Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Firmware Friday: Nikon D7000, Fuji 3D W3, Leica S2

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Camera Firmware Update

Below you will find this week’s firmware updates.  Hit the manufacturer website links for more details and download instructions for the firmware.

Nikon D7000 version 1.01 – “Bright spots were sometimes noticeable with live view mode or movie recording of especially dark scenes or subjects. Occurrence of this issue has been reduced.” [Nikon Website]

Fuji FinePix REAL 3D W3 version 1.10 – “In [HD][1280] movie recording mode, Economy mode [HD][1280]E) can be selected. In this Economy mode, movie quality for long period is optimized. For long continuous recording of 3D HD movies, Economy mode setting is recommended.” [Fuji Website]

Leica S2 version 1.0.0.24 – “The FW 1.0.0.24 firmware update enables a multitude of enhanced camera functions.” [Leica Website – login required]

 

Apple Issues Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.5

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Apple Aperture 3

Apple has updated its Camera RAW compatibility to version 3.5 and extends RAW image format compatibility to Aperture 3 and iPhoto ‘11 for the following cameras:

  • Canon PowerShot G12
  • Leica D-Lux 5
  • Leica V-Lux 2
  • Nikon D7000
  • Nikon Coolpix P7000
  • Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2
  • Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2

The update is available via OS X system updates or via Apple’s Support Site.

Leica X1 in Black

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Leica announced at Photokina 2010 the availability of the X1 in all black, starting in October 2010.

The Leica X1 is an APS-C format camera, which has a 1.5x crop factor, and features a 2.7″ display and a fixed 24mm f/2.8 lens.  The all-black X1 will carry an initial retail price of $1995.00.  Check availability on Amazon.com.

Leica SUMMILUX-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH Lens

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Leica has annouced a new M-Series lens – the SUMMILUX-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH.   The new 35mm will serve as a companion for all M-Series Leica rangefinders, including the recently introduced Leica M9.

The new 35mm lens should be available in July 2010 at an initial retail price of $4995.

More details in the press release below. [Read more…]

Leica V-Lux 20 Announced

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The Leica V-Lux 20 is a new 12.1MP point and shoot camera with a 12x optical zoom (25-300mm equivalent).  The V-Lux 20 is essentially a Leica clone of the Panasonic ZS7.  The V-Lux 20 carries an initial retail price of $699.  Check availability on Amazon.com.

More details in the press release below. [Read more…]

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.6.1

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Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.6.1

Adobe has updated Lightroom 2 to version 2.6.1 and is specifically directed to Leica M9 users.

The Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 2.6.1 update includes one important correction that is only relevant for Leica M9 users. This release of Lightroom fixes a bug that caused Lightroom 2.6 to crash when processing certain M9 images. The bug was introduced in the final version of Lightroom 2.6 in the course of making image quality improvements to Leica M9 processing based on customer feedback. There is no need to update to 2.6.1 if you aren’t a Leica M9 user. – Adobe.com

You can download Lightroom 2.6.1 via the following links:

Lightroom 2.6.1 for Windows

Lightrooms 2.6.1 for Mac

Photographer’s Guide to the Leica D-Lux 4: Getting the Most from Leica’s Compact Digital Camera [New Book]

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Leica D-Lux 4 Book

Alexander White’s new book, Photographer’s Guide to the Leica D-Lux 4: Getting the Most from Leica’s Compact Digital Camera, is now available.  Apparently, it sold out rather quickly on Amazon; however, it has some early praise from reviewers.

Before digging in the book, my initial concern was that it would be one of these books that just paraphrase manuals, and don’t provide any added value apart their weight of paper. Starting from the first chapter and on, I quickly realized that this wasn’t the case with this book. You can sense that the author is communicating with you his experience and enthusiasm about that camera, and photography in general. The book goes to the essential of each feature, and the author doesn’t forget to share a few tips and insights. -via Amazon reviews

The book carries a retail price of $19.95, but it can currently be had on Amazon.com for $13.46.

Alexander tells me that a new batch is already on its way to Amazon, so you can get in line at Amazon for the next shipment.  If you just can’t wait, you can order the book directly from whiteknightpress.com for immmediate shipment.

Leica X1 Hands-On Review

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The Leica X1 is a compact camera with a fixed lens and an APS-C sized sensor. The camera has the largest sensor in it’s class, dwarfing Micro Four Thirds and the Sigma Foveon. I received some personal hands-on time with the camera. While I wasn’t able to put a card in to take samples (I handled a prototype) the short experience with the camera was overall quite positive and, in fact, it may very well be a camera that will put more pressure on other companies to start really developing their technology to do just the same thing.

[Read more…]

Leica M9 Hands-On Review

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Since the announcement of the Leica M9, there has been much interest in the powerful but little camera. The main reason for this is the full frame sensor in such a small body. I had the pleasure and opportunity to finally fondle the Leica M9. I previously brought up the issue of really needing a rangefinder for street photography, and while I have not solved that question yet, I can tell you that the M9 has characteristics that surely can help with doing such things even at close range. However, it is not perfect. [Read more…]