[GerryL]

Unless the camera is broken (erroneous voltage detection) anything including alkaline batteries will do, except nearly depleted batteries. The update only takes a couple of minutes so there is no extraordinary demand for power. The "fully charged" recommendation is just a precaution against nearly depleted batteries.

I would err on the side of caution.
Assumption always makes you open for Murphy's law.
Better to be safe than sorry..as what already happened.

[Class A]

I would err on the side of caution.

Sure, so would I.
I just wanted to counteract the notion that a firmware update poses extra special requirements on the power source. It just needs to last a couple of minutes, that's all. At least I'm not aware of any extraordinary power surge during the firmware update process.

[GerryL]

Sure, so would I.
I just wanted to counteract the notion that a firmware update poses extra special requirements on the power source. It just needs to last a couple of minutes, that's all. At least I'm not aware of any extraordinary power surge during the firmware update process.

Quite true.

[manteiv]

I updated my firware from 1.0 to 1.02 yesterday.

From what I observed, the updating process was quite demanding on the battery power. I had 4 NiMH which I was confident had at least 75% full of charge and when the updating process ended, my batteries were completely depleted. I could not even turn the camera ON. I guess I was lucky that the updating process barely had sufficient power to complete.

I had to take the batteries out and recharge them before I was able to use the camera again.

[GerryL]

I updated my firware from 1.0 to 1.02 yesterday.

From what I observed, the updating process was quite demanding on the battery power. I had 4 NiMH which I was confident had at least 75% full of charge and when the updating process ended, my batteries were completely depleted. I could not even turn the camera ON. I guess I was lucky that the updating process barely had sufficient power to complete.

I had to take the batteries out and recharge them before I was able to use the camera again.

Actually, with the update, the camera is working continuously unlike when you are just taking photos since you give it a rest once you recompose or focus.
With the update process, it has to complete the whole process before it can stop or rest.
That is also the reason why it is always recommended to use both batteries and power cord.
In case there is a power fluctuation, the battery can keep the update going.