How Firm Is Your Firmware?

If you know what firmware is you probably know that you can bring it up to date from time to time. Even I, with all my wisdom, must be reminded to check now and then to see if firmware updates are available for my cameras.

Firmware, for those or you who need reminding, is the operating system of your digital device. It's a small, fixed set of operating instructions that let your camera take a picture and transfer it to the memory card with the settings you make. If you've registered your camera you may be notified by email of the availability of firmware updates.

Many more devices in your house use firmware than you might think. Your hand held remote controls, for example, use firmware. You won't be able to update their firmware, in most cases, but you can update your camera's firmware using the memory card.



The simple "how to" is: download the firmware to your computer, transfer it to the memory card and put the memory card in the camera and use the camera's on board menu to transfer that updated firmware to the camera. You can check to see what version of your camera's firmware you have now in the LCD menu under something like "tools" or "utilities".

Even if you've just purchased your camera it may have been sitting on a shelf somewhere while a firmware update was issued so it pays to check the manufacturer's web site once a month to see if an update is available. The updates often fix little bugs that you may think are just a problem with which you must live. Very often those little bugs are experienced by many customers and are addressed in firmware updates. Even if the details of the fixes in the update don't look like they'll affect you I recommend updating firmware so that future updates, which may affect you, will be easier.

Here's a site listing available firmware updates for Nikon products. Here's one for Canon EOS cameras. The best thing to do is go to the manufacturer's site and search for product support for your camera. You may find a firmware update for your compact camera, too.

OBTW the same recommendation applies to your printer and any software you may be using on your computer. When you open Photoshop, for example, you may be notified that an update is available. If you haven't registered your product you'll need to check for yourself. The software will do that for you if you click a selection under the HELP button near the top of the screen.