Why aren't camera firmware updates done automatically in camera?

3 years 11 months ago #681371 by Gammill
Computers, our iphones, heck even my TV and car will  do updates automatically.  You would expect todays cameras would be able to do this too. Many have the ability for WiFi already.  So?  

Why not?


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3 years 11 months ago #681375 by Nikon Shooter

Gammill wrote: Computers, our iphones, heck even my TV and car will  do updates automatically.  You would expect todays cameras would be able to do this too. Many have the ability for WiFi already.  So?  Why not?



All your gadgets work connected to the internet but your camera
is not. Your camera is working mostly as a free unit.

Both the internet and the WiFi — that has a very constrained radius
of operation — require access interfaces. Many cameras have a WiFi
small module onboard but no modem yet — that would make the ca-
mera quite bigger.

I would not be too hot on these features. Mind you, my D850 has the
WiFi capability but I don't use that stuff.

Light is free… capturing it is not!
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3 years 11 months ago #681380 by CharleyL
My Canon 77D has WIFI capability, and I have been using it successfully for over a year to send the photos that I take with my camera direct to my laptop. The full resolution photos end up in my PC about 8 seconds after the photo is taken. Another free program from Canon called Digital Photo Professional receives the photo and it is similar in operation to Capture 1 in how it works, although the latest version of Capture 1 appears to have a little more editing capability.

Not having a Tether Cable is a huge plus for me. The EOS Utility PC program that interfaces with the camera through WIFI contains a selection for updating the camera firmware, but I haven't used this feature yet. I mostly just select "Remote Shooting" which tethers the camera to the PC through WIFI. I can view what the camera sees and operate the camera remotely through this program as well. I had some difficulty getting all of this working together when I first attempted it, but it only takes a few seconds to set it up and connect the camera now. Remembering to go to the PC WIFI selection window to select the WIFI address of the camera is something that I was frequently forgetting to do at first, but no longer have that problem now. Both the EOS Utility and Digital Photo Professional programs are free downloads from the Canon website for any Canon camera owners. Their website asks for your camera serial number each time that you want access, so keep it handy.

Charley


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3 years 11 months ago #681385 by garyrhook
Per the above:

Some cameras obviously enable this feature. Most existing products do not. And for NIkon, who rarely puts out firmware updates (at least, until the Z came along) there's no point to being able to do so.

I'm sure the ability will get built into camera software, but it has very little value IMO to most people.


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3 years 11 months ago #681500 by Ira Weber
I think it would  be a good idea to implement this.  Cameras are getting more  technical, many don't know how to  do a firmware  update.   This would potentially bring more value to having that particular camera.   


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