Updating 5D Mark III firmware

[Noffi]

I am trying to update my 5D Mark III firmware.The download is on the CF card but the camera cannot read it. What have i done wrong?  I use an Apple iMac

[TCampbell]

When you download the new firmware, you should get a file named "eos5d3-v121-mac.dmg" on your hard drive (probably in your downloads folder.)

Open "Finder" on your Mac and double click that file to mount the disk-image (.dmg) file.  

This will open a Finder window showing the contents of that .dmg file.  You will notice two things:

1)  A file named:  5D300121.FIR

2)  A folder named:  update-procedure-pdf

The folder contains PDF documents with instructions in several languages. 

All you really need to do is copy the ".FIR" file to your memory card.  The 5D300121.FIR should be placed in the top-level directory on the card (do not place it in a sub-folder.)

Eject the card from your Mac.

Insert the card into your camera. 

Power up the camera.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A FULLY CHARGED BATTTERY (never attempt an update on a battery that's near empty).

Press the "Menu" button on the camera.

Use the front wheel to scroll to SET UP page 4 (gold "wrench" icon ... 4th page).

Use the rear dial to scroll down to the 4th row.  This will show your current firmware version.

Press the "Set" button.  

It will show the current version with a "Cancel" and "Ok" option.  Click "Ok" to proceed.

It will check the memory cards for files in the top-level directory ending with ".FIR" and display your choices.

Since you'll only have one .FIR file, it should show an entry for "Cardx: 5D300121.FIR"

Highlight that firmware and press "Set"

It will confirm one last time that you want to upgrade from your current firmware to the new firmware.  When you are ready, select "Ok" to proceed.

It will now begin the update.  It will display a progress graph.

It will give you a message with explicit instructions to not touch any buttons or switches until it is finished.

It will tell you it is done.

Canon recommends you now POWER OFF the camera and...

EJECT THE BATTERY.  

Wait 2 full seconds.

Re-insert the battery.

Power up the camera.

You're done!

That last bit about removing the battery is to force the camera to completely boot from firmware.  The power swtich is really a soft switch... it doesn't technically deprive the camera of power.  "technically" your camera is in a kind of power-saving sleep state.... except it will not be awakened by accidentally pressing a button like a true "sleep" state.  That's why they tell you to remove and then re-insert the battery.  

[martinv]

....trying to copy and paste to CF but no option for "paste"  ??? any help please?

[TCampbell]

Martin, are you also using a Mac?

You should also be able to "drag and drop" the firmware (.FIR file) onto the memory card rather than using the copy/paste.

[edalarconreal]

Hi, I'm having the same issue. I cannot upgrade the firmware in my camera. My Macbookpro (late 2013) is running OSx 10.9.2, with the lates EOS utility 2 (3.14). I connect my 5d Mark III, and it does not show up in the finder. I can download files with the EOS utiliy, but since I can't see the CF folder in the finder, I cannot copy the firmware upgrade to the camera to install it. The camera does not appear on my desktop either.

This is crazy for a $3500 camera!!!! 

I would appreciate the help.

Thanks,

Eduardo

[edalarconreal]

So I can't drag and drop either!!!!

[TCampbell]

To use the "drag and drop" to the card method, you'll either need to have an SD card reader built into your computer -or- you'll need an external reader (e.g. a USB attached reader such as one of these:  http://www.lexar.com/products/lexar-professional-usb-30-dual-slot-reader?category=203 -- although that's a link to the Lexar site... you can find these in many electronics stores and/or online stores.)

A camera will not show on the desktop ... typically a Mac will either be configured to (a) launch the application of your choice when a camera is connected or (b) do nothing.  My Mac is configured to do nothing (intentionally -- because I have a few different apps I may launch so I don't just want it launch something arbitrarily making me wait for it to start, then quit, then launch the app I really wanted to use.)

There is a way to test to see if the Mac can see the camera (whter or not any application launches when a camera is detected.)

A while ago I responded to a thread where I walked through the steps to verify that the Mac can see the camera attachd to the computer (whether or not any applications are launched.)

That thread is located here:  http://forums.usa.canon.com/t5/EOS-Rebel/My-Macbook-Pro-will-not-recognize-my-Canon-Rebel-T3i-when-I...