JOBY has launched three new portable tripods, including the GorillaPod Micro 250, GorillaPod Micro 800 and GorillaPod Hybrid. The all-new GorillaPod Micro series comprises a pair of ultra-portable mini tripods that feature an aluminium and zinc alloy construction is engineered for dependable stability, quick deployment and precise ball positioning. The GorillaPod Micro 250 ($19.95) supports point-and-shoot cameras weighing up to 250g, while the GorillaPod Micro 800 ($29.95) has a load capacity of 800g. The GorillaPod Hybrid ($39.95, pictured) has been designed specifically for compact system cameras, and comes with flexible, wrappable legs and an integrated aluminium ball-head, supporting cameras weighing up to 1kg.

Amazon’s new Kindle Fire is an Android-powered tablet with a 7” multi-touch capable screen featuring IPS technology, anti-reflex coating, 16 million colours and a resolution of 169 pixels per inch (ppi). The Kindle Fire offers Wi-Fi connectivity and a USB 2.0 port, and supports JPEG, GIF, PNG and BMP image file formats (there’s no mention of native TIFF or raw support though). Also boasting a powerful dual-core processor and 8GB of internal memory, the device gives you access to the Amazon Appstore, but not the Android Market. There’s no on-board camera or 3G support either. We have no way of knowing whether the Amazon Kindle Fire will prove similarly popular with photographers as the Apple iPad - this will depend a lot on the number and quality of available photo-related apps -, but its budget-friendly price tag of $199 suggests that it may well be perceived as more accessible than its established competitor.

The Kindle Fire goes on sale on 15th November in the US. There’s currently no word on international availability or pricing.

Wacom has launched a new generation of its Bamboo tablets. The range of colourful interactive tablets includes the Bamboo Fun Pen & Touch (small/medium), the Bamboo Pen & Touch (small) and the Bamboo Pen (small). The lightweight Pen & Touch and Fun models now boast wireless capabilities, an improved design and a combination of multi-touch and pen-on-paper-feel technology. The Bamboo Pen & Touch is priced at £74.99, the Bamboo Fun Pen & Touch costs £89.99 (small) / £169.99 (medium), the Bamboo Pen retails for £49.99, while the new plug ‘n’ play wireless accessory kit can be had for £34.99.

Ambarella announced availability of the A7L system-on-chip (SoC), enabling the development of a new generation of HD video enabled digital still cameras. The A7L supports full 1080p HD H.264 video at 60 frames per second and can capture up to thirty (!) 16-megapixel still images per second. “The A7L offers a unique combination of outstanding still image quality and full 1080p60 HD video for the next generation of hybrid digital still cameras,” said Fermi Wang, Ambarella CEO. “We believe the chip’s incredibly low power consumption will not only extend battery life but inspire innovation in new camera form factors.”

The Redrock Micro LiveLens MFT is the first active lens mount to allow Canon EF lenses to be used with any Micro Four-Thirds camera body. With the LiveLens MFT’s control touchpad, the EF lens’ aperture can be opened and closed in increments as small as 1/3 stop. The LiveLens MFT works with virtually every EF lens available today, including variable aperture zoom lenses, prime lenses, consumer-level lenses, professional L-series lenses and most third party EF-compatible lenses. Introductory pricing for the LiveLens MFT is $442.50. The adapter can be purchased now at the website below.

The LaCie Little Big Disk Thunderbolt Series is now available for purchase. Featuring a pair of 2.5” drives in a Mac OS RAID configuration, the Little Big Disk delivers read speeds of more than 480MB/s in SSD and up to 190MB/s in HDD. Users can daisy chain several Little Big Disks to maximize the interface’s capabilities and reach transfer rates around 800MB/s in a portable solution.The LaCie Little Big Disk Thunderbolt Series HDD models are available through Apple retail stores worldwide and Apple.com. The SSD model will be shipping this October.

WD has just introduced its newest generation of My Passport portable hard drives specifically designed for use with Mac computers and Apple Time Machine. Boasting an all-metal design and offering up to 1TB capacity, the My Passport Studio also provides multiple connectivity options with two FireWire 800 ports and a USB 2.0 interface. The My Passport for Mac, also available in capacities up to 1TB, is designed for Mac users who need high capacity storage in an ultra-compact and lightweight design. WD’s My Passport Studio and My Passport for Mac are available on the WD store at the website below.

Want to see what the new Nikon 1 lenses and accessories look like in the flesh?

Here’s a gallery of hands-on images showing off the four new Nikon 1 lenses and various accessories from every angle.

Speedlightprokit.co.uk has released a new collapsible beauty dish.Designed for portraiture, the dish consists of an inverted silvered cone mounted within a large white collar. The modifier is strapped to the flash so that its light is bounced back off the silvered surface onto the white material giving an even and flattering lift to the subject while eliminating hotspots and harsh shadows. The kit includes a diffuser dome and a second diffuser that stretches across the front of the unit to further soften the lighting where required. The Beauty Dish is available for £75 plus shipping.

Manfrotto LINO is a new range of apparel and accessories designed with professionals in mind. The LINO collection comprises a range of jackets and bags for men and women that combine the functional requirements of a professional photographer with a stylish, Italian design aesthetic. LINO bags and apparel are designed to be objects of desire that will work hard, day in, day out.

The SanDisk Memory Vault is a photo album for the digital age. It provides consumers with peace of mind that their precious photos and videos will be preserved for up to 100 years. The SanDisk Memory Vault is available in 8 GB and 16GB capacities and costs $49.99 and $89.99 respectively.

Eye-Fi and SanDisk have joined forces to deliver a co-branded SD wireless memory card in Europe. The SanDisk Eye-Fi Wireless memory card allows consumers to instantly transfer photos and videos from a camera to a nearby smartphone or tablet, or to a comuter via Wi-Fi. The SanDisk Eye-Fi Wireless memory card comes in 4GB and 8GB capacities and features Class 4 minimum sustained write speed, 802.11n wireless performance, automatic backup, social media integration and Endless Memory.

Ilford has announced an exclusive offer for photographers attending the upcoming PhotoPlus Expo (PPE) and WPPI NYC event on 27-29 October. The company will offer a free 16x20-inch print on Ilford Galerie Gold Fibre Silk paper to the first 100 professional photographers that submit their favourite image to the company’s secure FTP site, and follow that submission with a confirmation e-mail by 24 September. The image should be transferred as the highest possible quality JPEG, rendered in Adobe RGB or sRGB at a minimum of 300dpi, and not exceed 20 inches in the longer dimension. Instructions for logging on to the Ilford FTP site can be found in the press release below.

The Wacom Cintiq 24HD is a new 24-inch widescreen graphics tablet offering a resolution of 1920x1200 pixels. Featuring Wacom’s proprietary Tip Sensor technology, 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity and 40 degrees of tilt control, the Wacom Cintiq 24HD comes with an ergonomically designed counter-weighted stand. The included pen has a pressure-sensitive eraser and two side switches that can be customized for common commands such as double-click and right-click. The optional Art Pen supports the pen rotation feature within Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator as well as Corel Painter 12, delivering natural brush effects, such as those that a calligraphy pen would produce. The Wacom Cintiq 24HD will be available from a select group of authorized resellers nationwide as well as at Wacom’s online store at a price of $2,499.

Today, Sekonic announced a free downloadable upgrade to its L-758 Light Meter application and the USB driver for the latest versions of OS X. Version 2.1 of the Sekonic Data Transfer Software is used to easily create and edit camera exposure profiles and then transfer them to the L-758DR DigitalMaster for “extremely accurate” control of exposure. Along with the sensor’s dynamic range, it records the unique variations of a digital camera, such as the effects of shutter speed and aperture mechanisms as well as the characteristics of the lens in use. “The Sekonic L-758DR is the only meter that can be calibrated to read light the way a particular camera system reads light,” the company says. To see how using the Sekonic L-758DR Light Meter and Sekonic Exposure Target (pictured) plus free Data Transfer Software can profile a digital camera and lens combination for total exposure accuracy, watch the YouTube video below.

Redrock Micro has announced the immediate availability of microTies, an accessory for managing all cables on video camera or HDSLR rigs. “microTies work with almost all cables (video, audio, power, data) and reduce the chance of snags, accidental disconnects or cable fatigue due to bending or repeated insertions,” the company says. Available now, microTies are sold in a pack of three for $24.50.

In February, Toshiba will start shipping its first SDHC memory card with embedded wireless LAN functionality. The new card, FlashAir, has an 8GB capacity and allows users to upload and download photographs to and from a server and to exchange photographs and other data with other devices, including digital cameras that are FlashAir compliant and, smartphones and PCs that support wireless LAN. Even in digital cameras not compliant with FlashAir (this basically applies to all current models), the new card can share digital images with smartphones and Wi-Fi enabled computers. Toshiba will secure certification of FlashAir for wireless communication in Japan, North America and Europe. Pricing to be announced.

Starting September 2011, Carl Zeiss will be offering its UV filters and circular polarisers in four new sizes: 52mm, 55mm, 62mm and 77mm. Until now the company’s filters have only been available in 58mm, 67mm, 72mm and 82mm sizes. Additional diameter sizes will follow in January 2012: 43mm and 46mm for UV filters and 95 mm for both polarisers and UV filters. The T* anti-reflective coating used on these filters minimises flare on glass-air surfaces and improves light transmission.

LPA Design, the company behind the PocketWizard brand, has issued a major firmware update for both Nikon and Canon versions of its MiniTT1 and FlexTT5 radios. Available now, version 3.0 for Nikon and Version 6.0 for Canon include several new features and updates including HyperSync Automation, SpeedCycler and flash power control without a camera. “We’re excited about these new features for the ControlTL system and the creative potential they represent for photographers,” said Dave Schmidt, Vice President of Marketing at LPA Design. “Firmware upgrades such as this are a benefit for photographers who invest in PocketWizard radios. HyperSync Automation will be a game changer in that it opens up the amazing capability to use blazing fast sync speeds with flash units – creating amazing potential in sports or portrait applications.”

Olympus has officially launched the much-anticipated TCON-17X 1.7x teleconverter and CLA-12 adapter ring for the Olympus XZ-1 premium compact camera. Featuring a 28-112mm (eq.) f/1.8-2.5 lens and a 10-megapixel, 1/1.63” sensor, the Olympus XZ-1 is an award-winning “prosumer” digicam that has received many accolades since its launch earlier this year. The new TCON-17X add-on tele-conversion lens lets you get 1.7 times closer with a 1:2.5 f-number, meaning that with the lens set to maximum telephoto, you get a 35mm equivalent reach of 190mm without any loss of brightness. The TCON-17X teleconverter is available for £149.99 and the (required) CLA-12 adapter for £39.99. In addition to making it possible to mount the TCON-17X, the CLA-12 also allows users to attach a 55mm filter.

Review: Read our in-depth review of the Olympus XZ-1