Pentax 645Z Firmware v1.20 Released

By PF Staff in Firmware Updates on Nov 20, 2014

Ricoh Imaging has just released the second firmware update for the Pentax 645Z: version 1.20.  This update adds an important feature: the ability to disable slow shutter speed noise reduction (dark frame subtraction).  The update also improves the stability of the Image Transmitter 2 tethering software.

The inability to disable slow shutter speed noise reduction was one of our key complaints when using the 645Z for astrophotography, and we are happy to see that Pentax engineers decided to address this issue through firmware.  This makes the 645Z an even better camera than it was before— not that we had many complaints to begin with.

Learn more about the Pentax 645Z in our in-depth review.

Click here to download the 645Z update from the Japanese Pentax support site

Pentax 645Z firmware update instructions:

1. Download the firmware ZIP file from this page
2. Extract the file to a folder of your choosing
3. Locate the extracted .BIN file and copy it to the root (top level i.e. outside of any folder) of a formatted SD card
4. Insert the card into your camera's SD1 slot and ensure the battery fully charged
5. Turn the camera power on while pressing the MENU button
6. Select "Yes"at the firmware prompt
7. Once the screen displays "Complete", turn off your camera
8. Power your camera back on and resume normal use
9. In order to verify that the firmware update was successful, go to the firmware option under the setup (wrench icon) menu tab, and confirm that the indicated firmware version matches that of the update.

Firmware Update Tutorial Video