Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
Along with today’s announcement of raw over HDMI for the Nikon Z6 and Z7, Nikon has also announced a downloadable firmware update for the same cameras to provide limited CFexpress support.
Version 2.20 firmware for the Nikon Z6 and Z7 is available to download free of charge and you don’t need to send off your camera to have it implemented, although that support is somewhat limited. It only works for Type B CFexpress cards manufactured by Sony.
So, it was a paid upgrade, then Jeromy Young of Atomos told us it wasn’t, and now that Nikon has officially announced it, it is again. Starting today, you can ship off your Nikon Z6 or Z7 to Nikon USA to have it upgraded to output RAW over HDMI to a compatible Atomos recorder. But you’re going to have to pay $200 for it.
It was way back in January that Nikon first announced that the Z6 and Z7 mirrorless cameras would be seeing raw over HDMI as well as CFexpress support. And Nikon mirrorless shooters have been waiting patiently (I’m being nice) ever since. It was teased again a few months ago when it was suggested that raw support would be a paid upgrade (it’s not, sort of).
Now it seems it might finally be getting released this week. At least, the raw part will, anyway, according to a post on Nikon Rumors. They say they’ve received confirmation from two different sources that Nikon will announce the new firmware at some point this week.
Nikon’s long-awaited firmware update for the Z6 and Z7 to add 4K ProRes raw video capability via an external recorder still isn’t here. We still don’t know when it’s going to be coming beyond “later this year”, although we do now know that this will not be a free firmware update. It will be a paid upgrade. That’s going to upset some people.
You can still shoot 10-bit N-Log video externally already without raw capabilities, although N-Log hasn’t exactly been the easiest to grade. Nikon has now, however, released two completely free LUT files for both the Nikon Z6 and Nikon Z7 cameras.
Expert Imaging and Sound Association Awards (EISA) has announced its selection of the best photo gear of 2019. Nikon Z 6 was proclaimed the Camera of the Year, but there are a few more awarded cameras in other categories – all of them mirrorless.
When Nikon and Canon first launched their full-frame mirrorless cameras, you could only buy accompanying lenses from them. But the list of third-party lenses for Nikon Z and Canon RF has been expanding, and Lensbaby is the latest company to join. They have launched as many as eight lenses that you can use natively with your Nikon Z or Canon RF.
The one big downfall of mirrorless cameras over DSLRs is battery life. It’s a natural consequence of having to constantly power an LCD or electronic viewfinder. The Nikon Z7, for example, is rated for a measly 330 shots vs the Nikon D850 which is rated for 1,840 shots on a full battery charge.
But now Nikon appears to finally be getting ready to announce the MB-N10 battery grip for the Nikon Z6 and Z7 mirrorless cameras, after having registered it with the Korean Communications Commission.
Today’s a big of a mixed day for Nikon. On the good side, the Nikon Z6 & Z7 has just received a new firmware giving it Eye-Detection Autofocus. On the bad, Nikon has just issued a recall stating that some Z6 & Z7 cameras are having VR issues. Issues that can’t be solved with a quick firmware update. You’ll need to send it back to Nikon to get it sorted.
Nikon has now released Firmware Update 2.0 for the Nikon Z6 and Z7 mirrorless cameras. The new firmware brings improved low light performance a number of minor tweaks and fixes and, finally, Eye-Detection Autofocus.
The latest data from BCN retail shows some interesting results of how the mirrorless market is looking lately in Japan. The image above shows sales volume for the top 5 selling full-frame mirrorless cameras in Japan through March and early April, with the Sony A7III growing in popularity against its suffering competition. The Canon EOS R, Canon EOS RP, Nikon Z6, and the A7III’s older sibling, the Sony A7II.
You can find out more about John on his website and follow his adventures on YouTube and Facebook.
can change a lens mid-rappel, swap a memory card while treading water, or use a camel as a light stand.
To see more of his work please visit his studio website blurMEDIAphotography, or follow him on Twitter, 500px, Google Plus or YouTube.
JP’s photography is available for licensing at Stocksy United.
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