Ridata have announced the availability of its ultra-fast 266X series of Compact Flash memory cards. The Ridata 266X memory card features dual channels of data throughput to achieve the high-speed read of 266X (approximately 40MB/per sec). “We are pleased to offer the ideal combination of ultimate performance, cutting-edge technology and strong consumer value for photographers or mobile device users.” commented Harvey Liu, president of Advanced Media Inc. The Ridata 266X Compact Flash cards will be available in early December in North America.

The Hama PhotoPlayer 1080i allows you to easily view photos on a Full HD television. It retrieves data using an integrated 35-in-1 card reader or through the USB port and connects to an LCD, plasma device or a projector through the component output. The Hama PhotoPlayer 1080i also boasts slide show function, rotation mode, zoom mode, and background music. Price and availability of the Hama PhotoPlayer 1080i to be confirmed.

Lastolite have announced two new Ezybox Hotshoe portable softbox kits. The kits are available in two sizes featuring the original 38cm x 38cm Ezybox or the latest 60cm x 60cm version. Both kits include a 4 section stand, tilthead bracket, extending handle, padded shoulder bag and circular carry case. Pricing is £165.99 for the Ezybox Hotshoe Kit 38cm x 38cm, and £185.99 for the 60cm x 60cm version.

The Metz 48 AF-1 flashgun is the world’s second USB TTL Flashgun, which allows firmware updating via the internet. Following on from its big brother, the 58 AF-1, the Metz 48 AF-1 has a guide number of 48 and can be used with Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, Samsung and Sony DSLRs. The 48 AF-1 is supported by a full swivel reflector system, including an extractable reflector card and a diffuser.

The new HP Photo Book is a fun, easy and quick way to turn digital photos into a gift or memento. HP Photo Books come in two sizes – 13x18cm or A4 – and can hold up to 25 pages or 100 photos. HP Photo Books cost £9.99 for the 13x18cm size and £14.99 for A4 size and are available now.

The Lastolite All in One Umbrella Kit can be used as a silver or white bounce, a silver and white bounce or shoot through. The kit is available in two sizes featuring either an 80cm (34”) or 100cm (40”) Lastolite All in One Umbrella for £95.99 and £105.99 respectively. This is accompanied with a 4 section stand, hotshoe flash tilthead and a padded shoulder bag for quick and simple transportation.

The Saitek Photo Mouse is the first customisable mouse that allows you to display your favourite photos. The ideal way to personalise a mouse, simply print out the desired photograph, cut it to size using the template provided, and slide it under the transparent cover. The photo will be illuminated with the integral white spotlight when the computer is turned on. “Saitek’s Photo Mouse is a great opportunity for computer users to add some fun to their surroundings,” says Jignisha Patel, Saitek Marketing Executive. “The Photo Mouse makes an ideal gift for any family member, colleague or friend, for any occasion.” Saitek’s Photo Mouse is available now for £12.99.

Think Tank Photo are giving away a free AI Low Divider Set worth $49 with all purchases of the Airport International roller bag. With the AI Low Divider Set, your laptop case (such as our Artificial Intelligence 15), Cable Management 50 case, or other vulnerable equipment is recessed within the safe confines of the roller. The Airport International is a rolling carry-on backpack designed specifically for the overhead lockers of international carriers and smaller regional aircraft. It can hold 300mm f/2.8, 400mm f/2.8, or 500mm f/4 lenses with hoods, multiple DSLR bodies, and other photography accessories.

DPNow have tested the latest UDMA high-speed compact flash memory cards to find out if you really need to use them with your DSLR camera.
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“Both the Sony Alpha A700 and Olympus E-3 we tested are UDMA-compatible, but it was the Canon EOS-40D that impressed the most, despite not being UDMA compatible. Instead, the Canon relies on a more efficient onboard JPEG compression and buffer management system. The 40D does eventually choke during a lengthy continuous JPEG shooting burst, and the shooting rate drops dramatically, but it’s capable of many more more high speed shots before this happens. Only when shooting for long stretches in RAW mode, over 15-16 continuous shots, do the UDMA DSLRs show better performance.”

Website: DPNow - Ultra high-speed Compact Flash - do you need it?

Ilford Office and Ilford Create are new products in Ilford’s Inkjet Photo Paper Range aimed at the consumer retail market. The Ilford Create range includes 100% Rag Fine Art Matt Paper and a selection of pre-creased greetings cards with printable envelopes. “This range means we can provide the photo enthusiast with a complete product line for a variety of creative applications. The combination of our quality photo media with the consumer’s artistic skills is the recipe for stunning results!” said Andrew Stewart, Sales and Marketing Director, Ilford. Ilford Office and Create are compatible with all good quality, including borderless, inkjet printers, and are now available in retail outlets across the UK.

The PIXO C2 universal recharger replaces the battery chargers from a wide range of digital devices (but not quite everything). The PIXO C2 supports all battery packs from digital cameras and camcorders, standard NiMH / NiCd batteries, mobile phones, PDAs, MP3 Players, and car navigation systems. For worldwide operation the compact charger is shipped with an energy saving switch mode power supply with a input voltage from 100-240 volts. For mobile use it comes with a 12 volt car cigarette lighter plug. The suggested retail price is 49.90 Euros.

Sony’s Memory Stick Micro (M2) card format now offers up to 4GB of capacity. Users can now store up to 3700 additional digital photos with the latest K850 Cyber-shot phone, complete with 5 megapixel camera. All Memory Stick Micro cards now include a handy M2 USB adaptor. The new M2 range with M2 USB adaptor as well as the 4GB capacity version of Sony’s Memory Stick Micro (M2) card will be available from November 2007.

Photo-i have reviewed the Spyder3 from Datacolor, a new monitor calibration device aimed at photographers needing the most accurate colour for digital editing.

“I have been using the Spyder 3 for about a month and it has delivered very high quality results, the colours on my screen are vibrant yet faithful to the originals. I like the speed increase in both creating a profile and re-calibrating, this should encourage users to check their system more often.”

Website: Photo-i - Spyder3 Review

Inkrite NG from Medea International is a new “Green” inkjet cartridge that does not compromise on performance or value. Inkrite NG’s compatible range for Epson are truly ecologically friendly, they use recyclable materials and allow consumers to reuse half the cartridge over-and-over – replacing only internal sealed ink tanks. Based on the revolutionary pigment ink, EverBrite, Inkrite NG cartridges offer true “fade resistance” both in terms of Ozone and UV (up to 110 years without noticeable fade). Inkrite NG compatible range for Epson and Canon are available now, with the remanufactured range for HP and Lexmark to follow shortly.

The Ilford Inkjet Photo Paper Range has been designed to encourage people to try out their artistic skills and produce stunning images at an affordable price. Available in a selection of sizes from 4x6 snapshot paper to share with your family and friends to A3+ for framing larger, special images, the collection is instant dry and compatible with all good quality inkjet, including borderless, printers. The ILFORD Inkjet Photo Paper Range is distributed in the UK through JP Distribution.

The JetFlash T3 from Transcend is an ultra-tiny USB flash drive, measuring just 30.2mm x 12.3mm x 2.4mm and weighing 2 grams. Unlike other miniature USB flash drives which are fragile and bend or break easily, the JetFlash T3 is designed to be extra-rugged. It can be used as a mobile phone dongle or a keychain accessory, and can be stored safely in a wallet without risk of compression damage. The Transcend JetFlash T3 comes in 1GB and 2GB versions, and is made with brand-name NAND Flash chips to assure the highest possible quality. The T3 costs €10.00 (1GB) and €17.50 (2GB).

Kingston’s DataTraveler Mini Fun and Mini Migo USB flash drives are now available in capacities up to 4GB. The DT Mini – Migo Edition allows users the freedom to safely work across multiple PCs. “It’s a powerful drive in a small form factor that allows one to take their desktop to go while having the robust storage capacity to handle numerous as well as large data files.” said Joe Teng, Flash memory product manager, Kingston. Prices range from $16 to $62.

CameraLabs have just reviewed two high speed memory card readers and two fast memory cards.

“The importance of speed should never be under-estimated with digital photography. Higher resolution photographs create larger file sizes and larger files require larger memory card capacities. At the same time - larger file sizes make it increasingly more difficult for cameras and computers to process and transfer these images with speed. Cameratown has just published an article/review titled “The Need for Speed,” where they take a look at the advantages of using faster memory cards and faster card readers to improve your overall digital photography experience. The review covers the SanDisk high-speed USB 2.0 reader, the new Lexar Professional UDMA USB 2.0 card reader, the new Lexar 300x Professional UDMA CompactFlash card, and the new Kingston 266x Ultimate CompactFlash card.”

Website: CameraTown- The Need for Speed - Gear Review

DPReview have tested the Eye-Fi Card, the world’s first wireless SD memory card for digital cameras.

“The Eye-Fi card is one of those products which is great fun out of the box but the returns begin to diminish the more you use it. It’s not particularly fast (no surprise really as it is WiFi but it’s quite a bit slower than we expected), it needs to be pre-configured for each access point and doesn’t support public access points, it uploads everything on the card (which could literally be a gigabyte of images) and there’s no option for delivering reduced size images to photo sharing sites (although to counter that you can uploaded without a computer which could be useful if your files aren’t too large).”

Website: DPReview - Eye-Fi Card Review

You can claim up to £50 (€75) off any digital picture frame when buying a Nikon COOLPIX camera over £100 (€150). There is no restriction on the make or model of digi-frame but to take advantage of the offer, customers must purchase the digi-frame and camera in the same store, in the same transaction.  The offer will run from 1st November - 31st December 2007. Claims will be accepted until 31st Jan 2008.