ChromaLuxe has just announced the availability of its new HD Metal Circle Photo Panels. These new circle panels add diversity to the company’s extensive line-up of vivid photo panels, which transform photographs into a focal point of any wall décor, ChromaLuxe claims. As with all ChromaLuxe HD metal photo panels, the new circle panels present an archival-quality, highly scratch-resistant surface that is waterproof and resistant to UV rays and other damaging elements that would easily destroy standard paper prints. Offered in 8”, 11”, 16” or 20” diameters, the HD Metal Circle Photo Panels are available through a range of participating professional photo labs in the United States, Australia and Europe, including the UK.

Nikon has issued an important announcement regarding the EN-EL15 battery used in the Nikon D7000, D800, D800E and Nikon 1 V1 cameras. “While Nikon takes great measures to assure high quality products, it has come to our attention that a certain number of EN-EL15 batteries manufactured by one of our suppliers did not meet Nikon’s internal quality standards,” the company said in a statement. “In extremely rare cases, this may cause the battery to overheat and the exterior casing to become deformed.” If you use one or more of these batteries, check the lot number (the alphanumeric character string located at the bottom of the name plate) - if the ninth character is an E or an F, then the battery needs to be replaced. To request a replacement battery, call or e-mail Nikon’s Customer Support Department.

Epson has won two awards from the Technical Image Press Association. The Epson products recognised by TIPA were the Epson EH-TW9000W, named as the ‘Best Photo Projector,’ and the Epson Stylus Photo 1500W, which won ‘Best Expert Photo Printer’ (pictured). The former is a Full HD 3D projector that offers easy-to-use features, while the latter is a wireless, A3+ printer that allows fast, easy printing from laptops, desktops and the latest generation of mobile devices such as iPhones and iPads via Epson’s iPrint app.

Think Tank Photo has announced that in May it will release its new Retrospective 7 shoulder camera bag in three colour options (black, slate blue and Pinestone canvas). Designed for standard DSLR systems, the Retrospective 7 shoulder bag comes with a rear pocket for a laptop or tablet PC, a cushioned/padded non-slip shoulder strap, a removable divider set for custom layouts, a number of pockets for storing a range of accessories, and a sealed rain cover. “Working pros to vacationers all will find the Retrospective 7 to be the most useful and functional bag for a day’s outing,” said Doug Murdoch, Think Tank Photo’s co-founder and lead designer.  “It combines the broad appeal of the Retrospective design with the perfect size for carrying camera gear and your laptop or iPad.”

Revolve has successfully raised funds for a new versatile, portable, and affordable camera dolly system on the crowd funding website Kickstarter. The Revolve Camera Dolly allows anyone with a video camera to achieve smooth, dynamic, cinematic video easily. The system can be used to create a wide variety of tracking shots and rotational dolly shots as well as dynamic time lapse and stop motion photography. It is compatible with virtually any camera, and is suitable for use on all surfaces and at any location. The Revolve dolly will go into production after the funding period ends on 6 May 2012.

Sharp has announced the upcoming release of a twenty-megapixel, 1/2.3-type CCD imager, developed for use in digital compact cameras. The Sharp RJ23G3BA0LT sensor features a pixel pitch of 1.20μm but offers the same sensitivity as current 16-megapixel CCDs of the same size, which have larger, 1.34μm pixels. The new imager also supports 720p/30fps HD video output. Sampling will commence at the end of this month, with mass production scheduled to start in August. Sharp plans to manufacture 200,000 RJ23G3BA0LT sensors per month.

Source: Sharp Japan

Manfrotto has launched Sympla, a video rig system for HDSLRs and the latest camcorders. According to the company, any compatible camera can be set up and adjusted on the rig in a matter of seconds, giving videographers the ability to shoot from almost any angle and react quickly to changing conditions. The Sympla range features a range of individual components for building custom rigs and accessories, with three main ready-to-go kits - a Flexible Matte Box system, a Long Lens Support system and a Shoulder Support system. The Manfrotto Sympla product line-up, available in May, has already won a Red Dot Design Award.

Two of Ilford’s latest products, GALERIE Prestige Smooth Pearl 310gsm and Smooth Gloss 310gsm, have been honoured with a TIPA 2012 award for Best Fine Art Inkjet Paper. The GALERIE Prestige Smooth Gloss 310gsm and Smooth Pearl 310gsm papers were launched in Europe in March 2012 and have been developed in direct response to the growing demand for heavier weight media from professional inkjet printmakers. Jane Dixon, Director of Global Marketing at ILFORD says “The TIPA Awards are the most prestigious photo awards in the industry, so we are delighted to receive the Best Fine Art Inkjet Paper award for our latest GALERIE offerings. We have a loyal customer base with Fine Art photographers all over the world and the new 310gsm papers have been developed with them in mind. We’re very pleased to offer them enhanced aesthetic gravitas that can be achieved through using heavier weight papers.”

Samsung has won four TIPA awards this year. The ‘Best General Compact Camera’ award went to the Samsung MultiView MV800, while the ‘Best Mobile Imaging Device’ title was awarded to the Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone. Samsung also won the Best Photo Monitor Award for the Samsung SyncMaster S24/27A850, with its “new Samsung LED PLS (Plane to Line Switching) technology” and “more accurate colour and a much wider viewing angle than competing monitors.” The company was recognised by a fourth honour with the Samsung OLED TV, which won the Best Photo TV Display Award.

Review: Read our in-depth review of the Samsung MV800 camera

This year, two Vanguard products have received accolades from the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA). The 2012 awards were voted on by the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) General Assembly last month in South Africa, where editors of close to 30 top photo magazines from around the world selected the best imaging products of the year. Vanguard’s BBH-200 professional ball-head (pictured) was named “Best Accessory 2012,” while the company’s The Heralder series camera messenger bags were voted “Best Photo Bag 2012” for their quick and easy access and large storage capacity.

Nikon has announced that three of its products have won accolades in the TIPA 2012 awards, and four products have been given the prestigious “red dot award: product design 2012”. The TIPA honours have been awarded to the Nikon D5100 (Best Entry-Level DSLR), the Nikon D800 (Best Expert DSLR), and the Nikon SB-910 (Best Professional System Flash). Meanwhile, the “red dot award: product design 2012” was given to the Nikon 1 system, the Coolpix AW100 rugged camera, the Coolpix P310 premium compact, and the PROSTAFF 5 laser rangefinder.

Sony has scooped up three TIPA awards. The Sony A65 has been named the Best Advanced DSLR of the year, the Best Expert CSC title has been awarded to the Sony NEX-7, while the new XQD memory cards have won the ‘Best Imaging Storage’ Media award. On the latter, the jury commented, “Sony’s XQD Memory Cards are made for the demanding needs of today’s pro still and DSLR videographers. Offering read/write speeds of up to 125 MB per second (currently, when used with the Nikon D4), the card can record approximately 100 raw images in continuous shooting mode.”

Review: Read our in-depth review of the Sony A65
Review: Read our in-depth review of the Sony NEX-7

Tiffen will be showcasing the new MPTV line of integrated and enhanced professional photography and motion picture optical filters at NAB 2012 at booth C8818. This product range delivers two distinct filter offerings. The first combines the innovative Tiffen IRND technology with the premium Tiffen Ultra Pol, giving shooters a single-filter solution providing maximum light control and “unparalleled” IR protection in challenging environments. The second new filter launch features the popular TIffen Pro-Mist, Black Pro-Mist, and Glimmerglass filters in a 1/16 grade size. Pricing remains the same as other grades. All Tiffen filters are backed by a ten-year warranty and are made in the USA.

X-Rite and its wholly owned subsidiary Pantone will showcase their most advanced solutions for the prepress, print, publishing and converting industries at the Drupa 2012 trade fair held from 3–16 May in Düsseldorf, Germany. Attendees who visit the X-Rite/Pantone stand D023, Hall 5 will experience hands-on demonstrations of the complete range of products, hear live presentations of case studies and obtain first-hand information on the new solutions.

Canon is developing a thirty-inch 4K resolution industrial video display, a prototype of which will be exhibited from 16-19 April at NAB 2012. While detailed specifications and pricing have yet to be finalised, Canon aims to commercialise the display before the end of 2012. In addition, Canon will also exhibit two 3rd-generation Digisuper HD field lenses and the HJ17ex6.2B portable HD lens, all of which are aimed at HDTV programme creators.

X-Rite’s i1Pro 2 spectrophotometer has scooped up a Red Dot Design award. Evaluated by an international panel of 30 judges, the i1Pro 2 was selected from among 4,515 other product design entries from around the world. “X-Rite is honoured to be selected for this coveted product design award for our thoughtfully redesigned i1Pro 2 spectrophotometer,” said Tobias Rausch, X-Rite Product Manager, i1 Solutions. “Recognised for its high quality design, the i1Pro 2 device helps deliver to colour professionals around the world the workflow tools they need that incorporate ever important emerging colour standards.” The i1Pro 2 device can be found in X-Rite’s new i1Basic Pro 2, i1Photo Pro 2, i1Publish Pro 2 and i1Publish products.

X-Rite has announced its new portfolio of i1 colour management solutions which now include a redesigned i1Pro 2 spectrophotometer. The i1Pro 2 spectrophotometer introduces an expanded feature set including enhanced optical brightener compensation, a new position detection sensor, better temperature stability, plus new diagnostics and self-correction features. The i1Pro 2 device can be purchased as part of the i1Basic Pro 2, i1Photo Pro 2 and i1Publish Pro 2 product kits.

Think Tank Photo’s new Strobe Gel Wallet stores flash gels in a neat and organised manner. Launching in May, the Strobe Gel Wallet offers five pockets to store and protect your Rosco Strobist colour filters and includes a tether with clips for secure attachment to bags, backpacks or belts. The clear pockets make filter identification easy. Folding flat when not in use, the Strobe Gel Wallet measures 11.5cm x 6.5cm x 1.5cm, weighs 40 grams, and carries an MSRP of $15.75.

Think Tank Photo’s SD Pixel Pocket Rocket keeps your Secure Digital memory cards safely stored in one place. Available from May, the SD Pixel Pocket Rocket fits up to nine SD/SDHC/SDXC cards in clear pockets that make identification easy. Folding flat when not in use, it can be tethered to bags, clothing, briefcases, and backpacks. The Think Tank Photo SD Pocket Rocket carries a recommended retail price of $15.75.

This May, Think Tank Photo will release two DSLR battery holders. The DSLR Battery Holder 2 ($9.50) and the DSLR Battery Holder 4 ($16.50) secure two or four standard-size camera batteries. These slim, collapsible, compact battery holders compress flat and are easily stored when not in use.