Profoto has launched an online teaser campaign. Featuring the letters H and S, the mysterious ads have popped up on the company's official blog and Facebook fan page along with the question 'Could It Be?' The consensus among commenters and industry insiders seems to be that Profoto is set to launch a new mains flash boasting High-Speed Synchronisation (HSS) to compete with products such as the Phottix Indra500 TTL Studio Light. According to the adverts, the new Profoto offering will be launched tomorrow, 15 December 2014.

Via LR

Update: Profoto has now released its HSS solution for the B1 off-camera flash.

The new BosStrap Dual Side Slide camera strap consists of two BosStrap Side Slide straps connected with a pair of  Bridge Straps, allowing sports and wedding photographers, photojournalists and other professionals to carry two cameras without interference. Like all BosStrap products, cameras are connected using a camera strap lug rather than the tripod socket. The Side Slide straps use a Side Release connector to separate the cameras from the straps. The BosStrap Dual Side Slide is available for $129.95, shipping included.

Toshiba has launched the Canvio AeroCast, an HDD storage device with Wi-Fi connectivity. This new addition to Toshiba’s Canvio storage range lets you share and back-up media from mobile devices, as well as cast entertainment directly to an HDTV. The Canvio AeroCast creates its own wireless LAN network, so you don’t have to be connected to the Internet to access your content. Offering 1TB of storage, the portable Canvio AeroCast can be accessed by six devices simultaneously. With the dedicated Toshiba Wireless HDD app for Android and iOS devices, browsing, streaming or saving files on your mobile devices is even easier. The Canvio AeroCast creates its own wireless LAN network, so you don’t have to be connected to the Internet to access your content. The Canvio AeroCast wireless HDD is compatible with Microsoft Windows 8.1, 8 and 7, Mac OS X 10.7, 10.8 and 10.9, iOS version 6 to 7 and Android version 2.3 to 4.4. It runs on USB 3.0, as well as supporting older USB 2.0 connections.

First announced a month ago, Tiffen's new XLE filters are now available in the United States. These long-exposure filters allow stills photographers to capture extreme long exposure images without incurring the red colour cast that occurs when photographers use high-density ND filters to shoot long exposures during daylight hours. Many camera sensors are sensitive to infrared wavelengths when they are exposed for prolonged periods and record this light as a slight warm red tint on some sensors, to an extreme red tint on other sensors in very bright conditions. The Tiffen XLE series comprises 3 different 10-stop reduction filters with varying infrared-cut characteristics, ranging from nothing in the XLE aXent ($37.99 - $98.99), to moderate in the XLE advantiX ($70.00 - $266.67) to complete infrared suppression in the XLE apeX ($170.00 - $366.67). These new screw-in filters are available in sizes ranging from 40.5mm to 82mm.

The C-Loop Mini by Custom SLR is a tangle-free camera strap mount for mirrorless and point-and-shoot cameras. Building upon the success of its first product, the C-Loop, which was launched through Kickstarter, Custom SLR designed the C-Loop Mini to have all the same functionality, with the added benefits of being lightweight and small enough to work perfectly with compact cameras. With its 360-degree swivel, the C-Loop Mini rotates to provide smooth panning and prevent tangled camera straps.  For tool-free installation, the device can be tightened by hand, and also features a slot where it can be tightened with a coin for added security. The C-Loop Mini is available for $24.95 on the website below.

Adorama today announced the availability of the brand new Aries Blackbird X10, a professional, remotely controlled aerial quadcopter that captures photos and movies from up to 1,500 feet. With its on-board camera, the Blackbird X10 is capable of recording up to 1080P/30fps Full HD video as well as 16-megapixel still images. The drone features integrated flight and camera control, 6-axis gyro stability, GPS accuracy, advanced intelligent flight control systems, a weather-protected build, and a wide, stable landing base. Perfect for advanced hobbyist or professional photographers and cinematographers, the Aries Blackbird X10 features simple and flexible operating controls and a flight time of up to 25 minutes per charge. The Aries Blackbird X10 is available now for $799, exclusively from Adorama.

Instant film manufacturer Impossible and handbag designer Nora Hänska have teamed up to create a modern, stylish, adaptable solution to travelling with your  Polaroid camera. The Hänska X Impossible collaboration was born from a shared desire to create something useful yet beautiful for the everyday urban instant photographer. This first bag has been designed to safely store a Polaroid 600-type camera or Impossible Instant Lab and up to four packs of Impossible film. The body of the bag is made with high-grade aryl, a water-repellent fabric used to construct boat sails. The Hänska x Impossible is available now from the Impossible shop and selected retailers for €100.

Transcend has launched a range of UHS-I Speed Class 3 SDXC memory cards. With a wide range of capacities from 64GB to 256GB, Transcend's UHS-I U3 cards make extended video recording sessions possible thanks to the use of the exFAT file system that allows users to exceed the 4GB size per file limit of FAT32. The largest-capacity 256GB SDXC UHS-I U3 card can store more than 40,000 high-resolution JPEG images (12 megapixel camera, 6MB file size), over 16,000 raw image files (based on 14MB file size), or a full 16 hours of 4K video footage (4096x2160 35Mb/s H.264 AVC compression). The new memory cards are capable of reaching read and write speeds of up to 95MB/s and 60MB/s.

The Camera Caddy II is a new a tripod mounted gear bag that holds extra gear for quick access and stabilises your tripod. Compared to the first-generation Camera Caddy, the new version features deeper pockets, easier-to-use slider buckles, additional colours and a centreclip to hang extra weight when the pockets are full of gear. The Camera Caddy is now available in 5 colours including Silver, Black/Silver, Yellow, Lime Green and Universal Camouflage. The recommended retail price is $44.95 but the Camera Caddy II is now available at an inttroductory price of $35.00.

MMD has added a new 40" UHD monitor to its line-up of Philips 4K Ultra HD displays. Offering four times the pixel count of Full HD, the massive Philips BDM4065UC display provides plenty of room to spread out on, so users can navigate multiple applications and windows simultaneously. The display features true 8-bit colour per channel and a refresh rate of 60 Hertz, while the VA panel technology ensures exceptional contrast. Moreover, the ultra-narrow bezel design makes it possible to place two 40-inch displays side by side without the distraction of physical bezels. The DisplayPort 1.2 digital PC-to-Display link supports data transfer speeds of up to 10.8 Gbps, for faster imaging and zero-latency refresh rates. Also upping the connectivity choices are MHL support for enjoying mobile content on the big screen (while charging the mobile device at the same time), superfast USB 3.0, and HDMI 1.4. The new Philips 40-inch BDM4065UC display is now available at a suggested retail price of £549.

Tiffen has announced the Steadicam SOLO camera stabiliser and monopod. Billed as "the most versatile Steadicam available today," the SOLO features a three-axis gimbal design, ergonomic foam handle and grips, 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 maximum load capacity is 4.53kg. The SOLO is available as an upgradeable hand-held camera stabiliser or as a complete system with sled, arm and vest, shipping early 2015. UK customers can get hands on the SOLO by heading to the Jessops flagship store on London’s Oxford Street.

Manfrotto's BeFree, Pixi, Pocket and Compact Light tripods are now available in a variety of colours. Offering a maximum load capacity of 4kg and a maximum height of 144cm, the Befree tripod comes in white, red, pink and black. The Pixi - a mini tripod for compact system cameras - is available in white, red, pink and black. The Pocket series(pictured) can be purchased in pink, red, white, black, blue, grey and purple versions. Finally, the Manfrotto Compact Light tripods come in black, white, red and pink colours.

Fantasea Line has released the FRX100 III Housing for the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III digital compact camera. Providing access to all camera-essential functions with ergonomically designed and labelled controls, the Fantasea FRX100 III has been successfully depth tested to 80m and is certified to a maximum depth of 60m. Additionally, the FRX100 III is shock resistant and protects the camera from water, sand, dust, frost and other damaging elements. The new underwater house is available for $789.95.

The lucky winner is Aris Garinis. Congratulations!

We’ve teamed up with Vanguard to give away an Alta CA AGH tripod, worth $180!

The Vanguard Alta CA 234AGH tripod kit is designed to meet the requirements of any enthusiast photographer, especially those wanting a great combination of portability and stability with a pistol grip head.

This aluminium tripod kit is extremely lightweight at under 1.7kg and the legs have four sections that enable it to fold down to just over 57cm, making it extremely portable. Despite this it still features an unrivalled loading capacity of 5kg and extends to just below 1.6m making it extremely versatile.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Panlight is a light-weight pan and tilt device, which gives you full directional control of your speedlight flashes or Wi-Fi controlled compact system cameras from up to 100ft away. Powered by four AA sized batteries, the Panlight works with all known speedlights and third-party triggers. “As a professional wedding photographer for nearly 10 years, I'm a regular user of off-camera flash," says Panlight inventor Mike Garrard. "I got frustrated needing to accurately set up gridded lighting under time pressures, so to reduce set-up time I wanted to create something to allow this. I also wanted to create a tool to let me reach higher angles for things like large group photos, and aerial scene-setting shots of some of the amazing locations I was working in.” To find out more about Panlight’s Kickstarter campaign or to pledge your support, visit the website below.

The AOC U3477PQU is a 34" ultra-wide monitor with a 3440x1440-pixel IPS panel and an aspect ratio of 21:9. Thanks to the Real 8-bit +FRC arrangement, more than 1 billion colours can be reproduced on the screen. Equally noteworthy are the picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture features, which allow watching images simultaneously from different sources. Connectivity options include USB 2.0 and 3.0, DisplayPort and an integrated HDMI port with MHL functionality. The AOC U3477PQU monitor will be available on 8th December at BestBuy.com and Amazon.com for $899.

Fujifilm has revealed  that two new dedicated X-Mount system Macro Extension Tubes; the MCEX-11 and MCEX-16, will be available from the middle of December 2014. Inserted between the lens and the camera body, these 11mm and 16mm extension tubes increase the distance between the lens elements and the sensor enabling users to focus on subjects much closer to the camera. Electronic connections automatically pass information from the Fujinon X-Mount lens to the Fujifilm X-series camera body so you can still use autofocus and control the aperture.

The EIZO ColorEdge CG318-4K is a new 31-inch monitor with a DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives) 4K (4096 x 2160) native resolution. Featuring a 10-bit Ultra HD LCD panel with a wide colour gamut that reproduces 98% of the DCI-P3 and 99% of the Adobe RGB colour space, the ColorEdge CG318-4K comes with a built-in sensor to enable self-calibration for hassle-free monitor maintenance. For video editing and post production, the ColorEdge CG318-4K has a 3D look-up table that adjusts colour individually on an RGB cubic table. With ColorNavigator NX’s film emulation function, the 3D LUT applies a film look to the image so creators can preview how the image will be seen by their audience. Viewing angles are 178° and the maximum brightness is 350 cd/m2. Dark tones retain their depth with a 1500:1 contrast ratio even when viewing the screen from an angle. The ColorEdge CG318-4K will begin shipping in April 2015.

Sony have announced a 21-megapixel stacked CMOS sensor with on-chip phase detection AF. Designed for use in camera phones, the 1/2.4"-type Sony Exmor RS IMX230 is capable of recording 4K videos and supports HDR exposure blending for both movies and stills. Sony's Exmor RS sensors use a chip consisting of signal processing circuits, on top of which is stacked a pixel section consisting of back-illuminated pixels for an original stacked construction. This kind of stacked CMOS imaging sensor was first commercialised by Sony in 2012. The newest addition to the Exmor RS line-up will be available to manufacturers in April 2015.

Mazzo Mobile has launched its new PowerDrive line of products, including the PowerDrive P1 and PowerDrive Slim, the world’s first combined USB storage drives and battery backups certified MFi by Apple. The MazzoPowerDrive P1 offers up to 40 hours of back-up battery capacity and up to 128 GB of additional storage. Sporting a sleeker design, the PowerDrive Slim offers enough power to fully recharge your iPhone 6, and features the same storage capacities (16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB or 128 GB) as the P1. With these PowerDrives, you can save your photos and videos to the device while you’re out and about and also access files from the device through your iPhone, iPad or iPod. Prices start at $79.