Have Camera Will Travel Update: April 19, 2025

The new version of DXO PureRAW is worth a look; having some fun with flash gels; and there are more Nikon Z-mount lenses than I realized.

I have an explanation about these gel-lit photos further down this page. At left is the 17th-century Japanese Pagoda, a gift from Japan in the 1950s. Photograph by David Coleman.

// Gear & Stuff

• DXO has released PureRAW 5. It's a big upgrade. The most important to me: *much* faster processing, a newer and better processing engine that gives better results, and a new engine for processing RAW images shot with a Fujifilm X-series camera. [DXO]

• There are more Nikon Z-mount lenses than I realized. As I've been gradually replacing my Nikon F-mount lenses with Z-mount versions, I've been surprised at how many options there are already. So I decided to put together a master list, as much for my own reference as anything. [Have Camera Will Travel]

• Fujifilm has launched the new medium-format street shooter. The Fujifilm GFX100RF looks interesting, but I already have the X100VI, which has lower resolution but also some higher specs. Frankly, I'd be more interested in a new X-Pro4.

• Will camera gear prices go up? While I have no inside answer on that, I do often get advance notice of upcoming sales and rebates on camera gear. I've started to see some big promotions pulled recently from major brands. No reason provided, but it's hard not to connect the dots to uncertainty about tariffs.

  

// Other Stuff

• The Sony World Photography Awards is reliably one of the most impressive competitions out there. The 2025 round is now showing in London. If you’re in London, they’re showing at Somerset House. If you’re not, the link has several of the photos. [London Times]

• And while you’re at it, the 2024 round was also super impressive. [London Times]

• If you’re in the New York area, the Weegee: Society of the Spectacle exhibit at the International Center of Photography is due to wrap on May 5. I wrote about it a little back in March.

• I enjoyed the photos accompanying this NY Times story on the latest threat to honeybees. Photos by Times photojournalist Graham Dickie. [NY Times] / [Graham Dickie]

• The latest release of ChatGPT (o3) has some impressive image reasoning that's being used to deduce locations from visual clues in photos. Neat tech, but it gets creepier the more you think about it. [TechCrunch]

This is the 17th-century Japanese Stone Lantern, another gift from Japan in the 1950s. Photograph by David Coleman.

// About these photos

During DC’s cherry blossom season, I find myself down at the Tidal Basin a *lot.* Often very early in the morning, well before sunrise. And often on most mornings for several weeks.

In the previous newsletter, I included some of my more typical cherry blossom shots. But to keep it interesting, each year I try to set aside at least one morning for playtime with some colored gels. These aren’t my usual style—they’re purely for fun. But the challenge of mixing it up does keep things interesting. These are some of the results I’ve taken in recent years.

These were all taken with speedlights with colored gels. Up to six off-camera Yongnuo Speedlites, usually in three groups of two. They’re not Photoshopped—it’s just the effect of the colored gels and experimenting with the flash output levels. The richness of the colors is from backing off the flash power a bit. One of the things I like about the different colors is that it can create layers—the cherry blossoms are typically clouds of fluffy white that can all blend into itself.

And since I’m working solo and on a tight deadline, I use minimal equipment aside from the speedlights. Most of the time, the speedlights are on ground-level or very short light stands, and I’m not using modifiers.

Photograph by David Coleman.

// Firmware Updates

There has been a flurry of notable firmware updates this week, including:

• Nikon Z9 updated to 5.20

• Nikon Z50 II updated to 1.01

• Sony a7C updated to 2.01

• Sony a7 III updated to 4.02

• Sony ZV-E10 updated to 2.02

Photograph by David Coleman.

// In case you missed it