Nikon has released a flurry of firmware updates for two of its camera bodies and two of its lenses. According to the company, the updates solve a camera body-lens compatibility issue as well as bolstering aperture and zoom performance in the lenses.
Nikon says that firmware versions 5.33 for the Nikon Z9 and 3.12 for the Nikon Z8 fix a bug that “would cause the camera to stop responding with some lenses.”
Not so helpfully, the company hasn’t provided any more detail, so it’s unclear which lenses were affected and which previously affected lenses now function correctly when attached to these camera bodies.
Nikon Firmware Downloads
Firmware version 3.12 (Nikon Z8 camera body)
Firmware version 5.33 (Nikon Z9 camera body)
Firmware version 1.10 (Nikkor Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S lens)
Firmware version 1.10 (Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S II lens)
It’s a good idea to hold off downloading the latest firmware for a few weeks. This should give enough time for any new issues to arise in community chatter and for Nikon to address them. Keep an eye on Digital Camera World, and we'll let you know about any problems.
Firmware version 1.10 for the Nikkor Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S lens brings a minor but important change.
According to Nikon, when a setting other than “Non-linear” is selected for “Focus ring rotation range,” the lens now changes the focus distance according to the amount of focus ring rotation during manual focus, regardless of the speed at which it is rotated.
Before this latest update, turning the focus ring quickly would make the focus jump a long distance. Whereas, if the ring was turned slowly, the focus would move a small amount, even if turned the exact same distance.
Nikon says that the final firmware release, also called version 1.10, albeit for the Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S II lens, has “improved aperture operation reliability” and “reduced aperture operation noise,” with no further details shared.
So, aside from the outlined focusing update to the Nikkor Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S lens, it’s pretty vague stuff from Nikon. As always, I recommend waiting a few weeks before going ahead with any firmware update to give any issues a chance to arise and be solved by Nikon.
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