How do I update the firmware on my new EOS7D. Please, will appreciate any help.

[TCampbell]

On the marketing page for each camera, there's a section for drivers and software ... that's where they hide the firmware updates.

Here's a link:  http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/slr_cameras/eos_7d#DriversAndSoftware

The firmware is packaged for both Mac & Windows... the actual firmware that gets installed into the camera is identical regardless of which version you download.  The differences are only in how they package and compress the download.  

Once you open it, you'll notice it contains the actual firmware file (this is what will ultimately be installed into the camera).  That file has a ".FIR" extension.  It will be named 7D000205.FIR.   But there is also a folder which contains the instructions.

Open the folder (it's named "update-procedure-pdf").  The instructions are provided in 5 different languages.  You probably want to read the english version... 7d-fimrewareupdate-en.pdf.  

There are two different ways to update the firmware:

1)  You can connect the camera via USB cable to the computer and have the EOS Utility update the firmware, or 

2)  You can copy the firmware file (the .FIR file) to a camera memory card (this presumes you own a CF card reader for your computer, but if you don't already own one of these,  you may want to invest in one... it's much faster to transfer photos via the reader than it is to transfer via USB cable.)  Once the firmware is copied to a card, you can insert that card into the camera and use an on-camera menu to tell it to update the firmware.

Whichever method you chose (I always do the 2nd method), you'll want to make sure your batteries have plenty of power (Canon suggests they be freshly charged) as you need to make sure there is no possibility the camera could lose power in the middle of an update.  They'll also tell you that once the update begins, do not do anything with the camera until the update is completed (do not turn any dials, press any butons, etc.  Just let it do its thing.)

It's actually pretty easy.

[amfoto1]

Read the instructions about installing/updating firmware at the Canon website very carefully. It is not difficult, but it must be done right. If interrupted or done wrong, it's possible to "brick" your new camera and have to send it in for repair.

First thing I'd do is check your camera's currently installed firmware. Are you certain it's not already up to date? You can see the current version in the menu.  Even if your camera has a slightly old version, read the details of what's been changed... It may only be things that are relatevely meaningless to you, such as correcting the spelling of something in the German language version of the menu.

Another key thing is to do a checksum before installing... This is where you check the size of the FIR file after downloading and unzipping it, to be sure you've gotten a complete download. The data to do a checksum can usually be found on the Canon website.

Either mehod installing the firmware (from computer or from memory card), you must have a freshly formatted memory card in the camera. (Any images on it will be lost, so download any you want to save before using the card.)