Modified firmware, looking for users

Hi there,

I've made two small hacks in E-M5ii firmware v.4.0.
1. An arbitrary autofocus lens can be used for the in-camera focus stacking.
2. The video recording time limitations increased from 29 minutes. Now the recording is limited by 5 MOV files the video can be split into (the detailed description is in the bottom of this message).

A couple of proof pics for the first hack:

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The stacking was already tested with Oly 45/1.8, Leica 15/1.7 and Oly MZ 9-18.

The same modifications are available for other cameras (the focus stacking will only work in E-M1, E-M1ii and E-M5ii, of course). Here are the links to the firmwares:

• E-M5ii - e-m5ii_v4.rar, video duration limit removed, focus stacking works.

• E-M1 - e-m1_v44.rar, not tested yet.

• E-M1ii
  • e-m1ii_v21.rar, video duration limit removed, focus stacking works.
  • e-m1ii_v22.rar, not tested yet.

• Pen-F - pen_f_v3.rar, video duration limit removed.

• E-M10ii - e-m10ii_v13.rar, video duration limit removed.

To install the firmware, you'll need to:
* Make sure the battery is fully charged.
* Extract the firmware file from archive into a folder called "DCOLYMP" on your SD-Card.
* Put the SD-Card into your camera. Start the camera while holding the OK button pressed. The focus assist LED should turn on - this means the firmware is installing, and you can release the OK button.
* When the installation ends, the focus assist LED will start to blink. Now you can switch the camera off, and then on again. That's all.

It's also possible to revert to the original firmware.
The files and the instructions can be found here.

Some details on the video recording limitations.

1. With the original firmware, you cannot record video more than 28:59.
2. If you try to make a long enough video in high quality, it will be split into several separate MOV files. This was made because of 4Gb file size limitation imposed by FAT filesystem used in the SD cards. In the most of the cameras it's only possible to have 5 such "splits", while E-M1ii records up to 13 parts of a video.

My modification only removes the first of these limitations, so you can go beyond 29 minutes, and the video duration is only limited by the max number of MOV files.
With the modified firmware, E-M5ii shows the following max recording duration depending on the video quality:

• FHD All-I - 0:36:14.
• FHD SF - 0:53:49.
• FHD F - 1:34:09.
• FHD N - 2:38:49.

The durations can be different for other camera models.

 

@dlentini
I've used the tools from this message and then analysed the main firmware file in IDA disassembler.

 

Yes, I've tested the firmware for E-M5ii on my camera.

It's possible to install any version above any other.

 

I can upload ZIP archives, but I'm not sure they won't be blocked too.
If you've used Edge to download the file, the easiest solution would be to try to re-download it with Firefox or Chrome.

 

Smartscreen uses really strange heuristics, and sometimes it blocks a file just because nobody else has downloaded it before. "It's a new file. It can possibly be harmful! I'll better block it."

 

I'm modifying the device firmwares for 8 years already, and I'm used to the risk of bricking  
As long as you double-check what you are doing, make only small local changes and don't forget to charge the batteries before firmware flashing, everything goes smoothly. Of course there's always a slight chance to screw up even in a completely safe situations  

 

Thanks a lot for the testing and for the reporting!

In the firmware for E-M5II, there's only one place in the code where the video limitation is set.
Looks like in E-M1II there are more than one such place. I'll look further to find others.

Could you also please check if the focus stacking is working for previously unsupported lenses?
Supported are the lenses listed here plus Oly 12-100 Pro.

 

Oops, it's not the limitation checking routines.
The problem is I've uploaded the original E-M1II firmware instead of patched version by mistake. Sorry for the confusion!
I'll re-upload the file and let you know.