Photography News: The Best Spot For Fall Photos, New Firmware

Afraid of missing out on the latest photo industry news while you’re out, well, actually taking pictures? Photography News of the Week is all the news you might have missed this week, published on the weekends. Alongside the biggest stories of the week, like the availability of the new Nikon Z6, Google Pixel night Sight, and the launch of ON1 Photo RAW 2019, find briefs on the latest in accessories and photography news from this week.

Michigan earns the best spot for fall foliage photos (again)

For the fourth year in a row, Nikon wanted to find the top state for photographing fall colors. And for the third year in a row, Michigan earned that top designation. New York came in second and Colorado in third in the contest, which accepted entries using hashtags on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Submissions for the Great Lakes state showed a combination of vibrant colors and numerous lakes, Nikon says.

Michigan is currently covered in a blanket of snow, but the contest highlights some potential destinations for fall travel photography next year. Color typically peaks in Michigan in October, with the northern parts of the state seeing the earliest color.

Nik Collection gets bug fixes under DxO ownership

The popular photo editing plugins that Google killed off and DxO revived just got its second update under the new ownership. The Nik Collection by DxO 2018 v1.1 is optimized for MacOS Mojave, as well as Adobe’s latest software updates for Photoshop 2019, along with Lightroom Classic and Photoshop Elements. 

The company says the latest version also corrects a few bugs that were leftover from when the plugins were owned by Google. The update continues to make progress in fixing bugs and maintaining compatibility after an update hiatus rendered the program incompatible.

Fujifilm X-T3 gains 4K HDR, X-H1 gains more image stabilization through firmware

Three Fujifilm cameras are getting software refreshes with new features added through firmware. The Fujifilm GFX 50S, X-T3 and X-H1 will all see updates through upcoming firmware, released at the end of November or during December.

The GFX 50S firmware update adds a 35mm format crop mode when using an H mount adapter with the camera. The medium format camera also sees improved eye-sensor response, the option to delete RAW and JPEGs simultaneously and new settings to adjust the color on the LCD and EVF.

The X-T3 will soon gain 4K HDR recording in the Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) mode. Fujifilm says the new mode helps create rich color and realistic images in scenes with a lot of contrast between highlights and shadows. The update will also allow for output of Film Simulation simultaneously while shooting F-Log. Under the new firmware, videos more than 4GB will no longer have to be split if the memory card is more than 32 GB. The update also supports ALL-Intra 400 MBPs bitrates with H.264 compression, color temperature displays, and power supply displays, and slower shutter speeds in video for certain formats.

The X-H1 sees a single change, but a significant one. The in-body stabilization and optical lens stabilization will be able to work together after updating the software. Previously, using a stabilized lens with the camera split the different axes across body and optical stabilization, but with the update, the camera uses 5-axis stabilization rated at up to 5.5 stops.

Once launched, the firmware downloads will be available from Fujifilm’s website.

Nikon Z7 gains some bug fixes with new firmware

Nikon is continuing to fix some minor reported bugs on the new mirrorless Z7. Firmware update 1.02 fixes a playback flicker that occurs under certain settings, along with a fix for a glitch that caused the Capture NX-D or ViewNX-i to crash for HDR images with the option to save individual photos on. Another fix corrects the ISO settings from exceeding the user-set maximum while recording video with electronic stabilization on. The firmware is the second update for the camera, after version 1.01 that fixed a freeze during some burst modes with silent photography and RAW on.

Shutterstock is now integrated into Final Cut Pro X using a new extension

Final Cut Pro X has its first and only integrated extension for stock assets. This week, Shutterstock announced an integration with Apple’s video editing program. The extension gives editors access to videos, images, and music from the more than 250 million resources from Shutterstock. Besides finding content without leaving the program, the tool also allows video editors to preview a watermarked photo, video, or music to see how it fits the project before making a purchase.

SeaLife launches a slew of new underwater lighting gear

Waterproofing the camera is only half the battle — what about getting light underwater? This week, SeaLife launched several new lighting tools for underwater photography, including video lights and flashes. The list includes the Sea Dragon 2000F Underwater Photo/Video Light SL677, an LED rated for 2,000 lumens, the Sea Dragon 3000F Underwater Auto Photo/Video Light SL678 with automatic flash detection, and the Sea Dragon Duo 600F Underwater Light Set SL691 dual LEDs. The list of eight new options also includes new kits that pair lights with one of SeaLife’s underwater cameras and will be available from SeaLife’s website.