richard sweet Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 Hi,<p> I'vr just got my D200 back from Nikon UK and the 'Banding' problem seems solved (though I still see vertical lines, but I'm sure this is my imagination). The guy I spoke to said they had: <i>"Recalibrated the 'Output'"</I>. But I also noticed the firmware had changed from v1.00 to v1.01.<p> I suppose updating the firmware is normal and could have nothing to do with fixing the 'Banding' problem - Or it could be they've developed a firmware fix for the problem<p> Any thoughts/infomation?? <p> Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csuzor Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 I think the banding issue is a physical phenomena with the pixel column sense amps, that every pixel read after a blown-out pixel will have an incorrectly high apparent signal. Slowing down the image capture to "recover" a normal level, or recalibrating the 0 level after pixel blow-out, would help. I guess that could be done in firmware... I wonder whether the chip designers took a shortcut in the access circuitry, perhaps to reduce costs, that makes this sensor more prone than other designs. In cheap video cameras this problem is identical (is it called smearing?), except that in the d200 each column is read in alternating directions, causing apparent banding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivek iyer Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 I agree with Christopher that it was a hardware problem. I would say a QC issue than a design flaw. Everytime a dSLR visits Nikon, it always gets updated with the latest firmware. Nothing to do with the banding your camera had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenneth_rhee Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 When you say, the firmware upgrade, what do you mean? There are two numbers, A and B. Mine says A 1.01 B 1.00 Are you saying B has now changed to 1.01? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjacksonphoto Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 The NikonUSA website still lists no firmware updates for the D200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce_rubenstein___nyc Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 When I got my D200 back from Nikon, Melville for the banding calibration, it had the same firmware versions as when it went in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard sweet Posted February 7, 2006 Author Share Posted February 7, 2006 <i>"When you say, the firmware upgrade, what do you mean? <p> There are two numbers, A and B" <p> Mine says A 1.01 B 1.00</i><p> Yes, thats what mine says, but I'm sure when I first got the camera both A and B were v1.00.<p> I'm not sure what the differnce between A and B is, I first thought that the camera could store to sets of firmware and the reason you had A and B was so you could swap between the two if needed. <p> Though I now don't think this is the case, at least I can't find a way to toggle between the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenneth_rhee Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 "That's weird." Mine has been always A 1.01 and B 1.00. I got my D200 about a month ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg s Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 "Recalibrated the 'Output'" potentially relevant old thread http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00EyCw Sometimes I try to speculate about what might be going on (based on my career in digital electronics), but will desist. Likewise will refrain from various 'findings' in other forums I read when I returned from vacation. :) I would love to look over the shoulders of whomever is dealing with this in the Nikon labs though, and sit in on their strategy meetings. -Greg- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben_charny Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 My D200 also has Firmware Version No. "A 1.00" and "B 1.01". However, the menu does not allow selection of either "A" or "B". The manual (p. 123) is rather terse on the subject. I looked at the EXIF data for the JPEG images: the software/firmware version is 1.00. I'm guessing, these fields are reserved for ping-pong switching between firmware loads in case the upload of the latest firmware is corrupted. The selector does not work considering there is only one version at the present time. Assignment of "B 1.01" is a guess on the part of the firmware developers of what the next revision will be named and is put there not to leave an empty field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilkka_nissila Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 If the amplification of the four output channels of the chip require to be calibrated before an image without banding is obtained, this is a serious problem with the technology. I wonder why the D2X, which has also this kind of a system, doesn't have banding, or at least I've never read about it. I suppose this could have been why Nikon chose the CMOS for the D2X although it may have a bit more high iso noise than the D200's CCD. The 12MP CMOS is a working, finished product, while the 10MP CCD seems to be in beta testing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj_nadershahi Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 One firmware is for camera functions, the other is for digital and user interface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard sweet Posted February 8, 2006 Author Share Posted February 8, 2006 OK, there dons't seem to be a link. Which to be honest I'm pleased about, I would have felt a little ripped off if they had just tried to patch the problem with a firmware update. <p> I can now be 100% happy with my purchase. :) :) :). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph_wisniewski Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 Ben and Aj - "My D200 also has Firmware Version No. "A 1.00" and "B 1.01". However, the menu does not allow selection of either "A" or "B"" You can't switch from one to the other. They're both always in use. The A firmware runs the smaller processor that does autofocus, metering, scans all the top pannel buttons, runs the shutter, mirror, top panel LCD, flash, and power management. The B firmware runs a large RISC processor that transfers images from sensor to memory, processes them, and stores them on flash. It runs the LCD display and the buttons on the back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hash Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 So is the banding problem finally solved or not yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrettPrucha Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Hashim, I sent my D200 in to be fixed and got it back on the first of Feb. and guess what... banding is still there so I would say no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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