G-2 new firmware 1.0.1.0 improvements ONLY

[warren prasek]

If you look on the CanonTalk SLR forum, you will see a similar barrage of claims/counter claims/arguments and general hysteria over the supposed myriad of major improvements brought through a firmware upgrade to the Canon D30 camera.

Half the users rave about how it fixes everything like a "silver bullet", while the other half are whinging/moaning/complaining/generally being apathetic, claiming it does none of those things for their camera.

I have no idea what this really means, but if all these people are convinced it does something... well good for them i guess. i just wish my G2 with pre-installed 1.01 firmware from the factory showed these amazing abilities!

And because it doesn't, something really does not stack up here... hmmm

I upgraded earlier this evening after having read probably 100+
post from previous upgraders. I knew what to look for and was in a
good position to do a before and after comparison. I am not yet
convinced about any of the speculated changes to the firmware.
Although some of the test shots I took indoors seemed to be quite
well focussed and crisp. I will need to do more testing during the
daylight hours to see if there are any real changes.

Nick

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?

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

--------------------------------------i was gonna type something witty here but then i changed my mind.

 

[warren prasek]

Well it's great to hear you're getting all these benefits. The only problem is, i've supposedly had v1.01 firmware factory-installed (before i even got my G2) yet i certainly don't think the focus is particularly fast, or accurate, or start-up is any faster than Phil reported in his original review of the G2, with OLDER FIRMWARE.

That's a bit of a giveaway... what we really need to do is ASK PHIL TO RE-TIME THE G2 with 1.01 firmware and compare it to his original review... that might solve this mystery once and for all.

What do you all think? would he do it? would it prove anything? am i going insane?

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?

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

--------------------------------------i was gonna type something witty here but then i changed my mind.

 

[Willie G.]

He reports start-up to record mode as 5,8 seconds. I just tested my camera and it's under 5 seconds consistently, no illusion.

AF lag is listed as 0,9 sec half zoom. There's no way is my camera taking that long now, but I have no way of accurately measuring it. How does Phil do it? I tried half-pressing while looking at the seconds counter on my computer's clock. I did it about twenty times and I'm going to geuss it's around half a second, but that's pretty rough, to say the least, lol.

hmm... is there a way to find out what really went into the upgrade? Contacting Canon support is out I guess. I wonder if larger dealers would be privvy to the info?

I agree that asking Phil would be a good idea...

Well it's great to hear you're getting all these benefits. The only
problem is, i've supposedly had v1.01 firmware factory-installed
(before i even got my G2) yet i certainly don't think the focus is
particularly fast, or accurate, or start-up is any faster than Phil
reported in his original review of the G2, with OLDER FIRMWARE.

That's a bit of a giveaway... what we really need to do is ASK PHIL
TO RE-TIME THE G2 with 1.01 firmware and compare it to his original
review... that might solve this mystery once and for all.

What do you all think? would he do it? would it prove anything? am

i going insane?--Willie G.Kulmbach. GermanyCanon G2- my eyeglasses are from Carl Zeiss - http://www.pbase.com/effzee

 

[Willie G.]

Yup, I got G2-1.0.1.0 a month ago. MF zoom window is almost
useless, focus speed is reasonable but its accuracy is just a hit
or miss.

I guess you had to see the MF window before. It was very pixelated, you couldn't discern what was in the display. They upped the resolution, I'd say.

--Willie G.Kulmbach. GermanyCanon G2- my eyeglasses are from Carl Zeiss - http://www.pbase.com/effzee

 

[warren prasek]

i don't think you, or i, or anyone but phil can test the AF speeds with any relevance to his original timings, because you need to duplicate the test conditions with scientific precision for any meaningful comparison.

at a minimum, you would need to replicate exactly what phil did in terms of:

• subject matter
• subject distance
• camera zoom position
• lighting

... interesting you say your startup to record time is under 5 sec... mine seems to be about 5.8 or 6 seconds (as phil reported), and this test is probably fair because there are no external factors to take into account, just the camera.

But HERE'S WHAT I DON'T GET- seeing as i have the same version of firmware as you (v1.01, but mine came factory-installed, G2 purchased late december) why don't i also have sub-5 second startup times? not to mention supposedly "fast" AF and useable MF mode...

that does not make sense.

either we do NOT have the same firmware (cannot be true, all EXIF editors report firmware as "v1.01", OR-

everyone is 'imagining' these improvements via wishful thinking and placebo effect (unlikely with this many ppl, but we need some real verification here, not just "seems like"), OR-

we have different "sets of standards" regarding functionality. perhaps i have the same performance as you now do (except the sub-5 sec startup), but i don't think its a big deal (in fact i am wishing for major improvements to AF speed, MF usability etc) because i've always had it that way...??

i don't know. my head hurts. PHIIIIIL! help us out here!

He reports start-up to record mode as 5,8 seconds. I just tested my
camera and it's under 5 seconds consistently, no illusion.

AF lag is listed as 0,9 sec half zoom. There's no way is my camera
taking that long now, but I have no way of accurately measuring it.
How does Phil do it? I tried half-pressing while looking at the
seconds counter on my computer's clock. I did it about twenty times
and I'm going to geuss it's around half a second, but that's pretty
rough, to say the least, lol.

hmm... is there a way to find out what really went into the
upgrade? Contacting Canon support is out I guess. I wonder if
larger dealers would be privvy to the info?

I agree that asking Phil would be a good idea...

--------------------------------------i was gonna type something witty here but then i changed my mind.

 

[Doggles]

Technically, if Canon had left some slack in the travel of the zoom motor (for reliability reasons say) then a firmware updrade could allow the motor to move the lens marginally further....?

ps. {

Sorry to be abrupt, but honestly I am totally flabbergasted that
anyone could possibly believe the whole 5x zoom thing. IT IS A
JOKE!!!!! dear god...

Read my lips people ( i know most of you are smart enough to know
better, if so please ignore, but for those who don't...)

OPTICAL ZOOM IS A HARDWARE FEATURE!!!!

THE PHYSICAL LENS MUST BE DRIVEN IN AND OUT BY A MOTOR. Canon's new
firmware does not magically, wonderfully transform the glass and
steel/plastic of your camera. If it did, they would probably have
invented a matter transporter and hyperspace drive by now too.

Canon can no more make your G2 a 5 megapixel or 8 megapixel camera
via firmware than it can "upgrade" your optical zoom! Digital zoom
is another matter- that is SOFTWARE, not hardware. So please stop
asking!!!

Sheesh!

--
------------------------------------
i was gonna type something witty here but then i changed my mind.

 

[Dave F.]

I've updated computer BIOS firmware, controller card firmware, etc and the updates are always the maximum size of the firmware chip. Even if 1 bit was changed in the G2 firmware, the size would be 1.5 MB, which I'm speculating is the size of the G2 firmware chip. I wouldn't be getting too excited over the size of this upgrade and certainly wouldn't start dreaming up fixes that didn't happen because the update was so large.

Dave

Has anyone checked manual focusing yet?

The zoomed picture seems a lot clearer than in the past. The last
time I tried using manual focus was some weeks ago, but I remember
being less than impressed with the image. If anyone has not yet
upgraded, check the quality of the zoomed up image in manual focus
mode before and after the firmware upgrade.

Definitely. I use MF a lot, though I had't tried it after the
upgrade till you mentioned it. WOW, it's very, very clear. Oh boy..
what else is there to discover? I sense even more CP5k owners will
be switching sides soon...

Dang, I just believed the statement from Canon about the battery
problem fix and wondered WHY the update should be 1.5Mb... smiling
in Germany,
--
Willie G.
Kulmbach. Germany
Canon G2

• my eyeglasses are from Carl Zeiss -

http://www.pbase.com/effzee

 

[rshhung]

Yes. I noticed that immediately. The magnified center window is now much clearer and sharper. At least one can tell the difference if the center is in focus or not.

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:
...

Has anyone checked manual focusing yet?

The zoomed picture seems a lot clearer than in the past. The last
time I tried using manual focus was some weeks ago, but I remember
being less than impressed with the image. If anyone has not yet
upgraded, check the quality of the zoomed up image in manual focus
mode before and after the firmware upgrade.

Cheers,

--
Louis

 

[Martin Eager56124]

... interesting you say your startup to record time is under 5
sec... mine seems to be about 5.8 or 6 seconds (as phil reported),
and this test is probably fair because there are no external
factors to take into account, just the camera.

Mine starts up at almost exactly 5 seconds (that's from flicking the switch from off to record and waiting for the LCD to show the subject). But that's with firmware 1.0.0.0. Seems not all G2s are equal in this regard.

everyone is 'imagining' these improvements via wishful thinking and
placebo effect

I still think this is entirely possible. Remember that autofocus speed depends on lighting conditions and subject matter. I was experimenting earlier with autofocus and was getting some very fast response times (about 1/2 sec) with 1.0.0.0 because the light was good and the subject had good contrast.

What I might try and do before updating the firmware is find a subject my G2 can't focus on, or struggles to focus on in a certain repeatable lighting condition, then see if this improves post the update.

I think we're all wanting this to be true that we might be making it so. That said, I haven't upgraded yet so I can't really say until I have

Cheers
Martin

 

[rshhung]

Never heard of this 1.01B but then again may be this is an Europen version. Upon checking with local Canon in Asia, there was an unannounced 1.0.0.2 (for G2 & not G1) that they used to upgrade if anyone happens to take one back for service. No detail of the version was released however.

Incidentally, scott professional reports the firmware as 1.01B
whereas ZB states it as 1.0.1.0

Nick

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:
...

Has anyone checked manual focusing yet?

The zoomed picture seems a lot clearer than in the past. The last
time I tried using manual focus was some weeks ago, but I remember
being less than impressed with the image. If anyone has not yet
upgraded, check the quality of the zoomed up image in manual focus
mode before and after the firmware upgrade.

Cheers,

Just checked manual focusing. Maybe because I dont believe all
these claims about this amazing firmware upgrade.

But then again you might be right.

Regards

Dave. L

--
Louis

 

[warren prasek]

Technically, if canon had built-in a secret warp engine circuit, but failed to enable it during the initial production run, then secretly activated it via an encrypted CIA-generated code at the behest of Fidel Castro...

well, frankly, if that's true then the Nikon 5000 is the world's first 100% PERFECT digital camera. cough

ps do a search for my previous G2 firmware wishlist which started out serious with a bunch of useful suggestions, then degenerated into fanciful suggestions like "yeah, and it could have a jetpack rocket booster function too, that would be cool, AND it would fit into 1.5mb easy!"

or no, that might have been the "Pro 100 IS" speculation thread...

ps. {

Sorry to be abrupt, but honestly I am totally flabbergasted that
anyone could possibly believe the whole 5x zoom thing. IT IS A
JOKE!!!!! dear god...

Read my lips people ( i know most of you are smart enough to know
better, if so please ignore, but for those who don't...)

OPTICAL ZOOM IS A HARDWARE FEATURE!!!!

THE PHYSICAL LENS MUST BE DRIVEN IN AND OUT BY A MOTOR. Canon's new
firmware does not magically, wonderfully transform the glass and
steel/plastic of your camera. If it did, they would probably have
invented a matter transporter and hyperspace drive by now too.

Canon can no more make your G2 a 5 megapixel or 8 megapixel camera
via firmware than it can "upgrade" your optical zoom! Digital zoom
is another matter- that is SOFTWARE, not hardware. So please stop
asking!!!

Sheesh!

--
------------------------------------
i was gonna type something witty here but then i changed my mind.

--------------------------------------i was gonna type something witty here but then i changed my mind.

 

[Dave F.]

Technically, if Canon had left some slack in the travel of the zoom
motor (for reliability reasons say) then a firmware updrade could
allow the motor to move the lens marginally further....?

That could damage the lens if you had a lens adapter such as the lensmate, and a filter or telephoto on the end of it. This type of adjustment would be too risky for Canon to even consider.

Dave

 

[warren prasek]

So who the hell works at Canon, and really truly honestly accurately knows what the hell is going on here and can confirm/deny these rumours? And can we believe them or will it be the commercial/marketing world's equivalent of a politician denying all knowledge, etc etc...

(how do you know when a politician* is lying... they open their mouth)

you could substitute "Marketing rep" for "politician" in there...

2) Focus faster

yes!

3) Puts it in ready mode quicker when first switched on

yes

4) One thread claims G2's flash is now more powerful (?)

yes, very. And doesn't overexpose like before. I'll post an example
pic i just took.

5) One thread claims it has increased the optical zoom to 5X

let it go... lmao )

And I have to say DEFINITELY I'm getting quicker and BETTER
low-light focusing. I just aimed at a door down a dim hallway and
got a green AF box in no time. I really don't think I would have
gotten that before. Dang, I wish there were a way to do a
before/after test...

Anything else in

5) Macro

could be, could be. I just manuallly focussed on the logo on my
minitor, seems i got closer than I could beforehand. The MF screen
is so much better, though (how do they do THAT through firmware?)
that maybe I've got it wrong.

6) handling of WB

LOOKS the same as before. Have to experiment a bit...

--
Willie G.
Kulmbach. Germany
Canon G2

• my eyeglasses are from Carl Zeiss -

http://www.pbase.com/effzee

--------------------------------------i was gonna type something witty here but then i changed my mind.

 

[rshhung]

Are there any hackers out there who can do reverse engineering with the

FIR file and report what they can read from the firmware. Yes, or can someone fine a way to do firmware "downgrade" so that those who are in the camp not believing the benefits can suffer from the older version.

(how do you know when a politician* is lying... they open their mouth)

you could substitute "Marketing rep" for "politician" in there...

2) Focus faster

yes!

3) Puts it in ready mode quicker when first switched on

yes

4) One thread claims G2's flash is now more powerful (?)

yes, very. And doesn't overexpose like before. I'll post an example
pic i just took.

5) One thread claims it has increased the optical zoom to 5X

let it go... lmao )

And I have to say DEFINITELY I'm getting quicker and BETTER
low-light focusing. I just aimed at a door down a dim hallway and
got a green AF box in no time. I really don't think I would have
gotten that before. Dang, I wish there were a way to do a
before/after test...

Anything else in

5) Macro

could be, could be. I just manuallly focussed on the logo on my
minitor, seems i got closer than I could beforehand. The MF screen
is so much better, though (how do they do THAT through firmware?)
that maybe I've got it wrong.

6) handling of WB

LOOKS the same as before. Have to experiment a bit...

--
Willie G.
Kulmbach. Germany
Canon G2

• my eyeglasses are from Carl Zeiss -

http://www.pbase.com/effzee

--
------------------------------------
i was gonna type something witty here but then i changed my mind.

 

[Willie G.]

i don't think you, or i, or anyone but phil can test the AF speeds
with any relevance to his original timings, because you need to
duplicate the test conditions with scientific precision for any
meaningful comparison.

That I or we can't test accurately is a given, and I said so. But a second is a pretty long time and I can promise you that I'm getting a focus lock at "around" the half-second mark. If it were a full second, I'd say so.

I also tried a really dumb method, but maybe not that dumb. I counted "one thousand one, one thousand two, etc...", got my timing down pretty closely with the seconds counter on my computer's clock, and tried timing the AF lock that way. I get to exactly "One thous" each time. That leaves off "...and one" and put's me at a little over half a second. Dumb? lol, i dunno... The biggest factor is my finger. Just "when" I start to push the button is the trap...

What I'm beginning to suspect, though, is that my focus was slower than Phil's 0,9 sec before. It was a PITA, really, and now it's a just a pita.

at a minimum, you would need to replicate exactly what phil did in
terms of:

really? I tried it aiming out the window and holding the lens against my knee and get the same results each time. hmm....

... interesting you say your startup to record time is under 5
sec... mine seems to be about 5.8 or 6 seconds (as phil reported),
and this test is probably fair because there are no external
factors to take into account, just the camera.

Guaranteed. I just triple checked for you. It's under 5 seconds. I flip the switch from off to rec quickly as soon as the second counter hits say, "10" and I can clearly see that before it gets to "15" the camera has finished it's routine.

either we do NOT have the same firmware (cannot be true, all EXIF
editors report firmware as "v1.01", OR-

everyone is 'imagining' these improvements via wishful thinking and
placebo effect (unlikely with this many ppl, but we need some
real verification here, not just "seems like"), OR-

agreed

i don't know. my head hurts. PHIIIIIL! help us out here!

OH yeah... agreed again! )

--Willie G.Kulmbach. GermanyCanon G2- my eyeglasses are from Carl Zeiss - http://www.pbase.com/effzee

 

[M.Loren68098]

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 cant se any change at all so far. But I have only done 20 or so indoors.

But the manual focus is still pretty useless and the autofocus is far from quick.(thougt I cant say if it is a fraction faster than it was)
I know for shure that the autofocus still cant come close to my
Oly C-2100UZ and that´s what I been comparing it to all the time.

Best regards
--M.LorenCanon GOly C-2100UZ

 

[Willie G.]

What I might try and do before updating the firmware is find a
subject my G2 can't focus on, or struggles to focus on in a certain
repeatable lighting condition, then see if this improves post the
update.

I don't know, maybe I'm delusional or something... My camerara returns orage AF fields as quickly as geen ones. It makes up its mind just as quickly whether it can achieve focus lock or not. Does that sound normal?

I think we're all wanting this to be true that we might be making
it so. That said, I haven't upgraded yet so I can't really say
until I have

Martin, you are in a perfect position to run some tests, and well able to do it, too. Please try to set up some conditions that you can test for comparison after you upgrade, ok?

ttfn,--Willie G.Kulmbach. GermanyCanon G2- my eyeglasses are from Carl Zeiss - http://www.pbase.com/effzee

 

[Willie G.]

ok, thanks for the clarification, Dave. Sorry if I started yet more speculation...

Willie

I've updated computer BIOS firmware, controller card firmware, etc
and the updates are always the maximum size of the firmware chip.
Even if 1 bit was changed in the G2 firmware, the size would be
1.5 MB, which I'm speculating is the size of the G2 firmware chip.
I wouldn't be getting too excited over the size of this upgrade and
certainly wouldn't start dreaming up fixes that didn't happen
because the update was so large.

--Willie G.Kulmbach. GermanyCanon G2- my eyeglasses are from Carl Zeiss - http://www.pbase.com/effzee

 

[Johny Muffik]

What a pity, I've the fw 1.0.1.0. already installed, I could think I've the D1 instead of G2 now ))

And the manual mode is stil crazy, crazy and crazy!

Muffik

 

[Forbidden Fruit]

i was sceptical about all of these claims but ......

Focusing does seem quicker

also, in manual focus mode there appear to be many more available focus steps that are more easily selectable - making for much more fine tuning in focus adjustment

The manual focus zoom window looks much clearer and easier to tell
if the subject is sharp or blurry.

I agree, I had a hard time in the past with the manual focus for
this reason. It looks much better to me know...

If canon meant to make these extra changes, why wouldnt they
mention it?

-ben
--
-
http://www.brhphoto.com