Firmware Friday: Yi quietly upgrades M1 mirrorless camera; Fuji plans tethered shooting update for X-T2
posted Friday, November 4, 2016 at 7:34 PM EDT
Our Firmware Friday roundup this week is rather abbreviated, with only a couple of updates to speak of, and only one of those actually available to download. This time around, we have news to report from Shanghai, China-based XiaoYi Technology -- better known by its "Yi" brandname -- as well as from Fujifilm in Japan.
We'll start out this week with Yi Technology, since its update is already available for download.
Yi M1 Mirrorless Digital Camera
The new firmware version 1.0.17-int for the Yi M1 actually landed a little over a fortnight ago, but we've only just now spotted it as we were checking for any updates on our own review sample camera. It's available for download immediately, so you can get the benefit of any changes straight away. Unfortunately, you'll have to use your imagination to determine what those changes are, because the company hasn't provided any release notes or info on what changes this new release brings to the table.
You can download the Yi M1 version 1.0.17-int firmware update here.
Fujifilm X-T2
The other update we have to discuss this week isn't actually available yet, although it will be arriving in just a few days. The new Fuji X-T2 firmware version 1.10 release will add support for tethered shooting, and is expected to arrive on Tuesday, November 8th. You'll need more than just firmware, though: You'll also have to buy some software, unless you already own it for an X-T1 camera body.
Both the X-T1 and X-T2 are to be supported by a new Lightroom plug-in called Tether Shooting Plug-in PRO for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, currently slated for availability on MacOS from early November 2016, and on Windows from early December 2016. This new plug-in will provide for operation either from the camera body or the connected computer complete with a live view feed, and will let you adjust exposure, trip the shutter release or use bulb shutter, set an interval timer, use bracketing and backup / restore settings. (X-T1 owners will get all but bulb and settings functionality for their cameras.)
Alternatively, you can use the more limited Tether Shooting Plug-in for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, which lacks remote live view or control, only allowing you to trip the shutter release remotely. A third option, assuming you're not a Mac user and you're OK with working outside of Lightroom, is Fuji's standalone Tethered Shooting Software HS-V5 for Windows. This will allow most features of the PRO plugin for Lightroom, with the exception of live view, interval timer and bracketing on the X-T2. (Curiously, the live view and interval timer functions will remain available for X-T1 owners, though.)
As for the cost, the existing HS-V5 software lists for around US$140, and if you already own this you'll also be able to use the standard Tether Shooting Plug-in for Lightroom free of charge. Purchased separately, the standard version of the Lightroom plug-in will cost around $30 for either the Windows or Mac platforms, and you'll need to purchase both separately if you use both platforms. Pricing for the new Tether Shooting Plug-in PRO will be set at around US$80 when it launches later this year. More details on all of these software options can be found here.
(Camera parts image courtesy of Kelly Hofer / Flickr; used under a Creative Commons CC-BY-2.0 license. Image has been modified from the original.)