New 7D, is the firmware upgrade needed?

[ednorm]

I just got my new EOS 7D and seen there is a firmware update. Is this something I should do, can I screw anything up doing this. Is it really neccessary, this is a new camera and seems to work fine, if I do not upgrade am I missing something so worthwhile that I would notice it? Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated, this was way above my budget and I am worried if I might ruin the camera or it may be too hard to do right.

I am upgrading from my old Canon EOS rebel, I actaully upgraded the firmware on that camera last year, it was over five years old and I felt that I had no reason to worry as I really wanted a new 50D at the time. I did not notice any difference after that upgrade and it seemed easy enough.

ed

[inkista]

First things first. What version of the firmware are you currently using? If it's the same as the upgrade (1.2.2), the, no you don't need to upgrade.

If it's an earlier version, then I'd recommend going to see the issues each firmware upgrade fixes, to see if you actually need them. As I understand it, the 1.2.2 firmware fixes the following four versions (via the canon.jp website):

• Fixes a phenomenon in which the set aperture moves when shooting movies in manual exposure mode using some Canon lenses (such as macro lenses).
• Fixes the AF point-selection behavior of the C.Fn III-7 (Manual AF pt. selec. pattern) custom function when set to [1].
• Fixes the AF point display for the viewfinder electronic level when shooting in the vertical position.
• Corrects misspellings in the Spanish and Thai menus for applicable products.

Now whether fixing typos in the Thai menus matters to you is up to you.

Typically, no, it won't hurt your camera to do a firmware upgrade, as long as the process isn't interrupted midstream, and you know you've got right firmware file from Canon directly (i.e., don't try and put a 5DmkII firmware file on a 7D, and only download directly from the Canon website etc.)

And also, typically, no, you may not need it, and you're probably not missing out on anything major. Firmware upgrades are usually just for bug fixes that can be solved in the camera's software. Unless the bug's a catastrophic or annoying one, it's usually not a big deal.

[pablojinko]

I'm kind of a freak with firmware, OS and things like that, I always want to have all my gadgets updated.

Regarding my 7D... I got it last week, I took a couple of test shots that night and the next day I updated the firmware to 1.2.2. so I don't have a point of reference for the previous version.

I can only say that my camera works perfectly, haven't encountered any issues so far.

Guidelines for upgrading usually tend to overrate the dificulty of the process. If you download the right file and be careful to not to turn the power off while upgrading, you should be ready to go in five minutes.

[Zion21]

I would say you should definitely try to upgrade the firmware if you know how to. The Aperature jump fix really helps out a lot.

[ednorm]

I went ahead and upgraded after reading inkista's reply, I thought if a girl could do it ....
Truthfully I figured if I did not do it then I would always wonder if I should have, and besides I figured if I screwed up it would be returned to Sears anyway. It went flawlessly and although I have not noticed any difference, as Pablo I have only shot at night with my camera as I have been working during the days, so I will assume I am better off. One thing I did notice after upgrading from my Canon rebel is that long exposures create much noise, my old rebel does not have any on night shots, to the point that the Picasa software I recently got turns the scene almost red color trying to deal with the noise.The canon zoom browser does not do this, I read where it has a noise feature too, but I have not been able to find it, maybe its in an upgrade as I just seen the software can be upgraded too. Now I need to write down what versions I have and check them against the upgrades. And all I wanted to do was take a few pictures ...

ed