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I have found out that I am lagging behind 3 firmware updates for my 50D camera (mine is 1.0.6 and current is 1.0.9). I have not found specific recommendations on the Canon website about the recommended upgrade path (the instructions use dummy values, e.g. "upgrade from X.X.X to X.X.X").

So the question(s) is (are):

  • is it possible to skip firmware updates? is it recommended for/against?
  • is this Canon specific? What about other makes?
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  • \$\begingroup\$ I don't know about Canon, but Pentax often a) fixes problems in a firmware update beyond what's listed, and b) silently replaces the latest firmware with versions with minor bugfixes without changing the version number. This seems ridiculous but is well-established to be true. I've not seen any good explanation — some corporate/cultural thing about not admitting mistakes? \$\endgroup\$
    – mattdm
    Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 3:28
  • \$\begingroup\$ @mattdm Good to know, never heard about such a thing. I hope that they at least use some checksum (md5 hash or whatever) to uniquely identify the firmware. So that one could with enough patience recognize what has downloaded... \$\endgroup\$
    – Francesco
    Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 20:27

2 Answers 2

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Firmware versions tend to be replacements rather than incremental upgrades. That is, they don't just patch the existing firmware, they replace it altogether, so the latest firmware version will include all of the previous upgrades. In the case that one upgrade is needed to enable another (usually when the upgrade procedure itself if affected, and that is usually indicated by a major version change), the manufacturer will usually make a very big stink about that in their documentation. You should be able to install 1.0.9 without bothering with 1.0.7 and 1.0.8 if there's no warning anywhere telling you not to.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ In some other firmware-related questions I had seen that sometimes you cannot downgrade after installing a given version. Hence my doubt. Thanks for the answer, spot-on as usual. \$\endgroup\$
    – Francesco
    Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 20:26
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Firmware updates are the changes that the maker does to the device software. These updates maybe bug fix or new features (by changing the firmware source code). It's generally advised to update your firmware if you don't want to keep your mind busy with "Should I update or not?".

However if you have time to read the description for each firmware update then definitely do it. If you found that the update is about bug fix then it's highly recommended that you update your firmware even if you think that the bug fix isn't directly related to something you use.

For me I read the update description first and see if I want or not, for example I usually skip languages update.

Also try to understand the versioning schema in the firmware. These are the numbers and this may have different forms based on the manufacturer but it's typically like what you have described in the question: X.X.X

The first digit from right means a minor change to the firmware. This could be a small bug fixes.

The second digit from right usually contains many changes that are packaged together.

The third digit from right usually means a whole new firmware or a major release or lots of changes happened after many minor releases. This is highly recommended to download.

is it possible to skip firmware updates? is it recommended for/against?

Yes you can definitely skip them if you want. I would recommend to update after you read the description and you feel that you need this update (like a bug fix). If you feel that you don't need it then don't bother.

If the update is not important then I recommend (based on my experience with software generally) not to update right away. Wait for a couple of weeks before updating and it's recommended to read the reviews on the new update to see if it introduced new problems or not.

is this Canon specific? What about other makes?

I believe that this is general for not just Canon or digital cameras but for every piece of software.

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