Canon announces free 24p / 25p update for EOS 5D Mk. II

[Dom Stevenson]

"Can we dispense with all of this nonsense please."

Ah, the voice of sanity.

There is absolutely no evidence to suggest there will not be a 5dmk11 update "in the first half of 2010". This is an official Canon update and there are still a few months to go before the deadline.
I need it in March, or else i may have to trade in for a 7d, but there's no reason why Canon should oblige with my personal wishes. Their commitment is to provide it before the end of June, and not a day earlier. Reading some of the posts here, you'd think Canon had reneged on their word. They haven't. However, wishful thinking by many mkii owners - including me btw - has created a wave of disappointment that has led to statements that, as Chris points out, are pure nonsense.
I fear this thread has become a hostage to "watched kettle syndrome', and the kettle will not boil until all eyes are off it. Perhaps if we all avert our gaze and forget the Firmware Update, it will be with us sooner rather than later.

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

Here's what it boils down to... I'm pretty sure that the 60p capability is directly tied to the dual Digic processors in the 7D and the 1D Mk. IV, and since the 5D Mk. II has only a single Digic processor, I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't get the 60p frame rates.

Originally Posted by Bill Binder

I've heard this repeated many times, and I'm inclined to believe it actually, but... Just curious where the "pretty sure... tied to dual... processors" part is coming from? What makes you think so? I've never really heard anyone articulate anything on that beyond speculation. Is there more to it than that?

Well, I could go into why I thought there was more to it than that, but it doesn't matter anymore,
because it turns out that I was dead wrong about this anyway. Run, don't walk, to this thread:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/digital-...gital-slr.html

That's the new Canon Rebel, which shoots 720p60 and 480p60 (as well as 1080p30 and 1080p24) using
a *single* Digic processor (for less than $800 too). This is good news for the 5D2 firmware update... it
proves that Dual Digic is *not* a requirement for the 60p frame rates after all. See, I'm happy when I'm
wrong. That's the advantage of being a pessimist! Heh.

[Jim Giberti]

Originally Posted by Dom Stevenson

I fear this thread has become a hostage to "watched kettle syndrome', and the kettle will not boil until all eyes are off it. Perhaps if we all avert our gaze and forget the Firmware Update, it will be with us sooner rather than later.

C'mon, you quote my book and don't put me in your reference notes.

And that is interesting about the single processor Chris. It at least gives hope that both will be included. It doesn't make a lot of sense for the best DSLR /movie camera in the world to have critical less frame rate options than point and shoots

[Michael Simons]

Originally Posted by Bill Binder

I PERSONALLY know of two specific instances of people who got a 7D instead of a 5D2 because of the framerate issue, and those two people aren't looking back and aren't going to switch when the framerate firmware hits. That right there PROVES without ANY doubt that they are losing at least "something." Whether it's a big deal or not can be debated, and the folks that have both in all likelihood have both because they need two cameras anyway. Just saying... I personally know of two instances of $1,000 they could have had that they now don't.

I purchased the 7D over the 5dII to save a $1k and shoot be able to shoot in 24.

[Bill Binder]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

Well, I could go into why I thought there was more to it than that, but it doesn't matter anymore,
because it turns out that I was dead wrong about this anyway. Run, don't walk, to this thread:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/digital-...gital-slr.html

That's the new Canon Rebel, which shoots 720p60 and 480p60 (as well as 1080p30 and 1080p24) using
a *single* Digic processor (for less than $800 too). This is good news for the 5D2 firmware update... it
proves that Dual Digic is *not* a requirement for the 60p frame rates after all. See, I'm happy when I'm
wrong. That's the advantage of being a pessimist! Heh.

YES. YES. YES.

It never felt so good to be wrong, LOL!!!

Although, Canon still has never officially said anything, ugh! Now we really have a lower end model running circles around the 5D2.

I actually, for the first time, got turned away from what would have been a really exciting music gig because they were using shooting 24p on 7Ds and "didn't want to deal with the workflow hassles of the 5D2." That kind of sucked.

[Liam Hall]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

This is good news for the 5D2 firmware update... it
proves that Dual Digic is *not* a requirement for the 60p frame rates after all.

It doesn't prove anything. The 5D's sensor is substantially larger than this new camera's APS-C sized one and as such brings with it far greater challenges in delivering the same frame rates and resolution.

If Canon pull it off for the 5D great, but let's not believe it until we see it. Toyota thought they were a good car maker a couple of weeks ago...

[Peer Landa]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

That's the new Canon Rebel, which shoots 720p60 and 480p60 (as well as 1080p30 and 1080p24) using a *single* Digic processor (for less than $800 too). This is good news for the 5D2 firmware update... it proves that Dual Digic is *not* a requirement for the 60p frame rates after all.

Originally Posted by Liam Hall

It doesn't prove anything. The 5D's sensor is substantially larger than this new camera's APS-C sized one and as such brings with it far greater challenges in delivering the same frame rates and resolution.

Besides, there might be different clock speeds for the processors used between those cameras.

-- peer

[Jon Fairhurst]

Originally Posted by Liam Hall

The 5D's sensor is substantially larger than this new camera's APS-C sized one and as such brings with it far greater challenges in delivering the same frame rates and resolution.

720p60 has the same data rate as 1080p30. Unless they've architected the sensor differently in the 5D2 than the other cams, the data rate should not be a problem.

[Chris Hurd]

Processing the downconversion of the native size into HD is not that different between the two (21.1 vs. 18.0).

The difference in the size of the chips isn't as critical to the processor load as the number of photosites -- and that's not much of a difference.

[Liam Hall]

Okay, Jon and Chris, that sounds good. But what about heat? The 7D suffers from excess heat, could this be a factor with the 5D?

[Chris Hurd]

I've always thought the heat issue in the 7D was due mainly to the dual processors confined to a compact body (same 2x proc. in the 1D Mk. IV but that body is significantly larger, and perhaps with better internal heat management). No way to prove out that theory though.

[Kevin Dooley]

Originally Posted by Bill Binder

I actually, for the first time, got turned away from what would have been a really exciting music gig because they were using shooting 24p on 7Ds and "didn't want to deal with the workflow hassles of the 5D2." That kind of sucked.

Couldn't you have rented a 7D body and used it with your current Canon glass?

[Chris Hurd]

Jumping through the rentals hoop just to work someone else's one-time
gig is probably more trouble than it's worth. I doubt that would have
been a practical thing for Bill to do. But now we're off-topic...

[Bill Binder]

Thank you Chris. This was my point exactly.

A tangible example of taking a pass at something I actually wanted to do (this was non-paying, so that might help set context).

[Daniel von Euw]

A very good news for me is that also the new Rebel T2i have full HD Output during recording:

http://translate.google.com/translat...son/index.html

So i think its very unlikley that the new 24p Firmware for 5D II will not have the same feature.


Daniel