Upgrading The Panasonic LX3 Digital Camera Firmware For Better UAV Aerial Photography

Panasonic has recently released a firmware update for their DMC-LX3 series digital cameras. Most cameras are shipped with firmware version 1.2, and upgrading to version 1.3 will unlock several new features, including:

• The auto white balance function has been improved.
• The camera recovers gracefully if turned on with the lens cap still in place.
• The MF ASSIST/AF area selection has been improved.
• The display of manual exposures has been improved.

Firmware version 1.2 works, but it’s always a good idea to keep your camera running at the latest version. Here’s an easy – and free – way to upgrade the firmware and improve your cameras performance.

To Update Your Camera’s Firmware:

1. Fully charge the camera battery. If the battery runs out of power while the firmware is installing, it’s very likely that you will make the camera un-usable. The camera will display “no valid picture to play” if you try to update the firmware with a partially charged battery.
2. Check your firmware version. If you already have the latest firmware version, you don’t need to update. Check your version by pressing “menu / set”, then scrolling to settings, and then selecting “Version Disp.” You only need the update if your version is less than 1.3.
3. Download firmware version 1.3. Click either the Windows or Mac version (depending on your operating system) on Panasonic’s site, and download the firmware to your computer. The Mac version comes as a zip file, while the windows version is a self extracting executable file. Unzip the mac version, or run the windows version, and find the resulting .bin file. Make sure that the .bin file size is exactly 6,096,384 bytes. You can check this in Windows by right clicking the .bin file and selecting “Properties”. The file size on disk will be slightly different, but that doesn’t matter. Only the actual file size is important. Checking the file size makes sure that you don’t have a corrupt copy. If you find the file size is different, try downloading the file again.
4. Copy the firmware to an SD card. Make sure that there are no files on the SD card, and that it’s been formatted to work with the camera. Formatting instructions can be found in the camera’s instruction manual. Once the card is ready, add the .bin file that you downloaded.  If your computer doesn’t have an SD card reader / writer, use a portable USB one, available at most computer stores.
5. Set up the camera. To update the camera firmware, several switches have to be in the correct position. With the camera OFF, slide switch “C” to the  position, and move switch “B” to the playback position (NOT the position). Insert the SD card you prepared earlier and turn the camera on by sliding the power switch to the “on” position.
6. If you’ve followed the above steps exactly, the camera will now display “Please wait…”. After a few seconds, a menu asking “Start version up?” will be shown. Select “yes” using button “A” and press menu / set to confirm.
7. The firmware will now update. It is critical that you don’t touch any of the camera buttons during the update process. After the update finishes, the camera will reboot (power off and then on again) and resume normal operation. You can tell that the firmware update completes when you see the camera screen power off and then back on. After the update finishes, the warning not to touch the camera buttons will disappear.
8. Verify that the update was successful. You can verify that the firmware update was successful by navigating to the version display item in the setting menu. It should display version 1.3.

Congratulations! You’ve just updated the firmware on your Panasonic LX3 series digital camera. The new firmware will keep your camera up to date, and give you access to all the latest features.

Enjoy using the Panasonic LX3 for your RC UAV aerial photography!