Nikon upgrades Zeds via firmware…Polaroid Go even smaller…Two from Tamron…New compact, high-res drone from DJI…
Nikon upgrades Zeds via firmware
Nikon has announced firmware updates for its Z Series mirrorless cameras that bring increased AF performance, improved tracking, and more. The update will be released on April 26, 2021.
The latest firmware update will apply to all Nikon Z Series mirrorless cameras: version 1.20 for the Z7 II and Z 6II, version 3.30 for the Z7 and Z6, version 1.10 for the Z5, and version 2.10 for the Z50.
The Z7 II and Z6 II will enjoy an overall increase in AF performance for more stable shooting, faster focusing when shooting with AF in low light situations and when using subject-tracking AF. The update also includes improved AF usability when using an external speedlight. Subject visibility has also been improved during live view shooting.
Similarly, the Z5 will have faster AF detection speed during low light shooting situations when using the Low-Light AF mode.
A new ‘Save Focus Position’ option has been added to the Nikon Z7, Z6, Z50, and Z5 cameras. This setting allows users to save the current focus position when the camera is turned off and to restore it when they are next turned on.
The Z6 is the lucky recipient of a voice memo recording/playing function, which the company says has already been popular with the Nikon D6 DSLR cameras. The same function is coming to the Z6 II in a future firmware update.
In other Nikon Z news, the Z7 II has just earned a score of 100 from image sensor bench-tester DxOMark. This puts the Nikon mirrorless flagship at the top of the ratings for full-frame cameras along with the Panasonic Lumix DC-S1R, Nikon D850,and Sony A7R III. They are just pipped at the post by two medium-format cameras, the Pentax 645Z and Hasselblad X1D-50c with 101 and 102 respectively.
Polaroid Go even smaller
Polaroind has announced the miniaturised Polaroid Go. It’s 105 mm x 83.9mm x 61.5 mm, and weighs 242 grams (without a film pack). The company says it was designed as a ‘wearable creative companion’. Even the film used is smaller: 66.6 mm x 53.9 mm, with an image area of just 47 mm x 46 mm – about the size of a large postage stamp. More local details when they arrive.
Two from Tamron
Tamron has announced the 150-500mm f/5-6.7 Di III VC VXD, the company’s first full-frame super-telephoto zoom lens for Sony mirrorless cameras, along with the 11-20mm f/2.8 Di III-A RXD variable wide-angle zoom lens for Sony E-Mount APS-C mirrorless cameras. Tamron says this is the world’s first ultra-wide-angle zoom lens in its class to feature a consistent f/2.8 aperture.
The Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7 has a maximum diameter of 9.3cm and is 21.1 cm in length at 150mm and 28.2 centimeters at 500mm. It weighs 1.9 kilograms with the lens foot.
The 150-500mm is due to go on sale in Australia on June 10, with an RRP of $2099. The 11-20mm will come along on June 24, with an RRP of $1099.
Writing up new lens announcement tends to sap a person’s life force, and it’s arguable whether the effort is worth it from a readers’ point of view. (It sure doesn’t help Inside Imaging’s bottom line !) So below is a copy of the press releases supplied by local distributor Blonde Robot:
Tamron 150-500mm F5-6.7 Di III VC VXD
Tamron 11-20mm F2.8 Di III-A RXD
New compact, high-res drone from DJI
DJI has announced the compact Air 2S drone, with a 20-megapixel, 1-inch sensor in the consumer Mavic range.
DJI says that the Air 2S’s SmartPhoto mode records 20-megapixel photos using advanced scene analysis and Deeeep Learning to automatically choose the best of three options that will create the best image, including HDR, Hyperlight and Scene Recognition.
It is the first DJI drone to shoot 5.4K video at up to 30 frames per second. It can also capture 4K video at up to 60 frames per second (FPS) at 150Mbps. Video can be recorded in H.264 or H.265, depending on preferences for image detail and storage capacity. DJI also has pre-loaded three video color profiles: Normal (8 bit), D-Log (10 bit), or HLG (10 bit).
Air 2S uses digital zoom (cropping) rather than true optical zoom: 4x zoom at 4K 30fps, 6x at 2.7K 30fps, 4x at 2.7K 60fps, 6x at 1080P 60fps, and 8x at 1080P 30fps.
It can fly for a maximum 31 minutes and has four-way directional obstacle sensors that help keep the drone from colliding with objects.
Local pricing is ‘from $1699’.
More information: https://www.dji.com/au/air-2s?site=brandsite&from=nav
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