Is your digital camera out of date? It may be, but nowadays you don’t always need to trade last year's model camera in for this year's version. You can accomplish that by updating the camera's firmware, or the software that is embedded in your digital camera.
Digital camera firmware updates are a great free way to upgrade your camera without splurging on the hottest new model. Firmware updates for your digital camera can help with your camera’s performance, whether it be the LCD brightness or to extend battery life, or it can correct a problem with the camera that wasn’t noticed before it was released.
Firmware updates for your digital camera are put out by the manufacture, and can usually be found by fishing around the support pages of a manufacturer's site.
It isn't always easy to hunt these updates down, though. Here are some of the top manufacturer's firmware update sites:
- Nikon, where you should then click on your model's icon to look for updates.
- Canon, on the Canon Japan page. Be sure to scroll down to the header, "Firmware Update or Adjustment Program."
- Kodak, where you should choose your camera from the list. That will take you to any available software, and you should scroll down to look for firmware updates.
- Pentax, which has a pulldown menu to find firmware updates for various camera models.
- Olympus, a page with various software. Click on "Firmware" or "Firmware update for OLYMPUS E-Systems."
- HP, where you should choose the button, "Download drivers and software (and firmware)," and enter your camera's model name and number in the box.
- Sony, on this page that lists any Sony Cyber-shot firmware updates available.
- Fujifilm, which has this page listing software and firmware updates available.
