Firmware Updating For Fun And Profit

I am fortunate in using cameras from a manufacturer that takes care of their customers well past the point of sale.

Every year or so, Fujifilm announce improvements to their operating systems or specifications - some of these become the salient features of fresh cameras and lenses. New customers stream into the shop, purchase the equipment, and go out and have fun.

The wonderful thing for me is not the new gear, but the fact that Fujifilm issue some of those same improvements for equipment that has been in the hands of the users for several years. I benefit greatly from this - I use an X-10, and X-100, and an X-E2 that have each had several firmware upgrades and each of them is a better camera for it.

Last night I pulled the new upgrade for the X-E2 body off the Fujifilm site on the internet, loaded it into an SD card, and let the camera do the internal computer magic for 90 seconds. I now have their new Classic Chrome mode for jpeg photos and an interval timer release inside the camera. And I can do better AF/MF switching on some lenses. All for free - absolutely free.

In the past I have sped up  and reconfigured the other cameras with their own updates and again ended up with better cameras.

The cynical amongst you might say that whatever I am doing should have been done originally in the factory but that does not take into account the idea of finding minor faults and correcting them before they become major ones - a process that is of great benefit. Indeed, had this been done the HIRYU might still be afloat...

Apart from that, it does not take into account the development of entirely new features and their refitting - the Classic Chrome for instance. Again, to take a naval analogy, think of the air search radar sets available in 1940 and in 1945...

Users of other brands may or may not be served as well as I have been - in any case they would be well advised to look up the websites of their respective manufacturers and search specifically for firmware upgrades for their model camera. Many of these do exist, and nearly all of them can make the cameras better, if correctly applied.

Folks, if the Old Film Guy can do this - so can you.

PS: One caveat: There is nothing that makes you feel better than coming into the shop and spending money on a complete new camera system with all the lenses, flashes, and accessories. We have cash registers ready...