With the announcement of the Canon EOS R5 Mk II, there have been multiple tattletales in the industry. The foremost was the lack of third-party batteries for the camera, which upset some users. Then came the delay in shipment, for which Canon gave us a very mysterious response. And now, there is another report about the Canon EOS R5 Mk II getting a new firmware update. So, we reached out to the company for a statement, but we will get that in a minute.
Canon EOS R5 Mk II Firmware Update
Canon Rumors was the first to report on this, eventually updating the article. The report states that Canon’s latest firmware, v.1.0.1, is said to be released before September 26. Canon is keen on removing bugs before the launch of RF 28-70mm f2.8 IS STM, as they could hinder the device’s performance. At the same time, the article notes that the new cameras will also reportedly get more feature updates, which the author thinks is more video-centric than photography.
Later, Canon Rumors reported that the company had started installing the new firmware on serviced Canon EOS R5 Mark II camera bodies. To clarify, they also shared pictures, which prove that the new update is helping the screen not go green when capturing videos. The image is attached below.
In addition, the camera manufacturer is reportedly going to address more issues with the new update, but we will only know for sure once September ends.
Canon’s Response Didn’t Surprise Us
Our journalistic ethics led us to email Canon about the firmware and get some clarity on whether this is even true. Upon our email, Canon U.S.A., Inc. released the following statement:
When updates are available for Canon products, Canon U.S.A. communicates such information through the appropriate channels to reach our customers.
As usual, this isn’t the first time Canon U.S.A., Inc. has kept us in the dark about things. With the Canon EOS R5 Mk II delay rumors, Canon simply noted they are facing “back-orders” but no clear indication of when that will change. The same goes for the third-party batteries, for which they simply shared a statement stating that such claims weren’t true. However, that is without providing us with a review unit to test the declarations.
This reminds us of the time when Canon EOS R5 was receiving contempt for overheating. However, when we tested the device in various situations, we figured that the reason was that videographers were shooting videos for over 15 minutes in one go. In our review, we wrote: “…we set the camera to 4K 24p timelapse video and chose a single one-second-long exposure at f11 and ISO 3200 every five seconds. It did this for five hours. My alarm woke me up to head downstairs to check the camera. And it didn’t overheat at all. In fact, the camera seemed to work as expected.”
It’s important for Canon to be more transparent about the devices and their updates. The Canon EOS R5 Mk II is highly anticipated, and there’s a lot of excitement surrounding it. During times like these, using NDA agreements and providing review units is the best way to handle any stories that are being circulated through different channels. If the reviews come from accredited websites rather than just content creators, it will reduce the chances of Canon receiving a lot of criticism. But it seems Canon simply doesn’t want that.