10 O'Clock Smile Fun Stuff Leica

Leica Retro Film Camera Designs I Absolutely Love

These are the Leica film cameras of yesteryear that I find the most beautiful as far as their designs are concerned. I can’t tell you exactly why they appeal to me: It could be the simplicity of their design, the clean lines, the texture, colors, proportion… or it could be the knob, the self-timer, the shape of the prism… they seem to just have some “J’ne sais quoi…” quality that sets them apart from other cameras.

Of course, Leica today makes beautiful retro style digital cameras based on its original film rangefinder designs, but here we’ll look only at its film cameras.
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Firmware Updates Nikon

Nikon Posts Firmware Updates for Z 9 (Ver.4.01) and Z 8 (Ver.1.01)

Our modern mirrorless camera is becoming more like a computer and the thousands lines of codes required to program its firmware are bound to contain a few bugs.

Here are the firmware bugs that are being fixed for the Nikon Z 9 (Ver.4.01):

  • The camera would in rare circumstances stop responding or fail to record a video correctly if an attempt for video recording took place after the standby timer had expired then reactivated with [Frame size/frame rate] set to 1920 × 1080 in the VIDEO RECORDING MENU.
  • The [Choose image area] and [Switch FX/DX] roles assigned to camera controls were disabled when a slow-motion video option was selected.
  • The first shot in burst photography would sometimes fail to acquire appropriate white balance when [Auto] or [Natural light auto] was selected for white balance.
  • If shooting continued while [ON] was selected for [PHOTO SHOOTING MENU] > [Photo flicker reduction], the photo live view display would be partially disrupted.

> Download Nikon Z 9 Ver.4.01 Firmware Update

Here are the firmware bugs that are being fixed for the Nikon Z 8 (Ver.1.01):

  • Changed the timing of the high-temperature warnings appearing when the camera’s internal temperature increases mainly during video recording.
  • Changed the position where the memory card high-temperature warning is displayed in video mode.
  • Fixed the following issues:
    • The battery would draw down more quickly while the camera was off if [ON] was selected for [Connect to smart device] > [Wi-Fi connection] in the [NETWORK MENU] even if [OFF] was selected for both [Bluetooth connection] and [Upload while off].
    • Focus could still be adjusted using the focus ring when [Disable] was selected for a15 [Manual focus ring in AF mode] in the [CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU] if an option other than [Non-linear] was chosen for f9 [Focus ring rotation range] in the [CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU].
    • SB-800 flash units would sometimes stop responding after pictures were taken with the flash disabled.

> Download Nikon Z 8 Ver.1.01 Firmware Update

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10 O'Clock Smile Fun Stuff Minolta

Minolta Retro Film Camera Designs I Absolutely Love

These are the Minolta film cameras of yesteryear that I find the most beautiful as far as their designs are concerned. I can’t tell you exactly why they appeal to me: It could be the simplicity of their design, the clean lines, the texture, colors, proportion… or it could be the knob, the self-timer, the shape of the prism… they seem to just have some “J’ne sais quoi…” quality that sets them apart from other cameras.

But what is Minolta? For those of you who’s never heard of Minolta, it was one of the great camera companies which merged its imaging division with Konica (forming Konica-Minolta) in 2003. In 2006, Konica-Minolta was acquired by… Sony.

How great was Minolta in its heyday? The Minolta XD-7 made photographic history by giving us PASM. The Minolta 7000F was the first camera to integrate autofocus in the body (instead of in the lens). Minolta also used a new lens mount system, the A (Alpha) mount.

It was the same A-mount Sony used for its first DSLR, the Sony Alpha A100, giving it instantly a whole lineup of Minolta Alpha lenses ready to use. That’s how Sony started designing and building cameras and, with improvement and evolution to the E-mount and mirrorless, Sony proved that an electronics company could gain a foothold into the camera industry and then conquer it. Without Minolta’s vast camera and lens design and know-how, Sony would probably not be where it is today.

‘Nuff said. Now, let’s go back to our original programming.
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Articles Cameras

EISA Photography Awards 2023-2024: Nikon Z 8 Wins CAMERA OF THE YEAR Award

EISA, the Expert Imaging and Sound Association, an association of 60 special interest magazines and websites from 29 countries, has published their Best Products 2023-2024 awards, and in the photography category, 7 cameras from 5 brands get their top awards.

Last year, Nikon took center stage with their flagship full-frame mirrorless Nikon Z 9 winning the Camera of the Year award. This year, Nikon once again snatches the Camera of the Year award, this time with the Nikon Z 8 (which basically is the Z 9 without the handgrip). The Canon EOS R1 (Canon’s flagship full-frame mirrorless camera) is expected in 2024 and, unless someone else pulls a rabbit out of its hat, we can already make a good guess which camera will wear the crown next year.

For those looking for a Best Buy Camera, the Canon EOS R8 (Full-frame mirrorless) wins that award. The Sony ZV-E1 (Full-frame mirrorless) wins the Content Creator Camera award. The Panasonic Lumix S5IIX (Full-frame mirrorless) wins the Video Camera award.

Here are the EISA 2023-2024 camera awards:

Camera of the Year: Nikon Z 8
Advanced Full-Frame Camera: Sony Alpha 7R V
Best Buy Camera: Canon EOS R8
Full-Frame Camera: Canon EOS R6 Mark II
Content Creator Camera: Sony ZV-E1
APS-C Camera: Fujifilm X-H2
Video Camera: Panasonic Lumix S5IIX

Visit the EISA Site

You can read more about these cameras in our Mirrorless Camera Buyer’s Guide.
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10 O'Clock Smile Fun Stuff Nikon

Nikon Retro Film Camera Designs I Absolutely Love

These are the Nikon film cameras of yesteryear that I find the most beautiful as far as their designs are concerned. I can’t tell you exactly why they appeal to me: It could be the simplicity of their design, the clean lines, the texture, colors, proportion… or it could be the knob, the self-timer, the shape of the prism… they seem to just have some “J’ne sais quoi…” quality that sets them apart from other cameras.
(more…)

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