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



## Canon Rumors Guy (Jul 28, 2022)

> Canon has removed the firmware v1.2.0 download for the Canon EOS R3 due to a bug in the software.
> The bug is described on the DPReview Forum
> The issue is that if you have v1.2 on your camera and then *perform a reset the mode dial does not work correctly and you cannot change between Tv Av* etc
> If you have updated to firmware v1.2.0 for the Canon EOS R3, do not do any resets until v1.2.1 is released.
> Canon has always fixed these sorts of firmware bugs pretty quickly, so I would expect an update very soon.



Continue reading...


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## neuroanatomist (Jul 28, 2022)

Another example of why I wait a few weeks to install new computer OS updates and camera firmware updates.


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## kaihp (Jul 28, 2022)

neuroanatomist said:


> Another example of why I wait a few weeks to install new computer OS updates and camera firmware updates.


Good luck with that on Windows 11 (Mac people are more fortunate as I understand).


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## R1-7D (Jul 28, 2022)

neuroanatomist said:


> Another example of why I wait a few weeks to install new computer OS updates and camera firmware updates.


Was just going to say the same thing. No sense in being the Guinea Pig for these experiments.


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## unfocused (Jul 28, 2022)

Okay, my R3 is on its way back from CPS for a clean and check. I suspect they will updated the firmware.  So, I wondering what does it mean to "perform a reset?"


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## takesome1 (Jul 28, 2022)

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.


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## gbasilemc (Jul 28, 2022)

unfocused said:


> So, I wondering what does it mean to "perform a reset?"


I guess it's the reset to factory settings ?


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## John Wilde (Jul 28, 2022)

OT: ICYMI, Canon released their quarterly financial reports on the 26th. They are still having parts supply problems. https://global.canon/en/ir/library/results.html


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## domo_p1000 (Jul 28, 2022)

neuroanatomist said:


> Another example of why I wait a few weeks to install new computer OS updates and camera firmware updates.


A sensible approach, although some bugs slip through testing and are only found post-deployment as a result of end users doing their thing - but it's always better that someone else finds it before you!


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## RayValdez360 (Jul 28, 2022)

SO if we dont do a factory reset we are cool?


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## unfocused (Jul 28, 2022)

RayValdez360 said:


> SO if we dont do a factory reset we are cool?


I guess I'll find out. I saved my settings to the card before sending the body in. I'll see what happens when I load the card.


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## unfocused (Jul 28, 2022)

Just got my R3 back from CPS. It's still on firmware 1.1.1


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## dolina (Jul 28, 2022)

This is why I wait more than a month before applying a firmware.


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## DBounce (Jul 29, 2022)

I take a wait and see approach when updating a camera that hasn’t been giving me any issues.


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## David - Sydney (Jul 29, 2022)

Any other pro members still seeing ads?


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## Jethro (Jul 29, 2022)

David - Sydney said:


> Any other pro members still seeing ads?


Sporadically yes - but see the comments on the Pro Board thread about the latest ...


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## bhf3737 (Jul 29, 2022)

I updated the R3 with FW 1.2, before being pulled, and didn't reset the cam. I usually switch between the custom saved modes and shoot. So far the mode dial and the rest of functions including Hc frame rate are ok.


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## SnowMiku (Jul 29, 2022)

I'm thinking it means factory reset. But it is an interesting bug, I wonder why it only happens after the factory reset?


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## LogicExtremist (Jul 29, 2022)

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.


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## RayValdez360 (Jul 29, 2022)

LogicExtremist said:


> 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.


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.


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## vignes (Jul 29, 2022)

Just saw Canon Australia released R3 FW 1.2.1.
That's pretty quick turn around.


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## SnowMiku (Jul 29, 2022)

RayValdez360 said:


> 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 (Jul 29, 2022)

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.





__





Canon Support for EOS R3 | Canon U.S.A., Inc.


Find support for your Canon EOS R3. Browse the recommended drivers, downloads, and manuals to make sure your product contains the most up-to-date software.




www.usa.canon.com


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## entoman (Jul 29, 2022)

gbasilemc said:


> 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 (Jul 29, 2022)

SnowMiku said:


> 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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## dolina (Jul 29, 2022)

DBounce said:


> 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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## [email protected] (Jul 29, 2022)

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 (Jul 29, 2022)

Birdshooter said:


> 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 (Jul 29, 2022)

Fbimages said:


> 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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## ShowMeTheEagles (Jul 29, 2022)

LogicExtremist said:


> 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 (Jul 30, 2022)

LogicExtremist said:


> 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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## kaihp (Jul 30, 2022)

jam05 said:


> 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


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## Antono Refa (Jul 30, 2022)

LogicExtremist said:


> 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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## CC2937 (Jul 30, 2022)

Jethro said:


> Sporadically yes - but see the comments on the Pro Board thread about the latest ...


Yes I am still seeing ads and it is very annoying.


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## fred (Jul 30, 2022)

WHERE IS SIGMA?????????


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## LogicExtremist (Jul 31, 2022)

fred said:


> WHERE IS SIGMA?????????


They're busy making great new lenses for all the other companies who aren't intentionally cutting them out of their market.


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## NWPhil (Jul 31, 2022)

takesome1 said:


> 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.


.....


takesome1 said:


> 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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## takesome1 (Jul 31, 2022)

NWPhil said:


> .....
> 
> Do you actually own a R3....or just an R7 owner trolling?


I actually own one. Why are you trolling?
Do you own one or just interested in the thread and trolling those who do have one?


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## LogicExtremist (Jul 31, 2022)

jam05 said:


> 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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## RayValdez360 (Jul 31, 2022)

I had 2 glitches today with 1.2.1. The first was the camera locked up in video and i had to pull the battery, the other was the camera was stuck in video mode and i couldnt switch to photo mode without turning it off. The switch on the back didnt respond.


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## kaihp (Jul 31, 2022)

Antono Refa said:


> 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.


Two words: Regression Testing. 

I would expect Canon to be heavily into automated regression testing, so that all functionality can be tested every time they make a modification of the firmware. 

This should not just cover basic functionality (like factory reset) but all the functionality. The problem with the factory reset testing is that they probably just confirmed that a factory reset occurred, not that all functionality has there after the reset.

But more users find more ways of using the product, many which wasn't anticipated by the designers and testers. 

Which leads us to the observations made by Brooks back in 1975 about SW development that _More users find more bugs. _


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## NWPhil (Aug 1, 2022)

... not defending Canon, as they should know better, but other variant as been the memory cards, in special the cf express type. I think there are various issues, as they are not controlled/specified by Canon. They do advise/recommend quite a few, but not to say they are all error proof - and then indeed peoplefind new ways to use the products
This update is indeed a nice feature, and not everyone will use it but it does expand the camera's usability. I would still like to see some other UI or setting improvements, but above all that next updates become more reliable


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## gbasilemc (Aug 5, 2022)

entoman said:


> 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.


I didn't know these recommendations and so, yes, I never did it


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