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Six years after release, Nikon releases new firmware for the D850 DSLR to improve skin tones

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Nikon has released a new v1.3.0 firmware update for the Nikon D850 DSLR, six years after its initial release in 2017. Widely regarded as one of the best DSLRs ever made, it’s largely been usurped by the Nikon Z7 II, but there are still plenty of Nikon D850 bodies out there, and they’re still available to buy new. So, Nikon continues to support them.

The new firmware update introduces the Portrait Impression Balance feature, which was introduced with the Nikon Z6 II and Z7 II mirrorless cameras. This feature allows photographers to correct skin colours in-camera using hue and brightness adjustments. And while this won’t be a big deal to those who shoot raw, it will be for those who shoot jpg (or raw+jpg) or video (certain conditions apply).

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Nikon adds Eye AF while shooting video to the Nikon Z50 with new firmware

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Nikon has released the new version 2.4.0 firmware for the Nikon Z50, and it looks like the focus (no pun intended) for this one is eye-detection autofocus. Among other eye-detection AF performance improvements, the big one is eye-detection autofocus being added to the camera’s AF modes while recording video.

The last few updates for the Nikon Z50 have essentially been bug fixes or adding support for various new lenses. This one actually brings a new feature that should make the Nikon Z50 a much more attractive option for activities like vlogging. The notes for the new firmware all list improvements to the Eye-AF system.

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Nikon’s Super Telephoto Z lenses get a firmware update for linear focus ring rotation

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Nikon’s Nikkor Z super telephoto lenses are fantastic pieces of kit, there’s no question. For what they cost, you’d expect them to be pretty spectacular, too. Like most modern autofocus mirrorless lenses, though, they use a focus-by-wire system when manually focusing. Focus by wire lets you make big adjustments by turning the ring quickly or fine adjustments by turning it slowly. A fantastic innovation for photographers, not so much for filmmakers.

So, Nikon has released new firmware for their 400mm f/4.5 VR, 400mm f/2.8 TC VR, 600mm f/4 TC VR and 800mm f/6.3 VR lenses to bring linear focus to the focus rings of those lenses. This lets them be used in video rigs with follow-focus units with the certainty that they’ll nail the target every time.

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Canon adds focus breathing correction support to several popular f/2.8 and f/4 RF zoom lenses

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Canon has released a number of new firmware updates for its f/2.8 and f/4 RF mount zoom lenses. The only update seems to be to add the focus breathing correction feature. This is a new feature in the recently announced Canon EOS R6 Mark II mirrorless camera. The feature is an electronic focus breathing compensation when recording videos. It essentially scales the frame to ensure that you get the same composition throughout the focus range.

Initially, only two lenses supported the Focus Breathing Correction feature of the EOS R6 Mark II, the RF 24mm F1.8 Macro IS STM and the RF 15-30mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM. Now, it’s been expanded to add five more zoom lenses to the mix, including Canon’s most popular f/2.8 and f/4 RF mount zoom lenses. What lenses compatibility will be added to in the future or which bodies might also see focus breathing compensation still remains to be seen.

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PSA: Don’t update yet – Sony pulls Sony FX3 and FX30 firmware updates after bootloop bug cripples cameras

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Well, this post was going to be about the newly released firmware update for the Sony FX3 and Sony FX30 digital cinema cameras Sony announced yesterday. This post is still about the new firmware release, but not just that they released them. It seems there are bugs and Sony has since pulled both the FX3 and FX30 firmware updates from their websites while they figure out the problem.

For Sony FX3 users, the news looks like the new v2.01 firmware is probably ok, but a number of FX30 owners who have updated their cameras to the newest v1.01 firmware have reported a bug that keeps their camera in a constant boot loop, where it simply powers up, shuts down, rinse and repeat. Several users have posted video of the phenomenon and talked about their experiences on social media.

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Canon brings Eye Detection AF to 4K 120fps video and adds All-I 60p XF-AVD to the Canon EOS C70 Cinema Camera

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Canon has announced a new firmware update for the Canon EOS C70 cinema camera. Don’t get too excited just yet, though. They’ve announced it, but it’s not going to be available to download until December 8th. I can never make sense of why companies do this. Why not just announce it when it’s ready to be downloaded? Anyway, the new firmware brings a bunch of much-demanded features to the camera.

The features, Canon says will “help to improve workflow and functionality for the content creation, live production and documentarian markets”. This will be a free firmware update for Canon EOS C70 owners and should be a welcome addition to those who shoot with one.

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New V3.0 firmware adds over 20 new features to the Nikon Z9 for a faster and smarter camera

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Nikon has released a new Version 3.0 firmware for the Nikon Z9 mirrorless camera. Yes, that’s right, they’ve announced a release. They haven’t announced that they’re going to release it in a week – I don’t understand why some camera manufacturers have started doing that lately. Anyway, the new firmware boasts over 20 new features, and enhancements to make it “more flexible and intelligent”.

New features include a faster, smarter and more reliable autofocus – which they’ve needed, given some of the comparisons I’ve seen against Sony and Canon – and new zoom controls, including a simulated crop-zoom in-camera in real-time while recording, even with primes. New timecode sync features have been added for video shooters, as well as smoother operation for vertical shooting and plenty more besides.

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Canon shows commitment to supporting DSLRs with a new firmware update for the EOS 1DX Mark III

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It might be full steam ahead with mirrorless for much of the world’s population, but Canon hasn’t entirely abandoned their DSLRs yet. This has been proven by the release of a firmware update for the Canon EOS 1DX Mark III. Don’t get too excited, though, it’s not bringing any new functionality. It’s merely fixing a few bugs. But the fact that they’re releasing it all offers some hope for Canon DSLR shooters.

The EOS 1DX Mark III Version 1.6.2 firmware fixes an error code when attached to a network along with unspecified “minor issues”. As I said, it’s nothing to write home about. Canon’s willingness to update DSLR firmware doesn’t necessarily mean more DSLRs are coming. In fact, they’re almost certainly not. But it does show that Canon hasn’t completely forgotten about its past customers.

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The Panasonic GH6 will be able to record directly to a USB SSD one week from today

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Well, this is one that’ll make a lot of Panasonic GH6 users very happy. Every day in the Panasonic groups over the last few months since the camera’s initial release, I’ve been seeing people asking “When will the GH6 be able to record directly to SSD?!?!?”. Well, the answer is now. Wait, no, it’s not. Today is not the actual release. Today is the announcement that a release is imminent. The answer is September 27th, so you’ll have to wait another week.

The new Version 2.2 firmware supports direct recording and playback of videos and photos using an external SSD connected via USB. You can record onto drives of up to 2TB in capacity using Apple ProRes 422 HQ (Max 1.9Gbps) or high bitrate, 4:2:2 10-bit All-Intra. There are some caveats, though!

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Nikon reaffirms commitment to DSLRs by releasing new firmware update for 9-year-old Nikon D7100

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So, this came out of nowhere, and it’s highly unlikely to be a response to recent reports of Nikon’s withdrawal from the DSLR market, but the coincidental timing was too much of an opportunity to pass up. Nikon has released a new V1.05 firmware for 2013’s Nikon D7100 DSLR. It’s not a massive update by any means but it is a simple (and single) change that will make some D7100 owners quite happy.

The new firmware fixes an issue whereby the display would automatically turn itself off after 10 minutes even if it was set to not turn off at all when enabled via Camera Control Pro 2. While this might seem like a small feature, , for anybody using their old DSLRs into HDMI capture devices for live streaming or video conferencing with remote control using CCP2, this makes the D7100 much more useful.

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