Can Pro1 disappoitments be resolved by a firmware update?

Hi all,

I notice that many people got a bit disappointed about some freatures of the Pro1. I particullarly didnt like the limited movie time. I was wondering if this specific limitation can feasibly be changed by canon through a firmware. Is that a software thing?

Also, which other things you guys didnt like but can be overcome with a firmware update? Do you think canon might change those things?

Cheers.

[U] Ludwig said:

Hi all,

I notice that many people got a bit disappointed about some
freatures of the Pro1. I particullarly didnt like the limited movie
time. I was wondering if this specific limitation can feasibly be
changed by canon through a firmware. Is that a software thing?

Also, which other things you guys didnt like but can be overcome
with a firmware update? Do you think canon might change those
things?

Cheers.

Click to expand...

Movie length is something that likely could be changed in firmware, although I highly doubt its something that will be updated (otherwise Canon would have done it with previous models with limited movie modes).[/U]

ryan0402 said:

[U] Ludwig said:

Hi all,

I notice that many people got a bit disappointed about some
freatures of the Pro1. I particullarly didnt like the limited movie
time. I was wondering if this specific limitation can feasibly be
changed by canon through a firmware. Is that a software thing?

Also, which other things you guys didnt like but can be overcome
with a firmware update? Do you think canon might change those
things?

Cheers.

Click to expand...

Movie length is something that likely could be changed in firmware,
although I highly doubt its something that will be updated
(otherwise Canon would have done it with previous models with
limited movie modes).

Click to expand...

And if Canon improve there cameras by firmware... no ones will want to buy the new models

They cant release a perfect camera.... if they do no more sales after that...[/U]

I'm very interested in the Pro1, and from what I can see so far, there is very little to dislike or complain about this camera.

1) the movie mode when ever I use it with my Canon G1, about 95% of the time would be less than 30 seconds, but yea very occasionally I would like to go a little longer. A limitation I can live with, although I do wish it went a little longer, 1-2 minutes would be more reasonable for the 640x480 for me. So a person could record a little before an event, then edit that part at the beginning and End that you don't want.

2) Because it uses the propriety battery, I would like to see Canon have a assessory that would snap to the bottom that would use, say, 6 AA batteries. In case I end up somewhere where I can't get to Power. Is it possible to get a power supply to plug into the Charging port????

3) I understand the ND filter slides in front when used, it would be nice to have the IR filter slide out of the way, for IR photography. - A idea for a future release.

4) I would like to see Bulb mode, but some people have said that on digital cameras , its useless above 15 seconds, I don't know enough about this to know if that's true or not.

I'll have reserve any more coments til I see some online reviews.

[U] Ludwig said:

Hi all,

I notice that many people got a bit disappointed about some
freatures of the Pro1. I particullarly didnt like the limited movie
time. I was wondering if this specific limitation can feasibly be
changed by canon through a firmware. Is that a software thing?

Also, which other things you guys didnt like but can be overcome
with a firmware update? Do you think canon might change those
things?

Cheers.

Click to expand...

I'm afraid firware updates just aren't Canon's style - I believe I'm right in saying that they haven't done this at all in the past.
--
Regards,
DaveMart
Please see profile for equipment[/U]

David Martin said:

I'm afraid firware updates just aren't Canon's style - I believe
I'm right in saying that they haven't done this at all in the past.

Click to expand...

Unless you count updates to add Pictbridge support (which IMO is a pretty useless feature)

[U] Ludwig said:

Hi all,

I notice that many people got a bit disappointed about some
freatures of the Pro1.

Click to expand...

There are people here who will always have something to complain about. They are also the loudest.

_Ludwig_ said:

I particullarly didnt like the limited movie
time. I was wondering if this specific limitation can feasibly be
changed by canon through a firmware. Is that a software thing?

Click to expand...

It doesn't really matter as this is what Canon chose for this camera. If video is very important to you, perhaps a video cam would be a better choice.

_Ludwig_ said:

Also, which other things you guys didnt like but can be overcome
with a firmware update? Do you think canon might change those
things?

Click to expand...

You won't get feature upgrades in firmware. If the camera does not suit your needs as is, buy something else. This camera, and every other, will never be "right" as people have different ideas about what perfect is. Besides, with nothing to whine about, the message count on this site would drop to less than half![/U]

[U] Ludwig said:

Hi all,

I notice that many people got a bit disappointed about some
freatures of the Pro1. I particullarly didnt like the limited movie
time. I was wondering if this specific limitation can feasibly be
changed by canon through a firmware. Is that a software thing?

Click to expand...

It depends upon what the cause of the limitation is.

If the hardware just can't move the bits fast enough, then no firmware upgrade will help.

--
Ron Parr
FAQ: http://www.cs.duke.edu/~parr/photography/faq.html
Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/parr/ [/U]

In the 4 years that I have been following this forum (Canon specifically) I have seen many people express the hope that one or the other feature would be improved or added by a firmware upgrade, but it has never happened. So don't hold your breath.

If the movie feature is important for you, buy a different camera; you could also wait for the Pro2, but there are no guarantees that it will have any more movie stuff than the Pro1.

[U] Ludwig said:

Hi all,

I notice that many people got a bit disappointed about some
freatures of the Pro1. I particullarly didnt like the limited movie
time. I was wondering if this specific limitation can feasibly be
changed by canon through a firmware. Is that a software thing?

Also, which other things you guys didnt like but can be overcome
with a firmware update? Do you think canon might change those
things?

Cheers.

Click to expand...

--
http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=124997 [/U]

I was also disappointed with focus system and noise in the prints I viewed.

[U] Ludwig said:

Hi all,

I notice that many people got a bit disappointed about some
freatures of the Pro1. I particullarly didnt like the limited movie
time. I was wondering if this specific limitation can feasibly be
changed by canon through a firmware. Is that a software thing?

Also, which other things you guys didnt like but can be overcome
with a firmware update? Do you think canon might change those
things?

Cheers.

Click to expand...

--

'Freedom is not free; free men are not equal, and equal men are not free. If freedom is short of weapons, we must compensate with willpower.'[/U]

[U] Ludwig said:

Hi all,

I notice that many people got a bit disappointed about some
freatures of the Pro1. I particullarly didnt like the limited movie
time. I was wondering if this specific limitation can feasibly be
changed by canon through a firmware. Is that a software thing?

Click to expand...

Highly unlikely.

Besides, the movie limitation is hardly the Pro1's biggest flaw. The main concerns are its slower lens, lack of AF assist lamp, and feared levels of noise and CA.

The movie limitation is unfortunate, but pales in significance compared to these other issues.[/U]

Dr.Karl said:

I was also disappointed with focus system and noise in the prints I
viewed.

Click to expand...

Care to elaborate on your observations?

You found noise and AF performance disappointing compared to what?

If it's gonna happen, I'd think Canon might do something for 300D owners first when the Nikon D70 comes out. At least the limitations there are photographic, not video, and should be easy enough to do in some cases.

As mentioned earlier, it'll depend on whether the limitation is actually hardware or software -- besides whether Canon is even willing to provide such a firmware update.

Also, there is good reason for Canon (or any other maker) to not want to release this kind of firmware update unless they planned for it all along. If was not well planned for, it would be a risky move to provide such and can cause all sorts of bad side-effects. And in this fast moving market, they're probably too busy working on their next product cycle of 40 digicams for year 2005.

Man

[U] Ludwig said:

Hi all,

I notice that many people got a bit disappointed about some
freatures of the Pro1. I particullarly didnt like the limited movie
time. I was wondering if this specific limitation can feasibly be
changed by canon through a firmware. Is that a software thing?

Also, which other things you guys didnt like but can be overcome
with a firmware update? Do you think canon might change those
things?

Cheers.

Click to expand...

--
Just another amateur -- see profile for more + some basic photog resources.
As usual, YMMV + caveat emptor.
Contact me at [email protected]
Indulge my fancies at http://www.pbase.com/mandnwong [/U]