It’s been a week of firmware updates. Sony and Fuji have announced updates for the Sony A cameras and Fuji has made firmware announcements for several of their X cameras and lenes.
I have both the Sony A7 II as well as 2 Fuji X-T1 bodies. The Fuji lenses I own that are also being updated are the 10-24mm, 18-55mm and the 55-200mm. The Sony upgrade process that I commented on previously, requires you to download directly from your computer via USB cable to your camera. The Fuji is a lot easier as you upgrade from a SD Card with the firmware updates on it.
You can find the links to the Sony upgrade HERE and the Fuji HERE.
Mirrorless
The camera market is in turmoil. One of the only segments seeing at least a flat or small growth is the mirrorless market. I was invited recently with 29 others to voice what we thought were the best mirrorless cameras. Take a look at the article on Mirrorlessons.
LuLa Has Some New Lenses
We have recently received some new lenses for our many camera systems. First up is the NEW Fuji 16-55mm 2.8 zoom. This is a new zoom with a maximum aperture of 2.8 throughout the zoom range. It is built to be weather resistant and I did try that feature out recently. We’ll be reporting on our experience with this lens soon. First impressions are that it is a very nice lens but is limited by having no image stabilization and is a lot larger than previous Fuji lenses. It seems beautifully sharp though.
Yesterday we received the NEW Sony 35mm 1.4 lens. I have only taken a few images with this lens so far and I’m very impressed. Unlike a lot of the other Sony lenses, this one boasts an f/1.4 aperture with an aperture ring. I did a few exposures handheld with the Sony A7 II and I saw some very sharp results even wide open. We’ll report more soon. I’m excited about using this lens. I’m really looking forward to the July release of the 90mm Macro Sony Lens.
I should mention that Michael, Chris and I are taking a road trip to the Pacific Northwest in 2 weeks where we will be shooting with these cameras and lenses. We’ll have a number of videos and articles to share from this trip.
Our Newest Two Cameras
I have been an avid shooter with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 for the last year. We have reported on this here on LuLa in the past. We now have the NEW Olympus OM-D E-M5 II. This new Micro four-thirds camera boast some interesting innovations. First it has In Camera Image Stabilization (ICIS) providing a claim of 5 – stops compensation. It also boasts a NEW sensor shift technology to produce a 40mp image by combining 8 images in-camera. Throw in a touch screen on the back as well and this camera looks to have potential. The first thing I noticed when unpacking it is how small it really is. We’ll also be testing the video capabilities of this camera with non-stabilized lenses.
Michael has just taken a step backwards and gone analog. More power to him. He purchased a Rolleiflex FX twin lens reflex with f/2.8 Planar and I’m sure we’ll hear all about his adventures with this new camera in the not-so-distant future.
Phase One Announces A NEW Camera
And lastly, Phase One has introduced a new lightweight camera designed for using with drones. The Phase One iXU is designed to be used with A=UAV or light aircraft. This camera with a back and lens would make for one expensive drone. I personally have avoided getting a drone, not because I am not fascinated with them, but I know I’d crash it on my first flight. This is a segment worth watching as I am hearing from my friendly camera retailers that they are selling lot of drones.
We’ll keep you posted on our experiences with this new gear.
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