BenVista have released their new image resizing software, PhotoZoom Pro 7, for Mac OS and Windows. This update boasts an enhanced S-Spline Max algorithm, which uses new filters to improve image quality. "PhotoZoom Pro's core strength is its capability to preserve sharpness and detail during enlargement like no other," said Dimitri Schoolwerth, CEO at BenVista. "But what if all you have is a low quality original? PhotoZoom Pro 7 introduces additional tools to not only preserve, but also improve image quality during enlargement. It can remove noise, reduce JPEG artifacts, fix overexposure, brighten unwanted shadows, and enhance image vividness. Now even low quality originals can be enlarged successfully, all in one simple step." Prices start at €159 for new licenses, and €69 for upgrades.

Godox have announced a new wireless TTL flash for Sony cameras. The new TT350 Mini flash has a zoomable tilt-swivel head covering the same angle of view range as a 24-105mm lens, a guide number of 36 (in metres at SO 100, at the 105mm setting), 1/350-1/20,000-second flash duration, and recycle times ranging from 0.1-2.2 seconds when using Eneloop batteries. As a master unit, the TT350S can control the Godox AD600, AD600M, AD360II-C, AD360II-N, V860IIS, V850II, TT685S and TT600 flashes. As a slave, the new flash can be controlled by the Godox X1T-S, V860IIS, V850II, TT685S and TT600 units. Other features include high-speed synchronisation, rear-curtain sync, flash exposure compensation, stroboscopic flash and manual flash exposure control. International availability and pricing to be confirmed.

There are still 5 days to go until the big day, but the Black Friday deluge of special offers has already begun. So make sure to check out our constantly updated guide to the best compact, mirrorless, DSLR and phone cameras, handily split into different price bands for every budget, and even into US and UK prices. And remember, our Best Cameras guide is based on the hundreds of expert reviews that we've published.

Leica UK is to host Curtain Call, an exhibition by photographer Matt Humphrey. Featuring a unique collection of never-before-seen backstage theatre photographs and portraits, the images in this exhibition were captured entirely on Leica cameras including the Leica M-P (Typ 240) with the Leica Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 and Leica Summarit-M 90mm f/2.4 lenses, and the Leica Q. Many of the black and white photographs going on display have never been made available for public viewing before. The exhibition runs from 21 November to 9 December 2016. Prints and the Curtain Call book are available for purchase. Leica Store City is located at 18 The Royal Exchange, London EC3V 3LP.

GekkoGum is a highly versatile and ultra-fast mount for action cameras and smartphones. Essentially a malleable adhesive ball, GekkoGum is odourless, free of grease and doesn´t stick to your fingers. GekkoGum can be cleaned with fresh water to remove superficial dirt and keeps its characteristics for several years without shrinking or becoming brittle. Currently seeking funding via Kickstarter, GekkoGum is recommended for devices with a maximum weight of 200g (which includes all common smartphones and action cams). Priced at €15, GekkoGum will become available in 2017.

Akvis today released a major update to Chameleon, their photo collage creation software for Windows and Macintosh. This edition offers new selection and post-processing tools, an advanced montage algorithm, a redesigned interface with support for 4K and 5K displays, and other improvements. The software runs on Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10; and on Mac OS X 10.7-10.12. The product is available as a standalone application and as a plug-in to Photoshop and other popular image editors. This update is free for users who bought Chameleon in the last 12 months.

Animal shelter advocate and photographer Guinnevere Shuster has been selected as the latest "real life rebel" in Canon's Rebel With A Cause campaign. To build awareness of the overcrowding within shelters and the 3,000 animals euthanised each year*, Guinnevere captured a "dog's best day" with shelter dog, Willa. “Four years ago, I started photographing shelter dogs. With millions of animals still in shelters looking for their forever home, I wanted to try and make a difference and do my part to change people’s opinions of animal shelters and their residents,” said Shuster. “It’s been amazing working with Canon to change the portrayal of shelter animals by showcasing how to use photography to capture dogs in their natural state, having fun, rather than the stereotypical pictures that show shelter animals behind ‘bars.’” Click through / scroll down to watch the full #WillasBestDay film, shot entirely on Canon EOS Rebel T6i DSLR cameras.

Lomography's new Daguerreotype Achromat 2.9/64 Art lens is now available for regular purchase. The lens has been designed by Lomography’s technicians based on an 1839 design – and condensed into a bold brass lens for modern analogue and digital cameras – available in Canon EF OR Nikon F mounts. "Photographers and videographers can delve into an extensive variation of moods and special effect: silky soft focus at f/2.9, crisp sharp shots from f/5.6 onwards, and a focal length of 64mm," the society says. The Daguerreotype Achromat Lens works with a Waterhouse Aperture Plate system, which allows full creativity with depth of field and bokeh effects. Priced at €/$499, the Daguerreotype Achromat is available now from the Lomography Online Shop and Gallery Stores worldwide.

The Windows version of Affinity Designer is now available to purchase. Designed to work on 64-bit Windows 7 and above, Affinity Designer is part of a trio of professional-quality design software tools, alongside Affinity Photo and Affinity Publisher. Ashley Hewson, Managing Director of developer Serif, says: “When we launched Affinity Designer [for Mac] we never expected the impact it has made. Seeing it so widely adopted by designers around the world – and all the incredible work people are creating with it – has been such a rewarding experience for the team here.” To celebrate the launch, Affinity Designer for Windows can be bought for a discount price of $39.99 / £29.99 / €39.99 until 24th November.

Wacom today announced the Wacom Cintiq Pro line of creative pen displays. Available in 13.3” and 15.6” sizes, the new Cintiq Pro wraps the "most natural and precise pen performance to date" into a sleek, thin and portable form factor. Paramount to the Cintiq Pro experience is the new Pro Pen 2, offering four times greater accuracy and pressure sensitivity than the previous Pro Pen. Both Cintiq Pro models also feature multi-touch for easy and fast navigation as well as the ability to pinch, zoom and rotate photos. The Wacom Cintiq Pro 13 and 16 are compatible with both Macs and PCs and feature full HD (1920x1080) and ultra HD (3840x2160) resolution respectively. Both Cintiq Pro configurations deliver vivid colours, the 13-inch model providing 87 percent Adobe RGB and the 16-inch, 94 percent. Priced at $999.95 USD, the Cintiq Pro 13 is expected to be available at the beginning of December. The Cintiq Pro 16, $1499.95 USD, is intended to be available in February.

 In celebration of the release of the new Canon EOS M5 compact system camera (pictured), Canon have announced the launch of the #TagYoureIt collaborative Instagram campaign. Actress and blogger Jamie Chung and 12 participating photographers will be faced with completing spontaneous photo challenges from now through the end of the year. Throughout the campaign, Jamie and each participating photographer will be tagged and challenged by another influencer in the #TagYoureIt programme to complete their photo challenge within 24-hours. The game of #TagYoureIt continues when the previous individual tags the next participant on Instagram. The campaign will extend through December and can be tracked on Instagram using #TagYoureIt. Participating influencers will be challenging their fans to answer a challenge of their own for a chance to get reposted or get a special shout out.

DJI have announced two new drones for professional photographers and videographers. The new DJI Inspire 2 has a top speed of 67 mph and takes only 4 seconds to accelerate to 50 mph. With the new dual battery system, flight time is up to 27 minutes. A new forward-facing camera offers the pilot the best flight view for operating the master controller, while the camera operator receives a separate feed from the professional Zenmuse camera mounted on the main gimbal. The Inspire 2 supports the brand-new Zenmuse X4S and X5S cameras and will support additional cameras in the future. The UK retail price of the Inspire 2 aircraft is be £3059. The Inspire 2 Combo, which includes one Inspire 2 aircraft, one Zenmuse X5S, CinemaDNG and Apple ProRes License Key, is available for £6398. Customers who order the Inspire 2 Combo before 1 January 2017 can enjoy a special price of £6269. The DJI Phantom 4 Pro (pictured) offers a 1-inch 20-megapixel sensor with almost 12 stops of dynamic range, and a mechanical shutter that eliminates rolling shutter distortion in fast-moving scenes. Phantom 4 Pro can capture slow-motion 4K video up to 60 fps at a maximum bitrate of 100 mbps. In addition, the Phantom 4 Pro offers H.265 video compression, which substantially improves video quality at the same bitrate. Phantom 4 Pro’s UK retail price is £1,589 with a standard controller. The Phantom 4 Pro+, which includes a Phantom 4 Pro aircraft, and a high luminance display remote controller, will be available at £1819. These products will begin shipping one week after launch.

Canon UK have partnered with the Red Cross for the third year to run the British Red Cross Humanitarian Awards photography competition. The awards ceremony, held at the Palace of Westminster on 15th November, included an exhibition of shortlisted photographs on the theme ‘Making a difference matters’. The competition, open to anyone under the age of 26, invited young people to capture moments showing community or charitable work. Caitlyn Gallagher, 17, from Elgin in Scotland won the 17 and under category with her photo taken on her last day of volunteering at a school in Nepal (above). Azraa Muthy, 24 from Epsom in Surrey won the 17-25 category with a photo showing a Syrian refugee girl in Lebanon. Muthy was struck by the contrast between her own childhood photos, and the expressions and experiences of the children who had fled the conflict and face an uncertain future. The judges commented: “The child’s eyes drew us to this image. They really stand out against the surroundings. It’s an image you keep looking at and noticing new things like the mountains in the background. The composition is perfect.” The two winners each received a Canon EOS 700D plus a lens, to help them to continue to develop their passion for photography.

Datacolor today announced that they will be partnering with Adobe to offer customers who purchase a qualifying Spyder product the opportunity to receive a 90-day Adobe Creative Cloud Photography plan trial. In conjunction with Adobe’s Affinity Partner programme, Datacolor customers will receive promotion redemption instructions upon purchase and activation of qualifying Spyder colour calibration tools, which include Datacolor’s Spyder5EXPRESS (pictured), Spyder5PRO, Spyder5ELITE, Spyder5STUDIO, Spyder5CAPTURE PRO and SpyderPRINT products. “We are always looking for innovative ways to provide our customers with the optimal photography workflow, from capture to print.” said Stefan Zrenner, Director Global Sales & Marketing Imaging, Datacolor. “We’re excited to announce this partner promotion with Adobe, as the seamless integration between our industry-leading color calibration products and Adobe’s world-renowned photography tools will allow our customers to exercise total creative control over their images.”