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Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

 

Canon 5D Mark II Firmware Update Ver. 1.0.7

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Canon has updated the firmware for the EOS 5D Mark II with the specific intention of addressing the Black Dot and vertical banding problems.  See the notes from Canon below regarding Firmware Version 1.0.7.

Firmware Update Version 1.0.7 improves and mitigates the following two types of image quality phenomena that occur under certain shooting conditions.

1. “Black dot” phenomenon (the right side of point light sources become black)
2. Vertical banding noise

Firmware Version 1.0.7 is for EOS 5D Mark II cameras with firmware up to version 1.0.6. If the camera’s firmware is already version 1.0.7, it is not necessary to update the firmware.

Notes:
When updating to Firmware Version 1.0.7, please also update the Digital Photo Professional and Picture Style Editor software. Firmware Version 1.0.7 can be downloaded from the bottom of this page. Updates for Digital Photo Professional and Picture Style Editor can be downloaded from the following Web site.

You can download the updates and view further details and instructions from Canon here.

For the latest news and reviews on the 5D Mark II, be sure to stay tuned to Photography Bay’s Canon 5D Mark II Reviews and Resources.

Canon Black Dots Official Response

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Canon USA has released an official statement regarding the 5D Mark II and its, now infamous, black dots phenomenon, along with a banding issue for sRAW1 settings.

We have learned that some users of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR camera have identified two types of image quality phenomena that appear under certain shooting conditions.

  1. “Black dot” phenomenon (the right side of point light sources becomes black)
  2. Vertical banding noise

We are currently investigating and analysing the causes, and examining measures to reduce or eliminate these phenomena by providing correction firmware. An announcement will be made on the Canon Web site when such measures have been determined.

Details of the phenomena and shooting conditions under which they are likely to occur are as follows.

  1. “Black dot” phenomenon (the right side of point light sources becomes black)
    When shooting night scenes, the right side of point light sources (such as lights from building windows) may become black. The phenomenon may become visible if the images are enlarged to 100% or above on a monitor or, if large prints of the images are made.
  2. Vertical banding noise
    If the recording format is set to sRAW1, vertical banding noise may become visible depending on the camera settings, subject, and background.
  • Vertical banding noise is not noticeable if the recording format is set to sRAW2.
  • Vertical banding noise does not occur if the recording format is set to RAW or JPEG.
  • Noise can be reduced if C.Fn II-3: Highlight tone priority is set to 0: Disable.

    • Additional information can be found on Canon USA’s website.

    Canon 5D Mark II “Black Dots” Fixed

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    There has been an uproar among new Canon 5D Mark II users over the past couple of days.  Slashgear has a post featuring this issue as a potential killer for Canon, particularly after the autofocus debacle from the 1D Mark III.  Slashgear summarizes the issue:

    Facing the toughest pixel-peepers, images taken with the new camera shown clusters of black dots/edges on the right side of blown highlight areas.

    Industrious pixel-peepers have been burning the midnight oil with speculation as to what is creating this problem.  One DPR forum member may have found the source of the problem:

    Just picked up my 5dII, and sure enough, I see black dots out of the box.

    At iso 400 and iso 6400, with a 50/1.8 and 85/1.2L II. I took a few dozen shots, and they are easily duplicated.

    I then turned the settings to “Disable” for highlight tone priority, lighting optimizer and noise reduction.

    No black dots.

    He’s got comparison pics to prove it too.  See the full forum post here.

    For the latest news and reviews on the 5D Mark II, be sure to stay tuned to Photography Bay’s Canon 5D Mark II Reviews and Resources.