Firmware Friday: Nikon D4S gets tweaks aplenty

posted Friday, April 24, 2015 at 5:02 PM EDT

It's Firmware Friday time once more, and this week we're keeping things simple with just one update for you -- the Nikon D4S DSLR has just received firmware version C:1.20.

Regular readers may remember that we recently told you of a forthcoming update for several Nikon DSLRs, including the D4S. That firmware, says the company, will add the ability to control an attached HDMI recorder from the camera body, starting and stopping its recording at the same time as the record button is pressed.

Interestingly, though, Nikon D4S firmware C:1.20 is not that update. Instead, it seems that Nikon has been working on its firmware releases for the D4S in parallel, and so what we get this time is a whole raft of feature tweaks and bug fixes.

Courtesy of Nikon, we have the following lengthy list of changes in the new firmware release:

Commander mode can now be selected for Custom Setting e3 (Optional flash) when an optional SB-500 flash unit is attached.
The Auto and Flash white-balance options can now be used with the LED light on the optional SB-500 flash unit.
Auto white balance is now more consistent.
There is no longer a limit on the number of shots that can be taken in a single burst at shutter speeds of 4 s or slower when a continuous-release mode is selected in exposure mode S or M. *
There is no longer a limit on how long the shutter can remain open when “Time” is selected for shutter speed. *
We have changed how focus points are displayed in the viewfinder if the camera is rotated between “wide” (landscape) and “tall” (portrait) orientations with Focus point and AF-area mode selected for Custom Setting a10 (Store by orientation) and different focus points chosen in each orientation. We have also changed how focus points are displayed in the viewfinder if a lens focus function button is pressed with AF-area mode selected for Custom Setting f19 (Lens focus function buttons).
Some help text has been changed.
The following issues have been resolved:
- If the user focused using the AF-ON button before shooting in continuous-release mode, the frame rate would drop under the following conditions: AF-S selected for focus mode, Single-point AF selected for AF-area mode, Focus selected for Custom Setting a2 (AF-S priority selection), and AF-ON only selected for Custom Setting a4 (AF activation).
- When an AF-S NIKKOR 800mm f/5.6E lens was attached, “Err” would be displayed in the top control panel and pictures could not be taken under some exposure conditions.
- Images would sometimes fail to display correctly during image review if playback zoom was used while the memory-card access lamp was lit.
- Images would not clear from the display if an optional WR-1 wireless remote controller was used with On selected for Image review in the playback menu.
- The camera photo info display would not show the correct range for pictures taken with an optional flash unit in distance-priority manual flash mode (GN).
- When pictures taken using a PC-E lens were viewed in Capture NX-D and other Nikon software, the Metadata would list the lens as type E rather than type D.
- The photo information display for movies, movie stills, and photos taken with the Silent shutter-release option would sometimes list incorrect values for shutter speed, aperture, and ISO sensitivity.
- If the camera was connected via HDMI to 4K a compatible TV, neither the camera nor the television would display menus correctly.
- Volume sometimes could not be adjusted if indicators were hidden during movie playback.
- If both XQD and CompactFlash cards were inserted in the camera when it was connected to a computer, the computer would not recognize the XQD card.