The new Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 already up to its first firmware update.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)Updatable firmware is a mixed blessing. On one hand, it can help keep your hardware from obsolescing as new accessories ship; fix bugs; and expand feature sets on older models. But it's also beginning to feel like camera manufacturers have jumped on the (annoying) ship now/patch later software bandwagon.
More and more, companies seem to announce firmware updates within weeks of a camera's widespread availability: the Canon EOS 7D, Pentax K-7, Olympus E-P1 are all among the cameras that had firmware updates available within the first few months after shipping. The latest to add to that list is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1, which is barely out the door.
The camera update theoretically delivers improved autofocus performance during movie capture, better high-ISO quality, and enhanced auto white balance, among a few other things. Along with the camera, however, are a host of firmware upgrades for all of Panasonic's Micro Four Thirds-compatible lenses as well (you can find all of Panasonic's updates here.) Depending upon the lens, the update enables and/or improves autofocus performance while shooting movies.
Amazon has announced small enhancements to certain Kindle models.
(Credit: Amazon)Just in time for the holidays and facing heavy competition from Barnes & Noble's upcoming Nook e-book reader, Amazon has announced that it has improved the Kindle's battery life when the wireless connection is turned on and will now be offering native PDF support for its e-book reader. Both the battery-life boost and native PDF support will be available to owners of new Kindles and some older models via a firmware upgrade.
In a press release, Amazon says the Kindle now has battery life of up to seven days with wireless turned on compared with four days previously. However, battery life with wireless turned off remains the same (around two weeks).
"Battery power management for portable wireless devices is a complex technical area, and the battery life improvement announced today is the result of a six-month firmware improvement and testing program," the release notes.
As for the native PDF support, Amazon says you can now "read professional and personal documents in their original PDF format without conversion." To read PDF files, you either e-mail them to your Kindle e-mail address or move them over using a USB connection. If you prefer to have your PDF documents converted to the Kindle format, you type "Convert" in the subject of the e-mail when sending documents to your "@kindle.com" address.
All new Kindles will ship with the battery-life improvements and native PDF support in place, but if you bought an earlier Kindle you may be eligible for both enhancements via a firmware upgrade that will automatically download to your Kindle when you turn its wireless connection on.
We're still trying to determine which models will get the upgrade (we have an e-mail into Amazon's PR team). In the meantime, if you have an older Kindle 2 or the original Kindle, let us know if you got the upgrade.
Comments?
Update 12:30 p.m. PST: We have confirmed with Amazon that the latest Kindle, released in October, as well as the Kindle with U.S. wireless (released in February) now have native PDF support and the improved battery life. However, as suspected, the original Kindle is not eligible for the upgrade.
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We've already had some time with the new Xbox Live Dashboard update, and now the new firmware, which will bring Facebook, Twitter, and Last.fm to the console, is available for download today.
In addition to these services, Microsoft will be rolling out Zune Video, which promises instant-on 1080p video streaming as well as 5.1 surround sound.
We should note that Twitter, Last.fm, and Facebook will require an Xbox Live Gold membership ($50/year) and both Twitter and Facebook services require all users to be at least 18 years of age.
If you aren't a member of Xbox Live Gold, a free preview weekend will begin November 20, at 12 p.m. ET and run until November 23, at 12 p.m. ET.
For a sneak peek at these new Xbox 360 features, check out our video playlist above or click over to the slideshow.
Canon has released new firmware for its EOS 7D camera that it says fixes a ghost-image problem in which faint traces of one image could show in the next.
Version 1.1.0 of the camera firmware "corrects a phenomenon that in images captured by continuous shooting, and under certain conditions, barely noticeable traces of the immediately preceding frame may be visible," Canon said of the update.
The ghost-image problem showed only in some circumstances when the camera was used in continuous-shooting mode and was more apparent when software was used to enhance the image.
The Canon 7D, which just arrived on the market, costs about $1,700 and can shoot 18-megapixel images at speeds of up to eight frames per second.
(Via Rob Galbraith)
Canon has warned that traces of one photograph taken with the company's new higher-end EOS 7D SLR can sometimes be seen in the next.
Canon's EOS 7D
(Credit: Canon USA)The good news: new software for the camera should be able to fix the problem at some point. "Canon is currently investigating and analyzing the cause of this phenomenon, and we are planning to release a firmware update to address this issue," the company said in a a service notice.
The problem occurs only when shooting continuously, Canon said: "In images captured by continuous shooting, and under certain conditions, barely noticeable traces of the immediately preceding frame may be visible. This phenomenon is not noticeable in an image with optimal exposure. The phenomenon may become more noticeable if a retouching process such as level compensation is applied to emphasize the image."
The Canon 7D, which just arrived on the market, costs about $1,700 and can shoot 18-megapixel images at speeds of up to eight frames per second.
(Via Cameratown)
A firmware upgrade for early models of the Toshiba SV670U is now available.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)When I reviewed the Toshiba SV670U series nearly two months ago, the review was based on the second of two review samples. Let's call them T1 and T2.
Why the need for a second sample? T1 suffered from a pretty glaring problem in my opinion. In certain scenes, parts of the local dimming LED backlight would flash intermittently and at random. Here's how I put it in my original draft of the review:
The Toshiba had a propensity to interrupt dark areas with brief flashes of brightness that were confined to small zones on the screen. The instance we noticed first was during the demonstration sequence from "Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics" (around the 2:50 mark).When the computer-generated plants fade in from black, flashes appeared in the lower left and upper left of the black background as the overall brightness of the scene increased. When watching "Austin Stevens, Snakemaster" on Discovery HD Theater, we saw brighter flashes, akin to blooming, in the darkness around Austin's head as he leaned toward the light in a cave.
During "Watchmen" the flashes also appeared occasionally and for no reason we could discern. In the initial fight, for example, the lower-left corner flashed briefly just as the Comedian's blood drips down onto the smiley-face pin. A zoom in to President Nixon created another flash in the lower right. Our guess is that LED elements were lighting when they're not supposed to.
When we talked to Toshiba about what we saw, the company insisted on sending T2, which didn't suffer from the flashing issue. We mentioned the problem with T1 in the review, telling readers we'd update the situation when we knew more.
Now we do. ... Read more
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(Credit:
Epson)
Are you an owner of the Epson P-6000 or P-7000 Multimedia Photo Viewer? If so, the new firmware available at the end of this month will interest you.
Previously, users had to take out the flash media from their cameras and plug it into the gadget to start the file transfer. But with the upgrade, shutterbugs can connect selected Canon or Nikon dSLRs to the photo viewer via USB and images captured will be sent to both the memory card and Epson device simultaneously.
Other than tethering, the upcoming firmware update also adds remote shutter function and this lets users control their dSLRs from the photo viewer, too, via USB.
(Source: Crave Asia via Engadget)
It counts only as a footnote compared to today's announcement of the professional EOS 1D Mark IV camera, but Canon also had a nice nugget of news for those who've invested $2,700 for the 5D Mark II SLR.
Canon's EOS 5D Mark II
(Credit: Canon USA)Specifically, through a firmware update due to arrive in the first half of 2010, the SLR will be able to shoot 1920x1080 video not just at today's rate of 30 frames per second, but also at the 25fps rate used in European TV and the 23.976 fps rate used in cinematography, videography, and U.S. TV.
Lisette Ranga, program marketing specialist for Canon USA, confirmed the change Tuesday.
The 5D Mark II isn't a cheap camera, but it's an affordable option in some circles--documentaries being one example. "The Battle for Hearts and Minds," a documentary on Afghanistan by independent filmmaker Danfung Dennis, was shot with a Canon 5D Mark II. In some situations 30fps is fine, but a lot of the videography industry is built around a rate of 23.976 frames per second.
However, there's no word on whether the firmware update will also enable 60fps video at the lower 1280x720 resolution--a feat possible with the new EOS 7D, an 18-megapixel camera with a smaller sensor and lower price than the 5D Mark II.
The firmware update reflects how software updates available over the Internet can significantly change a camera after it's introduced, something that gives camera makers some new flexibility to fix cameras and adapt to customer desires. The 5D Mark II arrived in late 2008, but through a firmware update in January, Canon fixed a "black dot" problem that afflicted high-contrast areas of some images, and in June, Canon added manual controls for video.
Via Planet5D
One of our biggest complaints about the PSP Go seems to be partially addressed today as the portable console officially goes on sale. Sony has updated the Go's firmware to 6.10, which introduces a new PlayStation Store interface and access to a much larger portion of original PSP games.
While the selection of games is still nowhere near complete, some notable titles added today are God of War: Chains of Olympus, Madden NFL 10, Gran Turismo, and MotorStorm: Arctic Edge. Also hitting the store today are PSP Minis, smaller, less-expensive download-only games that range in price from $5 to $10.
Firmware version 6.10 also introduces SensMe, Sony's answer to iTunes' Genius List. SensMe takes a look at your audio library and adjusts playlists according to your "mood."
Though this update is for all PSP models, another noteworthy update that concerns the PSP Go specifically is the ability to tether a mobile phone to the device and use its data network as an access point. While this will only work with mobile phones that allow for such a thing, we can't imagine the speed being any better than what we experienced with a standard Wi-Fi router.
(Source: PlayStation.Blog)
Olympus released firmware updates on Tuesday, September 15, 2009, for the Olympus E-P1 camera and two lenses, the Zuiko ED 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 as well as the Zuiko 17mm f2.8 lens. The firmware update, version 1.1 for both the camera and lenses, improves the camera's continuous auto-focus (C-AF) operation. The lenses will benefit from the v1.1 firmware with enhanced auto-focus performance. The Olympus Master software updates each lens' firmware individually and will update the camera firmware.
We generally recommend installing the latest firmware updates for your camera, so you can get the most out of your gear. For more information on firmware updates for a specific camera, visit the manufacturer's Web site. Before installing any firmware upgrade, always take the time to read through all of the documentation and follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully.
Read our full review of the Olympus E-P1 Micro Four Thirds camera.
