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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
07-12-2017, 07:25 PM
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I think most forum members, myself included, would fall into the category of enthusiasts, who would be among those who are statistically most likely to upgrade their firmware. I'm basing my assumptions on the general public, who would definitely be less likely to upgrade firmware than the average camera enthusiast.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
07-12-2017, 12:57 PM
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So I was updating the firmware on my newly acquired K200D and it occurred to me that this has become pretty much of a ritual with every Pentax camera I've owned. Every one of the nine Pentax DSLR bodies, including two Samsung clones, that I've owned has ever come into my hands with a firmware version other than 1.00. My immediate reaction to this realization was to wonder why the heck people are so slack as to not keep their firmware updated. Of course, that question is based on the huge logical fallacy that everyone is just like me, which I know they aren't. But as I've continued to ponder this phenomenon, I've come up with several reasons (in no particular order) that the majority of Pentax (and maybe DSLR users as a whole) don't bother to update their firmware:- They don't know what firmware is--A lot of casual users know surprisingly little about their cameras. That's why they shoot most of their photos with their phones while their real cameras gather dust until they get around to selling them on e-Bay.
- They don't know firmware upgrades are available--Hey, it's not like the camera gives you upgrade notices on its screen like your computer does.
- They don't care about firmware--Many casual users may feel like the camera's working okay and they've got a couple of 2GB cards for it, so why bother upgrading.
- They may feel the hassle factor is greater than the benefits--Yeah, I can see this. I don't always immediately see any dramatic functional improvements after I upgrade. Often, it's more 'under the hood' type stuff.
- They feel upgrading is beyond their technical expertise--If that's the case, a user is perhaps better off not upgrading or taking the camera to a local camera store to have them perform the upgrade--for a modest fee, of course. Oh yeah, that's right. The local camera store closed up about four or five years ago and there's a carryout pizza place there now. Oh well, best to just get a pizza and not worry about it.
- They're scared to upgrade--Okay, I can actually identify with this one after having bricked my first Pentax, an *istDL a week after I got it. I refused to upgrade the next three cameras I owned and only relented about three years later when I got my K-x and had an annoying issue that could be fixed by a firmware update. After I successfully upgraded that camera, I went back and upgraded my K2000 and K100D, which I still owned. My girlfriend has the Samsung GX-1L and it has never been upgraded.
Today, I am officially over my firmwarephobia and have no hesitation at all to upgrade my cameras. Often, one of the first things I do when I acquire a one now is to check the firmware version to see if it needs upgrading but I also realize I'm likely in the minority on that. I also noticed that on my newest camera, a K30, the firmware version and update option were on a menu item instead of being accessed by a semi-secret button push at startup. I wonder if that has increased the incidence of firmware upgrades at all.
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