So I emailed Canon about a needed Firmware update

Edweirdo said:
I sent off my email and called. The tech guy on the phone wasn't a friendly as people say they are, but he did say he would forward my request for AGC disable to the "Canon Customer Voice" dept. Took only 5 minutes.
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Nice job Edweirdo! Can you post that number? Calls would be VERY irritating!
 
I think (Gut feeling only, happy to be proved wrong) that any major codec change will require a hardware upgrade. AFAIK (I've not been following closely) that the GH13 changes haven't been to the codec fundementals, only tweeking the parameters, so asking for MJPEG or a proper IBP GOP in the H.264 is futile.
However I do have hopes of a more robust implementation in hypothetical successors to the 5DII / 7D, hopefully using Digic V chips (Do they exist yet?)
Dave
 
canon DSLR's have probably hardware decoder for video so no new codecs are possible.They could change bitrate i think but they did already huge huge thing with firmware for 5d,it feels almost guilty to ask for more.
 
Got this response from Canon....I doubt that it's going to do any good, but perhaps if we bug them enough they might at least disable AGC.


Thank you for contacting Canon product support. We value you as a Canon
customer and appreciate the opportunity to assist you with your EOS 7D.

We have forwarded your suggestion to disable AGC, reduce moire, and use
a different codec through our Customer Feedback process. This process
allows us to capture important feedback from our customers. As we
constantly strive to improve our cameras, suggestions are vital to our
continued success.

I took a look at the link and wanted to make note of one issue: the
update was not provided by Panasonic. I cannot speak for Panasonic, but
I do not think they will support any problems that may arise from this
update. There are third party companies that offer firmware updates for
Canon cameras (the article even references one for the 5D Mark II) that
expand a camera's functionality, however, I wouldn't consider the camera
to have a real advantage, as we don't support non-Canon firmware. Every
camera has the potential to do more, however, there are limitations set
by engineers. I do not know the limits of the 7D, but we are always
looking to improve our products. We greatly value suggestions from the
7D owners.

Thank you for writing to us with your feedback. Please let us know if
we can be of any further assistance with your EOS 7D.

Sincerely,

Erik
Technical Support Representative
 
daveswan said:
I think (Gut feeling only, happy to be proved wrong) that any major codec change will require a hardware upgrade. AFAIK (I've not been following closely) that the GH13 changes haven't been to the codec fundementals, only tweeking the parameters, so asking for MJPEG or a proper IBP GOP in the H.264 is futile.
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This is my impression too. If it was so simple to add another codec then why didn't the GH13 add AVC-intra or RAW rather than just increasing the bitrate? The truth is that there is a complex mix of variables - both hardware and software - working together to deliver the image in the final codec, and one weak link will let the whole chain down. With the GH1 the weak link just happened to be the easiest one to fix.

I still believe that the softer image and the moire of the Canon's is due almost entirely to the hardware. Line skipping and the higher pixel count (over the GH1) are likely major contributing factors to these problems.

One thing we could see in an official firmware update is manual audio controls. Perhaps, once 7d sales slow down a bit they will include this in a update (just like they did with the 5dmkii) to boost sales - and maybe entice a few people to upgrade from the 550d (and the remaining 550d owners will scream bloody murder and demand an update too, just like 7d owners are doing now).

Make no mistake, these companies have thought out their product lines very carefully. If they release a firmware update, it will not be to make current owners happy - it will be to fix a problem or squeeze more sales in between product releases. They are not going to release a firmware update if they believe it will hurt potential sales of other cameras. Which is why panasonic's camera division are probably crapping themselves right now - because the GH13 has most likely dropped a massive bombshell on their scheduled products for the next 18 months.
 
not to offend anyone, but i dont think the moire issue can be totally alleviated by firmware alone so requesting for it is just silly.

i still stand by the most feasible request.. histogram on movie mode and audio gain control for the 7D & 550Dl(less likely)
 
I called and emailed them back 3 months ago. The response I got was pretty much blah blah blah, oh yea blah. Just by the way the guy was speaking to me on the phone, I can tell you he was playing stupid and I called him out on it.

He said we really haven't had anyone complain about these issue, but ... I'll email my supervisor/whoever. Canon knew of these issues and released the camera anyway in a race to compete with Panasonic, Nikon, etc.. , come on we're talking about CANON here.... Bottom line it didn't cost much money and well you get what you pay for. I personally love the cameras setup time, pictures, and most of the video I shoot with it. Am I going to shoot a feature with it, no. Now it would be great if they released an update, but I don't see that happening. Canon please prove me wrong !!
 
I think that an upgrade to the 7D firmware to provide the functionality of the 5DII is entirely feasible but I'm not fussed about upgrading the firmware of the 550D. It's a much lower level camera (I've got one, so I'm not being a snob).

I think it will be a while before we can expect to see Red-style RAW output from a DSLR, but I don't see why we couldn't have a 100 mbps, 4:2:2 I-frame 10 bit codec given the high speed of the latest CF cards. It might even be a bit easier on the firmware than having to make B and P frames.

Dave
 
daveswan said:
I think it will be a while before we can expect to see Red-style RAW output from a DSLR, but I don't see why we couldn't have a 100 mbps, 4:2:2 I-frame 10 bit codec given the high speed of the latest CF cards.

Dave
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i think that would be asking too much hahaha
so many reasons why that wont work out.
it makes more sense if they use the 50mb 4:2:2 codec they are using on the xf series
 
It looks as though they're already getting 100 mbps out of a lowly GH1. Just think what CANON could do with a Digic V processor in a 7/5D successor!. Never mind MPEG or AVCHD or any other long GOP codec. Let's have I-frame only please!
I-frame only DVCProHD was why I bought my now gone HVX. I'd jump at the chance of a 7/5D successor with AVC-I (Or Canon's equivalent) 100mbps.

Dave
 
Canon have specifically said that the work is done on the 5D and 7D. No more updates are going to be done. What they are doing right now is trying to get a better codec out of the cameras, not raw, but a more robust one, maybe ProRes 422/4444, don't know. But all that its taking time, they are still trying to figure out how. And all this is being done on a new camera. The 5D/7D are done, forget about updates of extra features. These are Canon's USA words.
 
Wouldn't want prores or anything else Apple. The Avid DNxHD codecs look the best bet, and are industry-standard.
DAve
 
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