Firmware Upgrade for C700UZ

[Tweek]

Hi, I think I ought to do a mini review on the firmware upgrade for the C700UZ. This upgrade was made known to me by Klause, who has gone for the upgrade too. Credit to Klause! Clap clap clap.

The firmware upgrade is mainly to reduce the problem of hotpixels, which the C700 is infamous for. A preliminary tryout shows a tremendous improvement! The pictures below are all taken at F3.2, ISO100, One-touch WB. Sorry for the poor focus, I didn't set focus to infinity, but the emphasis is on the hotpixels anyway so please pardon that.

2s exposure

Underexposed, and zero hot pixels.

Fullsize crop of the pic, showing part of the sky


4s exposure

Very minimal hot pixels.

Fullsize crop of the pic, showing part of the sky

 

[Tweek]

8s exposure

hot pixels start appearing, but still bearable

Fullsize crop of the pic, showing part of the sky


16s exposure

hot pixels become quite prominent, but quite good for a 16s exposure!

Fullsize crop of the pic, showing part of the sky

 

[Tweek]

For the sake of comparison, the following pic was taken at ISO100, auto WB, F8.0, 16s. This was before the firmware upgrade, taken quite some time ago.

Another improvement noted is: autofocus seems to be slightly faster, although this may be psychological.

So in conclusion, this upgrade is definitely worthwhile! Just bring your C700UZ and warranty card to Olympus Singapore Service Centre, ask for Mr Goh. The upgrade took me 30-45mins. Mr Goh will also do an overall checking and cleaning, and will give a free booklet on digital photography FAQ (which is a bit useless). The service centre opens from 9-5pm, Mon to Fri only.

Hope this piece of info is useful to all C700UZ users out there.

 

[Klause]

wah.. u actually take the time to do testing... good job hehe

Actually I also feel that the focus is faster

 

[azone]

Wow! Tweek, many thanks to your great efforts to conduct this hotpixel test! All I can say is simply amazing! The 16sec exposure pic was something that can NEVER be done before! Looks like the upgrade does make a difference.

Btw, have you done the test on continuously using the DC until it is warm, and see if hotpixels appears to be as obvious as before?

 

[Tweek]

Originally posted by Klause
wah.. u actually take the time to do testing... good job hehe

Actually I also feel that the focus is faster

really? hehe ok..then maybe it's not psychological, the AF may really be faster after all...that's good news!

 

[Tweek]

Originally posted by azone
Wow! Tweek, many thanks to your great efforts to conduct this hotpixel test! All I can say is simply amazing! The 16sec exposure pic was something that can NEVER be done before! Looks like the upgrade does make a difference.

Btw, have you done the test on continuously using the DC until it is warm, and see if hotpixels appears to be as obvious as before?

No problem azone. No haven't tried continuous use yet cos I came home quite late last night, so no time to try. Will try it soon....

 

[azone]

Originally posted by Tweek


No problem azone. No haven't tried continuous use yet cos I came home quite late last night, so no time to try. Will try it soon....

Sure! Take your time to try it out. :gbounce:

 

[mfo]

:rbounce:
thats amazing..
now i must look for that damn warranty card...
it looks like they've got like an NR kind-a-thing, the hot pixels arent quite that lighted up as tehy used to be in 16s exposure, 8s even... dont htink its darkframe though...

this is a must for all c700uz users i guess...

 

[Sphoenix]

Wow what does this mean for night photography. My enthusiasm for the c700 has alway s been high coz of the 10x optical zoom but then always dampened by the many users complaining about the poor night shot capability.

More updates!

 

[mpenza]

it means you can take better nightshots with less noise

 

[daniella3d]

Hello, what is the current version of the firmware for your c700? what is the latest version available? i have 78, not sure its the latest but i have no problem with hot pixels. focusing could be a bit faster though.

 

[sebastiansong]

Wah Great Effort and thnx for sharing the results

Probably Jayan should do one with his upgraded 2100UZ

Cant find the time to go down to upgrade the firmware... don noe whether or not it is worth it for the Uzi

 

[azone]

Originally posted by daniella3d
Hello, what is the current version of the firmware for your c700? what is the latest version available? i have 78, not sure its the latest but i have no problem with hot pixels. focusing could be a bit faster though.

Hey hey, daniella! The one from dpreview Olympus Talk? My nick is Antena from there too if you rememdered. My C700 version is v-357p-74. Hmm.. looks quite old.

 

[Klause]

How do you check the version? Breezebrowser doesn't show the version number in the EXIF data

 

[Tweek]

my version now is v357p-73...hmmm weird. Smaller number means newer??

anyway azone I tried continuous usage...well there are more hot pixels but less than continuous usage before the firmware upgrade. So I guess it's still worth it after all....

 

[daniella3d]

Hello Antena,

Yes i remember you

That is wierd that people getting firmware updage are getting version 357-73 when i have 357-78.

You can see the firmware version in the xif datas. I wonder what this mean?

Originally posted by azone



Hey hey, daniella! The one from dpreview Olympus Talk? My nick is Antena from there too if you rememdered. My C700 version is v-357p-74. Hmm.. looks quite old.

 

[daniella3d]

do you still have the original you took before the update? what was the version you had before the update?

Originally posted by Tweek
my version now is v357p-73...hmmm weird. Smaller number means newer??

anyway azone I tried continuous usage...well there are more hot pixels but less than continuous usage before the firmware upgrade. So I guess it's still worth it after all....

 

[mfo]

mine says 357p-73... so i guess they didnt change the firmware version number... just improved stuff... i hope noise in ISO 100 is reduced too...

my 2100uz is weird it just says Olympus Camedia Master, i only used camedia to transfer the images nothing more... oh well, it doesnt matter...

 

[azone]

Originally posted by Tweek
my version now is v357p-73...hmmm weird. Smaller number means newer??

anyway azone I tried continuous usage...well there are more hot pixels but less than continuous usage before the firmware upgrade. So I guess it's still worth it after all....

Hmm.. yup, maybe the smaller the number, the newer the version?? Hmm.. tweek, to confirm, maybe you can check the version number (liek dianella said) from one of those pics you took before the upgrade and see if its really true.