The latest addition to the Westcott Basics lineup, the D5, is billed as an ultra-powerful light solution that won’t break the bank. The D5 features 5 ceramic light sockets placed evenly across the unit, each of these high-quality sockets can support a daylight-balanced lamp up to 50 watts. These sockets are housed on an ultra-compact and durable nylon base. The light head has five separate power switchesm each of which controls a single lamp and is complete with a power indicator. The head sells for £120, with a 5-pack of 27W fluorescent lamps available for £50. To direct and control the output of the Basics D5, Westcott have designed a series of custom D5 modifiers, including 24” x 32” rectangular softbox, a 16” x 40” stripbank, and a 32” octabox. D5 modifiers can be purchased separately, or in cost-effective complete studio kits.

ExpoImaging has announced a number of new improvements to their range of portable lighting accessories. The FlashBender 2 range now incorporates new custom made reflective fabric which makes it 20-30% lighter and a new integrated attachment strap that can be adjusted to fit all popular brands of accessory flashes. New and improved Rogue FlashBender 2 versions include the FlashBender 2 XL Pro System, the FlashBender 2 Large and Small Reflectors, FlashBender 2 Bounce Card, FlashBender 2 Large and Small Softbox Kits and the FlashBender 2 Portable Lighting Kit. ExpoImaging has also made product improvements to its best-selling Flashbender XL Pro Kit, a large light portable studio kit, by reducing its weight as well as making improvements to the attachment design. The Rogue FlashBender 2 range is available to purchase through leading photography retailers and is distributed exclusively by Color Confidence.

Tether Tools has launched the TetherBoost Core Controller, which provides consistent reliable power to boost and maintain a stable, dependable connection for tethered image transfer when using a DSLR or medium-format digital back system connected to a computer via USB cables. This new product alleviates current frustrations among photographers experiencing dropped signals when shooting with USB 3.0. These issues are due to camera and computer manufacturers’ varying USB 3.0 firmware versions and the additional power required to transfer images via USB 3.0 vs USB 2.0. TetherBoost eliminates these limitations allowing for tethering connections from 15 to 35 feet without any loss in signal. Tether Tools will be debuting TetherBoost and other newly released tools at the WPPI convention in Las Vegas and the Society of Photographic Educators Expo in New Orleans.

Sigma have announced the development of the TS-81 tripod socket/foot which can be attached to the company's 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM | Sports lens to provide compatibility with the Arca Swiss quick release plate. The deliberately designed length of its rail provides the flexibility to adjust the center of gravity making it balance perfectly, even while zooming or using accessories, such as a tele converter and battery pack. The lens hood can still be reversed and the lens stored in its original padded case, even with the Tripod Socket TS-81 attached. Price and availability have yet to be communicated.

Sigma have announced the development of a 1.2x tele conversion lens that is exclusively designed for the Sigma dp3 Quattro large-sensor compact camera. When attached to the front of the lens, it magnifies the focal length of the lens by 1.2 times (60mm / equivalent to 90mm on a 35mm format), and does not change the f/2.8 aperture value. The Sigma FT-1201 Conversion Lens has an optical formula comprising 4 elements in 3 groups, and maintains excellent rendering performance while offering a different focal length. Do note that the minimum focus distance and maximum magnification ratio are both affected by attaching this conversion lens. Pricing and availability are to be confirmed.

Sigma have announced the development of a base grip designed for the Sigma dp Quattro series. When attached to the tripod mount on the bottom plate of the camera, it allows handgrip-style of shooting. It is compact and convenient and therefore very easy to carry, the company says. The BG-11 base grip has its own tripod socket so you can mount the camera on a tripod with the grip attached. Price and availability are to be confirmed.

Want to see exactly what the new Olympus 8mm f/1.8 Fish-Eye lens, 7-14mm f/2.8 Pro lens, and the EE-1 Dot Sight look like in the flesh?

Check out our extensive hands-on gallery of photos of the Olympus 8mm f:1.8 Fish-Eye lens, 7-14mm f/2.8 lens, and the EE-1 Dot Sight.

The Pentax AF201FG is a new flash from Ricoh. This compact, portable unit has a maximum guide number of 20 at ISO 100/m, and features a dustproof, weather-resistant construction for outdoor shooting: The flash head can be adjusted vertically to 10 different angles for bounce flash operation. The Pentax AF201FG features a simplified operating system that lets the user start flash photography instantly by turning the discharge mode dial, which also functions as the ON/OFF switch. In addition to the OFF position, this dial provides a choice of four discharge modes: P-TTL auto flash with leading-curtain synchronisation and P-TTL auto flash with trailing-curtain synchronisation; and manual flash with full discharge and manual flash with 1/4-level discharge. The built-in wide-angle panel slides out to cover 20mm angle of view. The Pentax AF201FG will be available for £129.99 / $149.95.

Tiffen today announced the availability of its Steadicam SOLO camera stabiliser. Capable of being folded to a highly compact 25 x 6 inch profile, the system readily supports cameras weighing up to 10 lbs. (4.5kg). The closely engineered three-axis gimbal design enables the most precise movements and incomparable stability demanded by professional operators, while the ergonomic foam handle and grips – which control the four-section telescopic post – provide a high level of comfort during the most challenging of operations. Bringing versatility to the set, the SOLO effortlessly converts to a monopod mode for shooting from confined spaces. Other features include a quick-release camera mounting plate, push-on lock, push button release, positive positioning clamping, standard ¼-20 and ⅜-16 camera mounting, and simple dual knob fore-aft vernier adjustment. The Steadicam SOLO is now available for $499.

Olympus has announced a hotshoe-mounted dot sight accessory for Micro Four Thirds cameras. Similarly to the integrated unit found on the Olympus SP-100EE ultra-zoom camera, the interchangeable EE-1 dot sight enables the user to keep a moving subject within the image frame when using a long telephoto lens. Available in May, the Olympus EE-1 dot-sight framing assistant carries a suggested retail price of $129.99.

BenQ have just launched a new 24” colour critical monitor designed for photographers. The BenQ PG2401PT comes complete with Palette Master Software, which has been co-developed with X-Rite and features an adjustable 14-bit 3D Look-Up-Table (LUT) and comes with a hood as standard. The 10-bit display panel has a resolution of 1920x1200 pixels and reproduces 99% of the Adobe RGB colour space. Each monitor has been rigorously factory tested for brightness uniformity, Delta-E (<2)) and Gamma curve. Input terminals include D-Sub, DVI-D, HDMI, DisplayPort, Mini Display Port, USB 3.0 together with a convenient SD card reader. The BenQ PG2401PT is available now from Colour Confidence. priced at £810 including value added tax.

ExpoImaging has launched the Rogue FlashBender 2 XL Pro Lighting System. “The idea behind the original FlashBender XL Pro Kit was to create a larger light source with studio-style control while retaining the portability and easy setup fundamental to all the FlashBenders,” said Erik Sowder, CEO of ExpoImaging. “With the FlashBender 2 XL Pro, we worked hard to decrease the weight of the original XL Pro as well as to further refine its attachment design. The new FlashBender 2 XL Pro Reflector is 20% lighter. We know that every bit of weight reduction is welcome for location shooters. We also know that photographers will be excited by the inclusion of the new XL Pro Strip Grid attachment in the XL Pro System. Combining diffusion fabric with a black fabric grid, the XL Pro Strip Grid provides precise rim and edge lighting control. It attaches quickly to the front of the XL Pro Reflector and is compatible with the original XL Pro Reflector design.” The FlashBender XL Pro Lighting System is sized to fit a 15" laptop compartment or lay flat to allow more room for lenses and other essential equipment in the gear bag. The Rogue FlashBender 2 XL Pro Lighting System retails for $99.95.

NEC Display Solutions Europe has launched the NEC SpectraView Reference 322UHD monitor, a professional 31.5-inch Ultra HD display with 3840x2160 pixels. This new reference monitor has a 14-bit adjustable LUT, a 10-bit panel, wide colour gamut capability covering 99% of AdobeRGB, Digital Uniformity Control and a 3D LUT to emulate print colour spaces. “The NEC 31.5-inch SpectraView® Reference display sets a new industry benchmark and users that rely on colour-critical displays will benefit from the continuous improvement in this benchmark. This latest display incorporates many exacting requirements to provide complete colour confidence as well as crucial productivity gains,” said Christopher Parker, Product Line Manager Desktop Displays at NEC Display Solutions Europe. The NEC SpectraView Reference 322UHD display is available from February 2015.

Case Logic celebrates its 30th anniversary with a stylish tablet folio, smartphone lens cases and the Reflexion Cross Body Bag. The adaptable Surefit Rotating Universal Folio fits any 9-10” tablet and features a unique standing support that provides 360 degree rotation allowing dual viewing and typing angles. Designed for iPhoneographers, the Smartphone Lens Cases provide safe and organised storage for up to four conversion lenses and easily fit into your jacket pocket or purse. Finally, the Reflexion Cross Body Bag (pictured) accommodates an SLR camera, two additional lenses or flash, plus an iPad and accessories.

The new Phottix Indra 500 TTL studio light is now available in the United Kingdom. Offering a new level of power for photographers on the move, the 500Ws Phottix Indra500 TTL studio light features through-the-lens flash exposure control with Canon and Nikon cameras, high-speed sync, manual power adjustment in 1/3EV increments, wireless radio control with Phottix Odin and Mitros+ systems, and a maximum recycle time of 2 seconds. The Phottix Indra500 TTL studio light is priced at £699.99 (head-only), £929.99 (AC Adapter Kit) and £999.99 (Battery Adapter Kit).

JP Distribution has announced the UK availability of a number of new accessories made by Westcott. These include the 38″ x 45″ Omega Reflector (£120), which can be used as a standard reflector or as a shoot-through unit with an easily convertible 2:3 centre frame with easy to attach/detach Velcro panels; the durable and stable Illuminator Arm Extreme (£95) that combines two grip mounts and a telescopic all-metal arm giving photographers the ability to mount their reflectors and boards effortlessly; the Rapid Box 32" Duo (£320, pictured), which offers the same amazing features as our other Rapid Boxes with the added ability to mount up to two speedlites; a 40˚ Grid for the Rapid Box 32" Duo (£420); the Westcott LampGuard (£60), which is a compact protective case for CFL lamps, speedlites, bulbs, and compact light-heads; and the Westcott Pocket Pack (£24), a compact reflector and 1-stop diffuser combination that pops open instantly to a full 12 inch diameter.

ioSafe has launched the ioSafe 1515+: a fire and water-resistant 5-bay expandable NAS powered by Synology’s DiskStation Manager OS. Featuring an Intel Atom C2000 family 2.4GHz quad-core processor that provides accelerated encryption, the has a RAM module expandable up to 6GB, quad LAN ports supporting automatic failover and Link Aggregation and built-in redundancy. Its capacity can be scaled up to 90TB of raw storage using N513X expansion units. “The new ioSafe 1515+ is simply the most capable product we’ve ever built. We continue our partnership with Synology to deliver our most technologically advanced product ever.” said Robb Moore, ioSafe CEO. “Along with our unmatched physical protection against fire and water, the latest Synology platform enables blazing hardware digital encryption at up to 448 MB/s reading and 191 MB/s writing. For even faster performance, choosing not to encrypt increases throughput to 450 MB/s reading and 396 MB/s writing.”

Adorama is now shipping the new Flashpoint CoolVee7 Video Light, which features seven cool-running, daylight fluorescent spiral lamps that deliver a total output equivalent of up to 760W of tungsten lighting. Available for $199.95, the Flashpoint CoolVee7 comes with two light modifiers, including ae detachable, pebble-finished reflector and an octagonal softbox. The scope of delivery also includes seven Daylight Compact Fluorescent 32W/120V bulbs. The Flashpoint 30W Spiral Fluorescent Replacement Bulb is available for $3.95. The Flashpoint 45W Spiral Fluorescent Upgrade Bulb can be purchased for $5.65.

MMD has added a new 27" IPS-AHVA display with factory-calibrated colour and Adobe RGB support to its line-up of Philips branded monitors. Using 10 bits to describe each colour, the new 27-inch Quad HD display can represent over one billion colours simultaneously – when connected to a PC via a DisplayPort cable. Pre-calibrated to render colours accurately, the 272P4APJKHB display supports 99% Adobe RGB and 100% of the sRGB colour space. With MultiView on board, the display connects to multiple sources simultaneously. The new Philips monitor is now available in major electronics stores at a suggested retail price of £649.

Shenyang Zhongyi Optics has released Version II of its M42 -Fuji X Lens turbo adapter. This adapter allows M42 screw mount lenses to be mounted on Fuji X cameras while altering their magnification by a factor of 0.762x and improving their aperture speed by a full stop. The reduced magnification enables users to partially regain the angle of view lost by mounting a full-frame lens on a camera with an APS-C sized sensor. In other words, the M42 -Fuji X Lens turbo adapter (ver II) effectively reduces the crop factor of Fujifilm X series compact system cameras from 1.5x to 1.14x. The optical construction comprises 4 lens elements in 4 groups, including 1 extra-low dispersion element which helps reduce the chromatic aberrations on the image. The adapter is available now for $149, via the website below.