Many of us skip updating the firmware on our cameras, but new features and bug fixes are frequently being added by manufacturers via new firmware releases. In this video, you will learn how to update the firmware on your Nikon cameras.
Back in the days, firmware updates were mainly used to fix the issues on DSLR cameras; however, with the release of the mirrorless cameras, companies started to add new features that users can get via new firmware releases. Sony and Fuji are known for releasing new features with new firmware, but recently, Nikon joined them with the announcement of the new eye-tracking autofocus feature on the Nikon Z 7 and Z 6 cameras, which will come with the new firmware.
In this video, nature photographer Steve Perry shows step by step how to install the latest firmware on your Nikon camera. While he demonstrates this on his Nikon Z 7 camera, the technique can be used for any digital Nikon cameras.
Updating firmware is an easy, but a risky process. If you don’t follow the steps carefully, you might end up bricking your camera. At least, don’t forget to start the process with a fully charged battery.
As ever, Steve Perry comes through with a straightforward, competent video on how to get the best out of your Nikon gear. I gather that updating firmware has been troublesome for some Nikon users as I've seen several reddit posts in r/Nikon about inability to successfully incorporate new firmware updates for users' D7500.
Nikon, unfortunately, does not say how to upgrade cameras if you are using a Linux computer, like I do. Luckily, it is not very difficult but does require that you use a terminal window (the equivalent to a Windows Command Prompt) and type in some commands.
The following steps are for the D7500, but similar steps work for other cameras, just change the file names as required.
1) Make sure you have the unrar utility installed. On Debian, which I use, you can check if it is installed by opening a terminal window and issue the command (without the quotes) "dpkg -l unrar". (That is a lower-case letter L after the minus.) If unrar is not installed, you can install it with the command "sudo apt-get install unrar".
2) Download the Windows version of the update (in my case as of writing: F-D7500-V110W.exe) to your Downloads directory.
3) In the terminal window, issue the following commands "cd ~/Downloads" (or cd to the directory where you downloaded the file, if different) and "unrar x F-D7500-V110W.exe".
4) Check that you get an output like this:
UNRAR 5.30 beta 2 freeware Copyright (c) 1993-2015 Alexander Roshal
Extracting from F-D7500-V110W.exe
;The comment below contains SFX script commands
;TempMode
;Setup=Installer\Welcome.exe
Overwrite=1
Silent=1
Creating D7500Update OK
Extracting D7500Update/D7500_0110.bin OK
All OK
5) In this case, the upgrade file is ~/Downloads/D7500Update/D7500_0110.bin.
6) Use the file manager of your choice to copy D7500_0110.bin to the root of your memory card, eject the card and move it to the camera, where you just follow the relevant instructions in the video.
And ... you do not need to format your memory card before the procedure, if it has already been formatted for the camera — even if it contains photos — as long as there is enough space on the card for the upgrade file. Photos already on the card will not be deleted during the upgrade. That said, if you use a card without photos, you will not get any regrets from accidentally deleting some invaluable memories.
Holy shit... and people complain about Sony menus lol
Really I all you do unzip the file and copy the bin file to the SDcard put in the camera and turn it on and it will update.
You don't need Windows or OSX. I've done it with my phone and SDcard reader