Canon has released a firmware update for the 5D Mark II to correct the “black dot phenomenon” early users were reporting when shooting under certain conditions. The update also improves a vertical banding noise problem that showed up for some users shooting in sRAW1 mode.

Canon’s description of the update:

“It improves and mitigates the following image quality phenomena.

- ‘Black dot’ phenomenon (the right side of point light sources becomes black)

When shooting night scenes, the right side of point light sources (such as lights from building windows) may become black. The phenomenon may become visible if the images are enlarged to 100% or greater on a monitor or if extremely large prints of the images are made. This firmware improves and mitigates this phenomenon.

- Vertical banding noise

If the recording format is set to sRAW1, vertical banding noise may become visible depending on the camera settings, subject, and background. The firmware improves and mitigates this phenomenon.”

Remember that a power failure during the firmware update could disable your camera, so be sure to have your batteries fully charged before you begin or plug it into the wall with its adapter. Also, don’t touch any buttons, open anything, or otherwise harass your camera while it’s updating.

Visit Canon’s page on the firmware update here for a download link and a complete set of instructions.

 

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