Phase One has announced the immediate availability of the Schneider Kreuznach 40-80mm f/4.0-5.6 leaf shutter zoom lens. Designed specifically for the Phase One 645 camera platform, the Schneider Kreuznach 40-80mm f/4.0-5.6 is the latest result of close optical collaboration between Schneider Kreuznach, Phase One and Mamiya Digital Imaging. Featuring 15 elements (including 2 aspherical ones) in 11 groups, the new 40-80mm f/4.0-5.6 complements the existing Schneider Kreuznach 75-150 mm f/4.0-5.6 leaf shutter zoom lens. The Schneider Kreuznach 40-80mm LS f/4.0-5.6  is priced at €6.990 / $8,990.

Win one of two Manfrotto Professional Backpack 50 worth £219.95!

The two lucky winners are Jan Enkelmann and Michelle Bosomworth. Congratulations!

All the gear you want, protected and with you all the time! Built to carry pro DSLRs, lenses, flash, a laptop, tripod and accessories, Manfrotto Professional Backpacks are designed to function as a work station on the ground while you're shooting, and thanks to their Camera Protection System (CPS) and Exo-tough multi-layered construction, they ensure the maximum level of protection for your gear.

Product Features

The Professional Backpack 50 is designed to hold a pro DSLR with battery grips, attached 70-200 F/2.8 lens, additional camera body, 5 extra lenses, flash, tablet, 15” laptop, tripod and accessories. With a removable rain cover to protect your gear from the elements, and including detachable straps on the front and side of the bag for attaching a tripod, you can be sure this bag suits your every need!

CPS - Camera Protection System
Exo-tough multi-layered construction for higher protection
Bag opens completely, with flap serving as field mat
Side pockets for personal accessories
Front flap with pockets for accessories and a tablet
Padded adjustable shoulder straps + padded back system
Specialised tripod base for Manfrotto tripods
Tripod connects to front or side with detachable straps. Hidden side pocket for additional tripod
Carry options: shoulder strap, Easy Grip handle or slung over trolley handle
Top access for fast draw
Sturdy TPU feet keep bag off the ground and serve as shock absorbers

To find out more please visit http://www.manfrotto.co.uk

We're giving away 5 Eye-Fi Mobi 8GB wireless memory cards, worth £41.99 each!

The 5 lucky winners are: Barrie Bullock, colin baker, juergen hefele, Darren Stone and keren curran. Congratulations!

Eye-Fi Mobi adds the convenience and the connectivity of mobile devices to high quality digital photography. Photos and videos can now be transferred quickly, easily and wirelessly to a smartphone or tablet, making them immediately available for sharing with the rest of the world via social media or email.

Thanks to Eye-Fi Mobi, the cumbersome transfer of photos from the camera to smartphone or PC is a thing of the past, so now photographers only need to focus on making unforgettable photos. Juggling a multitude of devices is no longer necessary: the high quality photos from the camera can now be shared instantly via social media. Replace the camera’s standard SD card with an Eye-Fi Mobi card to make the pictures appear on your iOS or Android™ device in two simple steps.

To find out more please visit http://en.eyefi.com/

We're giving away 10 copies of Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 9, worth £69.99 each!

The 10 lucky winners are: Terry Wells, Poul P. Phillipsen, Sue Cook, Toni Arnott, chris nichol, Rebecca Herbert, Mark Clancy, Kirsty Hall, Gregg Carter and julie macmillan. Congratulations!

With Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 9 you can optimize your images and add your own special touch.

Perfect your photos using the retouch feature or design creative photo collages. Make your images stand out from the crowd with custom graphics and personalized logos.

Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 9 combines the best of photo and graphic design in one interface. The program contains a vast selection of powerful graphic design tools that are perfect for beginners and pros alike:

Flawless images

• Optimize the contrast, colour, and sharpness of your images

• Correct converging lines, cropping, red-eye effect, etc.

• Remove distracting elements from photos, e.g. road signs, people standing in the way, imperfections, etc.

Creative freedom

• Select image elements and reposition them freely anywhere you like

• Use photo filters for creative image effects

• Create panorama montages from several individual images

Graphic design

• Design logos, decorations or custom fonts

• Create spatial effects using the powerful 3D tool

• Insert gradients, shadows, and transparency effects for a realistic look

To find out more please visit http://www.magix.com/gb/xara-photo-graphic-designer/detail/

Nikon UK today announced that its Ambassador scheme has expanded to include two more photographers. Kate Hopewell-Smith followed her passion for photography after a career in marketing and now specialises in lifestyle photography, reflecting her love of capturing images of people. Bob Martin (pictured) is a multi-award winning sports photographer with a career that spans over 30 years and has taken him to some of the world’s major sporting events, including London 2012 where he was employed as Photo Chief. Kate and Bob join the five strong team of Ambassadors: John Wright – commercial photographer who specialises in fashion and celebrity, Ross Hoddinott - wildlife and landscape photo expert, Mark Seymour - multiple award-winning wedding photographer, Kirsty Mitchell – fine art photographer who is nearing the end of her stunning Wonderland collection and Mark Pain – Chief Sports photographer on the Mail on Sunday with a host of awards under his belt.

The Asus ProArt PA328Q is a 32" Ultra HD monitor featuring a 16:9-aspect-ratio WLED display with a resolution of 3840x2160 pixels. Each PA328Q is factory-calibrated (Delta <2) and provides 100% coverage of the sRGB colour space. In addition, it supports a 14-bit internal lookup table and offers 10-bit display colour for over a billion onscreen colours. Connectivity options include 4 USB 3.0 ports, 1 HDMI 2.0 terminal, 1 DisplayPort, 1 HDMI 1.4 connector and 1 Mini DisplayPort. Built-in Picture-in-Picture (PiP) and Picture-by-Picture (PbP) functionality let you view content from two different sources simultaneously, with the ability to switch video between sources easily. Pricing has yet to be communicated.

Issue 29 of David Noton’s Chasing the Light online magazine is now available. In this month's Behind the Lens and accompanying Video Blog, David relates the second part of his Iceland trip he undertook in March 2014. For the second part of his Low Down on Planning, he analyses what needs to be considered when planning an individual shoot: where, when, transport, packing and preparation. Renowned pro Ross Hoddinott has a brand new column, Hoddinott’s Hangout, with the inaugural installment presenting a travelogue of his recent trip to the Galapagos Islands, which includes some of the great wildlife shots he captured in that special environment. And in The Bizz, former picture researcher/editor and current freelance keyworder Juliet McGrory reveals the dark art behind captioning and keywording your images successfully. Please note that the full contents of Chasing the Light online magazine is available to f11 subscribers only. Non-members can purchase individual issues of the magazine at a price of £4.20.

Olympus is to release beautifully crafted special editions of its OM-D E-M10 compact system camera. Featuring luxury accessories, textures and colours, the E-M10 Limited Edition is available in a specially created shade of green (pictured), black or orange. Accessories include an exclusive genuine-leather shoulder strap and an ‘OM-D’ lens cap that exactly matches the grip and strap. The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Limited Edition will be available through selected stockists exclusively at Harrods – from late June 2014, for £749.

The 2015 Sony World Photography Awards, organised by the World Photography Organisation (WPO), are now open for entries. Photographers will compete for a range of cash prizes and the latest digital imaging equipment from Sony. The Professional contest has 15 categories with entries being judged on the basis of a series of work, the Open competition has 10 categories and submissions are judged on a single image each. There is a Youth contest for photographers under 20, and a Student Focus competition for higher education photography students aged 18-30. The Open and Youth competitions will close for entries at 23.59 GMT on Monday 5 January 2015 with the exception of the Professional competition, which will close at 23.59 GMT on Thursday 8 January 2015.

Adorama has announced new updates to its VIP programme, offering more benefits, savings and exclusive offers than before. New features, perks and goodies include 30GB of smarter cloud photo and video storage from Picturelife, a complimentary photography lesson from New York Institute of Photography expert photographers, and a free 8”x8” AdoramaPix Photo Book. Additionally, for a limited time, customers can sign up for Adorama’s VIP programme at absolutely no cost. To join, simply visit the website below.

Canon U.S.A. has kicked off its Canon In Action Tour, an educational roadshow ideal for advanced amateur SLR users and filmmaking enthusiasts. The tour includes live-learning seminars and workshops in several major US cities between now and 23 November 2014. Tour attendees will have the opportunity to take part in an in-depth Imaging Essentials Saturday seminar, and/or intensive Sunday training workshops for a nominal fee. Each Saturday seminar covers still-imaging topics ranging from lens selection and composition, to understanding histograms and flash photography with Canon’s versatile Speedlite system. The Canon In Action Tour Sunday workshop offers participants a choice of two all-day, hands-on workshops:  Speedlite Intensive or Exploring DSLR Video. A full schedule of cities and dates for the Canon In Action tour is available at the website below.

Sony today announced availability and pricing details for its Alpha A7S full-frame compact system camera. The Sony A7S will go on general sale in Europe from the end of July 2014 priced at approximately £2,100 and is available to pre-order now on country-specific Sony websites. Additionally, the company announced that the A7S will offer the user the ability to activate a ‘Silent Shooting’ mode, thus making the photographer as unobtrusive as possible. In addition, the recently announced RX100 III will start shipping in Europe at the beginning of July 2014 and will be priced at approximately £700.

The International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum (IPHF) has announced it was selected as one of the arts organisations awarded a grant from The PNC Foundation through the PNC Arts Alive initiative in 2014. PNC Arts Alive is a two-year, $1 million initiative from The PNC Foundation that supports visual and performing arts groups with the goal of increasing arts access and engagement in new and innovative ways. The grant was awarded in support of the IPHF’s International Photography Collaborative – “View Through a Lens” – an arts and cultural exchange programme between St. Louis, Missouri and Nanjing, China.

The Samsung Galaxy K Zoom, a smartphone with 10x optical zoom, will go on sale in the United Kingdom tomorrow, 31st May. Boasting a remarkably slim and chic body with a 20.7-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor, Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS), Full HD video, and a Xenon flash; the Galaxy K Zoom will be available from selected online and high street retailers, including Samsung Experience Stores and Carphone Warehouse.

Marwell’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition has returned for a fifth consecutive year. This year’s top prize is a 9.day Wild España trip which is a wildlife conservation tour starting from the mountains in the north to the mouth of the Guadalquivir river in the south of Spain, courtesy of Wildlife Worldwide. The competition has four categories, including Cute and Funny, Marwell Wildlife endangered, Marwell Wildlife residents and Native Wildlife. The deadline for entries is 31 August 2014. As always, we suggest that you read the rules before entering your work.

This summer, Manfrotto are running a series of pop-up events across Britain this summer. At these events, Manfrotto will be your local photographic store for one day offering customers the chance to come along to free photography talks, take advantage of special discounts and exclusive offers plus free demonstrations and the chance to view all of their latest products. Click through / scroll down for a list of dates and locations.