Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Firmware Friday: Olympus Lenses, Panasonic Micro 4/3, Nikon P90 [Day Late Edition]

By

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.

Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 12-60mm f/2.8-4 SWD version 1.2 – “Improved sequential shooting speed with the E-5 cameras.” [Olympus Website]

Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 14-35mm f/2 SWD version 1.1 – “Improved sequential shooting speed with the E-5 cameras.Effective with other Four Thirds cameras also.” [Olympus Website]

Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 SWD version 1.1 – “Improved sequential shooting speed with the E-5 cameras.Effective with other Four Thirds cameras also.” [Olympus Website]

Panasonic G2 firmware version 1.1 – “Compatibility with the new interchangeable 3D lens LUMIX G 12.5mm” [coming November]

Panasonic 14-140mm lens version 1.3 – “Improved AF performance in speed is available. Reduced start-up time.” [coming later this month]

Nikon Coolpix P90 version 1.1 – “An issue that, in some rare cases, prevented the accurate recording of images captured without interruption in single shooting mode with manual focus and Distortion control enabled has been resolved.” [Nikon Website]

 

Sigma APO 120-300mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM Lens

By

Along with the 150mm Macro, announced a new APO 120-300mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM lens earlier this week at Photokina 2010.  This new version offers optical improvements over the last generation 120-300mm f/2.8 lens, along with the addition of optical stabilization.

As with other product announcements from Sigma this week, there’s no indication on price or availability, but it expect it to be significantly more than the $3000 street price of the current non-OS 120-300mm f/2.8 model.

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

Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro

By

Earlier this week, Sigma announced a 150mm f/2.8 Macro lens with its great HSM AF motor inside.  The new macro lens offers a 1:1 magnification ratio, along with a 9-blade circular diaphragm.

While Sigma showed off the new lens at Photokina 2010, it has not released further details concerning its price or availability.  For the sake of reference, the current 150mm f/2.8 Macro lens is available in Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Nikon mounts and carries a street price of around $730.

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

Nikon AF-S 35mm f/1.4G and AF-S 200mm f/2G ED VR II Lenses

By

Along with the new D7000 DSLR, Nikon has announced a couple of new lenses, the AF-S 35mm f/1.4G and AF-S 200mm f/2G ED VR II.

The AF-S 35mm f/1.4G should be available in November 2010 at an initial retail price of $1799.95. Check availability on Amazon.com.

The AF-S 200mm f/2G ED VR II should be available in October 2010 at an initial retail price of $5999.95. Check availability on Amazon.com.

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

Tamron to Release Aperture Correction Plug-in for Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 3

By

Tamron SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II VC LD Aspherical [IF] Lens

Tamron has developed an aperture correction plug-in for use with RAW image workflows in Adobe Photoshop CS5, Camera RAW and Lightroom 3.  The new plug-in is designed for a number of Tamron lenses.

More details on the plug-in, including a full list of lenses, in the press release below. [Read more…]

Sony NEX E-Mount 18-200mm Lens Pricing and Availability

By

Sony Japan has announced that the NEX E-Mount 18-200mm lens (which is packaged with the Sony NEX-VG10) will be available in September 2010 for 99750 yen for other NEX-format cameras; however, US pricing should be in the neighborhood of $800-900 as a best guess.

No word yet on availability stateside, or official US pricing for that matter.  It’s a good sign that we’ll see the E-Mount 18-200mm lens on NEX-3 and NEX-5 cameras soon though.

Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD Lens Announced

By

Tamron has announced the release of its new 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD lens for Nikon mount DSLRs, with Canon and Sony models to follow at a later date.  The new 70-300mm lens is compatible with both full-frame and APS-C format DSLRs, and should be available August 26, 2010.

The new 70-300mm lens carries a retail price of $449; however, at launch Tamron is offering a $50 rebate for a final net price of $399.  Check availability on Amazon.com.

You can get additional details and specs for this lens in Tamron’s press release below. [Read more…]