New Nikon D3, D3x, D700 and D300s firmware

Quick heads up for any D3, D3x, D700 or D300s shooters out there. Nikon have released new firmware updates for these bodies (v2.02 for the D3, v1.02 for the D700 and v1.01 for the D3x and D300s), offering improvements to Auto ISO implementation as well as support for larger capacity memory cards to name two things. Links to updates as well as full list of enhancements are listed below.

Will you be an early switcher?
Just quickly, I’m curious to know if any of you out there will be downloading this asap or if you will wait to see if there are any reports of issues with the new software. I remember when the D3 firmware got it’s first update there will some users complaining of reduced auto focus performance. I never suffered from this personally so I’ll be updating mine just as soon as I have my camera to hand!

The main thing I’m interested in, as I mentioned above, is the enhancements to the Auto ISO feature as I use that all the time, plus it’s nice to see support for those 64gb cards now as I know some users were frustrated that the recent larger capacity Sandisk Extreme cards did not work. But enough of that, on with the important stuff…

Firmware links
D3, v2.02
For Mac users, the D3 firmware update can be found here.
For PC users, the D3 firmware can be found here.

D700, v1.02
Again for Mac users, you can download the new firmware update here.
And PC users can find it here.

D3x, v1.01
For Mac users, click here.
For PC users, here.

D300s, v 1.01
For Mac users, the D300s firmware update can be found here.
For PC users, here.

There is also a full PDF file showing the main new features of the software update, with screen shots of the menus, available here for the D3 and here for the D700.

Full list of improvements

D3
Auto white balance performance has been improved.
Support for 64 GB memory cards has been added.
When ISO sensitivity settings>ISO sensitivity auto control in the shooting menu is set to On, the Maximum sensitivity option can now be specified in steps of 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV or 1 EV, according to the Custom Setting b1 ISO sensitivity step value setting.
The length of time the camera waits before adjusting focus in response to sudden changes in the distance to the subject can now be selected from 5 (Long), 4, 3 (Normal), 2, and 1 (Short) from Custom Setting a4 Focus tracking with lock-on. With the increase in the number of options for Custom Setting a4 Focus tracking with lock-on, this item will be set to 3 (Normal) after firmware upgrade. Adjust this setting as needed.
A Dynamic AF area option has been added to the FUNC. button + dials (Preview + command dials, AE-L/AF-L + command dials) item for Custom Setting f4 Assign FUNC. Button (f5 Assign preview button, f6 Assign AE-L/AF-L button).
When AF-ON is selected for Custom Setting a9 AF-ON button or a10 Vertical AF-ON button, the monitor now turns off when the AF-ON button is pressed, even when shooting information is displayed.
When AF-ON is selected for Custom Setting f6 Assign AE-L/AF-L button>AE-L/AF-L button press, the monitor now turns off when the AE/AF lock button is pressed, even when shooting information is displayed.
A Use GPS to set camera clock item has been added to the GPS item in the setup menu. When Yes is selected, date and time information acquired via connection to a GPS device is used to set the camera’s internal clock. After selecting Yes for the first time, turn the camera off and then on again to reacquire GPS data.
When Enable is selected for GPS>Auto meter off in the setup menu, the time until meters turn off is now extended by up to 1 minute to enable camera acquisition of GPS data immediately after the camera is turned on, and immediately after meters turn on. (only with GPS Unit GP-1)
When On is selected for Long exp. NR with shooting at shutter speeds slower than 1 s but faster than or equal to 8 s, it did not function properly. This issue has been resolved.
The focus point was sometimes not displayed even when focus was acquired with playback of images captured with continuous shooting. This issue has been resolved.
When some memory cards were inserted in the camera, “CHA” was displayed in the top control panel and images could not be captured. This issue has been resolved.

D700
Auto white balance performance has been improved.
Support for 64 GB memory cards has been added.
When ISO sensitivity settings>ISO sensitivity auto control in the shooting menu is set to On, the Maximum sensitivity option can now be specified in steps of 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV or 1 EV, according to the Custom Setting b1 ISO sensitivity step value setting.
The length of time the camera waits before adjusting focus in response to sudden changes in the distance to the subject can now be selected from 5 (Long), 4, 3 (Normal), 2, and 1 (Short) from Custom Setting a4 Focus tracking with lock-on. With the increase in the number of options for Custom Setting a4 Focus tracking with lock-on, this item will be set to 3 (Normal) after firmware upgrade. Adjust this setting as needed.
When the camera’s AF-ON button is pressed, the monitor turns off and a focus point can now be selected using the multi selector.
When the MB-D10 AF-ON button is pressed (with AF-ON selected for Custom Setting a10 AF-ON for MB-D10), the monitor now turns off and a focus point can be selected using the multi selector.
A Use GPS to set camera clock item has been added to the GPS item in the setup menu. When Yes is selected, date and time information acquired via connection to a GPS device is used to set the camera’s internal clock. After selecting Yes for the first time, turn the camera off and then on again to reacquire GPS data.
When Enable is selected for GPS>Auto meter off in the setup menu, the time until meters turn off is now extended by up to 1 minute to enable camera acquisition of GPS data immediately after the camera is turned on, and immediately after meters turn on. (only with GPS Unit GP-1)
When On is selected for Long exp. NR with shooting at shutter speeds slower than 1 s but faster than or equal to 8 s, it did not function properly. This issue has been resolved.
The focus point was sometimes not displayed even when focus was acquired with playback of images captured with continuous shooting. This issue has been resolved.
When the virtual horizon was displayed with shooting in live view tripod mode and live view was then cancelled, the focus point displayed in the viewfinder could not be moved. This issue has been resolved.
When some memory cards were inserted in the camera, “CHA” was displayed in the top control panel and images could not be captured. This issue has been resolved.
When [M] exposure mode was used in live view shooting via Camera Control Pro 2, the electronic analog exposure display did not function. This issue has been resolved.

D3x and D300s
Support for 64 GB memory cards has been added.
When the Multi-Power Battery Pack MB-D10 was used with AA batteries, the battery indicator showed that MB-D10 batteries were exhausted or power supply switched to the battery inserted in the camera even when sufficient charge remained with the MB-D10 batteries. This issue has been resolved.

D300s specific
When some memory cards were inserted in the camera, “CHA” was displayed in the top control panel and images could not be captured. This issue has been resolved.