Firmware Friday: Canon resolves EOS 1D-series power drain; Panasonic improves Lumix compacts

It's Friday, and that means two things. The weekend's almost here, and so is Firmware Friday, our regular roundup of the latest digital camera firmware updates. This week, we have new firmware to report from both Canon and Panasonic.

Canon's new firmware covers three of its professional EOS 1D-series digital SLRs: the EOS-1D Mark III, EOS-1Ds Mark III, and EOS-1D Mark IV. In all three cases, the firmware makes the same fixes, which resolve issues when there's no lens mounted on the camera body. If any of these cameras were powered on without a lens attached, power consumption could be higher than normal, potentially draining your battery. A shutter release without lens attached could result in an Error 02 message. (Of course, you won't do much shooting without a lens attached -- but when using a mount adapter with no electrical connectivity, the camera might think there was no lens attached.)

The new firmware can be found at the links below:

• Canon EOS-1D Mark III firmware v1.3.2
• Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III firmware v1.2.3
• Canon EOS-1D Mark IV firmware v1.1.4

Panasonic, meanwhile, has updated two of its Lumix compact cameras: the Panasonic TS5 (known in some markets as the FT5), and the Panasonic LF1. For the Lumix TS5, firmware version 1.3 is said to improve time-lapse shooting functionality. The Lumix LF1 v1.1 update, meanwhile, improves PC / Mac connectivity. Grab the firmware at the links below:

• Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5 firmware v1.3 (also for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT5)
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-LF1 firmware v1.1

(Camera parts image courtesy of Kelly Hofer / Flickr; used under a Creative Commons CC-BY-2.0 license.)