7D firmware upgrade: Finally the V2.0 comes out...

So I finally had a minute to download and then upload the new Canon, V2.0 firmware upgrade for my 7D. And at last 7D users aren't locked into having only Auto Gain Control of the audio into these cameras. The new firmware allows you to set the gain levels manually.

Like I said, Finally! No more loosing one channel of audio in a work around.

But has anyone with the firmware and a 7D had any issues with this update?
Has anyone seen any of the other upgrades in this firmware to be a benefit?

I shot both some still images today as well as some video. I thought I noticed that the buffer didn't fill as fast when hammering the shutter button while shooting my son's football practice today. I also was using an older, 8gb, 30mBs CF card that in the past would stop recording video because the buffer would fill. I shot and shot a lot of video on that card and never once did the camera stop recording video while using that slower CF card. I normally use a 32gb, 400x, 50mBs write when shooting video. Maybe the upgraded buffer feature makes using some of those older, slower cards worth while again?

Just wondering.

one thing i noticed that i think i will really love is the ability to manually adjust the maximum ISO when shooting in Auto-ISO modes which i normally take advantage of while shooting sports in shutter priority under tough outdoor lighting. it used to be that the max the ISO would go i think 3200. and at some sports games i had wished it would have just bumped that tiny bit more to 4000 for night soccer games.

not a feature i have hardly ever used but the ability to have it is rather nice.

also i like when reviewing stuff if you push like the quick button it opens a menu for that image so you can rotate or more importantly lock that shot and even rate it. i never really take advantage of the rate thing but easier locking of photos makes it easier to not accidentally delete lol

i have not yet decided if i still want to record anything into my camera but being able to turn AGC off and manually adjust levels means i will definitely always record nat sound on the 7D but i think i will still prefer to record my primary audio on a zoom h1 to have a little better quality

I think you're right Brian about the audio. This new manual audio gain level would have helped me out back in June when I needed to shoot a series of quick "What's New" videos at a trade show in Las Vegas. I didn't want to have to spend too much time syncing the sound afterwards, so I just recorded it all to the camera using the 1K tone on one channel and audio on the other workaround. It worked fine, but it was a pain in the arse when I had the cord come out of my phone that was feeding the tone. AGC took over again on that take.

Having manual audio control means no more screwy workarounds and a loss of a channel of audio. Like you I don't know how much more I will record audio straight to camera, but at least its a nice option to have.

yea i feel your pain on the work arounds. i would use my ipod to feed the tone through one channel. and without being able to monitor levels i wouldnt know if it was working when the cord might come lose occasionally. definitely was a nightmare on a few shoots before i bought better cables and more tape to secure everything lol

I wish I had taped the mini plug going into my droid. That would have stopped at least one of those mess ups. I'm just glad that Canon finally fixed a major screw up of their own on this camera.

I've read some reports on other forums in which there is still noticeable noise when using an external microphone such as a Rode Videomic Pro. Doesn't appear to be the case for the internal mic.

Has anyone experienced this issue? I updated my 7D a few days ago but haven't had time to plug the Rode into it yet.

Firmware upgrade or not, the preamps in the camera are still weak. But still think those Rode mice aren't all that great to begin with. Compaired to more expensive, high end mice they are just plan noisy. When feed a proper, hot signal with lower circuit induced noise the camera can record a pretty well. A $200 mic will generate some of its own noise whether its plugged into a DSLLR or a high end digital recorder.

I think the point of the users who reported more than expected noise from an external mic is that the noise was worse than the internal mic, thus the same internal preamp for both.

I'll hop over to dvxuser and try to get more details.

What else is new in the 2.0 firmware?