Canon has announced a firmware upgrade for the EOS-1D X Mark II (Amazon, B&H, Adorama) full-frame DSLR camera.
Firmware upgrade version 1.1 clearly targets professional users and organizations, but as you’ll see, some of these features may be useful to individual working pros or even serious photography enthusiasts.
The DSLR camera features a new 20.2 MP full frame CMOS sensor and new Al Servo AF III+, improved 61-point AF system with 41 cross-type AF points. The new 360k RGB+IR metering sensor powered by the Dual “DIGIC 6+” processors. It is able to record 4K video up to 60p and an ISO range of 100 to 51200 (expandable from 50 up to 409600).
Canon EOS-1D X Mark II Firmware Version 1.1 Details
In a nutshell: what’s new and different?
This new upgrade (version 1.1) addresses specific issues that professional news and photojournalism organizations have brought to Canon’s attention — we understand that not all of these will be important in more ordinary, everyday use to individual photographers. That said, the changes and new features that this firmware adds to the EOS-1D X Mark II camera are the ability to:
- Install up to 39 items of IPTC information into the camera, and to add data (or deliberately not apply it) to images you take
- Add set-up information for up to 40 new Wi-Fi® networks to a memory card, and load that data as a full set of possible Wi-Fi networks to select from for connection
- Transfer only “protected” images via Wi-Fi
- Retain GPS position data: Continue to apply last known GPS location information to images subsequently taken, even if GPS connection is lost (photographer went inside a building, etc.)
- Change LCD color tone (four pre-defined settings), to either approximate display from other cameras you’re working with, or to shift color tone based on ambient lighting as the LCD monitor is being used
The aim of these changes is to enhance a professional photographer’s workflow; improve on-location network and Wi-Fi operations (especially for photographers working at large events, with many Wi-Fi networks in simultaneous operation); and to smooth the process of transferring images and managing them with new embedded metadata. We’ll take a brief look at each, to shed some light on what changes and potential applications have been implemented.
Keep in mind that the EOS-1D X Mark II differs from other Canon EOS models in that it not only permits network communication and transfer of images via Wi-Fi (using the optional WFT-E8A or WFT-E6A wireless file transmitters), but also via wired ethernet connection — there’s a dedicated ethernet port on the camera for this purpose. This allows similar network connectivity, but without some of the variables users can encounter on-location with Wi-Fi transmission. Firmware v. 1.1 doesn’t change this; we only want to remind users of it here.
via: DLC
