For Canon 7D owners - Firmware 2.0 is out! (Page 2): Firmware is your camera's operating system. Go to this website and it'll explain what's in the new update. (...

outsider Loc: Antelope Valley, California

heyjoe wrote:

what is firmware and should i install

Firmware is your camera's operating system. Go to this website and it'll explain what's in the new update. ( www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/standard_display/EOS7D_firmware ) As for if you should install, that's up to you. You definitely don't have to, some people probably won't for one reason or another but they won't have the updated features the camera now offers. If you need help please don't hesitate to ask.

edh Loc: Oregon North Coast

outsider wrote:

heyjoe wrote:

what is firmware and should i install

Firmware is your camera's operating system. Go to this website and it'll explain what's in the new update. ( www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/standard_display/EOS7D_firmware ) As for if you should install, that's up to you. You definitely don't have to, some people probably won't for one reason or another but they won't have the updated features the camera now offers. If you need help please don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks outsider.. I just got the camera so I guess I won't really notice any changes, but I know I've got the latest and greatest.. Let the fun begin.

Richard K Loc: Toronto Canada

I downloaded the firmware last night and had no problems
i like the fact that you can do in camera processing from raw to jpg Also control the volume in video mode

Photo One Loc: Clearwater Florida

Hey outsider. The new 7D manual is available to download in a PDF file. I downloaded it yesterday. There is an update on there software if you use it.

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

outsider wrote:

...I'm sure Canon will have a new 7D manual available to download soon ...

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-51554-1.html

Festina Lente Loc: Florida & Missouri

swallowtail wrote:

Hi, do you know if it can be downloaded onto a grey import and if so how? Thanks

I am not aware of any reason why not.
"Grey" simply means that it was sold in the US without a US warranty. It was intended for another market elsewhere in the world. We pay a tad more because of US warranty laws and market expectations. Good warranties cost more to a manufacturer even when the quality is as high as technologically possible.
Your "grey import" camera is identical (reportedly) to those sold in the US with a warranty.

swallowtail Loc: Melbourne, Australia

Thank you for your help, I have downloaded the file to my desktop,. Sorry for the next stupid question, but what is the smallest GB CF card that I will need to buy. I've never had to do this before, new to DSLR's. Thanks.

Wild Life Loc: Sunny Southern California

Thank you so much for all the info. You have now convinced me to download the upgrade for my camera. I was a little confused on how to get the new information into the camera and now you have cleared that up also.

When shooting RAW files, have you tried the San Disc Extreme cf card?

oldtool2 Loc: South Jersey

Wild Life wrote:

Thank you so much for all the info. You have now convinced me to download the upgrade for my camera. I was a little confused on how to get the new information into the camera and now you have cleared that up also.

When shooting RAW files, have you tried the San Disc Extreme cf card?

The Sandisk 8gb and 16gb Extreme cf cards are the only ones I use. They write at 60mb and have worked well for me. There are cheaper ones out there that CLAIM they write at this speed but a lot of them don't really do it. You really need to watch the speed on cards. I have read discriptions on a few cards that say they read at that speed but don't mention anything about their write speed.

Jim D

outsider Loc: Antelope Valley, California

Photo One wrote:

Hey outsider. The new 7D manual is available to download in a PDF file. I downloaded it yesterday. There is an update on there software if you use it.

Thanks for the info, I'll download it tonight.

outsider Loc: Antelope Valley, California

swallowtail wrote:

Thank you for your help, I have downloaded the file to my desktop,. Sorry for the next stupid question, but what is the smallest GB CF card that I will need to buy. I've never had to do this before, new to DSLR's. Thanks.

You don't need to buy a CF card just for the firmware update, just use your current CF card in the camera you use for pictures. As for the size needed, the file is only 18 mb and I'm sure your card is much bigger than that. But, if you're just starting and have no card I'd get at least a 8 gb card. If money is an issue you could get by with a 4 gb card but the price difference isn't much. I have a 16 gb and get over 2000 jpegs and around 600 raw files
It's pretty easy to do, but if you need anything else let me know.

Festina Lente Loc: Florida & Missouri

swallowtail wrote:

Thank you for your help, I have downloaded the file to my desktop,. Sorry for the next stupid question, but what is the smallest GB CF card that I will need to buy. I've never had to do this before, new to DSLR's. Thanks.

Just use one of your existing CF cards. If you need to buy one, most any size will do. I recommend a 16GB card as that is the best $ / mb break point for general photo taking. I also recommend a SanDisk Extreme card over other brands.
BTW, the smallest CF card size I have seen is 32mb and that came with my camera many years ago.

Instructions for instalkling the firmware update are provided with the update zip file in a PDF file (you may want to select the English version...). Just copy the extracted .fir file to your CF card, insert in camera. Turn on Camera, go to third wrench (tools) icon in the menu, select "Firmware" and the process will look for the .fir file on the CF card and install it.
BUT FIRST READ THE PROVIDED INSTRUCTIONS! I'm sure I missed something doing this from memory.

Festina Lente Loc: Florida & Missouri

Wild Life wrote:

When shooting RAW files, have you tried the San Disc Extreme cf card?

Yes, it is my favorite. Solid, fast enough for most uses and very reliable.
I also use the SanDisk Extreme Pro (90mbs/sec) and find it to be very reliable and since it also supports UDMA 6, it downloads my RAW files to my laptop very quickly.

dasloaf

just download it. oh boy, relearn my camera just in time for my busy season! YOORAH!!!!!!!!!!

oldtool2 Loc: South Jersey

Festina Lente wrote:

Wild Life wrote:

When shooting RAW files, have you tried the San Disc Extreme cf card?

Yes, it is my favorite. Solid, fast enough for most uses and very reliable.
I also use the SanDisk Extreme Pro (90mbs/sec) and find it to be very reliable and since it also supports UDMA 6, it downloads my RAW files to my laptop very quickly.

I haven't tried the pro yet. Does the buffer unload any quicker using it than the extreme 60mb?

I am sure the buffer write speed is going to be the limiting factor so it makes no sense to buy a faster card than its speed. I have tried to find out what speed the 7D writes at but haven't had any luck. I did find this information.

Note: UDMA 7 CF memory card read/write speeds are not fully supported with the EOS 7D Digital SLR camera, if using UDMA 7 memory cards, the read/write speeds will be equivalent to UDMA 6.

Jim D