Firmware Update First Impressions

I spent some time really digging into the new firmware update, and there are quite a few useful changes in here — including some things I don’t think were even mentioned in the official release notes.

Nothing too dramatic, but a lot of small quality-of-life improvements that make the camera feel noticeably better to use. Here are a few things I’ve been enjoying so far:

Lens and Monitoring Improvements

  • Anamorphic de-squeeze now supports vertical orientation, which is really helpful for vertical shooting, especially when working at higher frame rates.
  • Custom de-squeeze ratios are now supported as well. This is a big one for me since I use several different anamorphic lens setups, and being able to dial in the exact ratio makes the whole workflow a lot more flexible.
  • SDI monitoring finally works, which is great to see. Also, on the built-in screen, you can now tap to hide the info overlay. Small detail, but honestly very nice in actual use.

Physical Controls and Responsiveness

  • The Fn button feels much more useful now. Once assigned, it can take effect directly from the live preview screen. For example, I set mine to ISO and shutter, and now I can adjust them quickly without having to dive into menus like before.
  • Button response feels noticeably faster overall. The physical controls just feel more immediate now.
  • The scroll wheel got some nice upgrades too:It works across more operating states now, which makes it much more practical.Pressing the wheel can act as a confirm/OK button, which feels pretty smooth.In playback mode, you can use the wheel to fine-tune the progress bar instead of dragging it on the touchscreen. That’s a small thing, but it makes reviewing clips a lot easier.
  • It works across more operating states now, which makes it much more practical.
  • Pressing the wheel can act as a confirm/OK button, which feels pretty smooth.
  • In playback mode, you can use the wheel to fine-tune the progress bar instead of dragging it on the touchscreen. That’s a small thing, but it makes reviewing clips a lot easier.

Overall, this update feels like a solid step forward. It’s not just about adding headline features — a lot of the improvements are the kind of things you notice once you actually spend time using the camera. Nice update.

3 Likes

Just noticed Pixboom Cine got updated. Looks like they added anamorphic lens support and improved some export stuff: https://www.pixboom.com/Downloads/#pixboom-cine/macos

Nice to see it getting updated.

2 Likes