Nikon Firmware Updates Today

A number of Nikon users may wish to go over to the Nikon site to get firmware updates for their cameras - there is a large list published today for users of the Nikon 1 system:

1AW1
1J1
1J2
1J3
1S1
1V1
1V2
Coolpix S 3000
Coolpix S 5200
D800
D800E

You'll find the fastest links by typing in the code:

http://nikonasia-en.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a id/8***

The ***is a series of three numbers. These updates will show with the following numbers:

200
203
206
209
215
218
221
224
227
230
236


Good luck.The updating of firmware needs a full battery in your camera and a steady eye to get the codes right.

Switch It Off - Switch It On

I can never do that business where you switch off the computer and then switch it on again to solve a crash or other issue without thinking that there is some sort of fraud going on.

Either the computer is playing with me, or the software writer has dug a tiger pit in the programming, or I am the fraud. I am grateful when the thing powers up and comes back to the same place I left it, but there is still that nagging suspicion that something is dreadfully wrong.

I see the same thing occasionally with cameras that are brought to the repairs department. The user has discovered some pattern of commands that bamfoozle the camera and cause it to lock up - sometimes these are resolvable by the switchoffswitchon method and sometimes they are not. Our techs can deal with it but sometimes even they are left waiting - as the exact combination of confused commands that push the electronic signals out of their normal channels may be difficult to reproduce.

And occasionally the manufacturers issue their firmware updates and coyly refer to the previous problem being completely resolved. I suppose we should be grateful that they are willing to keep thinking about the electronic programming after the product leaves the factory. In the case of the Fuji people they recently issued an update for a 2011 camera that makes it a delight to use. They didn't have to but they did. Thank you.

Is this sort of computer behaviour a real barrier to success? Only if you are trying to control the flight of a guided missile. Switch off and switch on just as you are about to hit the target would be a bummer, particularly if the target is frantically sending out go-away signals itself. It might also be a difficulty if one was trying to control a drone camera platform over enemy territory or the nurse's sunbathing lawn.

For the time being I will accept the thing - it might happen once every three months with the studio computer when I start to get too clever and pile on too many commands at once. It might just be the computer looking at my images and expressing a critical opinion...

Seeing Is Believing - Updating Works

A couple of days ago the national trainer for the Fujifilm company visited our shop and took us in groups for sales training. It was interesting to see the new components in the X-series cameras explained - the question of the new X -trans sensor in particular. He was a great speaker because he finally explained the real cause of moiré patterning in images and the various means that have been adopted to deal with it.

He was also a great speaker because he showed me how  to update the firmware on my X-10 camera. It was done in about 3 minutes and the difference it has made in the operation of the camera is magic.

I also took courage to re-jig an another Fuji X camera and watched it go from good to great. See the images for this post. The hot rod was taken with my standard package of Nikon D300s, 18-200 lens, and SB700 flash on a Stroboframe rig. Note limited depth of field that is just enough to get the car in.

Now look at the Fuji image - the '49 Mercury. It is under different conditions - a bare studio set and some studio lights. There is less contrast as the light source is huge.

There are some similarities - the sensors in both cameras are APS-c size. It was flash exposure so the shutter speed was about 1/250 second - no movement.

The lens focal lengths were different - 120mm for the rod and 23mm for the Mercury. The f stop for the rod was f:22 and for the Mercury, f:16. This is the smallest stop the 23mm lens can do. Of course they are both going to be affected by diffraction, but unless you sacrifice DOF by sticking to f:8, you are going to have to deal with it.

Or not - if you buy the new Fuji X-100s. There is a special computer program in it that specifically targets areas that are spread by diffraction while preserving the portions of the image that are not so afflicted - the result would be dramatically sharper resolution in the picture. I don't know, because I am still using the older X camera, but the new guys are going to get world-beating results.

Note also that the update added the capability to see "focus-peaking" in the LCD screen. It is the enhancement of the in-focus portion of the image with a black or white rime. It is evident even in small areas and allows you to get a sharper manual focus than you could do with a bare eye. I could "walk" the focus back from the headlight of the car to the front of the windshield to maximise the depth of field. Beats peering into a small viewfinder in the dim focusing light of the studio mono-blocks.

My honest conclusion is that it is an image as good as or better than that produced by my regular studio tabletop rig. Provided I want to point of view to be that of the 35mm lens on an older film camera, it is ideal. If I wish to replicate the 50mm on an old film camera it will still have to be the Tokina 35 macro - if I want wider views the Sigma 8-16 will be needed. At least I now have and excuse to have another camera!

Firm Up Your Wares - With Canon

Today's announcement from Canon is a firmware upgrade for the Canon EOS 5D Mark III camera. It will be of interest to video and still photographers.

1. Video

The upgrade will enable the camera to use their HDMI output to send uncompressed video data to an external recorder. This means minimal degradation during video editing. Additionally, the video you are recording can simultaneously be displayed on an external monitor while you are capturing it.

2. Stills

The photographers who want to use long lenses with teleconverters are now assisted by a boost in the AF capability. You could couple a 600mm lens with teleconverter to yield 1200mm focal length and work down as dim as f:8. You also get a coincident increase in activity and focussing ability if you use 1.4x converters or 400mm or 100-400mm lenses.

Please search the official Canon website for directions to the free download area.