This week Nikon launched its second DX mirrorless camera, Canon released a new zoom lens, Yongnuo announced its first lens for the RF-mount, Sony fixed a few things with the A1 software and Fujifilm published several firmware updates (and made a bit of a mess in the process).
Nikon Z fc
The Z fc has the same hardware as the Z50 on the inside, but with an analogue design outside. It is a tribute to its Fm2 SLR film camera of the eighties. It could be a one-off like the Nikon Df a few years back, or an attempt to compete in Fujifilm’s territory. If the latter is true, we need more DX lenses. I’ve written a dedicated article about the Z fc that you can read by visiting the link below or clicking on the image.
Canon RF 14-35mm F4 L IS USM
The Canon 14-25mm F4 is a compact wide angle zoom with an good range of focal lengths. It weighs 540g and has optical stabilisation (5.5 stops of compensation, which becomes 7 stops when combined with IBIS on the R5 or R6). The magnification is good too with a maximum of 0.38x and a minimum focus distance of 20cm. Like other RF lenses, there is a third ring that can be used for aperture, ISO or shutter speed.
Other characteristics of the Canon RF 14-35mm F4:
- 16 elements in 12 groups
- 3 aspherical and 3 UD elements
- Nano USM AF motor
- Sub Wavelength structure Coating and Air Sphere Coating
- Price: $1700
With this optic, Canon has completed the F4 zoom trinity: 14-35mm, 24-105mm and 70-200mm, in addition to the F2.8 version (15-35mm, 24-70mm and 70-200mm).
Yongnuo RF 85mm F1.8R DF DSM
The Chinese brand Yongnuo, known for its flashes and affordable primes made for F and EF mount, has announced its first lens for the Canon RF-mount. It has an AF/MF switch and one ring that can act as a standard focus ring, or a control ring like the ones on Canon RF lenses. It can also be turned into a clicking ring.
The lens weighs just 380g and has a USB Type C port to receive firmware updates. I couldn’t find any information about the price yet, but it should be relatively low.
Other characteristics of the Yongnuo RF 85mm F1.8:
- 9 elements in 8 groups, with 1 low-dispersion element
- 7 aperture blades
- Minimum focus distance: 80cm
- Digitally controlled stepping motor
- Dust-proof and water-proof rubber ring around the mount
Fujifilm firmwares that don’t work: do not update your X-T4, X-Pro3 or X-E4!
Fujifilm has released new firmware updates for the X-T4 (version 1.21), X-Pro3 (version 1.21) and X-E4 (version 1.02) only to remove them a few days later, stating that they cause a malfunction. New firmware updates will be released soon to fix the problem.
Fujifilm firmware updates that do work: X-T3, X-T200, X-A7, X-S10, GFX100 and GFX100s
The new firmware updates for the X-T3, X-T200 and X-A7 are minor, aiming to fix small bugs. The X-S10 firmware (version 2.0) is more substantial, adding tethered shooting among other things, all of which we already reported in a previous article.
The new version 4.0 for the GFX100 is one of the most substantial updates I’ve seen, with a huge list of fixes and new features that you can read on the Fujifilm website.
The GFX100s firmware (ver. 1.10) is less substantial, focusing on white balance and ISO metadata for RAW video footage (when recorded via HDMI), improvement of the custom mode function and some minor bug fixes.
Sony A1 firmware version 1.10
The update brings several improvements to the flagship A1 including the autofocus performance, the operability with the Remote Camera Tool app, the Imaging Edge Mobile app and lenses such the 100-400mm GM, 200-600mm G and 600mm F4 GM. Some users have also reported that a problem when recording video with IBIS has been fixed, as you can see in this video.
The firmware can be download from the Sony website.
