DP Review

Carl Zeiss has announced the ZF.2 version of its 25mm f/2.8 wide angle prime lens for Nikon F mount. The company's ZF.2 series of manual focus lenses comes with an electronic interface (CPU), allowing full support of automatic exposure modes and the inclusion of lens-related data to the EXIF. The Distagon T* 2,8/25 ZF.2 lens is now available at a retail price of €755.46.

Olympus Japan has released a statement explaining that a specific batch of its Stylus Tough 6010 rugged compacts have been shipped infected with a PC virus. Affected cameras can be identified by their serial numbers and users of these cameras need to follow instructions from the website for virus removal. The company stresses that 'this is only affecting a very small number of Japanese market-only cameras.'

Fujifilm, Samsung and Nikon have announced firmware updates for some of their compact cameras. Fujifilm has updated a number of cameras from its S series to version 1.04. The latest versions for all the superzooms fixes minor bugs. Samsung has updated the firmware for its TL500 premium compact, improving the camera's low chroma effect and overall stability. Nikon's firmware update for both its Coolpix S4000 and S3000 compacts fixes a minor battery-related issue.

Adobe has launched version 3 of its Photoshop Lightroom RAW processing and workflow tool. The result of feedback from professionals and an eight month public beta process, the latest version is based around a new RAW processing engine (same as Photoshop CS5) and comes with a host of new features. Key additions include native 64-bit support, profile based Lens Correction, tethered shooting for a number of Nikon and Canon DSLRs and importing and management of video files. Lightroom 3 is available now at US $299 for first time buyers and $99 as an upgrade to existing users.

Just posted! Our preview samples gallery from the Samsung TL500/EX1. We just received a production sample of the TL500 and have put together a quick gallery of sample shots to give you an initial impression of the image quality from this new premium enthusiast compact. The gallery includes a mix of shots using various aperture settings, ISOs and under different lighting conditions.

Just posted: Our review of the all-new mirrorless system cameras from Sony, the NEX-5 and NEX-3. Offering an appealing combination of a large APS-C sensor in an incredibly compact body, the NEX cameras go head to head with Oympus and Panasonic's Micro Four Thirds system. Do they have enough to take pole position in the 'micro system camera' race? Check out our review - including the first outing of our new interactive studio comparison tool - after the link.

Adobe has released a GPS data panel for its Creative Suite 5 software applications including Photoshop CS5. Once downloaded, the panel sits under File Info dialog and provides basic location information such as latitude, longitude, and altitude of both the camera and subject. The installation files for the GPS panel are available for immediate download for both Mac and Windows platforms from Adobe's website.

Exclusive! Our samples gallery from a production version of Sony's E-mount 16mm F2.8 lens. Sony has made changes to the manufacturing process which it says will improve the quality and consistency of the lens. The company has allowed us to shoot with one of the first examples so we've gone out and shot a range of subjects at a range of apertures (including F2.8). As a prelude to our forthcoming review of the Sony NEX cameras and lenses, here is our review sample gallery for the 16mm F2.8 pancake lens.

Mamiya has announced the RZ33 digital medium format camera featuring a 33MP, 48 x 36mm CCD sensor. It is the first RZ series camera to feature fully integrated electronics for direct communication with the digital back. Other features include true 16 bit/channel RAW capture, built-in rotating sensor, ISO range of 50-800 and image capture rate of 1.1 seconds per frame. The RZ33 is compatible with all RZ system lenses and most accessories. It will be available from July 2010 at a retail price of $17,990.

Casio Europe has released the Exilim EX-H5 compact superzoom with 10x (24-240mm equiv.) zoom lens. The 12.1MP image stabilized camera comes with a 2.7 inch LCD, faster Exilim Engine 5.0 processor and features 720p HD video recording. The camera will be available from the end of this month at a suggested retail price of £149.99. The company has also announced the Exilim EX-FH25 superzoom, previously available in other markets, is now available in the Europe at an SRP of £399.99.

PocketWizard has announced its AC3 Zone Controller multiple light controller will be available from the end of this month. Priced at US $69.95 and £59.99 GBP, it offers independent control over three lighting zones. Each zone can be adjusted to ±3EV in 1/3EV steps and switched to manual, TTL auto or turned off. AC3 Zone Controller is only available for Canon cameras, with Nikon versions to be made available soon.

Adobe has released Camera Raw 6.1, its raw processing software plug-in for Photoshop CS5. The final version of the update, originally posted as a 'release candidate' on the Adobe Labs site, is available for immediate download. The latest version is based around a revised processing engine and includes the Lens Correction feature that applies profile-based corrections. It also extends RAW support to the same cameras that were supported in v5.7, with additional support for the Olympus E-600.

Trade body PMA has announced its show will move to September in 2011 and be open to the public for the first time. Traditionally held in the first quarter of the year, the show is being moved to fit with product release and buying periods, following a quiet 2010 show. Its spring scheduling brought it into competition with the CES electronics show (which Canon chose to attend in preference in 2010), which will be avoided with its September 8-10 2011 slot. A September date in 2012 would risk overlapping with the larger Photokina show in Europe, however. For the first time, the show will officially open its doors to members of the public, with enthusiasts able to attend on Saturday September 10th.

Swiss color management and measurement specialist X-Rite has announced the ColorChecker Passport DNG Profile Manager. The DNG Profile Manager provides a single list of all installed DNG profiles and can filter, rename and export from this list to help manage them all. The software is available to download free of charge for registered users of ColorChecker Passport, X-Rite's portable profiling product.

Just posted: Our exclusive preview of the Panasonic Lumix G 8mm F3.5 Fisheye. We've had the chance to play around with the latest addition to the Micro Four Thirds lens range and have prepared a preview, detailing its warped wide-angle capabilities. We've also been able to prepare a small samples gallery, using a pre-production lens which we've been told is representative of final image quality.

Panasonic has announced the DMC-FX75 (FX70 in Europe), a 14 megapixel touch-screen compact camera with 5x zoom lens. The 24-120mm image stabilized, Leica-branded lens offers a maximum aperture of F2.2 at the wide-angle end but only F5.9 at the long end. It also features AVCHD Lite 720p video with the ability to split video clips in the camera. The camera is available in Black in Europe and both Black and Silver in the US.

Panasonic has announced an 8mm fisheye lens for the Micro Four Thirds system. Equivalent to 16mm on a full-frame camera, the Lumix G Fisheye 8mm F3.5 offers a diagonal angle of view of 180 degrees, and an ED glass element is designed to minimise chromatic aberration. Panasonic says the lens is the world's smallest and lightest of its type. It features a metal mount and (unlike the recently reviewed 7-14mm) can be used with gelatine filters. It will be available from July 2010, at a cost of around £729.99.

Just posted! Our lens review of Panasonic's ultra-wideangle zoom for Micro Four Thirds, the Lumix G Vario 7-14mm F4 ASPH. This lens takes advantage of the downsizing possibilities offered by the mirrorless format to deliver a huge angle of view in a body that's scarcely larger than a typical DSLR kit zoom. But this comes at a pretty steep price, so with the Olympus M Zuiko Digital 9-18mm F4-5.6 now available as a lower-cost alternative, we look to see what extra the 7-14mm has on offer to tempt the wideangle enthusiast.

Pentax and Nikon have released firmware updates for the Optio H90, I-10, W90, X90 and Coolpix S230 compact cameras. The updates to version 1.0.1 for all Pentax compacts offer additional settings while using Eye-Fi wireless memory cards. The firmware v1.1 for the Nikon S230 fixes a minor bug. The latest versions are available for immediate download from the Pentax and Nikon websites.

Just posted: our look behind the scenes of in-camera lens corrections. It's become increasingly common for manufacturers to design cameras that perform some degree of lens correction. So what are manufacturers playing at? Why are they releasing lenses with distortion, what effect does it have, and should dpreview review the distorted or the corrected output? We spoke to a series of leading camera and lens makers, as well as the creators of leading RAW converters to find out just what's going on.