the macro mode... all these sound possible to
me.

I haven't done the update yet, but will soon. I want to get a firm
and steady look at the before and after effects. I want to take
some pictures before and after, as well to see if it addresses some
issues.

I'll probably get to that this weekend after I hear some more of
these claims.

Bryan
Click to expand...
 
HSH said:
I have read so many threads in this forum about this new firmware
but none focused on findings of the likely improvements. I'll
list them below what other users have reported:

1) Battery charging fixed - official statement
2) Focus faster
3) Puts it in ready mode quicker when first switched on
4) One thread claims G2's flash is now more powerful (?)
5) One thread claims it has increased the optical zoom to 5X
without any hardware upgrade (???)

Anything else in
1) color handling
2) sharpness
3) focus in dark settings
4) flash light accuracy
5) Macro
6) handling of WB
7) Anything that you found but not listed

I may be old and blind, but... where oh where does it state in the Canon download info that anything but the charge mode is affected??
Click to expand...
Thanks
cheers
Jeff
 
i can't see much difference either, but, a little. (yes, yes, i know this is just a quick and dirty comparo. zoom in really close on the viking CF card...the blue is blue, the red is deeper, and there is slightly more contrast. i opened up the first set of before and afters in paint shop pro and had it count the colors in each of the pictures and i also sampled the RGB values at specific coordinates. there is a slight difference but i don't know if that's just due to other circumstances (camera heat, for example).

colors counted: 311,039 before, 314,426 after

RGB values at coordinates:
1272, 1135: 0/0/29 before, 8/8/44 after
1288, 1076: 0/1/8 before, 0/2/8 after
935, 575: 201/203/216, 198/205/221 after
 
Definitive proof that the new firmware improves image quality:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1010&message=2085936

Good before and after comparisons.
HSH said:
I have read so many threads in this forum about this new firmware
but none focused on findings of the likely improvements. I'll
list them below what other users have reported:

1) Battery charging fixed - official statement
2) Focus faster
3) Puts it in ready mode quicker when first switched on
4) One thread claims G2's flash is now more powerful (?)
5) One thread claims it has increased the optical zoom to 5X
without any hardware upgrade (???)

Anything else in
1) color handling
2) sharpness
3) focus in dark settings
4) flash light accuracy
5) Macro
6) handling of WB
7) Anything that you found but not listed
Click to expand...
 
Updated mine last night. If you hadn't told me anything was new I wouldn't have noticed. Probably just like Canon said.

Jeff
 
I have been questioning the focus improvements so many have posted I decided to test. Focus is much faster and also accurate on my G1.
I ran the following test.
  • Macro in wide angle on a well lit black and white page of text in macro. Focus went past sharp, moved back and stopped dead on. It used to go back and forth and miss about 50% of the time.
  • Macro in telephoto on same subject. Same results.
  • Low light poster with text wide angel. Same results.
  • Low light of same subject in telephoto. Same results.
Since the above results were so good. I decided to try another experiment:
  • High contrast background with a low contrast foreground beyond depth of field. The background was a box with text and 2 very different colors dividing the middle of the image. The foreground object was a flesh tone figurine of Piglet. The lighting was reflected sunlight indoors. With the old firmware the results would have challenged the G1 focus system and the box would be in focus. The results were a surprise. With the camera in program and no special settings the G1 could not make up it’s mind. 50% of the time the box was in focus, 50% of the time Piglet was in focus and the camera took a long time to decide. I switched to center weighted exposure and piglet snapped into focus every time.
These are wonderful improvements!

Morris
HSH said:
I have read so many threads in this forum about this new firmware
but none focused on findings of the likely improvements. I'll
list them below what other users have reported:

1) Battery charging fixed - official statement
2) Focus faster
3) Puts it in ready mode quicker when first switched on
4) One thread claims G2's flash is now more powerful (?)
5) One thread claims it has increased the optical zoom to 5X
without any hardware upgrade (???)

Anything else in
1) color handling
2) sharpness
3) focus in dark settings
4) flash light accuracy
5) Macro
6) handling of WB
7) Anything that you found but not listed
Click to expand...
 
I've noticed that my visits to dpreview.com take longer and that even though I'm spending more time here I seem to be learning less...
 
jeff tousley said:
HSH said:
I have read so many threads in this forum about this new firmware
but none focused on findings of the likely improvements. I'll
list them below what other users have reported:

1) Battery charging fixed - official statement
2) Focus faster
3) Puts it in ready mode quicker when first switched on
4) One thread claims G2's flash is now more powerful (?)
5) One thread claims it has increased the optical zoom to 5X
without any hardware upgrade (???)

Anything else in
1) color handling
2) sharpness
3) focus in dark settings
4) flash light accuracy
5) Macro
6) handling of WB
7) Anything that you found but not listed
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
jeff tousley said:
I may be old and blind, but... where oh where does it state in the Canon > download info that anything but the charge mode is affected??
Click to expand...
Look, the low charge thing is something that affects the availability of the camera, it had to be addressed. But do you really think that the G2 firmware has been sitting on a shelf collecting dust for the last six months? Heck, there were probably "optimizations" being worked on that didn't make the final cut of the initial release because of time constraints. You think they just threw those out? It's also entirely possible that the code base shares some modules with the G1, Pro90, Pro95/100, or G3. Those "optimizations" would get inherited if that were the case.

And one other thing, remember we are dealing with a Japanese company. Different mindset. With an American software company you'd get (hopefully) a laundry list of changes/updates. But a Japanese camera/electronics company....?
jeff tousley said:
Thanks
cheers
Jeff
Click to expand...
 
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