Firmware Update 2.10 for Mirrorless Z6 and Z7

• Z6: Nikon | Download center | Z 6 Firmware
  
• Z7: Nikon | Download center | Z 7 Firmware
  

It looks like the primary change is compatibility with the new Z-mount DX lenses, with optical VR, mainly intended for the new Z50. But that is still a bit of a priority. So far no Z-mount FX lens has optical VR.

There are a bunch of other changes, but compatibility with CFexpress cards is not included. That will have to be another firmware update. My guess is that Nikon is still testing with various CFx manufacturers, and those cards are also not yet available.

The following change list is directly from Nikon's web site:

Added supported for optical VR with NIKKOR Z DX 16–50mm f/3.5–6.3 VR and NIKKOR Z DX 50–250mm f/4.5–6.3 VR Z-mount lenses. Note that attaching these lenses disables the Mechanical shutter option for Custom Setting d5 (Shutter type) in Group d (Shooting/display) of the CUSTOM SETTING MENU, leaving a choice of Auto and Electronic front-curtain shutter options only.

• ISO sensitivity can now be adjusted using the lens control ring, and ISO sensitivity has been added to the options available for Custom Setting f2 (Custom control assignment) > Lens control ring in Group f (Controls) of the CUSTOM SETTING MENU.
  
• As of November 14, 2019, the aperture display in the lens info panel for NIKKOR Z 24–70mm f/2.8 S and NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct lenses shows both the current aperture and adjacent aperture values in modes A and M.
  
• When On was selected for Auto ISO sensitivity control and an option that does not include “slow sync” was selected for Flash mode, shutter speed was formerly restricted to values between those chosen for Custom Settings e1 (Flash sync speed) and e2 (Flash shutter speed), but this has now been changed to match the behavior of digital SLR cameras, with the result that the minimum shutter speed now corresponds to the value selected for Auto ISO sensitivity control > Minimum shutter speed.
  
• Fixed an issue that in extremely rare cases resulted in the camera failing to correctly record movies with 1920x1080; 120p selected for Frame size/frame rate.
  
• Fixed an issue that occasionally resulted in “noise” in the form of white lines at the bottom of the display when the electronic viewfinder was on.
  
• Fixed an issue that in rare cases resulted in “noise” in the form of fine horizontal lines appearing throughout the frame in movies and the live view display.
  
• Fixed errors in the UTC time zones for the following three cities in the Time zone and date > Time zone display in the SETUP MENU:
  
  • Caracas: was -4:30, is now -4:00
    
  • Casablanca: was 00:00, is now +1:00
    
  • Ankara: was +2:00, is now +3:00
    

  [*]Fixed an issue that resulted in an incorrect date of creation being displayed in the Windows 10 “properties” dialogs for movies and time-lapse movies created with the camera, as well as copies created with camera movie editing controls.

CFExpress cards are now readily available 'in the wild' and still no support for them.

Wonder what the problem is?

CFExpress cards are now readily available 'in the wild' and still no support for them.

 

Wonder what the problem is?

At B&H, all 24 CFx cards are still "coming soon," although it has been "soon" for a couple of months. Most likely there are still compatibility issues.

I wouldn't buy any CFx card until the dust settles. You could end up with an expensive card that is not compatible with Nikon bodies, and you'll be at their mercy to exchange or give you a refund. I would imagine the Canon 1DX Mark 3 will be introduced by January 2020 at the latest, and it only uses CFx (and perhaps XQD) cards. The D6 is in a similar situation. All technical issues will have to be resolved by January.

At B&H, all 24 CFx cards are still "coming soon," although it has been "soon" for a couple of months. Most likely there are still compatibility issues.

 

I wouldn't buy any CFx card until the dust settles. You could end up with an expensive card that is not compatible with Nikon bodies, and you'll be at their mercy to exchange or give you a refund. I would imagine the Canon 1DX Mark 3 will be introduced by January 2020 at the latest, and it only uses CFx (and perhaps XQD) cards. The D6 is in a similar situation. All technical issues will have to be resolved by January.

Thanks. I just went to B&H to cancel my pre-order for the "Lexar 128GB Professional CFexpress Type-B Memory Card".

Now I wonder if I will need to buy these cards in the future as I already have 5 XQD cards: 3 120GB, 1 128GB, and 1 32GB. Total 520GB = 520,000MB. Assuming each image is 100MB (over estimation), These cards would be good for 5,200 images.

Shun, remember you thought you bought too many XQD's? Not anymore? LOL!

Now I wonder if I will need to buy these cards in the future as I already have 5 XQD cards: 3 120GB, 1 128GB, and 1 32GB. Total 520GB = 520,000MB. Assuming each image is 100MB (over estimation), These cards would be good for 5,200 images.

Just recounted: I actually have seven XQD's - 2 additional 120GBs, So these cards will be good for at least 7,600 images. What happened? :eek: Now there's definitely no need for any more.

I sure wish I had an option to close the shutter when swapping lenses, the dust issue due to the exposed sensor is a real PITA.

The difference between a DSLR and a mirrorless camera is that the sensor on a mirrorless camera is quite close to the mount, because it is desirable to have the rear lens elements close to the sensor, and the shutter is in between. Hence the shutter is very close to the opening.

I, for one, don't want the vulnerable shutter so exposure because it is extremely easy to damage it. And since the mirrorless sensor is close to the mount, cleaning it is much easier than cleaning one on a DSLR. I have my body cap ready and put that on as soon as I remove a lens. I actually have a couple extra Z-mount body cap handy in case I misplace it.

Just recounted: I actually have seven XQD's - 2 additional 120GBs, So these cards will be good for at least 7,600 images. What happened? :eek: Now there's definitely no need for any more.

Mary, you have sufficient XQD cards.

I actually have nine. Back in 2016 I bought six of them for my new DSLRs, since one of them takes two XQD cards, and I was going to Africa that year so that I made sure I wouldn't be constantly under pressure to backup. A year later Micron was shutting down Lexar such that I bought another Lexar 64G and 128G to be on the safe side, when prices were still relatively low. Therefore, I was very much insulated from the XQD price and supply turmoil after that. Finally when Sony had that 120G discount earlier this year, I got one more: Sony XQD Card Price Drop

The problem with the Z6 and Z7 is that they only have one card slot. I avoid using old XQD cards in those just in case an old card may fail. Fortunately, after almost 4 years, I have never had any XQD card issue yet. Knock on wood.

ISO sensitivity can now be adjusted using the lens control ring

I wonder how soon were going to see a camera with 3 'command' dials?

or whether all Z (maybe even F) lenses are going to have this lens control ring apparatus?

I have 256GB of XQD cards and can't imagine a situation where I would run out in normal shooting. However, if Nikon introduce a 61 MP or 100 MP camera with dual XQD / CF express card slots, then it is quite possible that I would need to purchase more storage if that were to become my main camera. However, I'm actually quite happy shooting with lower resolution cameras and don't necessarily see the need (unless they couple high resolution with other features that I want). I guess the next cards will be CFexpress since both my XQD-compatible cameras will get firmware updates.

I imagine Nikon want to be sure there is no glitch in compatibility with CF express and a lot of test shooting in different conditions may be needed to ensure reliable operation and not just trust it on luck.

I imagine Nikon want to be sure there is no glitch in compatibility with CF express and a lot of test shooting in different conditions may be needed to ensure reliable operation and not just trust it on luck.

Call me old-fashioned, but i thought the whole idea of having these 'memory standards' as set out by the Compact Flash Association, was to remove the need for such luck?

The problem is that not everybody follows the standards to the T, and there maybe different interpretations for the standards.

Back in 2016 when I first started buying XQD cards, my wife was considering getting some Sony camcorder that also used XQD cards. Back then, the only camera devices that used XQD were a few Sony camcorders and several high-end Nikon DSLRs (D4, D4S, D5 and D500). While all Nikon DSLRs can use either Sony or Lexar XQD cards, and there is hardly any difference between brands (other than maybe some slight performance difference among current XQD models), those Sony camcorders could only use Sony XQD cards. Lexar XQD cards were completely incompatible with Sony camcorders. Hence I ended up getting a few Sony XQD, even though Lexar was a bit cheaper back then.

Now that there are half a dozen to maybe a dozen different CFexpress manufacturers, I can imagine that there are a lot of little issues to iron out. If Nikon releases a new firmware that turns out to have a lot of compatibility issues, there will be plenty of confusion and negative press. Given SanDisk's traditional relationship with Nikon, I assume SanDisk would be a safer choice. Hopefully so are Lexar (although they have a completely different ownership now, compared to in 2016) and ProGrade.

Call me old-fashioned, but i thought the whole idea of having these 'memory standards' as set out by the Compact Flash Association, was to remove the need for such luck?

Yes, but think about what happens if the card doesn't work in a particular situation in a particular camera because some parameter was slightly off and because the card standard is new, the problem hadn't been encountered by testing it (since the cards are new) before: as a result, the photographer loses images. It is a lot better to do rigorous and thorough testing of the cards available in the market and multiple camera units from the assembly line. What happens in extreme cold, extreme heat, or when the camera has been used for a long 4K video recording session? I would want the probability of card failure to be much smaller than one failure in 10 million frames shot. I want to shoot in -25 C, sometimes -30 C and these situations although not common are such that nature looks different and there are interesting phenomena that can be photographed. I don't want cards and cameras to be tested in a cozy lab and then hope that all will work perfectly in unusual circumstances. Some cards are specified to work from -10 C to 85 C (ProGrade Digital). That may or may not work for me, depending on how quickly the card actually reaches that temperature and what happens if it gets colder (writing to card generates heat, so maybe it will still work). Delkin make cards that are specified to work in -40 C to +85 C. This sounds much more suitable. However, I would prefer Nikon to go out and try them out in those conditions with their cameras and see what happens. It's better to be safe than sorry, especially since some of the cameras only support one card. There are many reports of camera overheating in 4K video recording (with some brands) and I imagine this concerns quite many people living in hot climates. What about humidity? Dust?

Whilst fully agreeing with the above, you never heard about problems with Compact Flash or SD cards, It's only XQD and seemingly CFExpress......?

I can foresee physical problems.... of manufacturing tolerances.

Whilst fully agreeing with the above, you never heard about problems with Compact Flash or SD cards, It's only XQD and seemingly CFExpress......?

 

I can foresee physical problems.... of manufacturing tolerances.

The CFexpress cards have write speeds up to 1700MB/s (if I recall correctly); I can see that there might be problems in the camera electronics that only show up when writing extensively at such fast rates. For example, the cards could generate more heat that could affect the other functioning of the camera. Or there could be some timing problem. It's a different class of performance than what was available before and the cameras could not be tested with CFexpress when they were designed and prototyped, so problems could arise when making them compatible afterwards. The physical chassis is the same as used for XQD so I don't see problems there. I don't doubt that Nikon can get the cameras to work with the new cards but I just want them to test them thoroughly before we start to use the new cards.

I have had several problems with SD cards with some stopping to function altogether and others with corrupted data. I have not had any problems with CF or XQD cards so far. I don't even expect SD to work correctly to be honest, based on the experiences I have had. I understand the budget motivation to use SD (UHS-I cards can be inexpensive, though fast UHS-II SD cards are not significantly cheaper than XQD or CFexpress) but I really don't want to use those cards myself except when there is no choice.

Whilst fully agreeing with the above, you never heard about problems with Compact Flash or SD cards, It's only XQD and seemingly CFExpress......?

During the "stone age" of DSLRs, i.e. the first 5 years or so in this century, we had our share of compatibility issues with CF cards, e.g. which card is compatible with the D100 or with the D70, etc. Thanks to the 2004, $1000 D70 and Canon Rebel, as Nikon (and Canon) DSLRs became a lot more popular, pretty much all CF manufacturers would thoroughly test their cards with the common Canon and Nikon DSLRs, plus Sony digicams ... before they shipped their cards into the market, such that compatibility gradually became a non issue.

We are now back to the stone age again, this time for CFx cards.

The difference between a DSLR and a mirrorless camera is that the sensor on a mirrorless camera is quite close to the mount, because it is desirable to have the rear lens elements close to the sensor, and the shutter is in between. Hence the shutter is very close to the opening.

 

I, for one, don't want the vulnerable shutter so exposure because it is extremely easy to damage it. And since the mirrorless sensor is close to the mount, cleaning it is much easier than cleaning one on a DSLR. I have my body cap ready and put that on as soon as I remove a lens. I actually have a couple extra Z-mount body cap handy in case I misplace it.

I was merely asking for it to be an option in custom function. I get what you are saying but it becomes a real mess real quick when doing something like swapping lenses in a snowstorm. According to one of my contacts at NPS, several action / adventure pros besides me are asking for the same thing, an option to close it.