Three New Products and Services From Sigma, Panasonic and Adobe Make Your Photo Life Easier

Manufacturers from Sigma, Panasonic and Adobe were quite busy overnight, announcing new services, gear and software updates as if it were Christmas in August!

Tech writer Theano Nikitas introduced each new product on our sister site PDNonline, and we’re lucky enough to give you the digest here.

First up is Sigma’s Lens Mount Conversion Service for its Global Vision lenses.

A Sigma Lens

As the name suggests, beginning on September 2, Sigma will “change out the current mount for a mount of your choice, as long as Sigma makes that particular lens for the mount requested.” As Nikitas writes: “When you consider how much photographers invest in lenses, Sigma’s pricing seems reasonable enough. Conversions will cost between $80 and $250, depending on the focal length, plus shipping. Sigma estimates the conversion will take about 4 weeks…”
Read the full release.

Next up is Panasonic’s retro-looking, magnesium-alloy bodied DMC-GX7 Camera and f/1.2 Micro Four Thirds Fixed Lens:

As Nikitas writes “Panasonic promises [the camera] will deliver better image quality, increased saturation (by 10 percent) and 10 percent higher sensitivity. The sensor offers an improved S/N ratio of 6dB and, with multi-process noise reduction, the new camera may well be able to take advantage of its higher ISO range, which maxes out at 25,600 and can be extended down to a minimum ISO of 125.”  The GX7 will be ready to ship in September with the body running for about $1,000; and a bundle with the updated 14-42mm lens for $1,100.
Read PDN’s Review

And as for the fast f/1.2 Micro Four Thirds Fixed lens, we don’t know much from Panasonic’s announcement, but here’s a sneak peek, with more here.

Panasonic’s f/1.2 Micro Four Thirds Fixed Lens

Finally, Adobe has announcement of its own: Release candidates of Lightroom 5.2 and Adobe Camera Raw 8.2

Nikitas writes: “Lightroom 5, Photoshop CS6 and Photoshop Creative Cloud users gain support for additional cameras including the Canon EOS 70D, Fujifilm X-M1, Sony DSC-RX1R and Sony DSC RX100 II, additional lens profiles and bug fixes. A new DNG Converter release candidate is also available.” A full list of features and enhancements, as well as download links, is available on labs.adobe.com.
Read more.