Canon has pulled firmware v1.2.0 for the Canon EOS R3 due to a bug

they probably just need better programmers. Canon is a camera company i cant see the software being that complicated compared to cellphone tech. the issue seems like a simple fix.
My smartphone auto restarts when it freezes. I'm not sure why Canon can't do a auto restart, then use the last settings, until they figure out what the real reason for the frezzing issues on the R6/R5/R3, it would save time and frustration not having to do a battery pull and missing shots. But I know nothing about software/firmware development so I'm not sure if that can be done.
 
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Birdshooter

R3 and R5
Oct 14, 2019
53
63
Canon USA has the new firmware version 1.2.1 up on their site.
Everything is the same, except for adding the fix to 1.2.0 for the camera reset bug.

 
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entoman

wildlife photography
May 8, 2015
1,998
2,438
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I guess it's the reset to factory settings ?
Canon recommends resetting the camera to default settings (via the menu) *before* performing firmware updates. Existing settings can be saved to a memory card and then re-applied after the updates. They also recommend that the lens is removed prior to updates. I suspect that many people don't do either.

Resetting the camera simply returns it to default settings. The firmware version remains the same.
 
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entoman

wildlife photography
May 8, 2015
1,998
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My smartphone auto restarts when it freezes. I'm not sure why Canon can't do a auto restart, then use the last settings, until they figure out what the real reason for the frezzing issues on the R6/R5/R3, it would save time and frustration not having to do a battery pull and missing shots. But I know nothing about software/firmware development so I'm not sure if that can be done.
Yes indeed. It would be a very good idea if all manufacturers incorporated a menu option to return the camera to the original v1 firmware. Then user could simply download whichever update they preferred (assuming all versions were continually available on the manufacturer websites).
 
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I take a wait and see approach when updating a camera that hasn’t been giving me any issues.
Back in 2012 Canon sent out a product advisory for the EF200mm f/2L IS USM and EF800mm f/5.6L IS USM Lenses when used with the 5D3.

As I did not have the body I did not bother to send either lens in.

When I bought my 2015 5Ds R I experienced that problem. Thankfully by then the 2nd person to get that lens in my country had their EF 800mm serviced ahead of mine so the lens technician had experience upgrading my lens SKU.

Even with Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, etc I wait at least a month before upgrading as I want others to report problems

In our workplace we are waiting 4 years after Windows 11 release to migrate to that OS. We want others to deal with 4 years of bug fixes and feature changes to reduce migration cost.
 
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Canon has a very robust API allowing for automation of the bodies, including for testing. I'm a subscriber to their API updates, and it's a very well supported, with a decent cadence of updates. It at first surprised me that Canon doesn't have a fairly complete, automated testing regime set up to catch something like this.

It may be that it is precisely the hard reset and a few other functions that are not automatable, as of course you'd reset your test specimen by doing that. As a (bad) coder - and only in retrospect - it makes sense to me that this is precisely the condition that would slip through.

I hope that they make an inventory of those conditions that aren't testable via their API, and make sure some real humans put the bodies through their paces. While Canon has had an unusually high frequency of botched firmware releases, it may be that they're working out the automated testing kinks, and this may get better as they figure out their blind spots.
 
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Fbimages

EOS R5 EOS R3 GFX 100
Mar 4, 2020
57
240
www.instagram.com
Canon USA has the new firmware version 1.2.1 up on their site.
Everything is the same, except for adding the fix to 1.2.0 for the camera reset bug.

Interestingly I can’t seem to be able to activate the 240 fps FHD. The high frame rate option is still 119.9 for me?
 
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Fbimages

EOS R5 EOS R3 GFX 100
Mar 4, 2020
57
240
www.instagram.com
Interestingly I can’t seem to be able to activate the 240 fps FHD. The high frame rate option is still 119.9 for me?
Edit: found it, not the greatest implementation. You can only select the 240 once 120 is selected and you navigate the Q button in shooting mode to select a sub menu to access the 240.
It works though
 
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And this folks is what happens when cameras become heavily dependent on computing, the increase in functionality comes at the cost of an increase in complexity....

As I always keep reminding people, there is always a cost for everything. The personal choice is if you're happy with the tradeoffs.

Personal choice, sure, but based on what you are writing the choice would be between an old school manual-only SLR and any other camera that uses a processor to make calculations. Firmware updates are nothing new, just firmware with feature upgrades. Cameras have had processors in them since the late 1970s and lenses since the 80s. It use to be that new firmware was released only to fix bugs and pre-PC era you had to send the equipment in to get updated. And some bugs were so slight or rare on bodies and lenses they didn't get a firmware fix. So reality, if there is a choice in 2022 it's, buy equipment from manufacturer that issue updates and feature upgrades or buy brands that don't, and what you buy stays that way, bugs and all.

Now, these latest R5 and R3 updates were impressive and added value to existing owners. That there was a minor bug in the R3 update is really a non-story. The real lesson here is don't rush to update, not be anti-tech.
 
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jam05

R5, C70
Mar 12, 2019
916
584
And this folks is what happens when cameras become heavily dependent on computing, the increase in functionality comes at the cost of an increase in complexity. Along with this comes an increasing number of variables that are difficult to account for whenever changes and updates are made. Without a proper testing environment and time to carry out exhaustive tests, the consumers/end-users become the beta testers.

Now just like your personal computer, cameras can have software (firmware) bugs, and they also freeze up and require power disconnection (battery removal) to get them running again. As more computing functionality gets added, expect much more of this. Anyone who has ever worked in the IT industry will tell you this is a immutable aspect of computing technology.

As I always keep reminding people, there is always a cost for everything. The personal choice is if you're happy with the tradeoffs.
In every industry. Automotive, transportation, Air Traffic, Defense, aerospace. Firmware and software updates and revisions are common place. Errors in these updates are also common place. Rollbacks and recovery modes pretty common. Often many vital systems are redundant, thus updates and revisions are most often completed on an offline or secondary system first. The customer or end user most often never see these common occurances.
 
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In every industry. Automotive, transportation, Air Traffic, Defense, aerospace. Firmware and software updates and revisions are common place. Errors in these updates are also common place. Rollbacks and recovery modes pretty common. Often many vital systems are redundant, thus updates and revisions are most often completed on an offline or secondary system first. The customer or end user most often never see these common occurances.
Excellent points.

Also folks, before you go full luddite, that having an increased amount of software in the products means that we get more, better, more flexible functionality than without. Also, you get these functions quicker than if they had been implemented in hardware, and the eventual bugs can be fixed quicker, less costly and more easily than in hardware.

The firmware for my second EOS 50D camera body was 9.1MB (I can't find any FW updates for my venerable EOS 10D).

The firmware for the R3 is 81.6MB in size. Thats 9x the size.

Edit: Chuckle. I found a firmware for the 10D: 1.9MB :LOL:
 
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Mar 26, 2014
1,443
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And this folks is what happens when cameras become heavily dependent on computing, the increase in functionality comes at the cost of an increase in complexity. Along with this comes an increasing number of variables that are difficult to account for whenever changes and updates are made. Without a proper testing environment and time to carry out exhaustive tests, the consumers/end-users become the beta testers.

Now just like your personal computer, cameras can have software (firmware) bugs, and they also freeze up and require power disconnection (battery removal) to get them running again. As more computing functionality gets added, expect much more of this. Anyone who has ever worked in the IT industry will tell you this is a immutable aspect of computing technology.

As I always keep reminding people, there is always a cost for everything. The personal choice is if you're happy with the tradeoffs.
Photographers who use a pro camera like the R3 are not beta testers. They can't put an event, like a wedding, on hold saying "I've got a problem with the camera, wait while I reset it, oh damn I've got a bigger problem, please wait while I get an older firmware version and downgrade".

Which leads me me to my next point: testing a pro camera should cover basic functionality like factory reset. Missing that the mode dial stops working after a factory reset is a big blunder.
 
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NWPhil

one eye; one shot - multiple misses
Oct 4, 2011
276
0
After they remove the function to shoot 50 frames at a195 fps in the update, maybe I can sell bootlegged copies of the firmware since to those who do not mind a few bugs in trade for insane fps.
.....
After they remove the function to shoot 50 frames at a195 fps in the update, maybe I can sell bootlegged copies of the firmware since to those who do not mind a few bugs in trade for insane fps.
Do you actually own a R3....or just an R7 owner trolling?
 
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LogicExtremist

Lux pictor
Sep 26, 2021
501
352
In every industry. Automotive, transportation, Air Traffic, Defense, aerospace. Firmware and software updates and revisions are common place. Errors in these updates are also common place. Rollbacks and recovery modes pretty common. Often many vital systems are redundant, thus updates and revisions are most often completed on an offline or secondary system first. The customer or end user most often never see these common occurrences.
That's precisely how its done in my experience. Computer system changes are strictly controlled, they're tested on an offline or secondary test-bed platform, often using human testing as well as automated software packages to check all the standard operations and functions that can be performed. There are thorough check lists of things that need to be covered, verified and approved before system changes go live, and there's always a rollback plan in case anything goes wrong. As you said, most of it is never seen by the end users because systems engineer, system testers and change management people make it all seamless, so as not to disrupt critical operations.

The mini-computers in cameras are just embedded micro-controllers running their programing in firmware. The more they do, the more that can go wrong, and the more testing that needs to be performed when making firmware changes. Canon isn't a software company, perhaps they need to develop that area better with improved testing and quality control. If they're trying to save money by cutting corners when testing firmware changes, then its likely we'll see a series of buggy firmware updates released that have to be recalled, and that looks likely. Two in a row in no coincidence, it highlights there's a process deficiency. Good faith from the customer base can only be stretched so far before lockups, system freezes and buggy updates begin detracting from the brand image of premium, quality, reliable equipment that Canon rests its reputation on.
 
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