Nikon Updates Pro D-SLR Firmware with fixes, large CF card support & new Goodies

Nikon Updates Pro D-SLR Firmware with fixes, large CF card support & new Goodies

Submitted by David Cardinal on Wed, 01/06/2010 - 08:23

Nikon has just rolled out a very useful firmware update for most of their Pro D-SLR line (except the D3S which presumably already has these improvemnts). The new firmware includes support for CF cards up to 64GB, improved Auto White Balance, some focus options and my favorite which sets the time from a GPS clock. You can download it from the Nikon USA site. For more details...


  • Firmware version number varies with the camera. For the Nikon D700, for example it is called 1.02, for the D300S it is 1.01, for the Nikon D3 it is 2.02, for the D3X it is a B only update that simply addresses the CF size limit. As of now there is no update for the D300, which is certainly a shame for D300 owners. We'll hope that is forthcoming. For most of the other cameras there is quite a long list of goodies:

  • Auto white balance performance has been improved.

  • Support for 64 GB memory cards has been added.  

  • When ISO sensitivity settings>ISO sensitivity auto control in the shooting menu is set to On, the Maximum sensitivity option can now be specified in steps of 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV or 1 EV, according to the Custom Setting b1 ISO sensitivity step value setting. 

  • The length of time the camera waits before adjusting focus in response to sudden changes in the distance to the subject can now be selected from 5 (Long) , 4, 3 (Normal), 2, and 1 (Short) from Custom Setting a4 Focus tracking with lock-on.  With the increase in the number of options for Custom Setting a4 Focus tracking with lock-on, this item will be set to 3 (Normal) after firmware upgrade.  Adjust this setting as needed.

  • When the camera’s AF-ON button is pressed, the monitor turns off and a focus point can now be selected using the multi selector.

  • When the MB-D10 AF-ON button is pressed (with AF-ON selected for Custom Setting a10 AF-ON for MB-D10), the monitor now turns off and a focus point can be selected using the multi selector.  

  • A Use GPS to set camera clock item has been added to the GPS item in the setup menu.  When Yes is selected, date and time information acquired via connection to a GPS device is used to set the camera’s internal clock.  After selecting Yes for the first time, turn the camera off and then on again to reacquire GPS data. 

  • When Enable is selected for GPS>Auto meter off in the setup menu, the time until meters turn off is now extended by up to 1 minute to enable camera acquisition of GPS data immediately after the camera is turned on, and immediately after meters turn on.  (only with GPS Unit GP-1)

  • When On is selected for Long exp. NR with shooting at shutter speeds slower than 1 s but faster than or equal to 8 s, it did not function properly.  This issue has been resolved.

  • The focus point was sometimes not displayed even when focus was acquired with playback of images captured with continuous shooting.  This issue has been resolved.  

  • When the virtual horizon was displayed with shooting in live view tripod mode and live view was then cancelled, the focus point displayed in the monitor could not be moved.  This issue has been resolved.  

  • When some memory cards were inserted in the camera, “CHA” was displayed in the top control panel and images could not be captured.  This issue has been resolved.  

  • When [M] exposure mode was used in live view shooting via Camera Control Pro 2, the electronic analog exposure display did not function.  This issue has been resolved.
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