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Nikon Z9 v1.10 firmware update massively boosts continuous shooting buffer performance

Nikon has released a new v1.10 firmware update for the Nikon Z9 mirrorless camera. An already-impressive camera, the new firmware extends the performance of the buffer allowing you to shoot 20fps stills at full resolution for continuously for a whopping 8 seconds (160 images) instead of the previous 3 seconds (60 images). For photojournalists, sports and wildlife shooters, this will be a big bonus.

Not much has changed besides that, save for a couple of bugs, but if you’re one of those lucky early adopters who’s managed to get their hands on their Z9 already, you’ll want to update to take advantage of the improved buffer.

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Viltrox’s new EF-E5 Canon EF to Sony E mount adapter sports shiny OLED display, Eye AF, IBIS, EXIF passthrough

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Viltrox has announced a new Canon EF to Sony E mount “smart” lens adapter. As with most other “smart” lens adapters, this one allows you to pass through autofocus and EXIF information for complete data communications. This one, however, has a shiny new OLED display on top of it.

The $199 Viltrox EF-E5 Smart Mount Adapter is the fifth generation of Viltrox’s Canon EF to Sony E mount lens adapter, released over the last nine years. It makes use of that dead space between the lens and body by providing useful feedback to the photographer through its OLED display, including focal length, aperture and focus mode.

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Viltrox announces ultra-wide 13mm f/1.4 autofocus lens for Fuji X priced at $469

The third-party autofocus lens collection for Fuji is just exploding now that they’ve opened up their protocols. The latest to be added to this list is an ultra-wide and super bright lens from Viltrox. It’s the Viltrox 13mm f/1.4 autofocus lens and it offers a field of view equivalent to about 20mm on a full-frame system. At f/1.4, though, for an APS-C lens this wide, that’s extremely fast, which should make it ideal for things like interiors, weddings and events.

While the lens has been announced, it’s not expected to start shipping until February. And with a $469 price tag, it’s slightly cheaper and a stop faster than the recently released Samyang 12mm f/2.0 AF as well as wider and less than half the price of Fuji’s own XF 16mm f/1.4 R WR. I can see this lens becoming very popular if it stands up to scrutiny once it gets into users hands.

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Sony A7 III vs A7 IV – Is it really worth the upgrade?

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The Sony A7 IV has been shipping and already gotten into the hands of a lucky few judging from the posts I’ve been seeing on Facebook lately. A lot of people are still waiting, but yet more are still on the fence. Is it worth upgrading my Sony A7 III? If I don’t have either, is it worth the extra to get the A7 IV or just wait until the A7 III is discounted?

Well, William Svrček, otherwise known as The Hybrid Shooter, takes an in-depth look at both of these cameras in this almost-27-minute long video covering just about every useful and important detail you could possibly imagine. Unfortunately, there are no chapters for the video, so you may have to hunt around a bit to look for specific things or just watch the whole thing.

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The Godox VDS-M3 XLR shotgun mic has a built-in battery for when you don’t have phantom power

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Godox has been building up their microphone collection for a little while now with various different mics including a dual wireless mini lav kit, and now they’ve added a new phantom-powered XLR shotgun microphone to the lineup. It’s the Godox VDS-M3 and looks like your typical super-cardioid shotgun microphone, with a longer interference tube than the Godox VDX-M1, except that this one comes with a built-in battery.

Described by Godox as a “production class shotgun microphone”, they say it’s ideally suited to indie filmmaking, commercial production, broadcast and all the usual places you’d expect to use a shotgun microphone. Except, this one’s a little different as you don’t have to use a phantom-powered recorder. It also features a built-in battery for recording straight into devices like cameras and even smartphones (with the right cables).

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Venus Optics announce new Laowa Argus 45mm f/0.95 FF lens

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Venus Optics, the company behind Laowa lenses has just announced the release of their latest full frame lens in the Argus series. It’s a 45mm f/0.95 and according to the company, offers a field of view that is appealing and natural to human eyes. They go on to say that “With the super shallow depth of field at f/0.95, it easily creates a dreamy and romantic rendering.”

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Nikon begins releasing video guides on how to use the Nikon Z9 mirrorless features

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Whenever you order a new camera, you’re always anticipating how its new features will work. Not just how well they’ll work but how easy and intuitive they are to operate. How smoothly they’ll fit into your existing workflow. Often, we’ll jump into the camera and try to figure out those features ourselves, forgetting that our camera actually came with a manual. Sometimes, we won’t figure it out and we’ll still forget we have a manual, so we turn to the Internet for help.

Well, if you’ve pre-ordered a Nikon Z9, it looks like Nikon’s got your back. They’ve started posting some videos on how to use some of the Z9’s new features on their Digitutor channel. It’s a smart move from Nikon, given the fact that almost nobody still has one in their hands, so they can’t rely on users making educational content for each other this time!

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