Ricoh has released firmware v2.03 for its GR enthusiast compact. The list of updated features includes support for Raw file transfer via Eye-Fi card, the ability to use 1/2500 sec shutter speed with maximum aperture and a 47mm-equivalent crop mode. Also new is a ‘Maximum Aperture Priority’ setting available in Program and Manual exposure modes. Click through for a link to download the latest firmware version.
The camera on Apple’s iPhones are well-known for their excellent photo quality. The new iPhone 5s features a larger sensor, faster lens, and new ‘True Tone’ flash. Head on over to connect.dpreview.com to see if the improvements have made the iPhone 5s a top choice for mobile photographers.
Another contender has entered the relatively small ring of Raw converters that can work with Fujifilm’s X-Trans sensors: Photo Ninja. The latest version of this already-capable image editor has added ‘preliminary’ support for X-Trans Raw, and early results seem promising. To see how this $ 129 software performs, click through to see side-by-side comparisons.
GoPro is revealing two new and improved action cameras with its updated Hero 3+ line. The tiny yet rugged cameras are smaller than their popular predecessors yet pack some impressive specs. See what’s changed in the new Hero 3+ Black Edition and Hero 3+ Silver Edition today on connect.dpreview.com.
DxO Labs has released version 8.3.2 of its Optics Pro RAW conversion and image correction software, adding support for the Canon EOS 70D and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1R. It also adds 448 extra camera/lens combinations to the library of optics correction modules. Click through for the full press release, including download links.
Nikon’s new Coolpix P7800 arrived in our Seattle office a few days ago and we’ve been doing our best to get as many sample images as possible on it, despite the unpredictable autumn weather. We’ve managed to create a small gallery of samples, taken in a range of different conditions to show off what the camera can do. There’s more on the way, but for now, check out our gallery of pictures from Nikon’s newest zoom compact flagship.
Just a quick update on a couple of new forums we’ve added over the weekend. The first is Feedback and Suggestions, a place for your questions, feedback and suggestions for the DPReview team (both technical and editorial). We hope this will be a more efficient and more effective method than the feedback form / email system we had previously, and will ensure we don’t miss bugs, suggestions and feedback that until now has been spread over dozens of forums. The second new forum is Photographic Science and Technology: a home for those wishing to discuss advanced technical matters related to imaging science outside the brand-specific forums. It’s also intended to be the place for less technically-minded readers to pose questions of our community’s smartest eggheads.
Leica has announced the Elmarit-S 45 mm f/2.8 ASPH lens for its medium format S system. With an angle of view equivalent to a 35mm lens on full frame, it offers a classic moderate wide-angle field of view. Like several of the other S lenses it’ll be available in two versions, either with or without an in-lens ‘Central Shutter’ (that allows flash sync at all shutter speeds). At the same time, Leica is offering firmware updates for its S, S2 and S2-P cameras to give ‘optimum functionality’ with the lens. The Elmarit-S 45 mm f/2.8 ASPH will be in dealers this month at a price of £4650, or £5500 for the CS model.
We all know that smartphones are being equipped with better and better cameras, but few of us would ever consider using one for ‘serious’ photography except in an emergency. Nokia’s ‘conversations’ blog is featuring an interesting project by its own ‘camera expert’, Ari Partinen and colleague Marko Saari, who wanted to see whether the new Nokia Lumia 1020, which features a 41 megapixel ‘PureView’ sensor, could hold its own in a studio fashion shoot. The results might surprise you.
Modern lenses tend to be large and expensive, with multiple glass elements combining to minimise optical aberrations. But what if we could just use a cheap single-element lens, and remove those aberrations computationally instead ? This is the question scientists at the University of British Columbia are asking, and they’ve come up with a way of improving images from a simple single element lens that gives pretty impressive results. Click through to read more.