Firmware Friday: Hasselblad, Insta360, Leica + Nikon cameras; Godox and Sigma accessories updated

 

 

After a brief hiatus last week, Firmware Friday returns today with news of several camera updates from Hasselblad, Insta360, Leica and Nikon, as well as updates for a healthy selection of accessories from Godox and Sigma. (Godox's updates actually landed late last month, and have only just come to our attention, while the rest of the updates in this week's roundup are all pretty much brand new.)

Without any further ado, let's get right down to it. We'll cover the cameras first, and then return to the accessories...

Hasselblad X1D-50c

The new version 1.17.0 firmware for the Hasselblad X1D-50c adds five new features, and fixes a variety of bugs. The new features include power over USB capability, a spot metering overlay and a visual overexposure warning. There's also a grid overlay and clickable white balance icon added in video live view and recording modes. The company has also resolved problems with front focusing and an incorrect "no card" indication, as well as improving USB stability and tethering performance. The menu button behavior has been changed to toggle between the main menu and control screen, and live view mode now respects the display turnoff time, meaning that live view will cease after a maximum of 30 seconds. Hasselblad also notes that it has fixed several undisclosed bugs, and updated the language in some parts of the camera's interface.

Hasselblad X1D-50c owners can download the update from the owners' section of the company's website. You'll need to first create an account and register your gear, have you not already done so.

Insta360 Pro

Insta360's ultra-high definition 8K spherical panoramic camera, the Insta360 Pro, is now running firmware version 155 with quite a list of changes. These include a new fanless mode which can run for as long as 15 minutes for non-RTS recording, support for HLS and RTSP protocols, a new cubemapped projection for live-streamed video, built-in spatial audio functionality, updated metadata in RTS, improvements to flat color / log modes, switches for the gyro and audio in settings, and fixes for unspecified bugs. You can download the update now from the Insta360 website.

Leica M10

Two weeks ago, we told you about a new firmware release aimed at improving SD card compatibility for the Leica M10. Released after a limited public beta, the firmware unfortunately seems to have introduced a new bug, and it's this which the new Leica M10 firmware version 1.9.4.0 is intended to address. If you've been having problems with your Leica M10 recording black images at fast shutter speeds since the last update, fear not! Install the new firmware now, and the problem should be resolved. You can download the update from the Leica website here.

Nikon B700, D5 and D500

And finally for the cameras, we come to Nikon. Both the Nikon Coolpix B700 and D500 have received minor bug fixes, while the D5 gets a combination of new features (including two new AF area modes) plus some bug fixes as well. Since the D5 update is the most interesting of the trio, let's start there. Changes in Nikon D5 firmware version C:1.20 are as follows, courtesy of Nikon's release notes:

• Added two new AF-area modes: group-area AF (HL) and group-area AF (VL). The user selects a row (HL) or column (VL) of focus points; when AF-C is selected for focus mode, the camera will give priority to the point in the selected row or column containing the subject closest to the camera.

• Updated the photo info display to show the color temperature for photos taken with Auto selected for white balance.

• Added an Exif tag listing the difference between the local time zone and UTC, part of the Exif 2.31 specification.

• Added the support for the following features of AF-P lenses:

  • If the standby timer expires after the camera has focused, the focus position will not change when the timer is reactivated.

  • In manual focus mode, the focus indicator in the viewfinder (or in live view, the focus point selected in the monitor) will flash to show that infinity or the minimum focus distance has been reached by rotating the focus ring.

• Changed the checks performed when Clean image sensor > Clean now is selected in the SETUP MENU. We recommend that you perform image sensor cleaning after updating the firmware.

• Fixed the following issues:

  • The higher the amount of Active D Lighting selected when optional flash units were used with auto aperture (AA), non-TTL auto (A), or distance-priority manual (GN) flash mode, the more the resulting images would be underexposed.

  • Changes to exposure (including exposure compensation) would not be reflected in the photo live view exposure preview while the display was zoomed in.

  • Photo live view display WB could not be selected in the i-button menu while the exposure preview was displayed in photo live view.

  • Taking long bursts of photos with On selected for Network > Options > Auto send would sometimes drastically slow the recording of data to the memory card.

• Reduced the amount of time needed to connect to hidden SSIDs when WPA-PSK or WPA2-PSK is selected for Authentication.

• Updated some help text.

Moving along to the Nikon D500, firmware version C:1.13 resolves pairing and connection problems with Snapbridge connectivity to Android smartphones and tablets. Curiously, Nikon notes that this update may potentially need to be installed twice, and may warn that the "[update] failed. Contact a Nikon-authorized service representative." The company advises its customers to ignore this warning and simply follow the update process a second time, ignoring the version number currently installed on the camera if it shows the same as the new release after the first update.

Finally, the Nikon Coolpix B700 is now running firmware version 1.3, which resolves a problem that prevented charging with the AC adapter if you'd disabled "charge by computer".

Nikon's updates can be downloaded at the links below:

• Nikon Coolpix B700 firmware version 1.3

• Nikon D5 firmware version C:1.20

• Nikon D500 firmware version C:1.13

Godox AD200, AD360II, AD600, AD600B, AD600M, AD600BM, TT685, V860II, X1R and X1T

Over the last few weeks, lighting company Godox has updated a lengthy laundry list of its gear, shipping firmware for more than a dozen different products. The bulk of these updates are for the Godox WITSTRO AD200, AD360II and AD600-series studio strobes, and for the Thinklite TT685 and VING V860II shoe-mount strobes. These updates all add support for the Fuji X-system and Olympus / Panasonic's Micro Four Thirds system.

There are also updates for the X1-series wireless flash triggers for Canon and Nikon, as well as the X1 receiver for Nikon shooters. The Canon-specific update resolves issues with unstable output when using the EOS 5D Mark IV or Rebel T4i / EOS 650D / Kiss X6i camera bodies in TTL mode, as well as a problem which prevented the EOS M3, M5 and M6 from using all but GR mode. These issues should now be resolved, and Godox also hints at fixes for other cameras, mentioning that it had further resolved "problems which occurred on ... old camera models." The Nikon updates, meanwhile, fix compatibility issues with the SB-910 and SB-5000 Speedlights.

Godox's updates can be installed using the Godox G1 Firmware Upgrade Software for AD360II, AD600-series, TT685, V860II and X1-series devices. If you're using the AD200 strobe, you'll need to use the newer Godox G2 Firmware Upgrade Software. These and the firmware updates themselves can be obtained here.

Sigma 100-400mm lens and MC-11 EF-E and SA-E mount converters

And finally for this week, we come to Sigma, which has updated its 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM | Contemporary lens and its MC-11 mount converters for Sony E-mount cameras. The Sigma 100-400mm firmware version 1.01 release improves autofocus performance, and if used in concert with the MC-11 mount converter it also allows the optical stabilization system to become active more quickly. As for the MC-11 mount converter firmware, which is available for both Canon-mount and Sigma-mount lens variants, it adds support for the Sigma 14mm F1.8 DG HSM | Art, Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | Art lenses. Users of the Sigma-mount variant can now also use the company's 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM | Contemporary lens, while those using the Canon-mount variant can shoot with the Sigma 14mm T2 FF and 135mm T2 FF lenses mounted. The updates can be installed using Sigma's optionally-available USB dock accessory and its Sigma Optimization Pro software package.

And that's all for this week! Be sure to check back next time for more firmware news...

(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.)