barjohn Posted June 9, 2007 Share #1 Posted June 9, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Guy, By now I am guessing you have given Leice our lists of wants and I am sure they are keenly aware of the bugs so the question is what is happening? Are they going to release a firmware update anytime soon? I am guessing that you are beta testing if they have a new release near being ready. I sure hope they have listened to us with regards to uncoded lenses and perhaps an option for the full 14 bit raw, call it DNG14. After finally getting the February issue of LFI (took forever) and reading the article I think I would like the option to shoot in DNG14 for some sessions where ultimate quality is the goal. Having 16K values map to 256 is giving up to much fine data. I understand the argument that you may not be able to see it but why givie it up if you don't have to. Before I go on vacation in July would be nice. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 9, 2007 Posted June 9, 2007 Hi barjohn, Take a look here Guy Any Word On When New Firmware May Be Available?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Guest guy_mancuso Posted June 9, 2007 Share #2 Posted June 9, 2007 Great question. All lists have been sent in on bug fixes and also on any optional requests we have asked for, so they have all the information available to them. I can't say much more than that at this time, hopefully something will develop soon. Wish I had a better answer on this Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
barjohn Posted June 9, 2007 Author Share #3 Posted June 9, 2007 Guy, Can you say if you have a beta copy yet? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted June 9, 2007 Share #4 Posted June 9, 2007 I would not be allowed to say if I did Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
etienne_werner Posted June 10, 2007 Share #5 Posted June 10, 2007 I would not be allowed to say if I did Well Guy, Just like in the spy movies: " If you have the beta firmware don't answer this message".:) Now how is this for plausible deniability? Regards, Etienne Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott kirkpatrick Posted June 10, 2007 Share #6 Posted June 10, 2007 Lay off, guys. If he has a beta copy he can't tell anyone but Leica what he finds. If he doesn't have one, he can't say that either. It's all input until Leica announces output. Sic semper betabus (or something like that). scott Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted June 10, 2007 Share #7 Posted June 10, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Well I can't just not answer a question, that is something i won't do. And anything clever i could say could be taken either way , so i don't want to mislead anyone either. I'm just in a position i can't answer one way or the other, i hope everyone understands that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootist Posted June 10, 2007 Share #8 Posted June 10, 2007 Well I can't just not answer a question, that is something i won't do. And anything clever i could say could be taken either way , so i don't want to mislead anyone either. I'm just in a position i can't answer one way or the other, i hope everyone understands that. Thanks Guy. I think most of the members on this forum understand completely. Keep up the great work. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chetccox Posted June 10, 2007 Share #9 Posted June 10, 2007 This post is in no way directed at Guy. I understand his position completely since he has agreed to the non-disclosure with Leica. My question is why does Leica insist on this secrecy? The firmware when released will be free to all owners of the M8, and it will only work on the M8. What advantage is it for Leica to keep the secret that perhaps there is firmware in the beta testing stage? Would it not be better so simply say so? We all know it is coming, and I believe we also all know that there is a beta release presently being evaluated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eronald Posted June 10, 2007 Share #10 Posted June 10, 2007 Who cares about new firmware ? The camera's real issues are in order of importance its unreliability and the the inability of the company to make repairs in a decent amount of time, the IR sensitive sensor design and the inadequate viewfinder which would greatly benefit from a built-in zoom magnifier. I've certainly learnt my lesson, a 6 pound Canon EOS 1Ds, lenses and charger are going to backup my Leica for travel. I don't want to say this too loudly, but a Canon 5D with a 50mm 1.8 lens costs less than the 35mm Summilux which Leica hasn't managed to fix decently in 12 weeks. I'm not buying a new lens for the Leica, sorry. Edmund Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisC Posted June 10, 2007 Share #11 Posted June 10, 2007 ....Sic semper betabus (..... Hey everybody - Guy's got the Beta Bus, I've seen it in print! Now let's see if Guy denies it; that will prove it's true. ................Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
35mmSummicron Posted June 10, 2007 Share #12 Posted June 10, 2007 because if Leica announces they are releasing firmware soon, everyone will be all up at arms about it--venting on the forum, calling/emailing Leica about WHEN its coming, WHAT it should include. by not mentioning anything, it gives Leica the quiet comfort to properly test and develop the version that THEY want to release, because it is after all THEIR firmware, and THEIR Leica M8 product. a lot of camera owners forget that sometimes, and seem to overly demand......... This post is in no way directed at Guy. I understand his position completely since he has agreed to the non-disclosure with Leica. My question is why does Leica insist on this secrecy? The firmware when released will be free to all owners of the M8, and it will only work on the M8. What advantage is it for Leica to keep the secret that perhaps there is firmware in the beta testing stage? Would it not be better so simply say so? We all know it is coming, and I believe we also all know that there is a beta release presently being evaluated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrc Posted June 10, 2007 Share #13 Posted June 10, 2007 From reading this forum, I get the impression that people are expecting great things from the new firmware. What would they be? A lens-coding menu, perhaps? JC Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Flatline Posted June 10, 2007 Share #14 Posted June 10, 2007 ...We all know it is coming, and I believe we also all know that there is a beta release presently being evaluated. Well then, why should they say anything? It'll get here when it gets here... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
barjohn Posted June 10, 2007 Author Share #15 Posted June 10, 2007 I think we are all hoping that they not only fix the bugs that have been identified but also add some of the requested features. My view, as a software developer, is that most of the features requested should not be hard to implement. I would also say that given the clear identification of the bugs in this forum it should not be that hard to find and fix them, unless they relate to hardware shortcomings in which case it can be very hard. The last release wass in mid April so they have had almost 2 months to find, fix and test the next release. Assuming that they have at least 2 programmers working on this, that is 4 man months of coding time and should allow for a significant amount of development. I know that I would expect my 2 man teams to be able to do it in that time. I have several 2 man teams and some 4 man teams working on differnt parts of a rather large project and they can crank out good software. I have one 4 man team that cranked out 13 automated calibration procedures to automate the calibration of very highly complex test equipment in one month calendar time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted June 10, 2007 Share #16 Posted June 10, 2007 Software like this is complex to develop because for some parts of it, there is no simple determination of whether it's working correctly or not. Sure, if there's a readily recreateable bug, they should jump on it, but when it comes to implementing code which must take account of the physical characteristics of things like lenses, filters, colour balance, there's a long period of optimisation even after the code is basically working. Guy may be under an NDA - we don't know - and when I've signed NDAs in the past, I have been prevented from even acknowledging the fact, never mind disclosing any detail, in perpetuity. I think we should just let Leica get on with it; they've had a lot of input and must distill that - plus some other stuff we don't even know about - into a development route map for the M8. Much of what they are doing will be paving the way for the M9 and R10 as well. Whether a manual lens menu is there, who knows. Further lens related optimisation is higher on my agenda, as is improvements to the in-camera JPEGs, White Balance, edge-image streaking, delayed shutter cocking and more. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted June 10, 2007 Share #17 Posted June 10, 2007 During my meeting with Leica at PMA this conversation was started by me with them about my public roll as a beta tester , yes i am under a NDA signed, sealed and delivered. The only reason I can say i am a beta tester is because i asked them if I could be public because I feel more comfortable about it. I just am a up front person that is pretty darn honest and really damn blunt about life in general. my conversation came with the warnings that one would get, people asking me to spill the beans and blaming me for not giving the right info to Leica and all that is bad about being public, I know some of it sounds stupid but this stuff happens and we all know it. Just look at the release of the camera , enough said. LOL But leica said if i felt more comfortable like this than they had no reservations with me, they like me . What is hard not to like. ROTFLMAO just kidding. Anyway what is good about it and has worked to everyones benefit is i can help users with issues and report them to Leica and they know about it and feel comfortable that there voice was heard. Plus we as a forum have got a lot done with firmware and communications with Leica. I take pride that i was able to help guide some of that effort, so on reflection it has been a good call i think. i know many here like the fact that I am public and willing to help. At least i hope so and that folks feel comfortable about it. Thats my take on it and thanks for the member support in accepting that role. It really could be a nightmare. Unfortunetly there are some things i don't think i should say for example Leica has a 50 mpx sensor coming out on Sept 7 2007. That kind of stuff is obviously breaking the rules and spirit of a NDA. Hey what a second can i get a 50 mpx camera. LOL Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
psquared Posted June 10, 2007 Share #18 Posted June 10, 2007 ... Leica has a 50 mpx sensor coming out on Sept 7 2007. ... LOL Actually that's July 7, 2007 .... 7/7/7 ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted June 10, 2007 Share #19 Posted June 10, 2007 maybe we will get lucky . LOL Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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