Canon 7D finally gets the firmware it has needed! Download it now!

DSLR DSLR Gear

It has been a long time coming and with no reason as to why we haven’t seen it sooner but the 7D now has a massive firmware upgrade. Much of it improves enormously on the stills function but the video function gets a look in. The big thing being manual audio control that has been conspicuously  absent when the 5Dmk2, 600D, 650d and 60D all have it. It’s not a great manual audio function as it’s within the video menu and there are no levels on screen whilst recording, no ability to change audio levels whilst recording and no headphone jack of course but it’s better than the horrible auto gain control. Whether this firmware update opens it up to magic lantern hack-ability remains to be seen…

You can download it here.

Below is the press release that details all the new features.

London, UK, 28 June 2012 – Canon today enhances the EOS 7D with firmware v2, adding a range of new features for enthusiasts looking to push the limits of their photography. Building on the camera’s high speed, advanced handling and creative versatility, the new firmware provides photographers with a host of new benefits including higher maximum RAW burst rate, in-camera editing functions, user-definable Auto ISO and support for Canon’s latest GPS Receiver, GP-E2.

Originally launched in 2009, the EOS 7D was carefully developed based on the feedback from thousands of photographers from across the globe. Offering the perfect combination of outstanding image quality and exceptional versatility across a range of photography styles, even today it is still considered to be one of the best APS-C cameras on the market. When developing the new firmware Canon followed a similar approach, gaining direct user feedback to bring the EOS 7D up to date with enhanced performance and a greater range of shooting capabilities and creative functionality.

Enhanced RAW performance
With an 18 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, Dual “DIGIC 4″ processors and an extended maximum ISO of 12,800, the EOS 7D offers fast, high-quality shooting at speeds of up to 8 frames per second. Thanks to the new firmware which adds powerful memory management algorithms taken from Canon’s flagship EOS-1 series, photographers will now be able to enjoy greater flexibility in continuous shooting, with the maximum RAW buffer now extended to a new high of 25 RAW files or 130 JPEGs. Combining with the camera’s high 18MP resolution and 14-bit image processing, this will allow photographers to capture the decisive moment with rich detailed images.

In-camera image editing and rating
A range of newly-added editing functions also gives photographers more control over how images look, allowing post-production to begin in-camera. Photographers can now process their RAW files and correct artefacts such as peripheral illumination, distortion and chromatic aberration. Additionally, adjustments to white balance, sharpness and Picture Style, as well as a host of other parameters, can now also be made immediately after shooting, with the results saved as new JPEG files. JPEGs can also be instantly resized, without the need for a PC or Mac.

Photographers can now easily filter large volumes of pictures on their way back from a shoot using an image rating facility. Image rating data is stored in each file’s metadata, which can be read by a range of editing applications, including Canon Digital Photo Professional, and other industry software such as Apple Aperture, Adobe Lightroom and Bridge.

Extra control in stills and movies
The EOS 7D’s new firmware provides extended versatility across both stills and movies. Newly-added control of Auto ISO enables photographers to limit the maximum ISO speed to any point within the native ISO 400-6,400 range. Offering greater control over exposure, this will enable photographers to customise the maximum automatic ISO speed to suit their personal preferences, or to adjust parameters in different situations to meet specific creative goals.

Improved audio functionality in movie mode also provides aspiring videographers with greater control while shooting videos. Users can complement the camera’s Full HD (1920x1080p) movie footage with 16-bit digital stereo sound, sampled at broadcastquality 48KHz, and new manual control of audio levels allows users to choose from 64 sound levels. A digital wind-cut filter also reduces noise made by movement of air around the microphone, ensuring sound is clear and free from peripheral interference.

Track your travels with GPS compatibility
Firmware v2 also provides added capacity for users to track the location of their images with new support for the GPS Receiver GP-E2 – Canon’s latest high-performance GPS unit. The GP-E2 is attached securely to the hotshoe, and connected to the camera via a cable, making it easy for EOS 7D photographers to geo-tag photos with longitude, latitude and altitude data as well as the direction in which the shot was taken – adding the information to the EXIF file of the image1. A GPS Logger tracks movements by downloading GPS data at regular intervals, and compatibility with Google Maps means users can easily view their route in Canon’s free Map Utility software.

Firmware v2 will roll out across the region from August 2012.

Canon EOS 7D firmware v2 – new features:

  • Improved maximum burst for RAW images (up to 25)
  • In-camera RAW image editing
  • In-camera Image Rating
  • In-camera JPEG resizing
  • Maximum Auto ISO setting (ISO 400-6400)
  • Manual audio level adjustment in movie recording
  • GPS compatibility
  • File name customisation
  • Time zone settings
  • Faster scrolling of magnified images
  • Quick control screen during playback thth

20 comments

  1. It would seem (I’m sure others who are more familiar & clever will have found a way) that you cannot set up quick access to adjust it easily in the field, or maybe even do on the fly adjustments.

  2. I really would like to get the 7D for it’s photography properties, but when all the new high end DSLRs have the great new compression settings and probably better manual audio control then the new firmware gives the 7D, I can’t really justify buying it because I shoot a lot of video and photography is more of a side hobby thing then the opposite.

  3. I installed the firmware on my 7d, but it seems that I can no longer access the camera settings with the canon software. I am getting out of memory issues. Is any one else experiencing this?

    1. I´m having the same problem. Trying to install the Lightform PP and it tells me out of memory. Have you had any luck on your side? Any one else with this issue that can throw some light here???
      Many thanks.

    2. I tried my 7D with Canon’s EOS Utility yesterday and I also got the ‘out of memory’ warning. Clicking ‘Ok’ closes the EOS software so it can no longer be used. Just for information, the EOS Utility is not presently working with Mountain Lion on Macs.

  4. i updated but as you wrote without ability to ajust levels during recording theres not much point unless your in a studio/interview setup where you have more control. if only we could get the majic lantern for video, the photog upgrades re burst / buffer are gr8 the rest meh…

    1. What would be good is being able to have the audio meters onscreen in live view.

      For video, Im looking to move towards a Sony FSxxx as Ive had enough of the limitations of DSLRs

  5. I chose my 7D after watching Philip’s work with it and buying some Tutorials (genuinely helpful and inspiring), but I came to dislike the issues with aliasing and moire, especially evident and un-usable in slow-motion 720P mode. I hoped from the beginning that Magic Lantern would exploit the dual digic processors to enhance the performance of this camera, but that was blocked by Canon. I then hoped new Canon Firmware would help give us the image-processing that really justifies buying further Canon glass and other accessories, but soon realised with the new 5D3 that Canon wanted to maintain a bottle-neck on the resolution of their DSLR cameras. So, I wasn’t expecting Revision 2 to improve the actual video resolution of the 7D and Canon didn’t disappoint me there, but it would have been nice to do something about the aliasing and moire problems? It’s a pity, because I like the feel and ergonomics of Canon products, but I feel sure now that I have to migrate to another platform for videography if I want true HD results under £10,000.

    1. The C300 is a beautiful beast, which shows that Canon have the expertise to pull in a loyal generation of potential customers to record all the wonders and banalities of this planet, but the 7D was my first camera, and after patiently waiting to see what it can really do, I’m now finding better prospects elsewhere, including the promising A99. Frankly, I’ve seen better image-processing from the new generation of mobile phones, so I hope Canon will act quickly to restore the faith of its 7D and 5D customers. At the very least, existing users need a solution to aliasing and moire, and it would help seed a newer generation for their glass if they added 1080P slow-motion, clean HDMI and acceptable data reduction/compression. Once people leave Canon, especially those with limited budgets, I suspect they won’t return. I hope Canon are reading the feedback of customers who have spent thousands of pounds on their products?

      1. I forgot to add that it would be nice if Canon could provide firmware for the 7D to enable audio throughput via the mini-hdmi, so that we can monitor microphone levels with headphones on an external device, as well as trying to get critical focus.

      2. It’s just a thought, but having successfully prevented Magic Lantern from accessing the locked-down firmware of the 7D, perhaps Canon could sell encrypted firmware updates with the options they are looking for. This could be done with our cameras connected to Canon’s website to authorise each update?

  7. Any GOOD firmware coming for the 5D3?? Last one stated it would fix the 40mm STM problem, but that was obviously not true. I hope Canon wont give up on this beautiful camera!

    1. I shoot on ski fields and often find that limiting the auto ISO during filming would be a god send. I was waiting like a kid before christmas for this update, just for that feature. Gutted. The Manual sound controls are nice though, even if can’t see during shooting, still nice to not have to work round the AGC. 🙂

  9. This improves the camera in general alright but I was wondering if it’s possible to improve the image quality of video with a firmware update? 650d for example has exactly the same IQ in video mode as 7D (or 600d) but it has a Digic 5 (6 times faster than digic 4) so it should be in theory better than 600d, there should be more detail and no line skipping. Could they for example decide to improve the software and ditch line skipping and improve details with a firmware, is that even theoretically possible?

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