Firmware Update Warning! (Max OS X 10.6)

[Steve Nunez]

Hey guys, I just registered my VG10 and was prompted to the Firmware Update released today from Ver.1 to Ver.2

I followed the instructions for Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) and proceeded to update the firmware. During the update (Sony runs a small installer program that has an interface that shows the update being applied) the Mac Mini (new 2010 version) suffered a Kernel Panic and drew a grey screen and froze still!
The Mac was able to restart but the VG10 was dead- nothing I could do would cause the VG10 to operate (removed battery and restarted, removed SD card etc....camera was dead!)
I tried installing the update with a new 2010 Macbook Air and the same exact kernel panic occurred!!

Luckily I have an Asus Netbook which runs Windows XP and I downloaded the Firmware software for that OS and ran it again and the Sony VG10 was able to communicate with the software (via USB cable) and it was able to restore and update the camera to Ver 2.

This was quite a scare and I'd like to warn others of my experience.

If this should happen to anyone here, you may be able to revive the camera using a Windows PC....be
warned!
(I followed the instructions to the letter and have updated a few cameras in the past with FW updates- so this isn't new for me.)

[Robert Young]

scary indeed!!
I just updated the camera firmware (Win7 64) with no problem, but when I tried to update the A lens adapter firmware, the update aborted in the early stages and gave the error message that "this firmware is not available for this model", even tho the download clearly said it was for the VG10.
After ejecting the camera with "safely remove hardware", and unplugging the USB cable, the LCD remained black and the camera refused to turn off. I removed the battery, reinserted, turned the cam on, and thankfully everything looks good, but I still have adapter firmware v. 1.0. Perhaps it is necessary to actually have the lens adapter in place for the upgrade (I don't actually have the adapter). If so, it was nowhere mentioned in the instructions
I'll be interested to hear other peoples experience with this.
It does not seem quite bulletproof at this point :(
Also, I would like to see a more detailed discription of what benefits the new firmware provides. If all it does is allow for autofocus of A Series lenses, I'm going to be quite disappointed.

[Steve Nunez]

Robert- did you need to have the adapter mounted?
Glad you too were able to get the camera going.

I think Sony needs to recheck the FW.....I'm using the latest Mac's with Snow Leopard and both kernel panic'ed......I had to rebuild the permissions after this happened as the MacBook Air became very sluggish!

Hopefully today I'll get a chance to play with the VG10- but it's cloudy out......we'll see.

[Robert Young]

I do not own the adapter presently, so I don't know if that would have made the difference for updating the adapter firmware or not.
Again, the Sony update instructions made no mention of needing to attach the adapter prior to FW upgrade.
The camera FW update went smoothly and the cam works normally with the v 2.0 FW.

[Steve Mullen]

Hi Steve,

Worked on 10.5.8 fine. Perhaps Sony never tested your version of 10.6 -- which was ?

[Steve Nunez]

Warning: according to Sony, here's their requirements for the Firmware Update:

This update process requires the following items for proper updating:
A computer with:
CPU: Intel® processor
Available Hard Disk Space: 200 MB or more
Installed Memory (RAM): 256 MB or more
A USB port.
Macintosh® OS X version 10.5 or 10.6.
Note: The 64-bit kernel is not supported.

~ The problem seems to be almost all modern Mac's are 64 bit and will kernel panic as I've experienced (and others)...........to check if your Mac is 32 bit or 64 bit simply go to the little "Apple" icon on the top left of your screen and click "About this Mac" if your system says Core 2 Duo it's a 64 bit machine and will likely "kernel panic" if you try to perform the update...........you'll need a Mac running the older CoreDuo Intel processor not the newer Core2Duo........ this will likely cause allot of problems for Mac users trying to perform the update- but Sony did specify on the site "Macintosh® OS X version 10.5 or 10.6.
Note: The 64-bit kernel is not supported."

...so beware 64 bit Mac users~

[Steve Nunez]

Steve, you're the second person to tell me the 10.5 update worked which leads me to believe the issue is with Snow Leopard 10.6 users and 64 bit-Core2Duo Macs, Sony clearly states the 64 bit kernel is unsupported.
(My current version is 10.6.5 which is the most current as of this writing.)

The firmware update seems to only update the camera to allow AF with adapted Sony Alpha lenses- no other enhancements seems to have occurred, although one guy on another forum stated a possible improvement in aliasing~ this is unverified but was stated.

Hopefully Ver 3 will add enhancements~ I'd like to see some form of focus confirmation, peaking or an enlarged view when manually focusing etc.

(Hey on a side note- send me details regarding the purchase of your VG10 Handbook!)

[R Geoff Baker]

The Sony warning is to 64 bit kernel mode, not 64 bit Core2Duo Macs. All Macs boot to 32 bit mode, as many programs are not 64 bit kernel ready -- so this should be a non-issue except for those few using a server locked into 64 bit kernel mode ... and frankly, those users will be aware enough to know how to implement 32 bit mode for this update. The rest of us will be in 32 bit mode anyway and the process will be transparent.

If you've had problems, they lay elsewhere, not with 64 bit kernel mode incompatibility.

Cheers,
GB

[Steve Nunez]

I was wondering about this mode difference- I wonder why others are having panics and I personally experienced 2 Mac's initiate an immediate shutdown response as a result of implementing this update.

I'm glad you've posted this response but I'm wondering why the problems are occurring.
Both my machines surpass the minimum req for the update yet both locked!

I'm starting to think my download was flawed in some sense.......anyway I think the warning is still valid.

[Dave Bacon]

Warning sure is still valid..... I took heart from the above comments that I would know if I was running 64 (obviously I didnt - so figured that I wasnt) - and went ahead and tried to update. Yep it killed my NEX VG10.
:(

Luckily I could get my wifes old laptop to talk to it and it revived ok.

DONT USE SNOW LEOPARD FOR UPDATING!!!!

[Steve Mullen]

Sony's warning is about which kernel you are running, not about either Snow (10.6) or your hardware.

So either you are booting the 64 bit kernel without knowing or they tested the updated on 10.6.? and there has been a change over the past months as Apple has upgraded to 10.6.5 which is the lasted.

That's why I asked which version of Snow folks are using. For example Media Composer has not yet been approved for 10.6.5 so I am staying with 10.6.4 for the time being.

The version of Snow may be critical.

PS: VG10 book coming in winter 2011. It takes a long time for tech review and editor and proofreader and layout and printing. So many people are involved. Electronic books are so much faster!