Firmware 1.2 Upgrade - Who's had success?

[Tuy Le]

Typical the negative news would travel faster than good news.
We updated couple EX1s to version 1.2 without any hickup (using PC). The benefits for this update, I can use SxS-1, Memory Stick & approved SDHC card (class 10). I knew that we can use SDHC cards before, but those "media restore" made me worry many times.

Other thing, couple cards that gave "media restore" before update (I stopped using those cards), now I re-run the test couple times with the new firmware without those "worry" msg anymore :-)

[Jim Forrest]

Originally Posted by Craig Seeman

Firmware 1.20 for EX was very recently released just a few weeks back. He may not have been aware of it. It's possible he was talking about 1.11 or thereabouts which one still needed to go into the service menu to see the Firmware version.

1.11 can handle the SDHC cards but 1.2 is much more reliable at it. The latter was distributed by Sony as something the end user could do for free (with some small risk of bricking) otherwise Sony will do it for $135.

I called Sony in NJ and told them my camera had just been in for a firmware update (3/29) and yet I still have a version 1.05 and was not able to see what my version was in "Menu' and "others', I could see it in the service menu. They said I should be able to see it in 'others', if the firmware was the latest, but they were unclear on what the latest firmware is. They seemed to have one version they install and another later one for people to download and install? They called me back after some discussion with the Service manager Dominic and said they would update it for free, I just had to ship it to them, However it still cost $85 to ship with insurance but it is worth it, especially with the SD card issues I have been having.

[Hiram Yates]

Originally Posted by Paul Curtis

Would really appreciate some upgrade stories! Good and bad...

cheers
paul

I have performed the 1.11 to 1.2 update on 4 different EX1s with no issues or hiccups. It's very easy to do and as has been suggested earlier in this thread and many others I had the camera powered via AC with a battery in it as well. I also used a laptop to do the updates in case of a power outage and everything turned off the whole update process would be able to continue on battery power with both camera and computer. The odds of that happening is definitely extremely slim, but it's a good precaution to take anyways when messing around with the brain of a $6000+ investment! ;^)

[Clark Peters]

Sony's instructions mention using a special USB cord to connect to the camera. You really don't need it, but it sure wouldn't hurt to make sure you are using a high-quality cable in good condition. These cables get tossed around and beat up when they are used every day. I used an unused cable that came with a digital audio recorder. Word to the wise.
Pete

[Bob Grant]

I recently upgraded our 3 EX1s and 2 EX3s without issue. I did take the obvious precaution of having both mains and battery power available to the camera and I did use a laptop running Win7 and shutdown as many background processes as possible.
Both the EX1 and EX3 cameras were updated by Sony around 6 months ago. Sorry I don't have the previous firmware revision numbers at hand but they were probably the previous bar one releases.
One small plus no one has mentioned. The latest firmware version sets Flicker Reduction to Off after a Reset All. The previous firmware only does this for the Region60 variant of the camera which had been a minor pain for us.

[David Hadden]

just upgraded 1.0.3 to 1.2 in one go, no problems...

Just takes multiple restarts (4) and you just make sure you read the instructions and follow them :).

Done with a win 7 system.

[Paul Curtis]

Just to add and perhaps conclude this, i spoke to someone in service where i'd bought the camera. They said go for it, they'd had no problems and i did the firmware upgrade no problem yesterday.

That's from 1.03 all the way to 1.2 in one hit - followed the instructions and no issues whatsoever.

So if anyone else is wondering then that's a positive result from me

cheers
paul

[Hal Protter]

I followed the instructions and the upgrade was easy... No problems. Worth doing.

[Bruce Rawlings]

I was a little nervous but it went smoothly on an EX1 using a Macbook Pro. The moment of reckoning when the camera was switched on after a successful upgrade had been indicated was heart stopping as the camera thought about it for what seemed an eternity before booting up but all is well. The Sony update procedure prompts were easy to follow.
.
Just carried out second upgrade without incident. I forgot to mention that for some reason now and again as the upgrade progressed a box came up stating that USB connection had been broken or something like that. Nothing had been touched so I clicked ok and the box went away and the upgrade continued. On completion as stated above nothing happened when I rebooted but when I tried a second time all was well. I have upgraded to use the cheaper Sony cards and have more confidence in using SDHC for some jobs. Having said that I use MxM with Transcend and Sandisk cards purchased back at the start of the revolution, never had a problem but always use SxS for very important work.

[Dave Perry]

Hello all. We recently got an EX1R and I can't get the firmware version upgrader program to see the connection. I'm using a Mac Pro with 10.5.8. The program launches, prompts for license agreement, then waits for the USB connection. The camera shows up in the Finder as an untitled USB device and is recognized by Final Cut but not by the version upgrader. I have all programs closed while trying to do the upgrade also. I've tried turning the camera on in camera mode and media mode and no luck. Anyone have this problem?

Thanks.

[Dean Harrington]

Are you sure you are using the right USB connection for the upgrade?

[Chris Medico]

Originally Posted by Dave Perry

Hello all. We recently got an EX1R and I can't get the firmware version upgrader program to see the connection. I'm using a Mac Pro with 10.5.8. The program launches, prompts for license agreement, then waits for the USB connection. The camera shows up in the Finder as an untitled USB device and is recognized by Final Cut but not by the version upgrader. I have all programs closed while trying to do the upgrade also. I've tried turning the camera on in camera mode and media mode and no luck. Anyone have this problem?

Thanks.

The update procedure for an EX1r is different. They update from firmware you put on a SxS card. You don't use the USB cable or the update utility for an EX1r, only an EX1.

I am not aware of any firmware update for the "R". They came out of the box with the SDHC and other improvements brought by v1.2 for the EX1.

[Dave Perry]

Thanks guys. I just found out from a sony tech this afternoon that as you stated, the EX1R needs no firmware update.