CF card - Any format difference between 10D & 20D?

[Jim_Everett]

I want to mail a friend a CF card which has been loaded with the latest firmware for the 20D so he can update his camera. He lives in the Montana outback and does not have access to the internet. I have a 10D and some 1DM2s but not a 20D. Will it work okay to put the 20D firmware on a card formatted in the 10D, and then use it to update a 20D? The Canon website implies the CF card has to be formatted in the camera which will get the update. Thanks.

[Leigh_Adams]

[ QUOTE ]
I want to mail a friend a CF card which has been loaded with the latest firmware for the 20D so he can update his camera. He lives in the Montana outback and does not have access to the internet. I have a 10D and some 1DM2s but not a 20D. Will it work okay to put the 20D firmware on a card formatted in the 10D, and then use it to update a 20D? The Canon website implies the CF card has to be formatted in the camera which will get the update. Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]

As you are not actually using the card to record shots I am sure it will just act as a disk from which to upload the firmware.

FWIW I have used cards in my 5D that were formatted in my 20D without any issues, however I never format in the pc for use in a camera, that would seem daft [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Leigh

[NJMurphy]

Just to be safe, why not send the card and also burn the software to a CD. Send them both, that way if he has a problem with the card, he can format it in his camera, then copy the software from the CD to his freshly (in-camera) formatted card via a card reader.

Rereading this, I realize your friend could of course just copy the software to his hard drive from the card you send, and reload it to the card should he need to reformat.

For the record, I have swapped cards between my 300D and 20D with no problem.

[Dennis_Wood]

[ QUOTE ]
I want to mail a friend a CF card which has been loaded with the latest firmware for the 20D so he can update his camera. He lives in the Montana outback and does not have access to the internet. I have a 10D and some 1DM2s but not a 20D. Will it work okay to put the 20D firmware on a card formatted in the 10D, and then use it to update a 20D? The Canon website implies the CF card has to be formatted in the camera which will get the update. Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]

My guess it that it should work just fine as long as the camera can find the proper .FIR file on the card. I have a small CF card that I carry in my bag (just in case of an emergency) with the latest firmware for my 1DMkII, a 20D, and now a 30D on it, and it is recognized by all three bodies and they are all able to find their correct firmware. To be honest I forget which body the card was originally formatted in so I suspect what you're going to do will work just fine.
I beleve Canon specifies that the card must be formatterd in the camera to create the DCIM folder, without that they don't seem to be able to recognize the card at all. Canon also probably assumes that you have only one camera and that you're updating firmware on that one.

[Leigh_Adams]

[ QUOTE ]
Just to be safe, why not send the card and also burn the software to a CD. Send them both, that way if he has a problem with the card, he can format it in his camera, then copy the software from the CD to his freshly (in-camera) formatted card via a card reader.


[/ QUOTE ]

That, of course is the sensible decision I didn't think of [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Leigh

[E_J_Peiker]

Yes, it uses a standard FAT 16 or 32 format. You can also just format it on a PC if you want. Just don't use NTFS for your format option. If you choose FAT 16 or FAT 32 it will work.

[Jim_Everett]

Thank you all for the great info. I think I will do both; send a card and a CD. Elegant, simple.
Jim