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Panasonic lumix GX7 firmware update (and wifi app)

Started Dec 4, 2018 | Discussions thread
MOD Tom Caldwell Forum Pro • Posts: 46,352
Re: Panasonic lumix GX7 firmware update (and wifi app)

Panasonic does not seem particularly renowned for updating its firmware performance during a model release, but merely fixing known bugs.

Some other brands such as Olympus are known to update performance during a model - even if that meant losing the user settings until fairly recently.  Ricoh was known to release every performance update that was possible to their just superseded model when a new one was relased as a sort of friendly wave of “thank-you”.  But even Ricoh did not keep further improving software on models that were superseded.

Also depending on how the firmware was written.  Sony and Olympus (at least) seemed to need a complete replacment of their firmware when upgraded whilst Ricoh seemed to opt for a simpler upgrade procedure by mrely “patching” the presvious iteration. They could apparently do this from way back in the dark ages of digital without losing user settings.

It is a win/lose decision.  Updating firmware risks a certain number of dead cameras because the update was not properly carried out.  Regular fimrware enhancements makes for more devoted users who see this as almost like a free new camera in a sort of manner.

On the other hand adding some nice new firmware attributes that have been saved for a new model does help sell that model.

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Tom Caldwell

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