For the photographer who has an interest in creative lighting, Lastolite have launched the black velvet collapsible 5’ x 6’ background. Versatile enough to fulfill a range of photographic needs, the specially designed crease-resistant velvet material eliminates the need for time-consuming steam ironing. The background is fitted with a top loop and side ties to allow a background stand to be fitted at every angle. This background is perfect for ‘low-key’ style photography, absorbing light to give a deep rich black background. The 5’ x 6’ black velvet background is available immediately at an SRP of £109.99.

The Fantasea FS-51 underwater housing is fully compatible with the Nikon Coolpix S50, S50c, S51 and S51c cameras. Depth rated to 60 meters/200 feet, this housing also features Fantasea’s latest design and improved construction. The FS-51 housing has a double O-ring seal on all controls, anti-glare hood over LCD screen, and built-in flash diffuser and a 41mm lens port. The suggested retail price of the Fantasea FS-51 housing is US $245.

Kingston has increased the read and write speeds of its CompactFlash Elite Pro memory cards. The Kingston CompactFlash Elite Pro cards now offer transfer rates of 25MB/second (read) and 20MB/second (write) and capacities up to 16GB. CompactFlash Elite Pro cards are backed by a lifetime warranty and 24/7 live technical support. Prices range from $62 for the 2GB card to $308 for the 16GB.

SanDisk’s 8GB microSDHC and M2 flash memory cards are now available worldwide. Mobile phone users can now store more than 2,000 digital songs, 5,000 high-resolution pictures, or up to 5 hours of high-quality MPEG 4 video. SanDisk’s 8GB microSDHC and M2 cards are now available with suggested retail prices of $139.99 and $149.99 respectively.

A new range of professional LCD screen protectors from manufacturer Giottos is now available. The AEGIS Professional range of screen protectors are made from rigid optical glass from Germany and feature 12 layers of Anti-Reflective coating. The Giottos screen protectors are available for digital cameras and DSLR’s including Canon, Nikon and Fujifilm. Prices range from £17.99 to £29.99 in the UK.

Canon have released a new firmware version, v1.01, for the Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E2/E2A. Updating the WFT-E2/E2A firmware (to Version 1.0.1) incorporates the following fixes.

The shutter cannot be released after the camera enters image transmission mode while network errors are occurring due to an unstable wireless or wired communication environment or connection.
With this fix, the images taken will be stored in the recording media (CF card or SD card) even if network errrors occur prior to or during image transmission.

Website: Canon WFT-E2/E2A v1.01 Firmware Update

The Lowepro Cirrus TLZ is a new line of top-loading camera bags designed for compact, pro-compact digital cameras and digital SLRs. The Cirrus line of top-loading shoulder bags is available in three models: Cirrus TLZ 5, 15, and 25. “The arrival of the Cirrus line of top-loading camera bags reflects Lowepro ongoing dedication to photographers by delivering products with the highest level of protection for the very latest digital cameras,” said Suzanne Caballero, marketing communications manager of Lowepro Worldwide. The Lowepro Cirrus TLZ range will be available in black and ultra marine blue.

The 8GB SanDisk Extreme III SDHC memory card can store more than 4,000 high-resolution pictures or up to 16 hours of MPEG 4 video. The card has a read/write speed of 20 megabytes per second and is packaged with the SanDisk MicroMate USB 2.0 Reader. Expected to ship within the next 30 days to U.S. retailers, the 8GB SanDisk Extreme III SDHC will costs $179.99.

The Olympus FL-50R and FL-36R are new remote control (RC) wireless flash units, which enable flash photography minus the complication of cords and inconvenient set-ups. The high-performance FL-50R boasts multiple adjustment modes including TTL Auto and manual, and high-speed synchronisation. The lightweight FL-36R boasts power in a compact design. The remote control wireless flash units FL-50R and FL-36R will become available in November 2007 and December 2007.

The new Digital Foci Pocket Album is a digital keychain photo viewer with a 1.5-inch color LCD screen. Pocket Album holds a selection of up to 74 pictures with its 8MB internal memory. Photos can be viewed by scrolling manually or through an automatic photo slideshow with adjustable slideshow intervals. Available in black, silver, and blue, Pocket Album costs $39.95 and is available now.

The Hama Panorama Kit aims to make achieving amazing panoramic results possible even without professional photography equipment. The Panorama Kit includes a panorama plate that has a 360° index wheel and integrated spirit level. The panoramic plate turns the camera frame by frame while the camera shoots one shot after the other. Software from Arcsoft then accurately merges the individual pictures on your computer. The Hama Panorama Kit costs 29.99 Eruos and is available now.

The PhotoVu PV2265w is a 22” wireless digital picture frame, sporting a a 16:10 wide format and 1680x1050 pixel display. Whether for digital signage use in a business, displaying art and photos in a gallery, or enjoying your digital photo collection within your home, this big digital picture frame with its huge 22” LCD display is one that you won’t miss” said Robert Jordan, Partner, PhotoVu. The PhotoVu PV2265w is available now for $1299.

The SyncPix digital picture frame from Smartparts includes image sorting, automatic download and resizing and an energy saving motion detector. SyncPix also plays video clips from most digital cameras without the need of specialized video modes and that can store up to 3,000 images. “At Smartparts, we want to people to share and display all their digital photos,” explained Stefan Guelpen, president and co-founder of Smartparts. “We’re proud of the new SyncPix line, by far the most elegant and easy-to-use digital picture frames available.” The 8-inch SyncPix digital picture frame retails for $179.99 and is available in an Espresso colored frame with beige matting.

The X-Rite i1Defined is the industry’s first out-of-the-box personalized colour training scheme. X-Rite i1Defined consists of two tiers: the flash-based X-Rite i1 Experience – a user-controlled interactive training CD that comes with all X-Rite i1Solutions; and the web-based X-Rite i1 Personal Color Trainer (PCT), one-on-one remote personalized training with a color management expert with select i1 solutions. “The all-new X-Rite i1Defined reflects the ways in which we continue to approach the marketplace and deliver our technology to photographers and greater creative communities to ensure a comfort with color management right from the very start. Our goal is to improve overall user satisfaction with the out-of-the box experience, and help them realize a tangible ROI almost immediately,” commented Iris Mangelschots, X-Rite Vice-President of Imaging & Media.

The Synchrotech CFExpressPro+ CompactFlash memory card adapter uses the 2.5Gbps PCIe portion of the ExpressCard standard to provide transfer speeds of 2.5Gbps rather than USB 2.0 speeds of 0.46Gbps. The CFExpressPro+ PCIe ExpressCard to CompactFlash adapter provides the fastest access to CompactFlash in both PIO and UDMA modes, taking full advantage of the new Lexar UDMA 300X and SanDisk Extreme Ducati Edition cards. CFExpressPro+ slides into a ExpressCard 34 or 54 slot on notebooks, MacBook Pros, and specially equipped desktop computers and supports Mac OS X 10.4 or later, Windows XP, and Windows Vista. The Synchrotech CFExpressPro+ costs $65.00 and is available now.

Website: Synchrotech CFExpressPro+ Memory Card Adapter

Fantasea have introduced an underwater housing, the FS-500, for the Nikon Coolpix S510 compact camera. Depth rated to 60 meters/200 feet, the FS-500 housing has a double O-ring seal on all controls, anti-glare hood over LCD screen, and built-in diffuser. The FS-500 housing protects the Coolpix S510 camera from water, sand, dust, and other damaging elements. The retail price of the FS-500 underwater housing for the Nikon Coolpix S510 is US $200.

Colour Confidence has expanded its checker chart range to replace the Kodak R-27 Card and Q13 and Q14 Greyscale Guides, which have now been officially discontinued. “We were disappointed to see three popular and useful products leave the market, and unwilling to let our customers down”, comments Geoffrey Clements, Managing Director of Colour Confidence. “The products we have sourced are scientifically prepared for the guaranteed neutrality professionals demand, and we are 100% confident in their quality and suitability”. The Colour Confidence Grey Balance Board (£11/€18) replaces the R-27 Grey Card. The Small Greyscale and Colour Separation Guide (£11/€18) and Large Greyscale and Colour Separation Guide (£15/€23) replace the Kodak Q13 and Q14 cards respectively.

PhotoVu’s newest digital picture frame software can display images from the 21.1 megapixel Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III DSLR camera. Other improvements include include 160gb hard drive support for standalone play and automatic rotation of images for those cameras that support orientation sensor and EXIF tagging of images. “Our latest digital photo frame software is a great example of how PhotoVu digital picture frames continue to meet the requirements of the most demanding high-end digital cameras on the market today and well into the future, ensuring our digital frame customers can view all of their digital photo collection for years to come.” said Mark Van Buskirk, Partner, PhotoVu.

Buy a Lumen8 F200 or F400 lighting kit and get a free flash head of the same power worth up to £299.99. The Lumen8 flash kit s a two head lighting kit stored in a wheeled case, supplied with a black/white PVC umbrella, an Ezybox and two wide based, air dampened stands. The Lastolite F200 kit retails at £599.99 Inc vat and the F400 kit retails at £719.99 Inc vat. This offer is available from 1st October 2007 to 31st March 2008.

The Sharpics Complete Tabletop Studio is the ideal solution for achieving professional product images. The Complete Tabletop Studio features the D-Flector Portable Photo Studio, a Compact Light Kit and the Tabletop Monopod. “We put together all the necessary components to create professional looking product photos in one Complete Tabletop Studio”, said Danica Mazon, co-founder of Sharpics. “Whether you’re a pro or novice photographer, you can benefit from its compact design”, said Danica.