Manfrotto has just announced a number of offers across its range of Italian photographic accessories. The Pocket, a versatile, compact tripod with legs that fold down neatly for easy storage, is available for £29.95. The Mini-24 Continuous LED light, a smartphone/compact-camera accessory for shooting stills and video (pictured), can be had for £69.95, while the Agile VII Sling Camera Bag is currently priced at £89.95. The 294 Carbon-Fibre Kit, comprising a tripod and a three-way head, is now available for £249.95. Additional holiday offers include free shipping on everything above £20 from the Manfrotto website using the promo code FREESHIP at checkout, a £30 discount on the Manfrotto MK293A4-A3RC1 290 Series Aluminium Kit, and a free ML120 LED Light on all Manfrotto UK orders £100 and above, starting tomorrow.

Panasonic has announced a delay in the launch of its new Lumix DMC-GH3 Micro Four Thirds camera (body-only version). Originally scheduled for a December 13th release, the Panasonic GH3 camera body’s launch has been pushed back to December 29th. Do note that this decision only affects the body-only configuration; two kits - one with the 12-35mm f/2.8 lens and one with the 14-140mm superzoom - are going on sale today in Japan, according to schedule.

Source: Panasonic Japan
Review: Read our in-depth review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 compact system camera

Rocky Nook has published a new collection by author Bruce Barnbaum - best known for his book, The Art of Photography -, titled Tone Poems, Book 1: Opuses 1, 2 & 3 and Tone Poems, Book 2: Opuses 4, 5 & 6. “The large-format books are a visual symphony with 181 superbly reproduced black-and-white nature photographs, from the abstract and often ethereal Dune Dome of Death Valley to the corporeal lyricism of the Caineville Buttes in Capitol Reef National Park,” the publisher says. “Each book is divided into sections that represent a different theme showcasing the magnificence of our glorious universe and offering a celebration of the natural world that is sure to elicit a visceral response.” Each book contains a CD with music recorded in Seattle’s Benaroya Hall by classical pianist Judith Cohen. The music was chosen to mirror and expand on the emotional content of the imagery in each of the two volumes. Sold separately, each book is available for $79.95.

The HDRI Handbook 2.0: High Dynamic Range Imaging for Photographers and CG Artists by Christian Bloch is a new title from Rocky Nook. “The HDRI Handbook 2.0 reveals what was once Hollywood’s best-kept secret, and includes all you need to know from the basics, such as understanding the foundation of HDRI, to advanced topics such as automatic bracketing controllers, flawless ghost removal, extracting all exposure detail from a single raw file, shooting HDR video, and more,” the publisher says. Also included is a DVD containing a new breed of HDR software along with all the original photographs from the tutorials. Distributed by O’Reilly, the 672-page volume is available to pre-order for $59.95 including the accompanying DVD.

LensPen will officially launch its new smartphone screen cleaner, SmartKlear, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2013. SmartKlear features the same grease-cutting carbon compound that’s found in the original LensPen and the SideKick tablet screen cleaner. “SideKick is designed for the large touchscreens on iPads and tablets; really too big for iPhones and smartphones,” Keating said. “SmartKlear has a smaller cleaning pad that works great on a phone.” This might also be an interesting product to serious photographers - not only because they tend to have smartphones but also because of the rapid expansion of touchscreen-based technologies in advanced cameras. Replacement cleaning pads for SmartKlear are also available, Keating said.

Kolor has launched version 3 of its image stitching and panorama creation software products, Autopano Pro & Autopano Giga. The latest update mainly enhances the user experience, with revamped ergonomics and the ability to choose among different projection modes. New features include real-time image manipulation at full-resolution, a great choice of customisable projection modes, a preview of the final image before even launching the rendering, and a selective anti-ghost mode (Giga edition only). Autopano version 3 is available on the new Kolor Store. Current users can upgrade for free or at a
reduced upgrade price depending on the date of their purchase.

DxO Labs have released DxO ViewPoint v1.1, the new version of its software solution dedicated to correcting keystoning and volume anamorphosis. Version 1.1 provides improved keystoning correction tools and more precise automatic recropping. It is now possible to move grid lines directly in the image without having to reposition each anchor point; with this, the anchor points, as well as the slider settings, can now be directly and very precisely moved by using the keyboard. Additionally, the cropping tool now automatically detects the image’s orientation and is also more easily adjustable. This upgrade is free for all owners of DxO ViewPoint v1.0.

Adobe today revealed a major update to its Creative Cloud offering. Members will now have access to over a dozen exclusive new features for Adobe Photoshop, including support for HiDPI displays, the ability to quickly export CSS code for text and objects, Smart Object support for Blur Gallery and Liquify, Crop tool refinements, 3D enhancements and Conditional Actions. Additionally, the company is introducing a new version, Creative Cloud for teams, making it easy for creative professionals to collaborate with colleagues. Also added is Creative Cloud Connection, a desktop sync app, which allows users to automatically sync files to a Creative Cloud account by saving files to the desktop folder, or simply dragging and dropping.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III: The Guide to Understanding and Using Your Camera by James Johnson is a new title from Rocky Nook. This book provides step-by-step instructions for setting adjustments; colour illustrations; and detailed how, when, and why explanations for each menu option. Every button, dial, switch, and menu configuration setting is explored in a user-friendly manner, with suggestions for setup. Screenshots and example images are placed throughout the book, making it easy to follow along. Distributed by O’Reilly Media, the 276-page volume is available for pre-order at a price of $39.95 through the website below.

Kata has launched a new range of sling camera bags for amateur photographers. The Kata 3N1-20DL Sling Backpack fits a pro SLR camera with battery pack and a mid-range zoom attached, plus three to four other lenses and a flash. The Kata The Kata 3N1-22DL can store a similar kit plus a 11.6-inch laptop or tablet. The Kata 3N1-33DL (pictured) accommodates a pro SLR camera with battery grip and a long-range zoom lens attached, plus five to six lenses and a flash. Finally, the Kata 3N1-10DL fits a pro SLR camera with a mid-range zoom attached, plus a couple of additional lenses and a flash or a compact camcorder with accessories.

The British Journal of Photography (BJP) has announced its support for the Photo Art Fair, a new five-day event at the Sorting Office, just off Oxford Street in central London. Taking place from 2-6 May 2013, the Photo Art Fair will showcase the work of 200 photographers, most of which will be on sale to the public. The appeal of the fair is the creation of a whole new platform for photography, spanning a range of genres, from Fashion to war.  It is designed to provide visitors with the unique opportunity to purchase affordable and collectable photographs from both undiscovered and also well-known artists. The BJP is the official sponsor of the event, alongside the Positive View Foundation, a charitable organisation that funds projects working with disadvantaged young people.

Jessops has announced the 12.12.12 Share the Moment competition. All you have to do to enter is simply take a photograph of exactly what you are doing at 12pm on the 12th December 2012 and upload it to the Jessops Facebook page. Your image, along with many others will be displayed in the Jessops Facebook Share the Moment gallery. Sean Emmett, Marketing and E-commerce Director commented “This competition isn’t about capturing your best shot, but the most telling image about you and your life at a selected moment in time; we look forward to seeing as many images as we can captured at 12pm on 12.12.12 and we are sure the results are going to be spectacular!” The competition entries will be judged by the team at Jessops.

Note that the competition is open to residents of the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland aged 18 years or over only.

84.5mm has announced a new Professional line of photographic filters. The range includes seven rectangular filters (150x84.5mm in size) that are fully compatible with “P” type filter holders designed for square filters with a width of 84-85mm. The filters in the Professional line are available for €32-€39 each.

Pixengo is a new iPhone app which allows users to add thoughts and emotions to still images by fusing them with thirty-second sound bites. Photographers can record their own voice, tell the story behind the photograph or describe their feelings of the moment, then share with friends and peers. You do not need the App to view ‘pixengos’: anyone can view the pixengos you send to them in a web browser, on their mobile or a computer. If you’re roaming abroad, you can create a number of pixengos on the go but opt to send them only when you’re within a Wi-Fi zone to save cash. The app is available as a free download from iTunes.

The winners of the November 2012 Photography Blog Competition have been announced. The theme for November was “Morning Glory” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery.

Fotodiox today launched its WonderBurst NEX Radio Flash Trigger and WonderBurst HSS8000 4-in-1 Radio Slave Trigger.  The WonderBurst NEX ($39.95) enables Sony NEX-3 and NEX-5 cameras to remotely trigger any flash with a standard hot-shoe, giving shooters more options beyond the proprietary Sony hot-shoe. The WonderBurst NEX is capable of flash sync speeds up to 1/160 seconds and features 16 selectable channels. Along with the WonderBurst NEX, Fotodiox is also launching the WonderBurst HSS8000 4-in-1 Radio Slave Trigger ($69.95), a 1/8000 high-speed sync wireless remote flash trigger compatible with any camera flash or strobe. The transmitter plugs into the camera to learn the camera’s specific delay time, allowing it to get ahead of the second curtain sync, or the sync delay that most cameras have. The WonderBurst HSS8000 removes flash sync limitations and will also work as a camera remote for AF remote triggering, continuous shooting and bulb mode.