Nikon Patch

Nikon Patch is the software used to apply the Nikon Hacker Team's firmware patches to the firmware of your Nikon camera. The basic method is as follows:

Download Firmware
The original firmware for your camera is Nikon's intellectual property. Nikon Hacker do not have the right to distribute Nikon's firmware (nor have we asked for permission). You will have to go to Nikon's website to get it.

Your download will either be a self-extracting archive (.exe, Windows) or a disk image (.dmg, Mac OS), depending on the operating system you choose on Nikon's web site. Mac OS includes software for viewing .dmg images natively. Extract the binary firmware file (.bin) that is located inside the image.

For Linux/Unix platforms, the firmware can be directly extracted from the Windows .exe with the terminal command unrar.

Computer Requirements
The Nikon Patch web page uses WebAssembly to patch your firmware. This is a cross-platform application framework, which means you can run Nikon Patch on any modern web browser.

Using Nikon Patch
If Silverlight is installed correctly, the application on the Nikon Patch page will load as seen at the right. Click Select Firmware File, and select the .bin file that you extracted out of the archive or disk image from Nikon's website. (e.g.  for D5100 firmware, version 1.02)

Nikon Patch detects the camera and firmware version automatically, and will only display compatible patches. Patches with a red or green background are alpha and beta patches, that have only received limited testing (if any). You will be warned of this when saving patched firmware.

Note that some patches are mutually exclusive, and cannot be selected at the same time. As an example: you cannot select both NEF Compression Off and NEF Compression Lossless: only one of them (or neither!).

Having selected the patches you want, save the patched firmware on your computer, ready to be transferred to your camera's memory card.

Place Patched Firmware on the Memory Card
The patched firmware file Nikon Patch creates needs to be placed in the correct place, and with the correct name, for the camera to recognise it as a firmware update. The file should be given the same name as the Nikon firmware that you downloaded (e.g.  for a D5100 using firmware v1.02). Rename the file if necessary, then place it in the root folder of your memory card.

Update Camera Firmware
'Always use a fully charged battery when updating any device's firmware. NEVER use multi-battery adapters or AC adapters when updating, as these can lose power!!!'

Having placed the memory card in the camera, use the camera's menu to update its firmware (typically Menu | Setup | Firmware Version | Update). See your camera's user guide if you are unsure.

When the update is complete, you may delete the .bin file from the memory card. Your camera's behaviour will now reflect the patches you selected.

Restoring Official Firmware
If you wish to remove the Nikon Patch firmware and revert to Nikon's official firmware you can do so easily. Simply download the official firmware, place on your memory card and update through the camera's menu, as you would with any official update.