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Canon Firmware Update for EOS 5D MkII (v1.0.7)

As I reported here recently ("Black Dots") some users have reported problems with the EOS 5D MkII in that there are black dots to the right of very bright point highlights. There were also some reports of vertical banding when using sRAW1.

Canon have now issued firmware 1.0.7 which they say will fix these issues. The new firmware can be downloaded from http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/firm-e/eos5dmk2/firmware.html or it can be accessed via the "Downloads and Drivers" tab on the support page for the EOS 5D MkII on the Canon USA website - [LINK]

Canon specifically say that the update:

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.

Be sure to read the instructions for the firmware update carefully. Specifically

Use a fully charged Battery Pack or dedicated AC Adapter Kit (Optional) ACK-E6 for the firmware update.
Do not shut off the power during the firmware writing operation.
Do not open the CF card slot cover during the firmware writing operation.
Do not press any camera buttons during the firmware writing operation

I don't know how well the update addresses the reported problems, but I now have an EOS 5D MkII for testing and once I've managed to reproduce the original problems, I'll do a firmware update and see how well it fixes them. However from reports that I'm seeing on a number of web photography forums, it appears that the firmware update really does completely eliminate the "black dot" problem.

Canon also specifies you should update Digital Photo Professional and Picture Style Editor software along with the camera firmware. That can be done via the "Downloads and Drivers" tab on the support page for the EOS 5D MkII on the Canon USA website - [LINK]

Again, according to Canon:

"If the existing software applications are used to display sRAW1 and sRAW2 images that were captured by a camera with Firmware Version 1.0.7, dark, low-contrast areas in the images may appear slightly magenta. If the updated software applications are used to display sRAW1 and sRAW2 images, the color of the images will appear normal, regardless of the camera firmware version."

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