Firmware Friday: Bug fixes for Samsung NX1, Nikon AW1; faster startup for five Sony lenses
posted Friday, March 6, 2015 at 4:23 PM EST
After a hectic couple of months filled with tradeshows, holidays and more, Firmware Friday returns this week with news for photographers shooting cameras from Nikon, Samsung and Sony, as well as videographers using some of Canon's professional camcorders.
First up this week, we have new firmware for the Nikon AW1 compact system camera. The new Nikon AW1 A:1.11 / B:1.11 firmware update actually landed a couple of weeks ago, but we've only just discovered the update today. It fixes problems with the camera's built-in GPS receiver that could prevent location logging or cause incorrect coordinate values at some locations, as well as a problem that could see an incorrect location shown in the Simple Photo Info display mode. If you've experienced any of these issues -- or want to make sure that you don't in the future -- grab the Nikon AW1 update here.
Samsung, meanwhile, has updated its flagship Samsung NX1 compact system camera to firmware version 1.22. As compared to the previous release, the new NX1 firmware corrects an issue with horizontal noise patterns in video captured using the 24 frames-per-second rate. It also disables the Custom Set Adjust white balance option in the movie standby mode. Want to update your camera? Get the latest Samsung NX1 update here.
Sony's updates cover five different E-mount lens models: the Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS (SEL2470Z), FE 28–70 mm F3.5–5.6 OSS (SEL2870), Sonnar T* FE 35mm F2.8 ZA (SEL35F28Z), Sonnar T* FE 55mm F1.8 ZA (SEL55F18Z) and FE 70-200mm F4 G OSS (SEL70200G). For all five models, the change is identical -- a reduction in startup time of the attached Sony E-mount camera body. The company has also promised additional lens performance updates in late March 2015. Although they're not officially available in the US at this time, you can grab the updates for the five lenses above at the Sony Asia links below if you're a Windows user, or search the lens model number here to find updates for other platforms:
And finally for this week, Canon has updates on the way for two camcorder models. The Canon XF205 and XF200 camcorders are set to receive a firmware update in mid-April 2015 which will add a new image quality setting for low-light shooting, giving priority to noise reduction in captured video. This will be followed with further updates in late-June 2015 that will add support for IP streaming of video, up to 40% slow-motion and 250% fast-motion capture, and an improved Wi-Fi settings display. More on these updates once they become available.
And that about wraps up this week's Firmware Friday roundup. Spotted any updates we've missed? Let us know in the comments below!
(Camera parts image courtesy of Kelly Hofer / Flickr; used under a Creative Commons CC-BY-2.0 license. Image has been modified from the original.)