The new LED8 Macro Ring Light from Marumi has been specifically designed for macro photography. It’s ideal for use with compact cameras, with eight LEDs that position in front of the lens using a flexible cord, providing shadow-free illumination. Paul Kench, Kenro’s Managing Director says “At such a low price point, this is a cost-effective and flexible way to light your close-up images, allowing you to take full advantage of the closest focus setting on your camera.” The LED8 Macro Ring Light is available now in the UK for £65.80.

Gitzo have launched a new series of backpacks, bags and tripod straps. The new Gitzo range includes a Gitzo Traveler Back Pack and Traveler Bag designed specifically to carry your Traveler tripod, the Gitzo Tripod Strap, and two Gitzo Holster models is dedicated to carrying your Gitzo tripod and monopods. Prices start at £19.95 for the Gitzo GC5330 monopod holster, up to £64.95 for the Gitzo GC2240T traveler back pack.

The Benro B Series Ball Head has been redesigned to incorporate real damper adjustment and greater locking force whilst improving the smoothness of operation. The B-Series ball heads also incorporate a new design of adjustment knobs that feature graduated torque with a visible reference for simple re-setting. There is also a new, improved universal quick release clamp that is now capable of taking all Arca-Swiss style plates as well as the older Benro style quick release plates. To compliment the new range of heads, Benro have also announced a series of Camera/Lens plates. The Benro B-Series Ball Heads and PU-Series quick release plates are available in the UK from The Wildlife Studio. Prices start from £13.99 for the plates, while the ball heads start at £45.

The DataTraveler Mini Slim is a new small and stylish USB Flash drive. Available in black, blue or pink with gray bottom casings, the DataTraveler Mini Slim is one of the smallest USB drives available on the market and can store up to 4GB of content. Kingston’s new DataTraveler Mini Slim USB drives are available in 2GB and 4GB capacities with a suggested retail price of $11.00 and $19.00 respectively.

The Gitzo Series 5 Traveler is the World’s first monopod dedicated to sport photographers. It provides solid support for long lenses yet is ultra compact and easy to carry, extending from 41cm folded-up to 153.5cm when fully extended. The Gitzo Series 5 Traveler has a maximum load capacity of 25Kg yet weighs only 780g. The Gitzo Series 5 Traveler monopod is available now for £229.95, or £249.95 for the Olympic version featuring the “888” logo.

Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Ultra Smooth and Photo Rag Baryta are two new fine-art inkjet papers. Photo Rag Ultra Smooth features an incredibly smooth surface with a premium, silk-finish coating. Photo Rag Baryta has a glossy, finely structured coating which contains barium sulfate that imparts a uniquely stunning quality to any image. Both new products are archival-quality, acid-free papers ideal for producing beautiful, museum-quality prints in either black & white or color.

The Sigma HC-11 is a new dedicated hard case for the Sigma DP1 compact camera. Th HC11 hard case is specifically designed to protect the DP1 from damage, and is made from genuine leather with accentuated red lining and stitching. The HC-11 conforms to the shape of the DP1 body, it provides good handling and does not hinder the operation of the camera when fitted. It is also possible to remove the case whilst the camera strap is still attached. Price and availability of the HC-11 Hard Case to be announced.

Extend your Nikon DSLR shutter control up to 300ft with the Twin-1 R4 remote kit from Seculine. The new Twin-1 R4 wireless remote control can trigger your shutter from up to 300ft (100m) away from the camera. It can also operate a delayed shutter release and fire your camera in Bulb mode. The Twin-1 R4 for Nikon is compatible with Nikon cameras with a built in Electronic shutter release port and costs £39.99 in the UK.

The Fantasea Line FSD-770 is a new underwater housing for the Canon PowerShot SD770 IS / IXUS 85 IS and SD1100 / IXUS 80 digital cameras. Depth rated to 60 meters / 200 feet, the FSD770 provides access to all camera functions, and has a double O-ring seal on all controls, anti-glare hood over LCD screen, removable flash diffuser and a 46mm threaded lens port. As with all other Fantasea Camera Housings, in the event of accidental water leakage, the camera inside is insured. The Fantasea Line FSD-770 will be available in September.

29% of UK households will contain a digital photo frame by 2011, according to a recent survey by Futuresource Consulting. “The Digital Photo Frame is a popular gift item and this is helping to fuel sales,” says Simon Bryant, Principal Consultant, Futuresource. “In 2007, the Western European DPF market exploded, reaching 3.8 million units. That’s up from just 0.6 million the year before, with Western Europe representing approximately 30% of global volumes.” The study was carried out online and targeted nearly 3,500 respondentsin France, Germany, Russia and the UK.

Kata has added 7 new holsters and pouches to its DPS range of camera bags. The new Kata DH-421 is designed to fit most compact camera sizes, whilst the Kata DH-423 and Kata DH-425 provide protection for small to medium DSLRs. There are also four new point and shoot pouches (the Kata DF-404, DF-406, DF-408 and DHP 485. Prices range from £9.95 for the Kata DF-404, to £29.95 for the Kata DH-425.

Eye-Fi have added two new online sites where users can upload their photos - Adobe Photoshop Express and Nikon’s myPicturetown. In addition, you can also now purchase Eye-Fi Cards from any Circuit City store in the USA. “The integration of Adobe Photoshop Express and my Picturetown adds two rich online photo options – from two of the best brands in digital photography – to the Eye-Fi Service.  And, the addition of Circuit City stores is a major step in the expansion of this new category being created by Eye-Fi.” said Jef Holove, CEO of Eye-Fi.  The Eye-Fi family of products range in price from $79-$129.

The new Panasonic 12GB and 6GB SDHC memory cards are ideal for video recording with High Definition camcorders. The RP-SDM06G (6GB) and RP-SDM12G (12GB) SDHC Memory Cards are highly reliable products that offer superb performance with AVCHD recording. Panasonic SDHC Memory Cards are designed to be resistant to bending and twisting, protecting important data stored on the card, and can function in temperatures ranging from -25C - +85C. In addition the 12GB and 6GB SDHC cards preserve data even when power is turned off during access.

A new range of ball heads for series 1,2 and 3 Gitzo tripods has just been launched. The new Gitzo ball heads use a completely new concept and design, including a ‘Bubble Sphere’, a hollow sphere with an ultra thin wall that uses exclusive cutting-edge technology to reduce weight. In addition, the new heads feature a complete and unique levelling system and an exceptional maximum load capacity. Prices start at £129.99 for the Series 1 - GH1780, up to £269.95 for the Series 3 GH3780QR.

The new Gitzo Systematic Head is a low profile tripod head aimed at wildlife, landscape, sport and fast action photographers. The Gitzo Systematic head features a hydraulic locking system, which allows faster control, great locking speed and exceptional smoothness. It can support payloads up to 25Kg and is provided with a bag hook as well as an attachment for standard tripods. The new Gitzo Systematic heads are available now in two versions, the GH5380S for £239.95, and the GH5380SQR for £289.95.

Kingston has increased the capacity of its microSDHC memory card line-up to 8GB. Kingston 8GB microSDHC cards can store more than 1,500 digital songs, more than 4,000 images from a 5MP cameraphone, or up to eight hours of video. “Our 8GB microSDHC cards are so roomy that mobile users can easily move entire digital libraries from a PC to their mobile phones — and beyond.” said Wendy Lecot, Flash card business manager, Kingston. The new Kingston microSDHC 8GB card has a suggested price of $58.

Dust-Aid Platinum, Dust-Wand and Dust-Cloth MF are three new sensor-cleaning products from Dust-Aid. Dust-Aid Platinum is a dry sensor cleaning solution that allows for safe cleaning of DSLR sensor filters using specially fabricated platinum extruded silicone to remove dust particles. The Dust-Wand kit is a wet cleaning option with multiple wands, clips and Ultra Clean sensor cleaning liquid. Dust-Cloth MF introduces an advancement in sensor cleaning wipes with micro fiber cloths.

The new HTS 1.5 adapter adds tilt, shift and rotation to the Hasselblad HCD28mm, HC35mm, HC50mm and HC80mm lenses. “Thanks to its extreme portability, the HTS 1.5 will not only bring creative image control to demanding applications such as architecture and landscape photography, but opens the doors to a wide range of exciting new creative application areas.” commented Christian Poulsen, Hasselblad Chief Executive Officer. The Hasselblad HTS 1.5 adapter is priced at $5,395 excluding tax and will be available from Q1, 2009.

Sony has released an 8GB version of its Memory Stick Micro (M2) card. Upgrading a Sony Ericsson mobile with the new 8GB M2 card will allow you to store over 5,000 fine quality 5 megapixel photos. In addition, the new, ultra-compact M2 USB adaptor included with 2GB, 4GB and 8GB Memory Stick Micro cards allows easy communication with a PC.

Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl inkjet paper is now available in 60 inch rolls. Smooth Pearl is the most popular surface in the Galerie range. “Artists, graphic designers and other imaging professionals are now able to use ILFORD GALERIE Smooth Pearl rolls to create storyboards or life size images, without relying on a studio or laboratory to do so. With the new 60” rolls, these artists are finally able to control their large-format creative process every step of the way,” commented Tom Poudrier, Director of Marketing, Oji ILFORD USA.