Leica Camera UK is offering existing Leica M owners the opportunity to part-exchange their current M body for the Leica M (Typ 240). “We are really excited to be able to offer this M part-exchange to our Leica M owners,” says Jason Heward, General Manager at Leica Camera. “Our owners have been requesting this service for some time and it’s great that we are finally able to meet this need. This year marks 60 years of Leica M photography, so whether it’s inspiring M analogue users to go digital, or simply upgrading to the latest digital M, we hope that it provides a good opportunity for photographers considering the M (Typ 240).”

The Cactus V6 is the world's first non-TTL wireless trigger that works on any camera with a standard hot-shoe or PC sync port to remotely control the power output of Canon, Nikon and Pentax’s system flashes – all at the same time. The nifty radio trigger can adjust power levels in 0.1EV increments - even if your flash does not offer that option -, and offers a well-thought user interface that allows easyt multi-group power output control for up to four groups of flashguns. "We have profiled more than 30 popular flash models across a wide range of brands so that the V6 can precisely control their output levels," the company says. "With this unique feature, photographers can remotely control the flash power of various flash models, even of different brands." The V6 can directly control a Cactus RF60 set to Slave mode using RF60’s built-in radio transceiver. Besides controlling power remotely in single and multiple groups, the V6 can also adjust the zoom level of the RF60 easily by pressing the adjustment wheel and swap control between power and zoom. The Cactus V6 transceiver is available for $59.95.

Samsung has introduced its first-ever professional ultra-high-definition monitor, called the Samsung UD970. Each UD970 monitor undergoes rigorous calibration in the factory, enabling smooth, precise colour gradation, as well as clear colour in grayscale and white balance. The factory-calibrated engine delivers uniform, consistent colour across the entire screen with a 16-bit look-up table (LUT). The result is that the UD970 maintains smoother gradation that adjusts the colour without reduction so that it maximises the monitor’s capabilities. The monitor’s unique hardware calibration technology provides a best-in-class colour precision and accuracy of ΔE≤ 1.0, the company says. A quad-window picture-by-picture (PBP) function supports up to four FHD windows on one screen simultaneously, while a dual windows PBP function enables the monitor to be connected to two PCs and have two individual native resolutions showing. A separate picture-in-picture (PiP) 2.0 function displays a separate PiP content feed on screen. The 31.5-inch UD970 has a 10-bit panel capable of displaying over 1 billion colours, and covers 99.5% of the Adobe RGB colour space.

Casio has announced a new, Wi-Fi enabled digital compact camera with 10x optical zoom. The 16.1-megapixel Casio Exilim EX-ZR50 has a 1/2.3"-type CMOS sensor, an optically stabilised 25-250mm equivalent lens, a 5cm macro mode, a 921,000-dot, 3" rear display that tilts upward by up to 180°, and Full HD video recording capabilities. The camera will be available from 12 September 2014 at an estimated retail price of 40,000 yen (£235/$385).

Canon has added 3 new wireless AiO models to its Pixma range of inkjet printers. The top-of-the-line Canon Pixma MG7520 (£189.99/€229.99/$199.99, pictured) features advanced media handling with a dual front tray, direct disc printing and six individual ink tanks producing output at a maximum color resolution of 9600x2400dpi. Sporting a compact footprint, the printer has a 3.5-inch LCD touchscreen with the Canon Intelligent Touch System for easy viewing and navigating of menus and images. New to this model is PIXMA Touch & Print (Active NFC), which allows users with compatible Android mobile devices that are registered with PPS to simply open the PPS app, touch the NFC Tag on the top of the printer while viewing the picture, and begin printing without the need for Wi-Fi. The Canon Pixma MG6620 (£139.99/€169.99/$149.99) features a Passive NFC version of PIXMA Touch & Print technology, with similar functionality as Active NFC except that both the mobile device and printer will have to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network in order to print. The Pixma MG5620 (£99.99/€119.99/$99.99) utilises five individual ink tanks, four of which are colour and photo-dedicated while there is a separate pigment black ink dedicated to text. The 2.5-inch touchscreen allows easy access to printer functions including PIXMA Cloud Link and Google Cloud Print

Metz USA have revealed the suggested retail price of their new Mecablitz 64 AF-1 Digital flash unit. Announced two weeks ago, the Metz Mecablitz 64 AF-1 Digital features a zoomable tilt-swivel head and a secondary flash tube for on-axis fill. The guide number is 64 in metres at ISO 100 at the 200mm flash head position (translating into a GN of 43 @ 50mm). Key highlights include a new large, auto-rotating, full-colour touchscreen; HSS, servo, automatic and TTL flash modes; 1st and 2nd-curtain synchronisation; a modelling light and a newly-developed motorised zoom mechanism that makes the mecablitz 64 AF-1 digital capable of properly illuminating focal lengths ranging from 24 to 200mm. The flash also incorporates a new RAPID function, enabling photographers to shorten recycle times in fast paced situations. The US MSRP is $499.99.

Website: Metz

Via its official Instagram channel (!), Hasselblad has introduced a new multi-shot camera called the Hasselblad H5D-200c Multi-Shot. Just like the existing Hasselblad H4D-200MS, the new camera has a 50-megapixel sensor and utilises Hasselblad’s patented piezo frame module, which captures a series of shots of the same subject and combines them into a 200-megapixel file. The main difference is the Hasselblad H5D-200c MS has a CMOS chip instead of a CCD, which offers a much wider sensitivity range and exposure times as long as 12 minutes. Pricing and availability to be confirmed.

Leica has today announced a new digital rangefinder camera. Based on the otherwise identical Leica M, the new Leica M-P (not to be confused with the Leica MP film camera) offers all the technical advantages of the Leica M-System and several additional features. According to Leica, the ‘P’ in the product name indicates the "particularly discreet and enduring design concept with which the Leica M-P joins the line of Leica M-Cameras." Instead of the red Leica logo, the M-P is graced only with a "discreetly classical" Leica script, making it "noticeably unnoticeable," the company says. The full-frame, 24-megapixel Leica M-P features a 2GB buffer (upgraded from 1GB on the Leica M), a sapphire glass LCD cover and a frame selection lever with which bright-line frames for six different focal lengths can be projected into the viewfinder to simulate subject framing. The corresponding frames are shown in pairs for the focal lengths 28 and 90mm, 35 and 135mm or 50 and 75mm. The manufacturer's suggested retail price is $7949.95.

Lensbaby has launched  the LM-10 Sweet Spot Lens for mobile devices and the Sweet 50, a 50mm selective-focus optic compatible with the Lensbaby Optic Swap System for SLR, mirrorless and motion picture cameras. The LM-10 ( $69.95) is less than 1.5 inches long and weighs in at 0.7 oz. It attaches to a mobile device fitted with a strong adhesive-backed stainless steel ring. Additionally, the lens has magnets on both ends, which allows it to be used alone or in conjunction with other magnetic mobile lenses such as those made by Photojojo. The lens comes with a free iOS or Android app, which is required to select the focus point and properly orient the image. The Sweet 50 optic ($299.95) is a 50mm selective focus optic with a 12-blade adjustable aperture ranging from f/2.5 through f/22. Along with controlling depth of field, the aperture controls the size of the sweet spot of focus. The Sweet 50 is part of the Lensbaby Optic Swap System and attaches to your SLR, mirrorless or motion picture camera via the Lensbaby Composer Pro.

Kodak Alaris have announced the discontinuation of the Kodak Professional BW400CN chromogenic film. The BW400CN was a greyscale film that could be developed using the C-41 process, just like colour print films, which made it a convenient black-and-white option for photographers with no access to a traditional darkroom. Kodak Alaris "emphatize" with those who "use and love this film," and blame the decision on "a steady decline in sales and customer usage."

The Sony A5100 is the world’s smallest interchangeable lens camera with an APS-C sensor, built-in flash and Wi-Fi connectivity. The 24.3 megapixel A5100 boasts a fast Hybrid AF with  179 focal plane phase-detection AF points, 180° tiltable touch enabled LCD screen, powerful BIONZ X image processor, and support for the XAVC S video format at 50 Mbps.

The Sony A5100 goes on general sale in Europe from Mid-September 2014. It is available in the UK priced at approximately £550 (16-50mm lens kit), £760 (16-50mm + 55-210mm lens kit) and £420 (body only).

Nikon will educate and inspire at this year’s Photokina show in Cologne. Nikon will be showcasing its full range of products, from stylish compact cameras, through to high-end professional D-SLRs. Central to the Nikon booth will be an interactive lightbox where visitors can experience the excitement of creative photography beamed to the giant screen. A full schedule of speakers and activity is available at www.nikonlife.eu.

X-Rite have announced their full educational speaker programme at Photokina 2014. Visitors will have the opportunity to come and learn from X-Rite Coloratti, Colour Experts and leading educators from across Europe about all things photography and colour management. Additionally, on Wednesday and Thursday evening visitors will have the chance to join a free Photowalk in Cologne with two of the world’s leading photographers. X-Rite’s stand will be in Hall 4.1, Stand J029.

Leica have unveiled their show activities for Photokina 2014. In addition to the unique exhibition concept in the Leica Galerie, the programme features further cultural highlights. For example, the world premiere of the new book The Haight: Love, Rock and Revolution from legendary photographer Jim Marshall (1936-2010). Talks and signing sessions with prominent photographers are also planned.

The CAMS Pro is a new camera strap system that makes it more comfortable to shoot with a vertical grip on a DSLR and telephoto lenses. The CAMS Pro line is aimed at the Event, Sport, and enthusiast photographer with the goal of providing the most comfortable and convenient way to carry, shoot, and mount a Pro bodied or gripped camera and telephoto lens. Early bird pricing is available with the standard pricing for a Pro Sling Strap and Camera Plate set at $95, the upgrade kit at $60, and the Pro Lens Plate at $45.

EISA have unveiled their photography award winners for 2014-15. Eleven different companies shared the 19 different awards between them, including the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GH4 as the "European Photo & Video Camera", the Olympus OM-D E-M10 (pictured) as the "European Consumer Compact System Camera", and the Canon EOS 1200D as the "European Consumer DSLR Camera".

To see all the EISA award winners, visit this page.

Soviet Ghosts is a new book featuring a unique set of photographs by Rebecca Bathory. On a journey funded by Lowepro, Rebecca captured many abandoned locations, which were either part of the Soviet Union or its satellite states.  ‘I refrain from having personal opinions about the era and try to remain relatively neutral.’ Rebecca added: ‘Whilst the period had bad times, the people living in the communities still got on with life and also had good times, it was not a period of pure black and white and so my aim of the book was to just capture it as it is now. Some places would have been thriving and others horrible places to be and you can see this reflected in my book and some of the accompanying text.’ Priced at £19.95 the book is available via Rebecca’s website.