Firmware Friday: Panasonic pro video / lens updates; Fuji FinePix XP140, Sigma 60-600/70-200 tweaked too

 

 

[Update Sunday PM: Now with more Panasonic firmware info added!] Our Firmware Friday roundup this week is perhaps the most unusual we can remember posting. Why's that, we hear you ask? Because while we can tell you of seven firmware updates this week, we can't tell you what two of them involve. And of the remainder, there's another which you can't apply yourself, instead requiring a trip back to the service department for the lens. And there might actually be more updates available which we can't locate ourselves, as of this writing, too.

Let's get to the bottom of all this, shall we?

Fujifilm FinePix XP140

Firmware version 1.01 for the XP140 is available here, and is said to "fix ... slight defects". Since the company doesn't elaborate, nor can we, sorry!

Leica DG Elmarit 200mm

Technically a Panasonic product, but it's sold under the Leica brand so we'll list it separately, too: The DG Elmarit 200mm f/2.8 Power OIS lens (model H-ES200) has received firmware version 1.1 in the past week... and what it involves, we can't say. The reason for that is quite simple: As of this writing, the company's main support website is down, so while the firmware is mentioned on the Joint update service for Four Thirds lenses website, the release notes aren't available.

Update as of Sunday evening: We just spotted that Panasonic's support site is back to normal. For the H-ES200 lens mentioned here, the sole change in firmware version 1.1 is a promise of improved AF performance for stills capture. Download it here, and also check the next section for more Panasonic firmware.

Panasonic S PRO 24-105 and 70-200mm lenses; AG-CX200MC, AG-CX350, AJ-UPX360MC and AW-RP50

With the main support site down, we can't say for certain if Now that the support site is back, we know that as well as the video cameras above (plus the aforementioned Leica lens), Panasonic also updated two other lenses this week. One is the S Pro 24-105mm lens (download here), and the other is the S Pro 70-200mm lens (download here). In both cases, firmware version 1.1 brings a promise of improved stabilization performance. For the 70-200mm optic, Panasonic has also added support for the 1.4x Teleconverter (DMW-STC14) and 2x Teleconverter (DMW-STC20). No other changes were made.

As for the camcorders, firmware version 1.03 for the AG- and AJ-series video cameras above (download here) brings a single fix for a bug that could cause the set color correction values to be ignored after the cameras are power-cycled. No other changes are made.

Firmware version 5.01.00 for the AW-RP50 remote camera controller (download here), meanwhile, adds support for three new camera models: The AW-HE42, AW-HE68MC and AW-HE75.

Sigma 60-600mm and 70-200mm Sports lenses

And that just leaves Sigma for this week. The company has identified an issue that could cause early production of these lenses to lock up when the shutter button is pressed, and which requires a return to the company for service, as the necessary firmware must be tuned to the individual lens and so can't be updated with the USB dock accessory.

Affected lenses are identified both by serial number and a mark on the product packaging. For the 60-600mm | Sports lens for Sigma, Canon EF or Nikon F mount, serial numbers of 53824160 or earlier are potentially affected. For the 70-200mm | Sports lens for Sigma, Canon EF or Nikon F mount, serial numbers of 53846990 or earlier are potentially affected. In either case, if there is a black sticker on the lower right corner of the product packaging, your lens' firmware has already been updated and you should be unaffected.
 
If you own an affected lens, you'll want to contact Sigma support for your own region. More information can be found here and here.

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(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.)