News roundup: New Angelbird CFexpress cards, and a new lens from Sigma

In this news roundup there's a new lens from Sigma, high capacity CFexpress cards from Angelbird, and new DJI Mavic 3 ND filters from Tiffen.

Angelbird AV PRO MK2 Released

Angelbird has announced a new 4TB AV Pro MK2 CFexpress 2.0 Type B Memory Card for 12K+ RAW Recording. Since there are more cameras coming to market shooting in 8K and in 8K RAW, there is a growing demand for higher capacity recording media. This card is especially designed for RAW photo, RAW video content creation and is designed to protect against overheating by operating at a reduced power draw.

This memory card claims to have a minimum sustained speed of 1300 MB/s throughout the entire capacity of the card and the max speed is 1550 MB/s. A minimum sustained write speed of 1300 MB/s far exceeds the current requirements of any camera that is recording to CFExpress Type B media. For example RED’s V-RAPTOR requires a sustained write speed of 850 MB/s when recording 8K RAW at 120p.

The Angelbird 4TB AV Pro CFexpress Mk2 Type-B Memory Card is now available to pre-order for $1,799.99 USD.

SIGMA fp L Firmware v.2.00 Released

The SIGMA fp L just released a major update with its firmware v2.00. This version offers a useful False Colour tool, control over the Focus Ring, and other improvements that are useful for any shooter out there.

Here are the new features explained:

• False Colour: When turned on, this function will display each area of the image with a different colour, depending on its exposure level. This new feature is extremely useful to ensure their exposure is correct in every single frame. You can find the False Colour tool as a custom button for faster access.
• Linked settings for stills and videos: With this new SIGMA fp L firmware, you can now link different camera settings that you have used in different shooting modes by choosing to enable or disable the “STILL/CINE Link Settings” option. When enabled, the camera will keep track of the following settings: Shooting Mode, Shutter Speed, Aperture, Exposure Compensation and ISO.
• The countdown timer in self-timer mode and exposure time for long exposures will now display on screen
• In STILL mode, the screen will now display focal length and shooting distance for compatible lenses
• “Clip Numbering” function in CINE mode
• Better Colour Shading Correction
• Better “Pre-AF” in STILL mode and “Constant AF” in CINE mode

Download this free firmware (v.2.00) for the SIGMA fp L from here.

Tiffen ND & PL Filters for the DJI Mavic 3

Tiffen has announced new ND/Polarizer filters for the DJI Mavic 3: a 3 Filter ND/PL Kit and a 6 Filter ND/PL Kit. The filters are made from optical glass with waterproof and scratch-proof multi-coating, which reduces reflection and maintains clarity and colour fidelity. The filter rings are made from aluminium, they have a rectangular shape, and the kit includes a metal case to protect and carry them.

Key features:

• NDs reduce light to decrease the chance of overexposure
• Polarizers increase contrast while eliminating reflection and glare
• Compact, lightweight and robust
• Waterproof & anti-scratch multi-coating
• 4K high-definition optical glass

The new update for Adobe Premiere Pro Version 22.2

Adobe has announced new features and updates for Premiere Pro Version 22.2. These updates have been implemented to streamline video and audio editing workflows to improve its performance.

The following features are:

• 10x faster export for 10-bit 420 HEVC formats: This means encoding in Premiere Pro allows editors to work more easily with 10-bit and HDR formats on Windows systems with Intel or NVIDIA GPUs.

• New Linear Wipe and Block Dissolve GPU-accelerated effects: These new effects have faster performance with GPU processing for smoother playback during editing as well as faster rendering and exports.

• 3x faster Speech to Text: This is now claimed to be 3x faster on Intel Core i9 and Apple M1 systems and typically 2x faster on other current processors.

• Canon EOS R5 C camera support: Supports the Canon EOS R5 C video footage.

• Remix powered by Adobe Sensei: Previously only in the beta version, you can find the Remix now in Premiere Pro. Remix allows you to retime music clips to fit the duration of video content.

If you already have an active Premiere Pro subscription and want to try out these new features, you simply have to update the software within the Adobe Creative Cloud app.

SIGMA 20mm F2 DG DN | Contemporary Announced

SIGMA has announced the 20mm F2 DG DN | Contemporary. This is the 7th lens in the All-Metal I series of Premium Compact Primes. This ultra-wide-angle prime lens weighs in at just 370g and measures 72.4 mm in length. It comes with a metal, knurled, petal-type lens hood, and a 62mm threaded front filter. It is available in L-Mount and Sony E-mount. With an F2 aperture, it is a great choice for astrophotography, along with landscapes, cityscapes, street photography, low-light interiors, and other nighttime visuals.

What makes this lens interesting is the optical construction that includes three high-precision glass-moulded aspherical lens elements, one SLD element, and one FLD element to suppress a range of optical aberrations. To minimise any flares and ghosting with bright light sources, the lens comes with a Super Multi-Layer Coating and Nano Porous Coating (NPC).

Key features:

• Lens construction: 13 elements in 11 groups, with 1 FLD, 1 SLD and 3 aspherical lens elements
• Inner focus system
• Compatible with high-speed autofocus
• Stepping motor
• Compatible with Lens Aberration Correction
• Function available on supported cameras only. Available corrections may vary depending on the camera model.
• Supports DMF and AF+MF
• Nano Porous Coating
• Super Multi-Layer Coating
• Aperture ring
• Focus mode switch
• Petal-type lens hood (LH656-03)
• Magnetic metal lens cap (LCF62-01M)
• Mount with dust and splash resistant structure
• Support for switching between linear and nonlinear focus ring settings (for L-Mount only)
• Compatible with SIGMA USB DOCK UD-11 (sold separately / for L-Mount only)
• Designed to minimise flare and ghosting
• Every single lens undergoes SIGMA’s proprietary MTF measuring system
• 9-blade rounded diaphragm
• High-precision, durable brass bayonet mount
• “Made in Japan” craftsmanship

The SIGMA 20mm F2 DG DN | Contemporary lens will be available from February 25th for $699 USD.