Chances Are Your Favorite Canon Camera Just Got a Firmware Update, Here’s How to Check

Following up on the big news the other day, which was the announcement of a new Canon EOS R6 V mirrorless camera, Canon is back with another announcement that is major in scale. The company is rolling out firmware updates for nine of its most popular digital cameras, including its flagship mirrorless offerings and even its PowerShot line.

The updates themselves aren’t too major, but they do add some helpful improvements to all the cameras we’ll list below. The headline camera for the update is the Canon EOS R1, which is set to get the biggest update with its firmware release, as it’s set to get new subject detection and tracking improvements.

So, if you’re a Canon owner, operator, or occasional user, let’s take a look at all of the Canon cameras set to get updates and what you need to know in terms of improvements and how to download and install them.

Canon Firmware Updates

As mentioned above, this is one of the largest coordinated firmware updates across the company's range of cameras. Maybe it’s just housekeeping now that the EOS R6 V was released, or maybe that’s just how Canon wants to do business moving forward.

Either way, if you’re a Canon camera owner, here’s the full list of cameras getting firmware updates:

• Canon R1
• Canon R5 Mark II
• Canon R3
• Canon R6 Mark II
• Canon R8
• Canon R10
• Canon R100
• Canon R50 V
• Canon PowerShot V1

The big news you need to know is that these updates are set to include bug fixes and improvements, specifically addressing issues with the Bluetooth-to-WiFi handoff and other communication.

Canon EOS R1 Firmware Update

For owners of the Canon EOS R1 in particular, your update is going to be a bit bigger and meatier in terms of improvements as the company is adding a fun new “American Football” action priority option for those looking to optimize human subject detection for individuals wearing helmets and shoulder pads (hallmarks of the great sport of American football.

The R1 is also set to get improved tracking and detection performance in challenging conditions, as well as many of the same aforementioned WiFi and communication improvements. Here’s the full list of everything new with the Canon EOS R1 with this latest update:

1. Adds [American Football] in [Action Priority] to optimize human subject detection for individuals wearing helmets and shoulder pads.
2. *For an overview and instructions on using [Action Priority], please refer to the Instruction Manual or the AF Settings Guide.
3. Improves tracking and detection performance for [Register people priority] in challenging conditions—including profile views, blurred or partially obscured faces, small subjects in the frame, and children—even when the feature is set to [Off]. *Performing a firmware update will delete registered data stored in the camera. If necessary, save the data in advance using [Save/load registered data on card], and reload it after the firmware update. For details, please refer to the Instruction Manual.
4. Adds [Wi‑Fi freq. band] to [Communication Settings], allowing the user to select the 5 GHz or 2.4 G Hz band when transferring from Bluetooth to Wi-Fi.
5. Adds [No. of connections] to [FTP transfer settings], allowing the user to select the number of transfer threads for [FTP transfer].
6. Adds the ability to store up to four [Color temp] values in [White balance setting] and to assign [Switch color temperature] to [Customize buttons for shooting].
7. Adds the ability to set [False Color Settings] to [On] when [HDR/C.Log View Assist] is selected.
8. Adds the ability to assign [Pre‑continuous Shooting] to [Customize buttons for shooting].
9. Adds the ability to transfer AF-related settings between cameras of the same model by adding [Save to card] and [Load from card] to [Register/recall AF‑related settings].
10. Adds the ability to display the electronic level during movie recording.
11. Adds the option for grid display during movie recording.
12. Adds the ability to display playback screens and menu screens when outputting to two screens via [HDMI Display During Connection].
13. Adds the ability to switch the group settings of a receiver camera from the sender camera when using the EOS Multi-Remote app.
14. Adds the [Night Display Mode] menu option.
15. Fixes an issue that may cause Err70 to be displayed in live view when the user captured a multiple-exposure shot in a dark environment.
16. Fixes an issue that may cause Err49 to be displayed repeatedly during communication with an SFTP server.
17. Fixes an issue that may impact the camera's shooting ability if the auto power-off function is activated during interval timer shooting.
18. Fixes an issue that may cause the camera to restart when the shutter button is pressed while deleting images.
19. Fixes an issue that may cause the camera to not be recognized when connected to a smartphone via USB.
20. Improves other system stability.

If you’re an owner of the Canon R1 or any of the other cameras above, you can find more info on how to download and install on Canon’s website here.