Nikon fixes firmware, Canon recalls its firmware –This week's photo news 29/2025

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If you ask, you'll get an answer. And if you ask Nikon often enough, after two weeks you'll finally get an answer as to what the warning messages in the latest firmware versions for mirrorless Z cameras really mean. Namely, that not all cameras with Expeed 7 processors will disable third-party lenses when updated. Yes, that sounds even more confusing than the company's previous statements, so let's take it one step at a time.

Nikon: Only the Z8 had the bug

As Nikon Germany told heise online, there was only a problem with the Z8 when a third-party lens was mounted on it while a firmware update was being performed. Therefore, version 3.01 for the Z8 has been available since this week, which solves this problem. However, the warning message will remain on the download page because, according to Nikon, it cannot rule out the possibility of errors occurring in future updates with third-party lenses. This also applies to the other Expeed 7 cameras.

Specifically, these are the Nikon Zf, Z50 II, Z5 II, Z6 III, and Z8. The warning is now displayed uniformly on the download pages for these cameras, except for the Z9. It also works with Expeed 7, so it should probably not be updated with a third-party lens either. According to Nikon, if you don't have a Nikkor or an FTZ adapter, you can perform the updates without a lens. And if you just want a quick overview of the latest versions, you can find them for all Nikons on this page from the manufacturer. However, apart from version 3.01 for the Z8 this week, nothing else has changed there.

Canon withdraws firmware for R1 and R5 II

Canon took a completely different approach: they published firmware version 1.1.0 for both the R1 and the closely related R5 II on their international websites. And then immediately withdrew it again. Machine translations of a support note from Canon only indicate that there is some kind of compatibility issue with memory cards larger than 2 TB. This is unlikely to have affected anyone, as the few CFexpress cards with 4 TB cost over $1,000.

Canon has not yet announced a date for the corrected firmware. There was also confusion about a CAI/C2PA authenticity seal. This was also expected with the updates for professional cameras. However, as Canon told Petapixel, this is not planned, at least not with the first major update for the two flagship models. The back-and-forth of the last few weeks regarding firmware from both Canon and Nikon has at least confirmed an old rule: only install new firmware for any device immediately if there are serious security vulnerabilities. Otherwise, it's worth waiting a few weeks to see if others have encountered any bugs. –, which you would expect for €4,900. One look at the device and the price makes it clear: this is another representative of the “premium compact” cameras that have been popular for years. 61 megapixels and a fixed Zeiss lens with a focal length of 35 millimeters meet the specifications for this class. The large sensor can also be “cropped” in fixed steps to the equivalent of 50 or 70 millimeters to obtain the image angles familiar from such focal lengths, also known as step crop. Our detailed report reveals everything else you need to know about the new luxury Sony.

Four against one

If you want to carry even less camera equipment with you in the summer, perhaps on vacation, your smartphone is the obvious choice. Apple has been a key driver in advancing camera technology in phones. As a result, there are more and more iPhone apps that offer special features such as true raw files or the use of the front and main cameras for combined shots. For a broader perspective, we recommend our long read for the weekend, “Four camera apps for iPhone to rival Apple's camera.” Third-party apps always have to compete with Apple's own “Camera app,” which is constantly being improved.

Our column is also taking a short summer break. We'll be back on August 9.

(nie)