At Photokina 2012, NEC is showing off its line-up of SpectraView and SpectraView Reference monitors. We have compiled a hands-on gallery for your perusal.

At Photokina 2012, Joby is showing off its new UltraFit Sling Strap and 3-Way Camera Strap. We have compiled a hands-on gallery of these products for your perusal.

Joby, the company best known for its flexible Gorillapod tripods, has launched a new line of camera straps. The straps are designed to accommodate both CSC and DSLR cameras and are available in a quick-draw, cross-body design for men and women, in addition to a versatile 3-way wearing option. The Joby team conducted extensive user studies with more than 500 photography professionals and enthusiasts and pinpointed how camera straps should fit and move on the body. This research resulted in the patent-pending UltraFit Sling Strap (pictured), built with Joby’s exclusive UltraFit Layered-Pad Technology for lightweight support without the bulk of thick padding. The 3-Way Camera Strap offers photographers a versatile and portable solution with three wearing modes: wrist, neck and shoulder. A convenient alternative to wrapping a neck/shoulder strap around the wrist, this compact strap allows shooters to minimize muscle fatigue with multiple ways to support the weight of the camera. The UltraFit Sling Strap is available now for $49.99. The 3-Way Camera Strap retails for $39.99.

At Photokina 2012, Eizo is showcasing its newest ColorEdge monitors, including the entry-level Eizo ColorEdge CS230.

At Photokina 2012, Delkin Devices are showing off their fastest - 500x, 700x and 1000x - Compact Flash memory cards, UHS-I compliant SDXC cards and a USB 3.0 universal memory card reader. We have compiled a hands-on gallery for your perusal.

PNY has launched its new XLR8 Pro SSD series, designed for multimedia enthusiasts, and semi professional users. Offering a storage capacities up to 480GB, PNY SSDs allow faster data transfer and an optimised workflow when compared with a standard HDD, which makes a huge difference, especially for photographers working with thousands of raw image files. The PNY XLR8 Pro SSD series boasts a 2.5” SATA III, 6Gbps interface, supports 128-bit AES encryption and is powered by the SandForce 2281 controller, offering up to 550MB/s sequential read speeds, 520MB/s sequential write speeds and 85,000 random read/write IOPS. Pricing starts at £58.50 for the 120GB XLR8 model.

The Triggertrap Mobile app, previously offered for iOS devices only, is now available for smartphones running Android 2.3 Gingerbread or higher. Aimed at the mainstream photography market, the Android software is paired with a Triggertrap Mobile Dongle, a hardware device enabling photographers to connect their smartphones to SLR cameras. Triggertrap provides consumers with creative triggering solutions by offering an array of different ways to trigger their digital SLR cameras from their Android powered smartphones. Not content with just being a cable release, the Triggertrap Mobile for Android app comes with eight different modes, giving users the chance to easily take a broad range of images, including five different timelapse modes, long-exposure HDR modes and ‘star trail’ photography mode. The timelapse modes include Eased Timelapse, which enables photographers to take timelapse sets that include acceleration, and Bulb Ramping timelapses; perfect for photographing ultra-smooth timelapse sets of sunrises and sunsets. The Android app costs £2.99. Users will need a Triggertrap Mobile Dongle (£15.80) and a matching cable (£6.30). A dongle and cable bundle is available for £19.00.

Aptina has announced the upcoming release of a new 1” sensor with 10 megapixels and a pixel pitch of 3.4 microns. Like the similarly sized, “CX-format” sensors used in the Nikon 1 J1, J2 and V1 compact system cameras, the Aptina AR1011HS imager is capable of reading full 10MP resolution at 60fps, and enables a variety of video modes, including broadcast quality quad HD, oversampled 1080p for True HD resolution, 1080p video at 120 frames per second, and additional high frame rate modes for slow-motion playback. “The AR1011HS image sensor is a great match for the performance-oriented bridge and mirrorless camera market,” said Sándor Barna, Vice President and General Manager of Aptina’s Consumer Camera business. “Image quality and speed are the two things this market cannot compromise on. Tier-1 OEMs competing in this market are looking for increasingly versatile solutions to meet the demand for speed and performance, and this sensor provides both.” Aptina’s AR1011HS image sensor is currently sampling in limited volumes and will be in mass production in Q1CY13.

Epson has developed a new high-temperature polysilicon (HTPS) TFT colour panel for electronic viewfinders. Measuring just 0.48” diagonally, the new panel offers XGA (1024x768) resolution in red, green and blue for a total of 2.36 million dots. It is the latest addition to Epson’s Ultimicron series, which already includes a 0.47” SVGA panel, used in the Olympus OM-D E-M5 compact system camera and a 0.52” QHD panel.

Ilford today unveiled the latest fine art inkjet papers to join its growing Galerie Prestige range. The Galerie Prestige Gold Mono Silk is a true black and white media for inkjet printers,  allowing photographers specialising in monochrome photography to achieve inkjet prints reminiscent of those they developed in the traditional darkroom era. Built on a 270gsm media, Gold Mono Silk is the latest product to carry the Galerie Gold designation. The new 100%  rag Galerie Prestige Gold Cotton Smooth 330gsm and Gold Cotton Textured 330gsm products feature a traditional mould-made base from a traditional fine art paper mill and achieve best results with pigment based printers. Finally, the Galerie Prestige Fine Art Smooth and Fine Art Textured 220gsm papers compliment their Prestige Gold Cotton counterparts by offering a bright white base alternative capable of delivering excellent contrast and sharpness along with enhanced colours. All of the new Galerie Fine Art products will be available on shelves in January 2013.

Ilford has developed new ICC profiles to maximise printing results when using its Galerie range of inkjet papers with the latest Canon printers, including the Pixma PRO-100 and PRO-10 photo printers that replace the Pixma Pro9000 Mark II and Pixma Pro9500 Mark II models, respectively; and five new imagePROGRAF models. The Ilford ICC profiles developed for printing with the new Canon products will be available free for download to coincide with the worldwide availability of the printers.

Canon U.S.A has introduced five new imagePROGRAF printers. Designed for use by photographers, artisans, proofers and print for pay users, the iPF9400 (12-colour, 60-inch), iPF9400S (8-colour, 60-inch), iPF8400 (12-colour, 44-inch), iPF6450 and iPF6400 (12-colour, 24-inch) utilise Canon’s LUCIA EX pigment ink set, an enhanced multi-sensor and advanced printing technologies specifically developed to produce prints with an enhanced colour range and improved durability. The new Canon imagePROGRAF models will have an MSRP of $11,995 for the iPF9400, $9,995 for the iPF9400S, $5,995 for the iPF8400 printer, $3,695 for the iPF6450 and $2,995 for the iPF6400.

Eposure.com has introduced a free and live webinar service. Tim Bilsborough, Eposure’s founder (pictured above with director Gabrielle O’Hare) says, “Webinars are a fantastic tool which allows us to work directly and interactively with many more photographers, all over the country.  We cover areas such as ‘how to create a website which is designed for buyers, not photographers’, and, ‘the marketing essentials for commercial photographers.’ We know that marketing is something that many photographers find very time consuming and yet brings little reward. Our agency background means we can pass on very relevant information that can make their marketing strategies effective.” The current webinar schedule is available to Eposure members on the website below.

The ColorMunki Smile is an entry-level monitor calibration kit from X-Rite. Consisting of a colour measurement device and a simple program with a wizard-based interface, the X.Rite ColorMunki Smile is claimed to be ideal for users who do not know anything about colour science. ColorMunki Smile software automatically detects when multiple monitors are connected to a single Mac or PC computer and allows users to colour correct each one. The kit is available now from X-Rite (North America) and Pantone online stores and also from the company’s worldwide network of resellers for an MSRP $99/£84.

The BosStrap Generation 3 Sliding Sling Strap (BosStrap G3) is a two-part sling system which includes an upgraded sling strap and the new patent-pending Generation 3 BosTail (G3 Tail). Claimed to offer “the smoothest action of any sling strap on the market,” the BosStrap G3 Sliding Sling Strap uses a small, nickel plated sliding fitting for extraordinarily smooth movement.  The wide strap evenly distributes the weight of your gear, obviating the need for a shoulder pad while making the BosStrap G3 convenient to use, light weight, strong, and easily stowable. The patent-pending G3 Tail attaches to the left camera strap lug. The G3 Tail uses a cam buckle with a unique safety sleeve. The cam buckle and safety sleeve ensure that your camera can not be accidentally detached from the sling strap, but when you want, your camera can easily, intentionally be detached. The BosStrap Generation 3 Sliding Sling System including one G3 Tail is $47.95. Extra G3 Tails are available separately at $11.95.

SanDisk have confirmed that they will not be producing XQD flash memory cards. Speaking to Photography Blog at Photokina today, Susan Park, Director of Product Marketing, Retail Imaging, said that the market-leading company have instead chosen the CFast 2.0 standard for their future high-end cards.

Co-invented by SanDisk and the Compact Flash Association, the recently announced CFast 2.0 specification will provide a performance capability of up to 600MB/sec, meeting the needs of 2K/4K video which requires much faster speeds than the current Compact Flash specification allows for. A 100Gb file takes only 5 minutes to transfer at 350Mb/s - 20 minutes is more the norm with current CF cards.

SanDisk are working closely with camera manufacturers including Canon and Phase One, and sampling of the new CFast 2.0 cards has already begun, although because the new standard has a SATA interface, there are no cameras currently on the market that are compatible with the still-theoretical SanDisk CFast card.

We’re awaiting Nikon’s response to this news, as their flagship D4 DSLR is the only camera that actually uses the XQD format. Sony are currently the sole manufacturer of XQD cards, although Lexar did announce plans to support the format earlier in the year and are working on finalising their product.

Want to see exactly what the new Voigtländer Ultron 21mm f/1.8 M-system lens looks like in the flesh? We have compiled a gallery of hands-on photos for your perusal.

Additionally, we took the opportunity to capture a couple of sample images with the Voigtländer Nokton 25mm f/0.95 Micro Four Thirds lens.

Polaroid has launched a new line of HD action cameras. The Polaroid XS7 comes with a 2” screen and a case that’s waterproof down to a depth of 10 metres. The Polaroid XS20 features 8 built-in LED lights and waterproof to 20m. Finally, the range-topping Polaroid XS100 sports a shock-proof exterior, “distortion-free” ultra-wide lens, adjustable frame rates, dual file recording and waterproofing down to 10 metres. The first two cameras record video at 720p resolution, while the XS100 offers Full HD capture. The Polaroid XS sports cameras have suggested retail prices of $69.99, $99.99 and $199.99, respectively. Cameras are currently available for pre-order and will hit the shelves at Polaroid retailers in mid-October.

Fujifilm has shown us prototypes of the five new lenses they plan to release next year. We’ve compiled a hands-on gallery for your perusal.

Aptina has unveiled a new 18-megapixel backlit CMOS sensor developed for digital compact cameras. The Aptina AR1820HS is a 1/2.3-type imager with a pixel pitch of 1.25 microns and fast read-out times. The native 18MP resolution can be read out at up to 24fps, enabling high-resolution, and high-speed burst still image capture capability. In video modes, the sensor can output a 16:9 aspect ratio, full field-of-view 14MP at 30fps and a binned 8MP at 60fps. Aptina’s AR1820HS image sensor is currently sampling in limited volumes and will be in mass production in Q3CY13.