Firmware updates for the Z6 and Z7 cameras adding cfexpress card support

[Fons Baerken]

https://nikonrumors.com/2019/12/17/firmware-updated-version-2-20-for-the-nikon-z7-and-z6-cameras-released-with-cfexpress-support-and-raw-video-output.aspx/

https://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/index.html

[Dr Glyco]

There is a post on the z forum at dpreview claiming that the banding is now gone....

[Erik Lund]

By the post it certainly looks like there is no banding at all with the new firmware, Looking forward to more test of this

[Eddie Draaisma]

Nikon obviously has removed the "code" to prevent PDAF striping, code that resulted in PDAF banding. It might mean that we will now sporadically see PDAF striping, like on other Sony PDAF sensor-equipped cameras. Luckily PDAF striping is the lesser of the two evils (and can rather successfully be removed in post).

[Michael Erlewine]

Also enabled is Pro-Res raw support for video, to me a very important upgrade.

[Bent Hjarbo]

Nikon obviously has removed the "code" to prevent PDAF striping, code that resulted in PDAF banding. It might mean that we will now sporadically see PDAF striping, like on other Sony PDAF sensor-equipped cameras. Luckily PDAF striping is the lesser of the two evils (and can rather successfully be removed in post).

New input on thread indicates that the may not have gone 

[Ilkka Nissilä]

Also enabled is Pro-Res raw support for video, to me a very important upgrade.

This requires sending the camera in to Nikon and paying a fee.

[Eddie Draaisma]

New input on thread indicates that the may not have gone 

Yes noticed that. So for me no reason to upgrade...

[Mexecutioner]

I'd be very cautious if planning on using a CFExpress card. I would stick to XQD for a while until some reports are in. I'd hate to lose all of my images because the firmware was not quite ready. I am planning to keep using my existing XQD cards in my gear that supports them.

[Birna Rørslett]

I have had severe issues with striping on my full-spectrum converted Z6 when it was used for UV. Just updated to firmware 2.2 and apparently the striping issue is still present, yet much less obvious than earlier. Will do more testing to be able to conclude with certainty, but the upgrade seems to be an improvement that *really* matters for my field of work.

[Akira]

If the banding was caused by the anomaly of the Bayer pattern due to the PDAF pixels, the metadata embedded in NEF may be updated to address the issue.

[Akira]

The update fee for RAW video recording is 199.95 USD plus shipping:

https://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-products/mirrorless-cameras/firmware-updates/prores-raw.page

The update in Japan costs 33,000 JPY including 10% VAT plus shipping if necessary. 

[Erik Lund]

I have had severe issues with striping on my full-spectrum converted Z6 when it was used for UV. Just updated to firmware 2.2 and apparently the striping issue is still present, yet much less obvious than earlier. Will do more testing to be able to conclude with certainty, but the upgrade seems to be an improvement that *really* matters for my field of work.

That is indeed good news! Do keep us updated

[Birna Rørslett]

Well, complex issues like this take a lot of differential testing to disentangle, and my efforts are modest.

I did set up the full-spectrum Z6 with UV-Nikkor 1054mm f/4.5 lens, using the Baader U(2nd.gen.) UV passband filter.

The first test shot was done in April this year outdoors. Striping was quite evident at that time (100% crop for ISO 100 shot below). This camera had the original v.1 firmware. I updated it yesterday to v.2.2. Of course no flowers can be found outdoors in December here when snow covers the ground, thus a section of my book shelf had to serve as test target. Entire frame and 100% crop shown below.

As stated in my earlier post, there still is some striping phenomena in the output when one shoots UV. Visible-light only, or IR, seems to fare much better and apparently one would not likely encounter striping issues there (to be better tested). I tested various RAW conversion programs and Capture NX-D, Photo Ninja (latest version 1.38b), and Silkypix 8; all did exhibit faint traces of the striping, but not severely so. All of these programs did a good UV "white" balance. RawTherapee 5.7 can remove all signs of striping using its dedicated built-in filters, but cannot handle UV "white" balance properly. A classic "between a rock and a hard place" scenario.

image examples here are with Silkypix. Shot at 100ISO, using a Broncolor studio flash with uncoated Xenon tube as illumination source. First a 100% crop from v.1 firmware, then v.2.2.

[Eddie Draaisma]

One observation made about Z7 banding was that it can only be found in 14-bit mode shots, not in 12-bit mode shots. The same for Z6??