upgrade firmware or not?

paulgandersman

paulgandersman

Well-known member
hey all, I have a GH1 and skipped over all the firmware updates so far. So mine is factory fresh firmware wise. Should I update? will it make my camera better in anyway at all? no, i don't have any 3rd party batteries, i have 2 official panasonic ones. so.... what will the firmware updates improve?
 
since i'm already using original batteries is there any significant advantage in upgrading the firmware ?
 
There is an advantage to the 1.1 firmware...I haven't upgraded to 1.2 yet because I'm not using any of the lenses it affects.

1.1 gives you a faster burst photo rate, the ability to go to shutter speeds as slow as 1/2 in 720p/60 mode (good for a few little things as it cuts the framerate to 2 fps....I use it for artsy shmartsy crap @ night and for shots I know I am going to speed up in post, like driving...the streakiness makes your sped up driving footage look almost like you were actually doing it instead of undercranking in post.)

I think the kit lens firmware update also makes it perform a bit better.
 
The latest firmware allowed me to get an autofocus better in low light. That can come in handy when you want to take a photograph quickly of your child and don't have time to MF in fear of losing that moment. I would say yes the firmware is a good thing.
 
Ben_B said:
There is an advantage to the 1.1 firmware...I haven't upgraded to 1.2 yet because I'm not using any of the lenses it affects.

1.1 gives you a faster burst photo rate, the ability to go to shutter speeds as slow as 1/2 in 720p/60 mode (good for a few little things as it cuts the framerate to 2 fps....I use it for artsy shmartsy crap @ night and for shots I know I am going to speed up in post, like driving...the streakiness makes your sped up driving footage look almost like you were actually doing it instead of undercranking in post.)

I think the kit lens firmware update also makes it perform a bit better.
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Do you mean that when you upgrade to 1.2 you can't have the frame rate of 2fps!!!

What is the lowest frame rate you can have with 1.2 version?
 
but it only seems beneficial if you're going to speed it up to ge those streaks. if you shoot below the 1/50pal or 1/60ntsc you're going to get duplicated frames.
 
BhambuNath said:
But as Ben mentions that 1.1 gives you shutter speed of 1/2(in 720p) which also means 2 fps.
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Yes that's right, but let's be clear. 1.2 does not remove the 1/2 shutter in video mode. It speeds up the maximum shooting rate for stills, which is a completely different thing. You know - like paparazzi bang bang bang.

Fear not the 1.2 firmware.
 
Oh does it?

What's it at in 1.1? 3.5 per second or something? Or was that 1.0? What's it up to in 1.2?
 
It may be 1.1 or 1.2 that increases still shooting rate to 3.0fps to 3.5fps - can't remember which version exactly it was!

1.1 added the 1/2 and other slow shutter speeds for 720p video recording.

Two separate things :)
 
BhambuNath said:
But as Ben mentions that 1.1 gives you shutter speed of 1/2(in 720p) which also means 2 fps.
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Yes indeed. But 2fps terminology is usually used for stills. I.e. GH1 shoots stills at 3.5fps.

For video we tend to use the shutter rate, i.e. 1/2 or 1/30 (30fps).

I can see how confusion happens.
 
Yeah I know....I think 1.2 was pure lens related stuff, 1.1 added 1/2 shutter to video and the extra 0.5 fps burst to make 3.5fps for stills.
 
ok, went ahead and updated my firmware. body now at 1.2 and lens at 1.1. Strange though, i can't drop the shutter below 30 in movie mode, and yes i'm at 720p avchd. What am i doing wrong here?
 
paulgandersman said:
ok, went ahead and updated my firmware. body now at 1.2 and lens at 1.1. Strange though, i can't drop the shutter below 30 in movie mode, and yes i'm at 720p avchd. What am i doing wrong here?
Click to expand...

You also need to be in 'M' mode in the creative movie mode internal menus and to switch focus dial to manual focus.
 
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