Canon EOS mag

Technique Updating camera and lens firmware

Firmware update

Downloading firmware from Canon

FAQs

Do I need to upgrade? It is not essential to upgrade the firmware version in your camera. The camera will continue to operate as it did when you received it. However, it is worth checking out the firmware page for your camera from time to time. It not only lists the changes offered by the latest version, but also lists all the changes of the intermediate versions (if any). Among all this information you might find details of an improvement which will be of use to you. Also, keep watching for news of firmware updates even if you have recently upgraded. Firmware version 2.0.3 for the EOS 7D, for example, addresses errors introduced with version 2.0.0. Do I need to install intermediate versions? No. The latest version includes all the changes from the intermediate versions, as well. For example, there were at least ten firmware versions for the EOS 7D before version 2.0.3. Even if you have one of the earliest versions installed (as we did), you can go straight to 2.0.3 and not miss out on anything. Where can I find news of new firmware versions? Go to the EOS magazine newsblog at: Click on your camera name under the ‘Categories’ list on the right. This will bring up all news items about your camera, including firmware updates. Can I go back to a previous firmware version? Not if you have installed firmware version 2.0 on the EOS 7D. We are not certain about other cameras, but we have never heard of it being done – or needed. www.eos-magazine- news.blogspot.co.uk/

4 You will now be presented with a fairly daunting page with lots of small print. It is essential to read all of this. It tells you about the fixes which will be implemented by the firmware, plus other important information. This can change with different EOS models, so don’t assume that you know it all if you have updated the firmware on another model.

1 Your first port of call is the Canon Download Centre at http://software. canon-europe.com/ In the ‘For you’ section, select your country from the ‘Choose a country’ menu. From the ‘Choose a product’ menu, select ‘Cameras’. The ‘Choose a model’ menu will now give you a very long list of cameras. Scroll down and select the camera you want to update. Click ‘Go’.

The availability of a significant firmware upgrade for the EOS 7D has created a lot of interest. There are upgrades available for most EOS models. We show you how to download and install the file on your camera. And is it worthwhile?

5 When you finally reach the bottom of the page and are ready to proceed, click the ‘Accept & Download’ button.

Firmware is an interface between the camera controls and the camera hardware. When you press the menu button, for example, it is the firmware which tells the camera what to display on the LCD screen. If you select daylight white balance, it is the firmware that gives the relevant instructions to the DIGIC processor at the heart of the camera. Firmware is essentially a set of rules by which the camera operates. These rules are normally fixed, so that each action always produces the same reaction. However, the rules can be altered by changing and updating the firmware. This is useful. Firmware is complex and not always perfect when it is installed by Canon before you purchase the camera. Despite rigorous testing, there can be flaws. It might be minor, such as a spelling error in one of the 25 language options available with each camera. Or it might be major, such as the camera not working correctly with a particular – and often obscure – combination of commands. Canon provides firmware updates for different cameras from time to time. They are available from the Canon Software Centre (see opposite page). The updates are designed so that they can be installed by the user. The next few pages show you how. However, if you are nervous at the prospect, you can have the update done by a Canon Service Centre or some dealers. There will probably be a charge for this. Of course, first you need to decide if you want the update installed. We offer our thoughts on this, along with the advisability of using firmware hacks.

Above Mac

version

released

CAMERAS EOS-1D

Left Windows

Above The EOS 7D before and after a firmware upgrade. Notice the ‘File name’ menu item after the upgrade. This is just one of a number of new features on the camera. However, this upgrade is unusual in offering additional functions. Upgrades for other cameras generally correct errors in existing features, rather than add new ones. Right This table gives details of the most recent firmware version for every EOS digital camera at 30 September 2012. We have not included the new EOS 6D and EOS M cameras as they are not yet available and we do not know the firmware version they will ship with. As a rule, once a model is discontinued, no further firmware versions are released.

1.4.0 1.2.6

30 July 2002

6 You will be asked where you want to save the file. The desktop is as good a place as any.

EOS-1D Mark II

20 December 2006 20 December 2006 17 December 2009

EOS-1D Mark II N 1.1.2

EOS-1D Mark III EOS-1D Mark IV

1.3.0 1.1.1 1.0.3 1.1.6 1.2.0 1.0.6 1.1.1 2.1.2 1.1.3 2.0.3 2.0.1 2.0.3 1.0.6 1.1.1 1.0.8 1.1.1 1.1.1 1.0.3 1.1.1 1.1.0 1.1.1 1.0.9 1.0.1 1.0.1 1.0.7 1.0.5

22 March 2012

7 The download will be saved to your computer as a compressed file (Windows far left; Mac second from right). To open (or extract) the file, right-click (Windows) or double-click (Mac) the icon. This will create a folder (Windows second from left; Mac far right) WINDOWS MAC

EOS-1Ds

6 April 2004

EOS-1Ds Mark II EOS-1Ds Mark III

20 December 2006 17 December 2009 28 August 2012 18 March 2008 29 February 2012 10 September 2012 20 January 2004 26 October 2005 18 March 2008 20 January 2009 8 June 2012

2 The download page for the selected camera will appear. Notice that there are also tabs for ‘FAQs’ and ‘Important Information’. These are worth checking. On the downloads page you have options for ‘Software’ (updates to Canon applications including Digital Photo Professional and EOS Utility), ‘Manuals’ (a PDF of the camera user guide) and ‘Firmware’. Click the circle to the left of ‘Firmware’.

EOS-1D X

EOS 5D

EOS 5D Mark II EOS 5D Mark III

EOS 7D EOS 10D EOS 20D EOS 30D EOS 40D EOS 50D EOS 60D EOS 300D EOS 350D EOS 400D EOS 450D EOS 500D EOS 550D EOS 600D EOS 650D EOS 1000D EOS 1100D

8 When you open the folder you will find it contains a file and a folder (Windows screen shown here; the Mac screen is similar). The file has the extension .FIR – this is the firmware update. Do not try to open it. The .FIR file can only be processed inside your camera (see pages 72 and 73). From the phone calls we receive, quite a few people seem to miss the folder, but it is important.

20 June 2012 8 June 2012

23 October 2003 26 October 2005 19 September 2007

23 April 2009 20 June 2012

25 November 2010

16 May 2012

3 This will take you to the ‘Available firmware’ page. As a rule, only the latest firmware is available – but in versions for Mac and Windows operating systems. The procedures are similar for both. Click on the version to suit your computer.

no upgrade released

13 October 2010 19 January 2012

9 Inside the ‘update-procedure-pdf’ folder are five files. You only need the one ending ‘-en’. This gives you detailed installation instructions in English. The other files are in French, Japanese, Spanish and Simplified Chinese. We cover the general installation procedure in this article, but read the PDF file carefully for any additional information.

EOS D30 EOS D60

1.0.3.0

22 April 2002

1.0.4

11 November 2002

LENSES EF 40mm f2.8 STM 1.2.0

24 August 2012

46 Reproduced from EOS magazine October-December 2012

Reproduced from EOS magazine October-December 2012 47