Firmware Here

[Greg Boston]

Originally Posted by Carroll Lam

Once you find the files on www.sonybiz.net you can download them directly without using ftp.

Carroll Lam

That location is okay even though it's the UK site. The Sony FTP site I do not believe is intended to be known to the general public.

-gb-

[Nate Weaver]

Aha. So apparently the method I used first was good, but I didn't go far enough. I had done only the AT, and thought that was it. Not surprisingly, he camera didn't work very well with only the AT updated.

[Carroll Lam]

Another reason for downloading from the www.sonybiz.net site is that the download set includes an updated user manual which includes the new items provided by the rom updates.

Carroll Lam

[Simon Wyndham]

Well, I still can't get it to work. Usually the Package is updated before the AT, and this is shown by the instructions too.

Regarding the use of mains power rather than the battery. Not sure what to make of that, and never have. The recomendation it seems is to stop the camera powering down during the uograde. However, as Clive Canon from Sony New Zealand once told me, the only time he's ever had a problem upgrading the firmware was when he was connected via mains power and there was a power outtage!

[Greg Boston]

Originally Posted by Simon Wyndham

Well, I still can't get it to work. Usually the Package is updated before the AT, and this is shown by the instructions too.

Regarding the use of mains power rather than the battery. Not sure what to make of that, and never have. The recomendation it seems is to stop the camera powering down during the uograde. However, as Clive Canon from Sony New Zealand once told me, the only time he's ever had a problem upgrading the firmware was when he was connected via mains power and there was a power outtage!

Simon, the idea of using mains power was from Chris Tsai here at Sony America. He is the one who provided me the update last week. In any case, it doesn't matter what power source you're using, the idea is to make sure the camera will stay on throughout the upgrade, hence the suggestion by Chris to run on AC power during the upgrade.

BTW, the updated essence mark menu now shows the additional essence marks you have had on the SD cam. I'm not sure the camera is actually recording them because I recorded a clip using hot audio to force the limiter, and did some filter changes, wb changes, etc. and they were still greyed out when I pulled the clip up for review.

-gb-

[Nate Weaver]

Something else the firmware has seemed to fix:

When in any of the Cine gammas, the 100% zebra would not work because the gamma would keep any whites way below 100IRE. While that's technically correct, I would like to know when my whites are burning in a given Cinegamma without having to waste the 1st zebra channel and set it to 94%. I was having lots of trouble getting a handle on exposure on this camera because of this.

So either the Zebra 2 channel is being modified to something a little bit below 100, or the Cine gammas now will put some of your whites at 100 (when they didn't before).

[edit: After shooting some out my front door, and then looking at with the scopes in FCP, it appears possibly now that whites are being placed much higher than before with the Cine gammas now, at least with Cine3. Does anybody want to confirm?]

[Simon Wyndham]

Hi Greg,

Yes, the official recomendation is to use mains power, and has been throughout all the updates. I was just pointing out the potential silliness/humour of this since you can just as easily have mains power outtages and spikes. :-)

[Greg Boston]

Originally Posted by Nate Weaver

Something else the firmware has seemed to fix:

When in any of the Cine gammas, the 100% zebra would not work because the gamma would keep any whites way below 100IRE. While that's technically correct, I would like to know when my whites are burning in a given Cinegamma without having to waste the 1st zebra channel and set it to 94%

So either the Zebra 2 channel is being modified to something a little bit below 100, or the Cine gammas now will put some of your whites at 100 (when they didn't before).

I also noticed with the new firmware that the KNEE function is shown as '--' when the Cinegamma is active. If you select it and try to change it it will say something about you having Cinegamma turned on. Before, you could tweak the KNEE settings even when using Cinegamma curves.

-gb-

[Greg Boston]

Originally Posted by Simon Wyndham

Hi Greg,

Yes, the official recomendation is to use mains power, and has been throughout all the updates. I was just pointing out the potential silliness/humour of this since you can just as easily have mains power outtages and spikes. :-)

Hehe, yeah Simon the moral of the story is regardless of how you power it, the power had better stay on all the way through, lest your camera become an expensive paperweight.

-gb-

[Greg Boston]

Originally Posted by Nate Weaver

Something else the firmware has seemed to fix:

When in any of the Cine gammas, the 100% zebra would not work because the gamma would keep any whites way below 100IRE. While that's technically correct, I would like to know when my whites are burning in a given Cinegamma without having to waste the 1st zebra channel and set it to 94%

So either the Zebra 2 channel is being modified to something a little bit below 100, or the Cine gammas now will put some of your whites at 100 (when they didn't before).

Zebra 2 is fixed at 70 IRE. Zebra 1 is the one you can adjust.

-gb-

p.s. You've got voicemail on your cellphone.

[Simon Wyndham]

You can't adjust Zebra 2?

Yeah, a power outtage could make the camera a dud. But it can be revived if you know how. Although thats best left to Sony techs and requires a phone call to Japan.

On the last firmware update my camera went caput on the AT upgrade. I had to drive 2hrs down to Sony Basingstoke for them to do the 'hold down the record button and the menu wheel while powering up' thing to get the AT to install. So, 2hr drive, 10 seconds for them to fix it, 2hr drive back! But kudos for them for letting me go down there at short notice, and for Clive at Sony NZ for contacting them on my behalf.

Contrary to the beliefs of some, the Sony people go out of their way quite often to make sure their professional customers are happy.

Thankfully they have now put this information on the install instructions.

Now, if only I could get this latest package software to install!

[Greg Boston]

Originally Posted by Simon Wyndham

Contrary to the beliefs of some, the Sony people go out of their way quite often to make sure their professional customers are happy.

That's definitely been my experience. Especially when I had to send in the camera for a warranty issue in July.

With this first upgrade on XDCAM HD, you have to do the AT first in order to get the Diag menu screen that shows the ROM version. You then update the package from that screen.

-gb-

[Nate Weaver]

Originally Posted by Greg Boston

Zebra 2 is fixed at 70 IRE. Zebra 1 is the one you can adjust.

Sure about that? From what I could tell, Zebra 1 was always 100, but with Cinegammas you rarely had anything going up to 100 to use it with.

[Simon Wyndham]

Hi Greg,

Not sure I want to upgrade the AT first. I would imagne the SD version is different from the HD one. Usually on all updates before hand you needed the correct Package installed in order to do the AT upgrade.

[Greg Boston]

Originally Posted by Nate Weaver

Sure about that? From what I could tell, Zebra 1 was always 100, but with Cinegammas you rarely had anything going up to 100 to use it with.

I'm looking at U09 right now. Zebra display can be 2, 1, or both. The only Zebra level you can set is for Zebra 1. Zebra 2 is fixed at 70%. I have Zebra 1 set for 90%.

-gb-