XDCAM EX Firmware Updates Available

[Shaughan Flynn]

Any risk to using this UK update on a US camera?

[Ed Kukla]

Rumour was that back focus adjustment would be changed to allow user adjustment instead of full auto.
Anyone know if this has happened?

[David C. Williams]

Originally Posted by Barry J. Anwender

The original 1.02 firmware on my EX3 was only reliable up to 48fps at 720/24p when using SDHC cards.

Exploring more with the new 1.10 firmware reveals that I can now obtain the full 60fps overcrank speed using my Kensington/Sandisk 16GB SDHC cards as well as on my Corsair SSD.

Same here. Bargain, nice update so far.

[William Griffin]

Originally Posted by Mal Hamilton

As a fellow colonial 'down under, just put in your olde 'London' address ;-)
I'm sure they won't mind.
Cheers,
Mal

hey Mal,

thanks I will do that, so mate...goodday to you.....

Bill
in Texas......

[Paul Kellett]

Am I missing something, i can't see a download button ?

Paul

[Andy Shipsides]

The EX1 firmware doesn't seem to be up yet. Look for it again on Monday.

[Ben Vallack]

Well I'm not having much luck here. Downloaded the file on my Mac, but opening the VersionUp app causes nothing to happen at all - a tiny glimmer in the dock and then it disappears. So, like someone in an earlier post I tried in Parallels, mine is only Win XP though. So I downloaded the .net runtime 3.5 as per the instructions, then restarted, then tried to open the Windows version of VersionUp. But that just came up with an error saying it needed to close. So can't open the app on either platform! Any ideas?

[Roddy Jamieson]

Ben

Ditch the Up Versioner software and re- unzip it again. Switch off both computer and camera. Connect USB to both, Boot Laptop, launch UpVersioner, then switch on EX3. All should work, did for me, I'm using MacBook running Snow Leopard.

[William Griffin]

Well, after messing with the download for awhile, it all worked. Here are the details:

I went to the UK Sony site, downloaded the EX3 file to my Sony Vaio, using Windows Vista, but when I went to install, I had a error message come up...."Must run install as a member of the administrators group"....so I decided to print out the instructions and there is was...how to fix it. Its very important to follow in the instructions, as it helped me.
So I got to the install window...but the camera (EX3) and the computer were not "talking" to each other...so I pulled out the USB cable and put it back in and then...it all started to work. Printing out those instructions were very helpful. So after 15 mins...it was there.

the BAD:
1) On the EX 3 you have to take off the shoulder pad...as the USB service port is below the pad. the instructions say to pull the pad all the way out, but I just took the whole thing off.
For the people who have the D&M plate, its going to be a pain in the butt, as the whole plate has to come off.

2) I tested my SxS cards and for some reason I have lost 2 mins of record time. I re- formated the card in the camera....but now I have only 55 mins of record time on my 16gb Sandisk SxS card. It does the same thing on using my SDHC KxS cards using Transcend 16 GB and for Transcend 8 GB its now at 26 mins. I used to get 57 mins for 16 gb and 28 mins for 8gb. BUT!!!!!

The GOOD:
1) The upgrade has sped up the the write time, going from "RED to Green"..in about 4 -5 sec.on both my Transcend 16 gb and 8 gb SDHC cards. On my Hoodman RAW 16 gb card, its now right at 4 secs for the light to turn green.
2) As you have already guested it....the upgrade does not affect using SDHC cards, but makes it better, as stated in the above.

Not To Ugly:
Losing 2 mins of record time is a fair trade out, if it gets the "red to green" time down using SDHC cards. In the past I have lost shots for not waiting for the light to change, as the old firmware setting, it would take 8-9 secs long before the red/green change.
As I have one very good/big client that I shoot for using SDHC cards, and to this day, the only video lost was due to me not waiting.

Sorry for the long post....but I figured this post might help other EX3 owners.

[Mitchell Lewis]

Anybody notice if they added the ability to "pre-record"? For example, you're waiting for a bird to take flight and the camera is recording 10 seconds of video over and over waiting for you to press the record button. When you press record, you get the 10 seconds before you pressed record.

[Barry J. Anwender]

Originally Posted by Mitchell Lewis

Anybody notice if they added the ability to "pre-record"? For example, you're waiting for a bird to take flight and the camera is recording 10 seconds of video over and over waiting for you to press the record button. When you press record, you get the 10 seconds before you pressed record.

One of the first things I was looking for as well. Sadly on the EX3, it still says "No" in the Clip Browser/Related Info/Cache Rec. So clearly, Sony did not design in the physical memory to support this function in the EX3. Cheers!

[Malcolm Hamilton]

what am I missing here? I go to the "Download new firmware" page, and see this Software described in detail (PMW-EX1: Binary Package V1.20, etc.), but there's no "download now" button to press!
I was expecting to be unable to actually install the new firmware (I'm on a Mac, and don't have Parallels), but at least I was expecting to be able to download it.
Malcolm

[Malcolm Hamilton]

might be a problem with the site. I notice that if I choose to upgrade the firmware for the EX-3 or the new EX-1R, there's a Download box at the bottom of the page. You Accept what's said in the box, and then choose 'Download Now'.
For some odd reason, this option doesn't exist for the EX-1. Not at the moment, anyway.
Malcolm

[Giroud Francois]

does the missing 2 min on the cards after firmware upgrade would not be a buffer for this retro-capture feature ? after all it does not need any memory on camera, it just needs to write realtime on the SxS in a loop.

[Bo Skelmose]

Super upgrade - full overcrank on kensington/transcend 16GB - next upgrade should be 120 fps. on the SXS cards....