So, I was just about to see if the latest firmware update would finally banish the networking gremlins that have plagued my XF605 since the day I got it-until my eyes fell upon a couple of new features, the second of which brought me to a dead stop.
While I'm not really enamored of having to create and remember a password, I can see how some users (or their employers/clients) will appreciate having the option of enhancing the protection of the camera and those potentially precious clips by doing so. I just think it ought to be an option rather than a requirement-you know, a "Would you like to...?" rather then a "Thou shalt..."
Then, however, we come to the new feature which checks for updated firmware whenever the camera is online. Hmmm...where's the option to turn that off if you happen to be working someplace where you don't want the camera sniffing around for that-or anything else other than what you need to support whatever job you're on at the moment? Did I miss that or was it left out of the latest version of the user manual? Didn't see anything like that anywhere.
Don't know about you, but I can certainly think of some places around the world-and increasingly here at home, unfortunately-where having a third party being able to obtain knowledge about where someone using something like a professional video camera is and what they're doing with it there could pose a risk to them, whether intended or not. Has Canon thought about how they'll respond to a subpoena demanding such information? And what if the demand comes from authorities in a country with a constitution and laws nothing like ours? Would the response depend on how badly Canon still wanted to do business there?
I hope I'm just being paranoid. Frankly, I haven't been in any such situation as the above and don't plan on it. But you never know. I really don't want to go to 1.0.6.1 unless the phone-home feature CAN be turned off-and i mean TURNED OFF, NOT just ignored. If not, I'll wait until 1.0.7.1-or whenever. Sooner or later someone will see the light.
