Back in March Canon released a major firmware update for the Canon EOS R5 with version 1.0.8.1, which added a ton of features including the 400mp IBIS high-resolution shooting mode.

There was then a bunch of reports in regards to a new firmware coming in Q3 for the EOS R5 that would add further features. That timeline doesn't look like it's going to come to fruition.

We have been told that any further firmware updates for the EOS R5 will come later in 2023, but that it won't be a major feature update. There are still a few things Canon will add, but temper your expectations.

With the Canon EOS R5 Mark II likely coming in the first half of 2024, we're assuming that software development resources will be going towards that project along with the EOS R1.

The next camera to receive a firmware update will reportedly be the Canon EOS R6 Mark II.

More to come…

Header Photo by Robin McSkelly on Unsplash

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111 comments

  1. Sure Canon. Why update your software/hardware when you can gin up your bank account by selling the sheeple a new camera with one hardware change and get another five grand US. I'm done chasing the 'must have'. Clearly Canon is copying the Apple iPhone syndrome. I almost wonder if Canon doesn't feed CR and others fake updates to keep them in the 'news' and claim 'but this was a rumor and not official PR'.
  2. I don't hate to say I told you so. Too close to the R5ii for a major feature upgrade. It made no sense. The "big" R5 firmware update was the one for the R5C.
    I disagree, updating "older versions" create a much higher level of customer retention, when I know that the company that makes the camera I buy will support it for long time, especially with mirrorles cameras where there are almost no mechanical parts that can break, is a major reason to follow the brand. when I know that my camera will be firmware supported to about 7-10 years after initial release and not be "abandoned" after 3-4 years is a major consideration in buying it. Mirrorless cameras will last at least 10 years before be replaced by most people. So on going firmware updated is a major consideration, at least in my case.
  3. I think we are still a way off from having portable firmware components from one camera migrated over to another. The R5's code was developed for the R5's hardware. The R3 and R6ii's hardware is slightly different and I suspect that it's not a simple "copy over to the R5" situation that we would all like.
    When i bought my R8 and R6ii, the slightly newer AF system was one of it's big interests to me. I could easily have bought and R5, but I felt that the differences in AF functions between my R8 and an R5 would be annoying. I like my two camera bodies to be identical or very similar.

    For me, the perfect camera would have been a 45mp R6ii. The R6ii is close enough and I'm really enjoying shooting with it.

    I'll look forwards to trialling the R5ii when ever it comes along and is readily available.
  4. Sure Canon. Why update your software/hardware when you can gin up your bank account by selling the sheeple a new camera with one hardware change and get another five grand US. I'm done chasing the 'must have'. Clearly Canon is copying the Apple iPhone syndrome. I almost wonder if Canon doesn't feed CR and others fake updates to keep them in the 'news' and claim 'but this was a rumor and not official PR'.
    You said so yourself, Canon don't like to look like one of those companies that just want to sell you their cameras, they want to build the "trust" of their customers to know that their camera will be supported for long time. That, at least for me, is a huge consideration in getting a camera.
  5. Why update your software/hardware when you can gin up your bank account by selling the sheeple a new camera with one hardware change and get another five grand US.
    Why, indeed? Canon is a for-profit company, not a charitable organization.

    Clearly Canon is copying the Apple iPhone syndrome.
    Copying the practices regarding the most successful product of the largest company in the world? Seems rather reasonable.
  6. In other words copy and paste firmware will not be made available to the EOS R5 because that would reduce our profit margin for the EOS R5 II. Improved firmware included as an added benefit for the EOS R5 II. We'll get around to the R5 with those firmware updates after the R5II sales numbers come in
  7. Takes away no substantial resources for merely copying and pasting firmware code. Nada. Holding back firmware updates is a marketing ploy. Test it and put it on the website as "Beta tested" or Official Release.
  8. Takes away no substantial resources for merely copying and pasting firmware code. Nada. Holding back firmware updates is a marketing ploy.
    Sure, sure. That’s why Magic Lantern lives on, because it requires no resources to port firmware to different hardware.

    Even the testing of firmware updates requires no resources, that’s why Canon’s firmware updates have always been bug-free.
  9. Sure, sure. That’s why Magic Lantern lives on, because it requires no resources to port firmware to different hardware.

    Even the testing of firmware updates requires no resources, that’s why Canon’s firmware updates have always been bug-free.
    1
    Spare me. I've done it for decades in the aerospace and defense industry. People work on multiple projects during the same shift. I can do a firmware patch, test the national airspace updates at midnight, and air traffic doesnt miss a beat. And do engineering mods, installs, all on the same shift. Write code on my coffee break.
  10. I will not purchase an R5 II simply for copy and paste firmware code. The R5 and R5c is capable for another decade. I'm good, thanks.
    Good! I honestly think few people routinely update their camera body to the next model in a series, anyway. Though I’m sure the R5II will have hardware improvements, those are typically minor with one generational update.

    With the R5II, Canon will mainly be targeting 5DIV and 6DII owners, and to a lesser extent R and R6 owners. No doubt a few of the more gear-oriented R5 owners will buy them, but that’s not the main audience.
  11. Good! I honestly think few people routinely update their camera body to the next model in a series, anyway. Though I’m sure the R5II will have hardware improvements, those are typically minor with one generational update.

    With the R5II, Canon will mainly be targeting 5DIV and 6DII owners, and to a lesser extent R and R6 owners. No doubt a few of the more gear-oriented R5 owners will buy them, but that’s not the main audience.
    The CR post is not about hardware. So do not confuse hardware with firmware.
  12. The CR post is not about hardware. So do not confuse hardware with firmware.
    The only hardware I would spend my money for in a high end camera is a stacked sensor. There is absolutely no other active component hardware electronics that would produce any visible diffrences other than that. Camera hardware has plateud
  13. The CR post is not about hardware. So do not confuse hardware with firmware.
    You’re the one implying the R5II will be only a firmware update, and if you really believe that, then it’s clear who is confused here.

    Actually, that’s clear from just scrolling down your posts on this page. :rolleyes:
  14. I believe giving up on R5 without a rather major update of especially object detection and tracking is a risky gamble. R5 is still the king of R series for many, and I really love so many things about it. But just look at this street photography example with the latest firmware on R5. I just wonder how on earth, with 4 faces in the frame, R5 face detection has picked that wall in the corner - a total disappointment for a street photographer who counts on the first moments of an encounter for a candid shot! I strongly believe if they want to maintain their historic good reputation, R5 matters a lot! And R5 mark I should not stay like this. After all, the moment that we decide to sell our R5 for a mark ii, we might as well switch to other brands.

    FaceDetection.jpg
  15. If Canon is milking copy and paste firmware updates in order to sell a new model, then that suggest the new model is substantially dependent on firmware and AI coding for sales.

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