Weekly Wash: the 5 biggest camera news stories of the week (July 28)

As the Olympics start in Paris, it has been a relatively quiet week in the world of photography. Our top story of the week is a report from Japan, where digital cameras are no longer a must-have possession according to government data. Meanwhile Adobe has been adding news features to Photoshop – and this time the changes are not dominated by generative AI.

We also report on Nikon's latest bid to ensure its older cameras are kept up-to-date with new firmware, and a worrying rumor on Sony discontinuing one of its best-in-class cameras. And we also talk to the man who shot some amazing close-ups of solar flares from his back garden…

1: Only 48% of Japanese homes own a digital camera

Here's one of those statistics that for a second, might shock you, but then on reflection, isn't that surprising at all. Digital camera ownership in Japanese households has droppped below 50% for the first time.

The latest data from Japan's Cabinet Office paints a grim picture for the once-mighty digital camera industry. A mere 48.6% of households now own a standalone digital camera, down from a peak of 77% in 2012…

Read more: Japan just sounds death knell for digital camera sales... but is anyone listening?

2: Nikon releases new firmware for two old cameras

Nikon has just introduced is Z6 III full-frame mirrorless camera, but it hasn't forgotten about its older camera models as it releases new firmware for the Nikon Z6 and Nikon Z7 .

Now in the third and second model iterations of the Nikon mirrorless full-frame cameras (respectively), you may have thought Nikon's firmware updates would be reserved for the latest and best Nikon cameras . However, Nikon is great at future-proofing older cameras and continues to monitor bugs and release fixes.

Earlier this year Nikon even updated some of its discontinued DSLR cameras , a joy for existing users and proof that Nikon is a company that values its user's money.

Read more about the new Nikon firmware updates

3: Astrophotographer takes stunning shots of the sun from his backyard

Seasoned astrophotographer Mark Johnston, who is also a NASA solar system ambassador, has managed to capture these phenomenal images of our sun from his backyard in Scottsdale, Arizona.

“I started off projecting images from a camera attached to my telescope through a PC to a TV in public outreach events during Covid, to avoid having people line up to look in the telescope,” Johnston told Digital Camera World, “Then I started saving the images and it kind of snowballed from there.”

We are currently in the midst of a solar maximum, the first since 2014, the peak of solar activity during the sun’s approximately 11-year solar cycle, which is expected to last until January 2025.

See more of Mark Johnston's amazing solar images

4: Photoshop gets five new features

Adobe has announced a number of significant updates to Photoshop – and they aren't all Gen AI. It is introducing a range of new tools and enhancements designed to, as they put it, "streamline creative workflows and empower designers". The new additions include a Selection Brush Tool, and an Adjustment Brush Tool.

Read more Adobe unveils 5 big updates to Photoshop

5: Is Sony killing off the best-ever bridge camera?

There are rumors that Sony's last remaining bridge camera, the RX10 Mark IV , could be discontinued in a matter of weeks. What's more, the source of this rumor also claims that Sony has no plans to replace it with a new model.

On the one hand, the RX10 IV has been around for nearly seven years, whereas the preceding three versions of the RX10 were on sale for less than two years each. The Mark IV has, therefore, had a lengthy production run, and its retirement is long overdue, but it's surprising that Sony may not choose to replace it with a Mark V revision.

Read more: Best bridge camera ever made could be going out of production

Check out our guides to the best bridge cameras , the best Nikon cameras , as well as  the best cameras for wildlife photography .