As well as the manual exposure video functionality, EOS 5D Mk II firmware v1.1.0 includes fixes to the lens peripheral illumination correction, auto lighting optimizer, battery information display, and depth-of-field preview button functionality, as well as correcting menu errors in certain languages.
As described in our previous news coverage, the new firmware allows manual control of the aperture, shutter speed and ISO sensitivity equivalent when shooting video. Available shutter speeds range from 1/30th to 1/4000th second, and ISO sensitivity selections include Auto, ISO 100 to 6,400 equivalents, and H1 (ISO 12,800 equivalent). According to the New Feature instructions published by Canon, manual exposure of movies is only possible when the camera is placed in the "Stills + Movie :: Movie Display" mode and the Mode dial is set to M (manual). At this point, ISO speed, aperture and shutter speed can all be set using the camera's external controls - and can all be adjusted during video recording. With that said, Canon is noting that changing the aperture during video recording isn't recommended as it causes variations in the exposure, and changing the ISO sensitivity during recording with automatic white balance can lead to the white balance changing during the video.
Interestingly, the document also notes that it is possible to shoot as if the camera offered Aperture-priority AE in Movie mode, as long as the ISO Speed is set to Auto. The document also states that if a manual movie exposure is set, still images captured during the movie must use the same capture parameters as the video itself. One further point of interest is that the manual exposure movies can be captured in tethered mode using EOS Utility, although this doesn't allow the capture parameters to be changed during video capture.
As for the full list of changes in the new firmware update, Canon describes them as follows:
Includes a function to enable the manual exposure setting when shooting movies.
Disables the function of the depth-of-field preview button when images are played back or when the menu screen is displayed on the LCD panel.
Fixes a phenomenon where the peripheral illumination of images cannot be properly corrected, even if the images were captured with the lens peripheral illumination correction function set to Enable. *Digital Photo Professional software version 3.6.1 or later (for Windows and Macintosh) can be used to automatically correct the peripheral illumination of RAW and JPEG images that were captured in the Peripheral illumination correction setting with cameras that have Firmware Version 1.0.7 or earlier.
Fixes the algorithms of the Auto Lighting Optimizer function when Custom Function C.Fn II-3 Highlight tone priority is enabled.
Fixes incorrect indications on the Arabic, Romanian, Spanish, and Ukrainian menu screens.
Changes the battery information displayed on the camera when using the optional Battery Grip BG-E6.
For more detailed information on the operation of manual exposure during movie capture, including some points users should consider when taking control of movie exposure, a PDF with instructions can be downloaded along with the firmware itself from Canon's website.
