Firmware updates are one of those things that sounds like basic maintenance advice — “keep your stuff updated” — but the reality on set is more nuanced than that.
Here’s my actual approach: I don’t update firmware before shoots. I keep firmware files on hand as an emergency fix.
The Real Use Case
Nine times out of ten, you’re not updating firmware because you want new features. You’re updating because something isn’t working.
A rental house sends a body with old firmware and it won’t tether correctly. A photographer brings their backup camera that hasn’t been touched in a year and there’s a known tethering bug that was patched six months ago. A card reader is acting up and the manufacturer quietly fixed it in a firmware revision nobody announced.
These are the situations where having the latest firmware files already downloaded to a folder on your laptop saves the shoot. You’re not scrambling to find wifi on location or tethering to your phone to download a 200MB file. You just have it.
Don’t Update the Night Before
If everything is working, leave it alone. Updating firmware the night before a major shoot is asking for trouble. New firmware can change behavior, introduce new bugs, or require reconfiguration. If you’re going to update, do it with enough lead time to test thoroughly — tether the camera, shoot a few frames, confirm everything works the way you expect.
The worst position to be in is standing on set at 7 AM realizing the firmware you installed last night changed how the camera handles USB communication.
What to Keep on Hand
Every major manufacturer hosts firmware on their support pages. Download the latest versions and save them to a dedicated folder on your laptop or a thumb drive in your kit:
Check these every few weeks and update your local copies. That way when a problem shows up on set, you already have the fix in your bag.
The Bottom Line
Firmware updates aren’t maintenance. They’re emergency tools. Keep them ready, don’t apply them under pressure, and always test before a shoot day if you do decide to update.