Singh-Ray Filters have just launched a new website showcasing close to 1000 photographs by over 50 major landscape photographers, including Art Wolfe, Ian Plant, Brenda Tharp, Tony Sweet, Jack Graham, Don Smith, Tom Till, George Lepp, Nevada Wier and Gary Hart. “Our new site celebrates the amazing work of photographers who use our products, in addition to being a site where you can find out about and purchase our filters and accessories," says founder Bob Singh. "Our blog will also include frequent posts by photographers who will share tips and techniques about their photography and how they use filters.”

Akvis has released version 5 of SmartMask, an image selection and masking application for Windows and Mac OS X. Available as a standalone program and as a plug-in to a photo editor, the software is especially useful when you need to create photo collages with numerous objects from different images that don’t have clearly defined edges and fade into a background. This latest update fixes minor bugs; adds a Share option that lets you quickly publish images on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr and Google+; increases the maximum size of the Eraser and History Brush tools; optimises the performance of the Magic Brush; adds support for additional raw image file formats (standalone version) and compatibility with Photoshop CC 2014 (plug-in version). Registered users can upgrade to the new version for free.

X-Rite has announced the extension of their cashback offer until 30 September 2014. Those who buy an X-Rite ColorChecker Passport (pictured) at the same time as either X-Rite ColorMunki Display or X-Rite i1Display Pro can claim £30 cashback - meaning that with a retail price of £83 the ColorChecker Passport can effectively be purchased for just £53. Note that all claims must be received by the Friday 14 November 2014 in order to qualify.

Olympus has announced the UK launch of the previously Japan-only PEN E-PL6 compact system camera. This exquisitely designed, small and lightweight camera boasts an all-metal finish and comes bundled with the world’s slimmest pancake zoom lens for go-anywhere creativity. Other key highlights include a 16-megapixel MOS sensor, TruePic VI image processor, a large, tiltable and swivelling high-res LCD touchscreen, Full HD movies, interval shooting and a useful electronic level gauge. Together with the FlashAir card and pancake lens, the Olympus E-PL6 will be available in beautifully designed packaging from mid-July 2014, for £429.

Macphun has announced the UK launch of a new range of imaging software specifically developed for the professional photographer. Exclusively distributed by Color Confidence, the product range is available as an electronic download or on a 4GB SD card. The lineup includes Snapheal Pro (£29.99), Intensify Pro (£44.99) and Focus 2 Pro (£29.99). Each application runs as standalone or as a plug-in for Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. Macphun also offer a Creative Kit (£59.99), which includes Snapheal Pro and Intensify Pro, and Creative Kit Plus (£74.99), which includes all three products.

LightRocket, an online photo platform targeting professional photographers and serious enthusiasts, now offers its members up to five times more default cloud storage and expanded 100GB storage units. "Our goal is to make photographers' and visual artists' lives easier and more profitable by simplifying the process of backing up, managing, promoting and selling one's work," explained LightRocket CEO and Co-Founder Peter Charlesworth. "If you make just one sale from LightRocket, you'll probably cover the cost of your subscription for years." The company is currently running an introductory promotion, offering an initial year of 'premium' membership (including 100GB of cloud storage) for $49. New members can try the service free for 30 days.

Seamless, an online supplier of photo equipment, camera accessories and photo presentation products, has announced the Emily Soto Seminar taking place on 11th September in the Morrison Hotel, Dublin. Based in New York, Emily Soto is among the top names working in the fashion industry today and has been at the front line of the instant film revival. While she is best known for her high-fashion work, Soto’s style follows a more personal, artistic approach to photography making this a not-to-be-missed event for photographers from all walks of life. In this 3-hour seminar participants will learn how Emily started with photography and how she broke into the fashion industry, her favourite lighting techniques, her equipment overview, witness a live photo shoot demonstration, discover her start to finish retouching workflow and get a walkthrough of her Fashion Actions. To book your place, visit the website below.

Impossible has launched a black-and-white instant film in which each pack of eight images are framed in eight different vivid colours. Designed to be used in any Polaroid 600 type camera, B&W 600 Hard Color is the latest in a series of Impossible Special and Limited Edition films that offer not just alternatives to a white frame – black, silver, gold, various colours, and even animal skins – but also different coloured film emulsions, including cyan, magenta and sepia. B&W 600 Hard Color matches frames in rich variants of red, yellow, blue, orange, purple and green with warm, high contrast black and white images. The new Impossible Special Edition B&W 600 Hard Color for Polaroid 600 cameras are now available for pre-order.

Inspiring Photography Workshops have announced a new photo adventure in Venice, Italy. "Venice is undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man and it definitely is one of Europe’s most romantic cities," says photographer Dimitri Vasileiou, owner of Inspiring Photography Workshops. The Venice workshop will run from 19 to 26 January 2015, and there are two options: Package #1 includes 4 nights accommodation with breakfast, airport transfers, one-to-one tuition and a daytrip to Burano for £995. Package #2 includes 7 nights accommodation with breakfast, airport transfers, an additional day on Burano island, food and wine tasting, an 18th century Venetian style dinner night with traditional Venetian food and dressing, and plenty of opportunities to photograph locations off the tourist path for £1,795. For more information and to book your place, visit the website below.

Astrobphotography by Thierry Legault is a new title by Rocky Nook. Legault teaches the art and techniques of astrophotography: from simple camera-on-tripod night-scene imaging of constellations, star trails, eclipses, artificial satellites, and polar auroras to more intensive astrophotography using specialised equipment for lunar, planetary, solar, and deep-sky imaging. The 240-page volume is available for $39.95.

Bonhams is to sell the Leica camera with which Russian photographer Yevgeni Khaldei took Raising a Flag over the Reichstag, one of the most famous photographs of World War II.  Khaldei’s image was taken on 2 May 1945 shortly after the Reichstag had finally fallen.  It is a restaging of the moment when Red Army fighters had first flown the flag over the building two days earlier before the Germans fought back and dislodged them. The camera that was used to take this photographt is being offered at Bonhams Leica Centenary Sale in Hong Kong on 30 November and is estimated at £230,000-340,000. Bonhams  Head of scientific instruments Jon Baddeley said, “It is a great privilege to be selling a  camera with such evocative associations. Raising a Flag over the Reichstag is a defining image of victory over evil which affected people deeply at the time and has continued to resonate for later generations.”

Transcend has launched two CFast 2.0 memory cards. Designed to support high-end 4K cameras and camcorders and to meet the extreme demands of professional cinematography, Transcend’s CFX650 memory cards feature the fastest transfer speeds available in the market, while its CFX600 media boast the highest storage capacity. Supporting the next generation CFast 2.0 specification with a SATA III interface, CFX650 memory cards offer read and write speeds of up to 510MB and 370MB per second, respectively; while CFX600 cards offer vast capacities of up to 512GB, surpassing the capacity limit of any existing card. Transcend's CFast 2.0 CFX650 memory cards are available in 128GB($499) and 256GB($949), while the CFX600 cards are available in 128GB($249), 256GB($499) and 512GB($949) capacities.

Canon today announced Canon Print Service, a mobile print offering that enables users to print from any Android version 4.4 enabled devices as well as select HP Slate devices to select Canon models. Canon Print Service works on top of Android’s recently announced printing framework and enables users to print their photographs and documents to Canon printing systems over a wireless network. “As the growth in mobility among individuals and businesses around the world expands exponentially, Canon U.S.A. continues to deliver to our customers the technology they need to remain productive and successful,” said Junichi Yoshitake, senior vice president and general manager, Business Imaging Solutions Group, Canon U.S.A. “With the release of Canon Print Service, we are demonstrating our commitment to existing Canon customers especially by offering them a valuable solution they didn’t have when they originally bought their product.”

MindShift Gear’s Filter Nest is the first dual-purpose round filter case for outdoor photography. Described as "essentially two bags in one," the Filter Nest is belt-mountable and compatible with MindShift Gear’s rotation180° Panorama and rotation180° Professional backpacks for quickly accessing filters while setting up a shot. A padded, zippered pouch protects delicate filters from dust and scratches in the field and a removable insert allows for compact packing. The Filter Nest fits 8 round filters (up to 82mm) including 2 variable NDs in orange divider, step up/down rings, cleaning cloth, lens caps and more.

Microsoft Devices have just announced the UK release date of the new Lumia 930 smartphone, which features a 20-megapixel camera module with optical image stabilisation and dual LED flash. Shipping with Windows Phone 8.1, the Lumia 930 will go on sale with UK retailers from the 17th of July and will be available from Vodafone, EE, Phones4U, O2, Carphone Warehouse, Tesco and Amazon. It will also be widely available across other UK High Street and online retailers in a range of vibrant colours including bright orange, bright green and black. Phones4U will stock the Lumia 930 exclusively in white. The handset will be available from £33/month on contract.

Professional underwater photographer Richard Salas is gearing up to publish Luminous Sea, the third and final book in the trilogy of his underwater photography series. With 50% of the book’s future profits going to The Ocean Foundation, Luminous Sea enables readers to play an active role in marine life conservation. The book will cover sea life found in the Pacific Ocean from Washington to Alaska, completing Richard's series of photo books covering the Pacific Ocean from the Equator all the way to Alaska. Readers will get up-close and personal with Galapagos sharks and Red-Lipped Batfish. They’ll see intimate shots of male seahorses tending for their young as well as Star-Eyed Parrotfish interacting with other fish in the community. The publication of the book is funded through an Indiegogo campaign.

A Kingston University graphics student has used his camera to tell the story of the dying art form of subway dancing in New York City. Scott Carthy, who is originally from Drogheda, Ireland, arrived in the United States with his camera in March of this year with the intention of documenting the declining subculture which is currently being clamped down. The result of Scott’s trip is the seven-minute film 1050.6(c), which takes its name from the section of the New York City Transit Rules of Conduct which prohibits performers from dancing within the subway cars. Hiss film takes a snapshot of social and political change in one of the world’s most famous cities, and captures the artistry and often unappreciated talents of New York’s subway performers through the eyes of an aspiring young film-maker. Scott is now determined to find a way to return to shoot a feature-length version of the movie and, to that end, has set-up a Kickstarter fundraising campaign to try and get the project in motion.  “I want to film these amazing performers now, because this could be the last chance to record this art form,” the 22 year old explained. “If no one else does it, it will be gone.”

Panasonic UK is now offering a unique promotion for its Lumix G products – a 100% satisfaction guarantee. To qualify, you need to buy a brand new Panasonic Lumix G product from a participating retailer (Panasonic Store, WEX Photographic, Park Cameras and Wilkinson Cameras only) no later than 30th October. In plain language, if you’re not 100% happy, Panasonic will refund you within 60 days of purchase. As always, make sure to read the promotion's terms and conditions before buying.