Canon are developing a new proprietary video format for the efficient recording of high-image-quality 4K, 2K and HD video footage. Mainly targeting professional-use 4K video camcorders, Canon's new XF-AVC format promises greater workflow efficiency and convenience during the production process. Canon will employ XF-AVC primarily in the company's 4K-compatible professional-use video camcorders, such as the XC10 (to go on sale in mid June 2015) and EOS C300 Mark II (to go on sale in early September 2015).

Venus Optics has announced the Kuangren Macro Twin Flash KX-800, billed as the world’s most powerful macro twin flash with flexible arms. Featuring a combined guide number of 190 (in feet) with 8 levels of power adjustment, the Kuangren Macro Twin Flash KX-800 has a recycle time of 2-5 seconds. Powered by 4 AA batteries, the kit weighs in at 1 pound and comes complete with two 48cm long dual flexible arms and a LED focusing light. The recommended retail price is $299.

Datacolor has released Spyder5, the next generation of its popular monitor calibration solutions. The Spyder5 colorimeter is compact, portable and protected for use on all laptop and desktop monitors. Datacolor has redesigned Spyder’s 7-detector optical engine to deliver up to a 55% improvement in tonal response, resulting in more accurate shadow detail and smoother gradients. Spyder5EXPRESS (£102 / $129) is a cost-effective tool for serious photographers seeking an easy-to-use colour accuracy solution through a simple, interactive four-step process guide. Using its before and after feature, users can evaluate calibration results using a professional Datacolor composite image. Spyder5PRO (£153 / $189) is ideal for photographers and creative professionals looking to take their skill and artistic vision to the next level by achieving precise colour accuracy. Spyder5ELITE (£222 / $279) offers a built-in tripod mount to easily calibrate front projector displays. Expert features include an unlimited range of calibration settings, comprehensive display analysis, advanced before and after evaluation of imported images, monitor matching and tuning, and optimized grey balance routines.

Video Pro X7 is the latest version of Magix's video editing program, offering numerous new features. The user interface has been completely redesigned in response to customer feedback, and the software now supports both hardware-accelerated encoding and H.264 video decoding. Video Pro X7 also offers 20 new effect transitions and individually configurable transition templates. Other enhancements include improved object tracking, XAVC and XAVC S support andloudness normalisation in accordance with the EBU R128 international guideline. Video ProX7 is available for £349.

The Canon XC10 is a new 4K digital camcorder that can also shoot high-resolution stills courtesy of a 1"-type 12 megapixel CMOS sensor. The camcorder comes with a fixed-mount 10x wide-angle zoom lens with a 35mm equivalent focal range of 27.3-273mm for movies and 24.1-241mm for still photos. The sensor has a claimed dynamic range of 12 stops - very impressive for a 1"-type imager. Offering slow- and fast-motion recording, multiple picture settings with a variety of looks, and interval shooting for time-lapse still photography, the Canon XC10 4K Digital Camcorder records cinematic H.264 4:2:2/8-bit MXF 4K (UHD) 3840 x 2160 movies to an internal CFast card or Full HD 1920 x 1080 video to an SD card at multiple frame rates up to a maximum of 305Mbps/29.97P in 4K and 50Mbps/59.94P in Full HD. Other features include Wi-Fi connectivity, a vari-angle LCD screen, dedicated microphone and headphone jacks, and a rotating handgrip. The Canon XC10 is scheduled to be available in June 2015 for an estimated retail price of $2,499.00 with SanDisk 64GB CFast memory card and card reader.

The Canon EOS C300 Mark II is a new 4K video camera featuring an advanced imaging engine with dual DIGIC DV5 processors, new professional codecs and outstanding dynamic range of up to 15 stops. Equipped with an 8.85 megapixel Super 35mm Cinema CMOS Sensor, the Canon EOS C300 Mark II uses a new Canon XF-AVC Codec that allows 10-bit 4:2:2 4K image data to be recorded internally. The new imaging sensor maximizes the amount of light that falls on each photosite through a wider pixel pitch, enhancing the EOS C300 Mark II camera's sensitivity, supporting ISOs up to 102,400.The Canon EOS C300 Mark II Digital Cinema Camera is expected to be available in September 2015 for an estimated retail price of $20,000.

Photographer Pascal Kulcsár has built an automated slide "scanner" using commercially available LEGO pieces. The impressive contraption comprises a motorised slide transport system, a lightbox, a tripod-mounted digital SLR camera and a laptop; and requires absolutely no user intervention. Using his invention, Mr Kulcsár successfully digitised a wealth of photographs captured by his grandfather who has recently passed away at the age of 94.

Color Confidence have announced Anthony Bower, from Stockport as the winner of their exclusive Photography Show prize draw. “The Photography Show prize draw was designed to help digital imaging enthusiasts to manage their colour workflow,” says Geoffrey Clements, Managing Director at Color Confidence. “We were very pleased with the turnout at this year’s show. The Color Confidence team were kept extremely busy, answering questions and providing information on the range of products that we had available.” The prize bundle includes £1,500 worth of products from X-Rite, NEC, DxO, ExpoImaging, Rift Labs, Macphun and Tecco. Color Confidence has also announced the winner of the BenQ ‘Photo of the Show’ competition, which took place at the photo-critique area. Steven Reid from Wiltshire was awarded a BenQ PG2401PT monitor for his image ‘Night at the Station’ (above).

Lensbaby today announced the Velvet 56, a new 56mm lens with a maximum reproduction ratio of 1:2 and maximum aperture of f/1.6. According to the company this lens "delivers a velvety, glowing, ethereal look at brighter apertures, and beautifully sharp but subtly unique images as you stop down." Velvet 56 enables photographers to move seamlessly from shooting an environmental portrait to capturing details in a subject's clothing or jewelry. Nature and macro photographers will also find it highly usable thanks to its excellent close-up capabilities. Boasting an all-metal construction, the Lensbaby Velvet 56 will be available in two colours, black and silver. As seen in the photo above, the silver edition features a clear-anodised finish with engraved aperture and focus markings. Velvet 56 retails for $499.95 (black variant) and $599.95 (silver edition). The lenses will be available in Canon, Nikon, Sony A and Pentax mounts beginning13th April at lensbaby.com, B&H, Adorama, and from select specialty photo stores worldwide. Mirrorless mounts including Micro 4/3rds, Sony E, Samsung NX and Fuji X will be available in early May. Click through / scroll down for a gallery of web-resolution sample images taken by Caroline Jensen, Pauline Putt, Rachel Schomsky and Victoria Hederer Bell.

Tamron USA has launched its fourth My Photo Exhibit photo contest. Offered exclusively to Tamron USA lens users, the My Photo Exhibit competition gives one lucky winner the opportunity to win one of three full-frame, image stabilised Tamron lenses (among them the SP 15-30mm F/2.8 Di VC USD, pictured). Entrants will create a 3D virtual exhibit showcasing 8-14 of their best images in a travel theme on Tamron’s unique photo sharing exhibit site, MyPhotoExhibits.com. The deadline for submissions is 31st August.

Nikon has announced that three of its products have been awarded the prestigious "red dot award: product design 2015." The Nikon 1 J4 and Nikon 1 S2 (pictured) compact system cameras and the Nikon Coolpix S6900 compact digital camera all won accolades for their quality and design. Red Dot award winners will be on display at a special exhibition to be held from 30th June - 26th July at the Red Dot Design Museum on the premises of the Zeche Zollverein World Cultural Heritage Site in Essen, Germany.

Samyang has revealed a new full-frame telemacro lens. The Samyang 100mm f:2.8 ED UMC Macro is a manual focus lens with a maximum reproduction ratio of 1:1 and a working distance of 307mm. The optical construction comprises 15 elements in 12 groups including a high refractive index (HR) lens and extra low dispersion element (ED) to minimise colour aberration and unnecessary light dispersion in order to offer high resolution throughout the frame. The company's Ultra Multi Coating (UMC) and the included petal shaped hoodminimises ghosting and flare. The Samyang 100mm f:2.8 ED UMC Macro lens has a nearly circular, nine-bladed iris diaphragm for a pleasing bokeh. The lens will be available in 10 camera mounts: Canon EOS, Nikon AE, Pentax K, Sony A, Canon M, Fujifilm X, Samsung NX, Sony E, Four Thirds and Micro Four Thirds.

Transcend has launched a range of MLC-based, UHS-I Speed Class 3 compliant microSD memory cards for 4K action cameras. Available in capacities up to 64GB, these cards boast transfer speeds of up to 95MB/s in devices supporting the UHS-I specification. The cards are not only temperature proof, enduring extreme temperatures from -25°C to 85°C, but also waterproof, static proof, x-ray proof and shockproof. They all come with Transcend's exclusive RecoveRx software, which features a user-friendly interface that allows users to search deep within a storage device for traces of erased files that can be rescued. The UHS-I U3 (633X) microSD cards carry Transcend's Limited Lifetime Warranty.

Ohanaware have launched their latest photo enhancing application, Magic for OS X. The company's 7th generation real time effects engine is at the heart of the program, providing direct feedback to the user as options are adjusted and tweaked. Features include sixteen 1-click adjustments, a Yosemite inspired interface, and support for Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Apple Mail, Messages, AirDrop, iPhoto, Aperture and Apple's new Photos application.Magic is available today from the Ohanaware website for $19.99.

Iridient Digital has released Iridient Developer 3.0.1. This version adds support for the Canon 5DS and 5DS R, the Nikon D7200, the Olympus OM-D E-M5 II and SH-2, the Panasonic TZ71 and Samsung NX500. Additionally, it includes improvements to the new v3 noise reduction methods for Luminance and Luminance Grain Smoothness, particularly for images with high levels of speckle type noise in the deep shadows. The v3 Colour noise reduction methods are now both applicable to monochrome conversions and are now applied prior to monochrome conversion. New presets for Fujifilm X-Trans cameras with APS-C based sensors are also available. This update is free for everyone who purchased a new or upgraded license after 14 April 2013.

Street Photography: The Art of Capturing the Candid Moment by Gordon Lewis is a new title from Rocky Nook. The book includes discussions of why photographers are drawn to street photography, the various styles of street photography, and what makes a great street photograph. Lewis then goes on to explore how the choice of location can change a photographer’s approach to image capture: from city streets to fairs to beaches, Lewis discusses the impact different environments have on the process of street photography. The 144-page softcover is priced at $29.95. Street Photography is also available as a PDF e-book, for $23.99.

BeFunky has launched its next-generation online photo editing suite. The newest version processes images twice as fast as the previous iteration, and features a sleeker and intuitive layout. The company has also added new effects to its large library of current tools, many of which are exclusive to BeFunky. The editing suite is free to use, and for $4.95 a month, users can upgrade to BeFunky Plus, which offers access to hundreds of additional features.