Canon and Sony News for Apr 2011 (Page 2)

The EOS 7D firmware update first made available last week by Canon UK, then removed, is now available again.

Canon USA has posted EOS 7D firmware version 1.2.5. Canon UK also has it available once more: Mac OS X | Windows

Firmware Version 1.2.5 incorporates the following improvements and fixes.

1. Fixed a rare phenomenon in which there were rare cases where movie files taken could not be opened when repeatedly shooting movies with specific CF cards.

2. Fixed a rare phenomenon in which there were cases where "Err 02" appeared when repeatedly shooting still images with specific CF cards.

3. Fixed a phenomenon that occurred when using high-capacity (32 GB or greater) CF cards: If either a CF card with only a little available space remaining or the battery was removed and then reinserted into the camera, and then the user attempted to start shooting movies immediately, shooting would stop.

4. Improved the writing/reading speeds when using UDMA 7-compatible CF cards.

5. Fixed a phenomenon that occurred when custom function C.Fn 4-1 was set to assign IS start to the AF stop button on the lens: When used with lenses that do not have an AF stop button, the IS function would not work.

6. Corrected some mistakes in the menu screens displayed in Arabic and Portuguese. (This applies to models in overseas markets. The models for the Japanese market do not display those languages.)

(thanks Paul)

Nikon has posted D7000 Firmware Update 1.02 (USA) / (Europe).

Modifications enabled with this firmware upgrade, release date April 25, 2011

• Noise reduction processing is now performed with shutter speeds slower than 1 s (previously 8 s) when On is selected for Long Exp. NR in order to reduce the bright spots that occur with shooting of still images at slow shutter speeds.

• An issue that prevented the opening of movies recorded with the D7000 in certain movie editing software applications has been resolved.

• When the camera was connected to a television via the A/V cable and a movie was played back, playback was normal the first time but when the movie was played two or more times, the sound was played back at extremely low volume and seemed to play intermittently. This issue has been resolved.

• When white balance for RAW images created using the camera’s image overlay function was fine tuned with Capture NX 2 or ViewNX 2, the images acquired a magenta cast. This issue has been resolved.

• An issue that caused 0.00” to be displayed for heading information when the GP-1 GPS unit was connected to the camera has been resolved so that ---.-- is now displayed.

• When Viewfinder virtual horizon was the role assigned to the Fn button or the preview button and the applicable button was pressed, errors in the virtual horizon indicator were displayed. This issue has been resolved.

• The following errors in Help displays have been resolved.

“Maximum sensitivity” help was displayed for shooting menu>ISO sensitivity settings>On or Off help.

German help displayed “Select focus priority for AF-S mode.” for Custom Settings>a1: AF-C priority selection help .

According to my Dell rep:

"Adobe announced the release of the Creative Suite 5.5 products on April, 11th. As a result of the new release, pricing for these products is increasing anywhere from 6% - 19%. Now is a great opportunity to take advantage of the current CS 5.0 pricing and receive a free upgrade* to CS5.5 once it starts shipping in early May. The last day to place a CS5.0 order is April 27th so don’t wait!"

If one of the Adobe CS5 products is on your to-buy list, now sounds like the right time to buy it. Get your Adobe software at B&H, Adorama, Amazon.com or Adobe.

*Note: I have not found confirmation regarding the free upgrade.

Update From Bob at Digital Illusion, Inc.:

"The cutoff date for the free upgrade from CS5 to CS5.5 is March 10, 2011.

If CS5 or an upgrade to CS5 is purchased on or after March 10, 2011, you can request the free upgrade to CS5.5 from Adobe.

I talked to Adobe customer service and was given this date. However if you have been an Adobe software user for years and missed the cutoff by a few days, like I did, they may grant you an exception and give you the free upgrade. I purchased my upgrade to CS5 on April 28 but was granted a free upgrade to CS5.5 after talking to Adobe customer service."

Redrock Micro has released the micro3D Stereoscopic Rig (press release).

An outdoor image quality comparison between four 85mm lenses has been added to the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Lens Review page.

Many product images have also been added to this page. I hope to get the full review completed in the near future.

Sigma has announced that the Sigma APO 120-300mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Lens in Canon mount is "... scheduled to start shipping this month."

Preorder the new Sigma 120-300 OS at Amazon.com and Adorama.

The Nikon D5100 Owners Manual is now available for download.

"Hone your marketing approach & improve your business prospects with the free e-book; 500+ buyers' insights!"

Fill in minimal contact information and receive PhotoShelter's What Buyers Want from Photographers: 2011 Survey via email.

Adobe has posted a Photoshop CS5 Performance White Paper designed to maximize your CS5 experience.

In celebration of their 50th anniversary, Sigma USA has launched an anniversary site (press release) with tips, videos, giveaways and more.

DxO Labs has added 45 new lens / camera combinations to the DxO Optics Modules library, providing supports for Canon, Samyang, Sigma, Tamron, and Zuiko lenses, for numerous Canon, Nikon, Fuji, and Olympus cameras.

Visit this page to see the new combinations.

DxO Optics Pro is available at B&H.

UPDATE: The EOS 7D firmware update has been removed from Canon UK's site.

Canon UK has posted EOS 7D firmware version 1.2.5: Mac OS X | Windows

Firmware Version 1.2.5 incorporates the following improvements and fixes.

1. Fixed a rare phenomenon in which there were rare cases where movie files taken could not be opened when repeatedly shooting movies with specific CF cards.

2. Fixed a rare phenomenon in which there were cases where "Err 02" appeared when repeatedly shooting still images with specific CF cards.

3. Fixed a phenomenon that occurred when using high-capacity (32 GB or greater) CF cards: If either a CF card with only a little available space remaining or the battery was removed and then reinserted into the camera, and then the user attempted to start shooting movies immediately, shooting would stop.

4. Improved the writing/reading speeds when using UDMA 7-compatible CF cards.

5. Fixed a phenomenon that occurred when custom function C.Fn 4-1 was set to assign IS start to the AF stop button on the lens: When used with lenses that do not have an AF stop button, the IS function would not work.

6. Corrected some mistakes in the menu screens displayed in Arabic and Portuguese. (This applies to models in overseas markets. The models for the Japanese market do not display those languages.)

An aperture comparison has been added to the Zeiss 100mm f/2.0 Makro-Planar T* ZE Lens Review page.

You will also find some new product images on this page.

Canon Digital Photo Professional 3.10.1 Updater is now available for download.

Changes for Digital Photo Professional 3.10.1 Updater

1. Support added for images taken with the EOS Kiss X50 / EOS REBEL T3 / EOS 1100D, EOS Kiss X5 / EOS REBEL T3i / EOS 600D.If using an earlier version, images take with the EOS Kiss X50 / EOS REBEL T3 / EOS 1100D, EOS Kiss X5 / EOS REBEL T3i / EOS 600D will not be supported. Please update to version 3.10 or later.

2. Additional lenses now covered by correction of lens aberration. Including overseas models, images taken with the following six lenses are now covered by lens aberration correction.

EF 8-15mm F4L USM Fisheye, EF 15mm F2.8 Fisheye, EF 300mm F2.8 II IS USM, EF 400mm F2.8 II IS USM, EF-S 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 III (an overseas model), EF-S 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 IS II

Distortion aberration correction for images taken with fisheye lenses (EF 8-15mm F4L USM Fisheye, EF 15mm F2.8 Fisheye) enables the user to select four types of effects that are not covered by ordinary distortion correction. Note that depending on the camera used, there are cases where images taken with applicable lenses may not be covered by aberration correction.

3. Added a function for circular masking. The new Circle option can be selected from the Ratio pull-down menu for the Trimming/angle adjustment tool. The behavior differs from when rectangles like 1:1 are selected in that selecting Circle will masking everything outside of the selected area.

4. When performing Noise Reduction processing, there were cases where the screen would momentarily turn magenta.

5. Fixed a malfunction involving PCs on which multiple versions of Photoshop are installed; there were cases where the Transfer to Photoshop command would be dimmed.

6. Fixed a malfunction in which attempting to display NR Preview while the highlight warning was displayed would cause the Preview screen to turn deep blue.

7. Fixed a malfunction that occurred if an image was overwritten by a newer version after a rating had been set; there were cases where the editing results were destroyed and the image reverted back to the settings when it was first taken.

8. Fixed a malfunction wherein white lines would appear in the displayed results if an image was displayed at 100% in the Edit Window or the Edit Image Window and the window was then scrolled.

9. Windows XP SP2 is no longer supported

If using this software in a Windows XP environment, please update Windows to Service Pack 3 before installing the software.

10. The limitation in Mac OS 10.6 of not being able to drag images to another folder from within the main window has been removed.

11. Mac OS 10.4 is no longer supported

The versions of Mac OS X that are supported by this software are Mac OS 10.5 and Mac OS 10.6 (only models that came with either Mac OS 10.5 or Mac OS 10.6 preinstalled). Also, this software does not support Power PC Macs.

Planning to shoot the Royal Wedding? So are an estimated 799 other photographers.

"The Canon Professional Services (CPS) team will be providing a range of services and support for accredited Canon professional photographers who are covering the Royal Wedding between HRH Prince William and Kate Middleton on 29 April."

Read more at the Canon Professional Network.