The Kodak Pulse digital photo frame and the new Kodak Portra 160 film have been honoured with TIPA awards. Named the ‘Best Accessory’ by the TIPA jury, the Kodak Pulse digital photo frame features Wi-Fi connectivity, a customisable e-mail address and a touch-sensitive viewing panel. Announced this February, the new Kodak Professional Portra 160 (pictured) is an all-new colour negative film that incorporates the manufacturer’s Advanced Cubic Emulsions, Kodak Vision Film Technology and Antenna Dye Sensitisation in the magenta emulsion layers. Replacing the Portra 160NC and VC offerings, the new Kodak Professional Portra 160 film is available in 35mm, 120/220, 4x5 and 8x10 sheet formats.

Wanderlust’s new product, Pinwide, is billed as “the world’s widest digital pinhole”. Designed specifically for Micro Four Thirds bodies, Pinwide has an angle of view similar to that of a 22mm lens on a 35mm camera, bringign “real wide-angle pinhole photography into the digital era”. Made from precision injection molded polycarbonate with a scientific-grade metal aperture, Pinwide is manufactured in the United States and is available now at $39.99.

Wacom has announced the Bamboo Stylus, a pen which can write comfortably on iPad displays. A new addition to the Wacom Bamboo series, the Bamboo Stylus features a slim, smooth and soft tip and a good weight-balanced design. “The stylus can perform creative tasks that our fingers and touch displays are just not built to handle well,” said Rick Peterson, Director of Consumer Brands at Wacom technolgy Services Corporation. Due for release at the end of May, the Wacom Bamboo Stylus will sell for 2,980 yen in Japan and $29.99 in the US..

Panasonic scooped up three TIPA awards this year. The Lumix DMC-FT3 / DMC-TS3 has won the accolade of “Best Rugged Compact Camera”, the Lumix DMC-GH2 (pictured) has received the “Best Expert Compact System Camera” award, while the Panasonic Gold Pro SDHC UHS-I memory cards have been named 2011’s “Best Imaging Storage Media”.

Eka Technologies have announced the FotoSpot and FotoMapr geo-tagging peripherals for Nikon, Canon, Sony, Panasonic, Ricoh and other digital cameras. FotoSpot ($249-$329) provides consumers with an easy-to-use, inexpensive way to add the photo location and shot direction to images created with virtually any digital camera. Photos geotagged with FotoSpot can then be uploaded to a computer via USB and used with any of today’s popular PC, Mac and Internet photo mapping software. The professional FotoMapr is a cost-effective way (starting at $269) for advanced photographers to geotag - and even annotate - images for use in their mapping platforms. Both FotoSpot and FotoMapr are available in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and hard-wired versions. For stockist information, visit the website below.

Lastolite is launching a new range of lighting kits and accessories. The Lastolite Joe McNally range includes the Joe McNally UpLite Kit (£170, pictured), which is similar to the standard Lastolite UpLite ‘cool tone’, but has the added extra of including a 2 stop diffuser panel; the Joe McNally Skylite Kit (£290), which contains a standard Lastolite 1.1m x 1.1m aluminium frame plus a new ‘slide on’ 2 stop diffuser panel and a telescopic crossbar assembly; and new versions of the Ezybox softbox (£100), the TriFlash (£65) and the TriGrip (£130).

Lexar UK is now shipping the Lexar Professional SDXC 133x memory card in capacities of 128GB and 64GB. Offering a Class 10 speed rating with a minimum guaranteed speed of 20MB per second, these high-capacity memory cards come bundled with the latest version of Image Rescue, a program designed to help recover lost or deleted photo and video files. The 64GB and 128GB Lexar Professional SDXC memory cards are available now at Amazon UK and MyMemory with MSRPs of £179.99 and £299.99, respectively.

Stagsden, Bedfordshire based 3 Legged Thing has unveiled the X1 Brian carbon fibre tripod. Part of the manufacturer’s ‘Rock Legend Range’, the X1 Brian tripod is named after Brian May, and features a detachable and removable triple section central column. With a folded height of 40 cm, ‘Brian’ is the smallest of the range, and yet extends to over 1.9m. Other tripods in the line-up include the 1.3kg X2 Eddie (van Halen), and the 1.6kg X3 Jimmy (Page) featuring a maximum load capacity of 15kg. 3 Legged Thing’s magnesium alloy tripod range comprises the X1a Adrian (Smith) and the X3a Kirk (Hammett), the latter of which will hold 12kg of photographic equipment (with a suitable head attached, of course). A carbon-fibre monopod called Bob (named after Bob Dylan) completes the product range. The monopod and all the tripods are available to purchase online at the website below, priced from £109.

HP has announced the HP EliteBook 8560w notebook, which has a built-in CFast memory card reader. According to Engadget, the HP EliteBook 8560w is the first laptop ever to feature a CFast slot. CFast memory cards - such as the ones announced by Pretec, Super Talent and Transcend - combine a fast SATA interface with the form factor of a Compact Flash card. Offering transfer speeds that are several times higher than that of a 600x CF card, CFast memory cards have the potential to become the storage media used by future generations of professional digital SLR cameras, although we are not aware of any current camera models supporting this medium at present.

Via Engadget

JP Distribution, the exclusive UK distributor for Westcott, has just launched the new Spiderlite TD6 constant light source. Billed as the industry’s most powerful compact fluorescent lighting system on the market today, the Wescott Spiderlite TD6 is able to house up to six 50-watt fluorescent lights, with an optional Tungsten Halogen 6-pack also available. The low-profile switches on the back of the Spiderlite TD6 operate 2 lamps per switch and can be easily turned on and off to control light output. An inline cord switch allows for powering on and off the main unit when lights are placed up high and difficult to reach.  The built-in adapter ring allows for quick and easy mounting of a variety of softboxes and stripbanks. For example, you can shoot at a shutter speed of 1/60th of a second, aperture of f/8 at ISO 400/27° when using the 6-pack Westcott 50-watt Daylight Balanced Fluorescent Lamps and a 24” x 32” softbox. The price of the Spiderlite TD6 complete with a tilter bracket is £500.

Cinevate, in partnership with Tenba, has introduced a new collection of custom-built cases for their Core and Simplis Rigs, plus Atlas and Pegasus Camera Sliders.  Each new case is designed to protect Cinevate gear in various sizes and configurations, along with accompanying DSLR, video and filmmaking systems. The new “Protected by Tenba” collection will launch with hard-sided cases for the Core Rig and Atlas and Pegasus linear tracking systems, plus hard and soft-sided rolling cases, backpacks and shoulder bags for the Simplis Rig. The new cases will begin shipping in May at suggested retail prices between $189.95 and $369.95.

Addonics has announced the CF/CFast Drive, which lets you “create” a solid state drive with a high-speed SATA interface by simply using any CF card or a high speed CFast card. The CF/CFast Drive can be installed into a standard 5 1/4” drive bay of a desktop- or rack-mounted system to accommodate up to six CF/CFast media. They can be configured as six independent drives or combined into a RAID group. There are four models available, priced from $135 to $199 (cards not included).

The new Cinevate Atlas FLT is a lightweight camera slider for video-enabled digital SLR cameras. Featuring a non-reflective, black satin anodised finish, full CNC aluminium/steel construction and stainless steel fasteners, the Cinevate Atlas FLT measures only 26 inches long and weighs in at less than 10 pounds. The slider is equipped with a 3/8” screw, making it compatible with any standard 3/8” threaded ball head. The new Atlas FLT is available now for $579.

The Cinevate Simplis DSLR Rig is a lightweight, “run and gun” support rig targeted at filmmakers, whilst the company’s Grip Sticks allow users to mount standard accessories with ¼-20 threads such as on-camera monitors and external audio recorders. Starting at just $399, Simplis give videographers the ability to customise and scale their rig as desired. Grip Sticks will be available in four variations starting 1 May 2011 throughout the US.

The Sony HVL-F43AM is a compact, dust- and moisture resistant external flash unit for Sony Alpha cameras, featuring Quick Shift Bounce adjustment and wireless ratio control. The company’s innovative Quick Shift Bounce system, which debuted on the more powerful HVL-F58AM of 2008, allows flash head position to be adjusted instantly when switching between horizontal and vertical compositions, maintaining consistent shadow positions regardless of camera orientation. Wireless Ratio Control, available on the Sony A900, A850 and A700, makes it easy to select light emission ratios for up to three separate flash units. The zooming head of the HVL-F43AM covers the angle-of-view range of a 24-105mm lens on a full-frame digital SLR camera, and the flash boasts a guide number of 43 (in metres at ISO 100/21°) at the 105mm setting. Powered by four AA type batteries, the Sony HVL-F43AM recycles in about 2.9 seconds after a full discharge, and is available to photographers worldwide from Spring 2011.

Think Tank Photo has announced a camera bag that accommodates one standard size DSLR camera with one to three lenses, or a complete Micro Four Thirds or rangefinder camera system. Scheduled to go on sale in May 2011, the soft, fkexible and lightweight Think Tank Retrospective 5 shoulder bag sports a strap featuring cushioned non-slip pad for long-term comfort, a convenient carrying handle for quick transport and a seam-sealed rain cover. Priced at $129.75, the Think Tank Retrospective 5 measures 25.5x21.5x15cm and weighs in at 1kg.

The Eye-Fi Mobile X2 is an 8GB SDHC memory card that provides instant uploads anywhere by wirelessly connecting the camera to a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet. The card will be available for pre-orders immediately on Amazon.com, and available at Apple and Best Buy stores across the U.S.A. for $79.99 on 17th April. Owners of other Eye-Fi X2 cards will benefit from Eye-Fi’s Direct Mode, scheduled for release later this week, which empowers the cards to establish a direct connection to a mobile device by creating their own Wi-Fi network anywhere. The launch of Direct Mode will be accompanied by new Android and iOS apps that enable smartphones and tablets to receive files sent from an Eye-Fi X2 memory card. Direct Mode and the accompanying apps are offered as free upgrades to every Eye-Fi X2 card.

Lomography has just announced the LomoKorrespondent product family, a new line of photo stationery that includes a variety of photo frames, albums and greeting cards. JourneyFrames come in four different sizes, including 10x10cm, 13x13cm, 9x13cm and 10x15cm. Each JourneyFrame is available in a pack of three, selling at €4.90. PhotoAccordions (€8.90-€12.90) are essentially photo albums that fold and unfold like an accordion, while ChapBooks (€9.90) are more traditional photo albums featuring an embossed soft cover and visible stitching line on the spine. Finally Freundschaftskarten, or “friendship cards”, come in sets for 9x13cm and 10x15cm photos, and retail for €6.90 in The Lomography Store.

Delkin has announced a USB 3.0 Universal Memory Card Reader boasting transfer speeds over 12 times that of current USB 2.0 readers. This new unit from Delkin promises to deliver actual speeds approximated around 3.2 Gb/s, or 400 MB/s, the company claims. “Our customers are primarily photographers, videographers and early adopters of technology,” explains Marketing Manager, Anna Lopez.  “While we’re not seeing USB 3.0 in every new computer sale just yet, our unique market is hungry for the increased speeds that will enable the transferring of large HD and 3D video files and raw image files without the lag that they experience with USB 2.0 technology.”  Five memory card slots enable universal compatibility across dozens of flash card formats including UDMA enabled CompactFlash cards, SDXC enabled Secure Digital cards and brand-specific memory cards such as Memory Stick and xD. The Delkin USB 3.0 Universal Memory Card Reader will be available shortly for a retail price of $39.99.

Delkin has announced its fastest memory card built to Secure Digital format specifications, with a 633X speed rating that more than triples previous Class 10 capabilities. Boasting read speeds of up to 95MB/s and write speeds of up to 80MB/s, the new Elite 633X UHS-I SDHC memory card from Delkin utilises the Secure Digital Association’s “Ultra High Speed” (UHS-I) specification, which enables bus-interface speeds up to 104 Megabytes per second and full backwards compatibility among SDHC and SDXC host devices. The Delkin Elite 633 card will be offered in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB capacities, with a 64GB SDXC version planned for the near future. Cards will begin shipping on 13 April 2011 to speciality photography and videography retailers worldwide at retail prices of $139.99, $249.99 & $439.99, respectively.