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Canon's logo. Click here to visit the Canon website! Canon SLRs: new firmware coming
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(Thursday, May 19, 2005 - 18:36 EDT)

A service notice posted on the website of Canon USA advises customers of potential problems with the EOS-1D Mark II and EOS-1Ds Mark II digital SLRs, as well as unrelated problems with the company's latest DSLRs when used in cooperation with Lexar CompactFlash cards.

The problems - all apparently due for correction courtesy of firmware updates by the end of the month - are as follows:
  • Camera lockups and lost buffered images in the EOS-1D Mark II and EOS-1Ds Mark II - Both of these cameras can apparently occasionally lose images when the Display button is pressed while a batch of images shot in RAW+JPEG (high image quality) mode are being written to the flash card. The entire camera can lock up, either becoming entirely white, or showing corruption. At this point, all images remaining in the buffer are irretrievably lost. A firmware update for either camera will be released by Canon to fix the problem. In the meantime, photographers should not press the Display button while images are being written to flash cards by these cameras.

  • Images lost when Lexar Professional 80x CompactFlash cards are used with the EOS 350D Digital Rebel XT, EOS 20D, EOS-1D Mark II, or EOS-1Ds Mark II - Apparently a problem when any of these cameras are used with Lexar 80x CF cards can cause captured images to be lost. The problem will be fixed by a firmware update for the CF cards, to be issued by Lexar. No workaround is available in the meantime.
Further details are available in the release below.

Original Source Press Release:

Digital SLR Image Disappearance

May 20, 2005
Canon U.S.A.

We have received inquiries about the problem of images disappearing when using specific digital SLR cameras. As a result of our investigation, we found that the following two problems may occur. Please be advised of the details and countermeasures.

  1. Disappearance of images within the camera's buffer memory
    Affected Products: EOS-1Ds Mark II, EOS-1D Mark II
    Problem:
    Pressing the [DISPLAY] button immediately after shooting with the camera set to "RAW+JPEG (high image quality)" causes the LCD monitor to become entirely white and the camera to lock up, losing all the images in the buffer. This problem is caused by the firmware for these models and sometimes occurs regardless of the recording media used.
    Countermeasure:
    We are now making arrangements to release new camera firmware incorporating the correction of this problem by the end of May 2005. In the meantime, please be aware of the following when using these models.
    • Before pressing the [DISPLAY] button to check captured images, make sure the access lamp is off, indicating that files have been written to the media.
    • When this problem occurs, remove and re-install the battery to restore correct operation.
  2. Disappearance of images when using Lexar Compact Flash Cards
    Affected Products (D-SLR): EOS-1Ds Mark II, EOS-1D Mark II, EOS 20D, EOS Digital Rebel XT / EOS 350D Digital / EOS Kiss Digital N
    Affected Products (CF card):
    Lexar Professional 80x-speed Compact Flash cards
    Problem:
    Captured images on some Lexar CompactFlash cards can be lost when used with the Canon cameras listed above. Working together, Lexar and Canon have investigated the cause and confirmed that the problem occurs in extremely rare instances when the products above are used together.
    Countermeasure:
    Lexar will offer a free firmware update incorporating the correction of this problem by the end of May 2005 for Lexar Professional Series 80x CompactFlash card customers using the affected Canon cameras.

    Lexar customers can contact Lexar Professional Support in US at (+1) 510-413-1233, or in UK at (+44) 1483-522-947 or visit Lexar on-line at www.lexar.com/support.
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience these issues have caused for you. We will make every effort in quality control to provide products that our customers can use with confidence. We appreciate your understanding in this matter.

Contact Information for inquiries:
Call Center
1-800-848-4040 (toll free)
*Available with your cell phone or PHS.

Office Hours:
Weekdays: 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Saturdays, holidays: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

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