Ricoh Caplio R3 and up Firmware Updates

To get information about reading firmware level on any R3 and up camera just click on the link below for that camera.

R3 is at v1.29 or v1.30, but only v1.29 appears on the Ricoh site.	R7 is at v1.28 on the Ricoh site.
R4 is at v1.06 and no update has ever appeared on the Ricoh site.	R8 is at v1.25 on the Ricoh site.
R5 is at v1.61 on the Ricoh site, but come back from repair at v1.62.	No R9 exists.
R6 is at v1.45 on the Ricoh site.	R10 is at v1.15 on the Ricoh site

To find firmware and software updates for Ricoh cameras........... http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/download/

General Information: The firmware being talked about is the software that is loaded into the camera at the factory or by you the user when an update occurs, and the firmware is the basic operating system of the camera. The firmware will control how the camera processor interprets the CCD image and delivers resulting image files, plus of course all other aspects of normal operation. With Ricoh cameras the firmware can be updated via a direct connection to the PC and instructions for that appear when you run the update program that comes in the update zip file obtained from the Ricoh link above. Easier and safer is to use a card reader and copy the appropriate files to an SD card and then do the update process off line. Normally the process is to update a camera when an update occurs, but if trouble-shooting and investigating changes, then an older firmware (for that one model of camera) can be loaded with no harm to the camera. The reminder is to safely save all firmware updates on your computer, as the old ones disappear from the Ricoh site at each update. You never know when you may have to downgrade the firmware. Unlikely, but it has been needed with some cameras.

R3 Firmware

To check the firmware level on your R3 camera.

Turn camera off
Switch to Sound mode (the little microphone icon).
Press and hold both the Tele button and Down button (the macro button) while turning the camera on.
Screen displays version data like this... (the CPU2 V number is the firmware level of the camera)
After 20 seconds the camera returns to Sound mode.
Turn camera off and put switch to normal photo setting.

To update the firmware on your R3

Go to http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/download/ to find firmware and instructions for updates for any Ricoh camera. Then select the Windows or Mac version to download to your computer. The files come down in a Zip package that need to be unzipped to a temporary folder or work folder. When the zip file is unzipped, with the Windows version you get the following files....

directory

With Mac I'm not sure what happens but the mrflect3 and mrflect7 files should be there.

Run the FirmUpdate.exe program and the necessary instructions to follow are displayed, there's no point in repeating them here.

After the update, disconnect the camera and do the firmware update level check as above.

The better way to update is this......

Use a card reader (or the camera connected as a mass storage device) and Windows Explorer to copy the two firmware files to the SD card, "mrflect3 " and "mrflect7" should be placed in the root directory of the SD card and not in the DCIM or any other folder.

Turn camera off, make sure battery is not near discharged, best to charge it first.
Select Sound mode. Put SD card into the camera if it was set up in a card reader
Hold 'Up' + 'Tele', press 'Power'
And follow instructions on screen.
The upgrade will take less than two minutes
The camera will 'boot' and 'end' in normal sound-record mode.

Do the firmware check above to see if the firmware level is now correct.

Summary For the R3....

To read firmware level, with camera off, switch 2 to Sound mode, press 4 (Tele) and 13 (Macro) together and turn on the camera using the normal on/off button on top.

To update firmware, put the firmware files in the SD card root directory. Then with camera off, switch 2 to Sound mode, press 4 (Tele) and 10 (Scene) together and turn on the camera using the normal on/off button on top and follow prompts.

A couple of DPReview members have had their R3 repaired and it came back with firmware level 1.30 installed. This level has not yet appeared on the Ricoh site. After an email enquiry to Ricoh support in Australia, I received the following on 18 July 2006....

Dear Guy
Thank you for your email enquiry.
No there is no difference between the two.
The 1.30 is a service firmware upgrade, which is essentially the same as the 1.29 posted on our website.
There is no need for the 1.30 to be installed.

The official minimal instructions are here.. http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/download/firmware/r3/procedure_win.html but mine above makes more sense.

R4 Firmware

Go to http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/download/ to find firmware and instructions for updates for any Ricoh camera. No R4 updates seen yet.

To check the firmware level on your R4 camera.

Turn camera off
Switch to Sound mode (the little microphone icon).
Press and hold both the Tele button and Down (Macro) button for a few seconds while turning the camera on.
Screen displays version data like this... recently read from my relatively new R4.

JCI : TYPE 26
CPU1: V 1.00
CPU2: V 1.06 (this is the firmware level)
MON : V 1.01
ADJ : V 1.29
EXT : V 1.00
SH: 000582
ST: 000161

After 20 seconds the camera returns to Sound mode.
Turn camera off and put switch to normal photo setting.

No update for the R4 has appeared on the Ricoh site.

Summary For the R4....

To read firmware level, with camera off, switch 2 to Sound mode, press 4 (Tele) and 13 (Macro) together and turn on the camera using the normal on/off button on top.

To update firmware, put the firmware files in the SD card root directory. Then with camera off, switch 2 to Sound mode, press 4 (Tele) and 10 (Scene) together and turn on the camera using the normal on/off button on top and follow prompts.

R5 Firmware

Go to http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/download/ to find firmware and instructions for updates for any Ricoh camera.

To check the R5 firmware level the official instructions are at http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/download/firmware/r5/procedure.html

With the camera off, set the mode switch to Video then: Hold the down/macro button, and hold the Play button at the same time for 2 seconds. This will switch the camera on and display the full Firmware information. The top line displayed is the firmware version.

To update the R5 firmware download the appropriate zip file from the Ricoh site and then unzip the package to find the FirmUpdate program. Run this program to see the full instructions.

The easier way is to copy the "rlaunch3" and "rlaunch7" files (found in the zip package) onto an SD card. Make sure the files are in the root directory and not in the DCIM or any other folder. Use Windows Explorer to copy those files. Mac users need to use whatever is the normal copy method.

That copy can be done either via the camera being connected or via a separate SD card reader/writer.

Turn camera off and disconnect USB cable if connected. Make sure battery has been recently charged. Put SD card into the camera if it was set up in a card reader

Select Video mode.

Hold Play and Mode buttons down at the same time until the camera shows "Execute? Yes/ No"

The follow the on-screen instructions to perform the update, takes less than 2 minutes.

After that, do the firmware check to see if all is OK, should show v1.61. v1.60 is OK if using WinXP but Vista may need v1.61. The latest version is V1.62 if the camera is sent for repair. It may appear on the update site later. Fixes something to do with card compatibility?

Summary For the R5....

To read firmware level, with camera off, switch 3 to Video mode, press 4 (Play) and 11 (Macro) together for 2 seconds.

To update firmware, put the firmware files in the SD card root directory. Then with camera off, switch 3 to Video mode, press 4 (Play) and 8 (Mode) together and hold for 2 seconds and follow prompts.

Official Ricoh page about updating is here.... http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/download/firmware/r5/procedure.html

R6 Firmware

Go to http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/download/ to find firmware and instructions for updates for any Ricoh camera.

To check the R6 firmware level the official instructions are at http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/download/firmware/r6/procedure.html

With the camera off, set the mode switch to Scene then: Hold the down/macro button, and hold the Play button at the same time for 2 seconds. This will switch the camera on and display the full Firmware information. The top line displayed is the firmware version.

To update the R6 firmware download the appropriate zip file from the Ricoh site and then unzip the package to find the FirmUpdate program. Run this program to see the full instructions.

The easier way is to copy the "tlaunch3" and "tlaunch7" files (found in the zip package) onto an SD card. Make sure the files are in the root directory and not in the DCIM or any other folder. Use Windows Explorer to copy those files. Mac users need to use whatever is the normal copy method.

That copy can be done either via the camera being connected or via a separate SD card reader/writer.

Turn camera off and disconnect USB cable if connected. Make sure battery has been recently charged.

Select Scene mode. Put SD card into the camera if it was set up in a card reader.

Hold Play and Mode buttons down at the same time until the camera shows "Execute? Yes/ No"

The follow the on-screen instructions to perform the update, takes less than 2 minutes.

After that, do the firmware check to see if all is OK, should show v1.45 as being the latest from the site (November 2007).

Summary For the R6....

To read firmware level, with camera off, switch 3 to Scene mode, press 4 (Play) and 10 (Macro) together for 2 seconds.

To update firmware, put the firmware files in the SD card root directory. Then with camera off, switch 3 to Scene mode, press 4 (Play) and 7 (Mode) together and hold for 2 seconds and follow prompts.

Firmware update on the R6 is a similar method to R5 except that the slide switch on the R6 is set to Scene.
Official Ricoh page about how to update is here... http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/download/firmware/r6/procedure.html

R7 Firmware
Here's the firmware http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/download/firmware/r7/ and have a look at the following pdf to get the proper method of updating the firmware....
http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/download/firmware/docs/r7_fwup_en.pdf

To read firmware level..... Making sure that the camera’s power is turned off, switch the mode selector to SCENE.
While pressing the Down (Macro) button, hold down the Playback button for 2-3 seconds.
The firmware version (MAIN:) will be displayed on the LCD monitor for about 20 seconds.
MAIN : V 1.00
BKUP : V X.XX
MONI : V X.XX
ADJD : V X.XX
EXTD : V X.XX
CPU1 : V X.XX
SH : XXXXXX (shots taken without flash)
ST : XXXXXX (shots taken with flash)

R8 Firmware
The firmware is at http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/download/firmware/r8/ and the update instructions are easy to follow, saves repeating it all here. The instruction PDF is here http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/download/firmware/docs/r8_fwup_en.pdf

To read firmware level....... Making sure that the camera’s power is turned off, switch the mode dial to SCENE.
While pressing the ADJ./OK button downwards (see R10 *notes), hold down the Playback button for 2-3 seconds.
The firmware version (MAIN:) will be displayed on the picture display for about 20 seconds.
MAIN : V 1.00
BKUP : V X.XX
MONI : V X.XX
ADJD : V X.XX
EXTD : V X.XX
CPU1 : V X.XX
SH : XXXXXX (shots taken without flash)
ST : XXXXXX (shots taken with flash)

R10 Firmware
The firmware is at http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/download/firmware/r10/ and the update instructions are easy to follow, saves repeating it all here. The instruction PDF is here http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/download/firmware/docs/r10_fwup_en.pdf

To read firmware level....... Making sure that the camera’s power is turned off, switch the mode dial to SCENE.
While pressing the ADJ./OK button downwards*, hold down the Playback button for 2-3 seconds.
The firmware version (MAIN:) will be displayed on the picture display for about 20 seconds.
MAIN : V 1.00 (the frimware level of your camera)
BKUP : V X.XX
MONI : V X.XX
ADJD : V X.XX
EXTD : V X.XX
CPU1 : V X.XX
SH : XXXXXX (shots taken without flash)
ST : XXXXXX (shots taken with flash)

*To check the firmware version on the R10 (or R8) you have to press the ADJ/OK button downwards (this button has 5 functions left/right/up/down and press for OK) and hold down the playback button for 2-3 seconds. If you only press directly the button together with the playback button you are in the playback mode!

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