I'll have to check my old footage... my current footage, shot with the latest firmware does stutter, but I put it down to Windows not being able to play it back efficiently - even though my QuadCore shows only about 30% CPU utilization when playing back the 5D mk II files in QuickTime. I hope it's not a firmware issue as who knows how long it'll take Canon to fix it! I'll update this thread after I've tested the footage captured with the earlier firmware.

Julian....I've noticed the stutter during the actual recording on the rear lcd of my 5d.Either way I think it's better that the crushed blacks are fixed.It's much easier to fix the stutter then to bring back shadow detail that doesn't exist.My fingers are crossed that someone will find a fix quickly.

Ryan

Ah, ok, Ryan. I do not see stuttering on the camera's LCD during recording, or during playback. I did see it in the original firmware when using Canon lenses which were untwisted (specifically the 17-40mm L). It occurred when the lens was twisted loose by just a millimeter or so, as someone else pointed out above. When it was untwisted more, the stuttering went away.

Julian

oh good I'll try untwisting it more then.Thanks for the tip Julian!....I didn't notice any stuttering this weekend at a wedding I shot so maybe that's the ticket.I'll let you know what happens when I get a chance to toy around a bit more.

Ryan

You guys really should be using Mylar to block the electrical contacts instead of twisting the lens. It is very easy and much much safer.

See http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/1003370-post1.html

If you are unlocking lenses at all during camera operation, you may be asking for catastrophic failure eventually. The circuits may be designed to deal with a transient bad state whilst a lens is being swapped but a continuous bad state may be another matter.

The stutter and frame shift may occur because the central processor may be overworked trying to salvage the best image it can whilst trying to over-ride a problem it sees.

My personal preference would be to mask the conducting pins over with thin tape if you want to isolate the lens and use various strength or stacked ND filters to control exposure or force slower shutter speed.

Deep ND may in turn cause an unwanted colour cast due to IR contamination if the ND filters are not of good quality. Stacked NDs will cause other problems.


FOOTNOTE: Mark. You just beat me to the post with your reply.

Unless I misunderstand you, that is what I'm suggesting, except you don't have to line the tape up with the pins and there is no chance of the tape slipping off of a contact.

Yes, and the better the filters the less chance of problems. You can fix color in post but it is a PITA.