At Photokina 2012, Schneider Kreuznach is showcasing its newest lenses under glass.

Want to see exactly what the new Zeiss lenses look like in the flesh? We have compiled a hands-on gallery for your perusal.

Want to see exactly what the new Samyang 10mm f/2.8 manual-focus ultra-wide angle lens looks like in the flesh? We have compiled a hands-on gallery for your perusal.

Epson has introduced two new Wi-Fi enabled “Small-in-One” printers. The flagship Expression XP-800 comes equipped with a 30-page Auto Document Feeder featuring automatic two-sided copying, scanning and faxing, a 3.5” touchscreen with gesture navigation for easy setup and operation, specialty paper support through its rear paper feed4, and an auto-extend paper output tray that automatically extends any time the user hits print from a Mac, PC or iPad. The main difference between the two printers is the scanner resolution, which is 2400dpi on the XP-600 and 4800dpi XP-800,  the printing speed (XP-600: 9ppm, XP-800: 11ppm) and the built-in Ethernet networking feature, which is only offered on the XP-800. The Epson XP-600 ($149.99, pictured) and XP-800 ($279.99) will be available in late-October through major retailer stores across the USA.

Epson is showcasing its full range of LFP, pro-photo and consumer photo products at this year’s Photokina. The stand offers practical application demonstrations of Epson products in use, including the company’s new digital dry lab, the SureLab SL-D3000. Faces of Photokina will also be a core theme for Epson during the show, where professional photographers will aim to take portrait photos of 1000 visitors to the Epson booth and display them as a gallery of images, which will be signed and stamped with Epson’s Digigraphie label.

Fotoman Professional Cameras have re-announced the Fotoman 624 Panoramic Camera featuring a Schneider 90 mm / 5.6 XL Super Angulon lens. The camera produces a large 5.6 cm x 22.4 cm image allowing for 3 shots on a 120 roll. For focusing, users can choose between the Fotoman Helical Focusing Mount and an optional ground glass focusing screen. Weighing in at 1.86kg, the Fotoman 624 Panoramic Camera comes with a 120° viewfinder. The price has not been revealed.

German accessories manufacturer Novoflex has introduced a newly designed tilt- and shift bellows system for compact system cameras. Comprising the Castbal-T/S bellows attachment (€299) and the Castel-Q macro focussing rack, the new system is claimed to offer “an easy and inexpensive way to dive even deeper into macro photography and perspectives control.” The bellows attachment is simply put into the quick release mount of the Castel-Q and is ready for use. For perspective control purposes the lens panel of the Castbal-T/S can be adjusted 25° to the left or right side. For focus control it can be shifted within the quick release mount of the focusing rack. (The amount of shift/rise/fall achievable with the system is unspecified.) The system is compatible with a wide variety of Novoflex adapters. Additionally, a Schneider Kreuznach UNI-APO-DIGI 90mm f/4.5 lens is offered as an optional accessory for €759.

At Photokina 2012, Schneider Kreuznach has presented its first filter designed specifically for lenses on mobile devices. The B+W Smart-Pro is a circular polarising filter that can be mounted on all current iPhones and iPads as well as other smartphones and tablet PCs with a maximum lens diameter of 8mm. The filter system is “clicked” onto a small magnetic ring that is first fitted around the lens on the smartphone or tablet. The filter can then be attached and aligned quickly and easily as required. The B+W Smart-Pro will be available from winter 2012, with pricing to be confirmed.

Click through / scroll down for a video demonstration.

Carl Zeiss has introduced a new family of autofocus lenses for compact system cameras (CSCs). Initially comprising a 12mm f/2.8, a 32mm f/1.8 and a 50mm f/2.8 macro lens - equivalent to 18mm, 48mm and 75mm respectively -, this new range of Zeiss AF lenses will be available for Sony E-bayonet (Sony NEX cameras) and for Fujifilm X-bayonet (Fujifilm X cameras). The X-mount lenses will come equipped with manual aperture rings. Zeiss says it uses several “different types of glass” for the lens elements and “a mix of materials” - which include, but are not limited to, metals - for the mechanical parts. Exact pricing for the Carl Zeiss CSC lenses has yet to be communicated but the company says they will be “around the €1,000 mark” each.

Source: Carl Zeiss Camera Lens Blog

Google has acquired Nik Software, a company noted for its U-point technology, various Photoshop plug-ins and Snapseed, a mobile and desktop image editing & sharing application for iOS, Mac and Windows. Nik Software has earned many accolades for its products - including Apple’s iPad App of the Year 2011 for Snapseed and our own Software of the Year 2011 award for Silver Efex Pro 2 - but the main drive behind Google’s move was probably the financial success of Snapseed, which has attracted a large following despite being a paid application. Further details of the deal have not been disclosed.

Day One of the Photokina 2012 trade show has turned out to be just as busy as Day Zero, so once again don’t blame yourself if you are feeling a little overwhelmed, wondering if you’ve read everything that may be of interest to you. In order to help you find your way around all the announcements, hands-on previews and sample galleries, we have collected all the relevant info on one page, with links to the detailed articles.

Schneider Kreuznach has announced four new SLR lenses, including two Xenons, a Makro-Symmar and a Super-Angulon tilt-shift lens. The Xenon 35mm f/1.4 and Xenon 50mm f/1.4 are the fastest lenses in the line-up, while the Makro-Symmar 85mm f/2.4 provides outstanding resolving power to match the resolution of 30+ megapixel image sensors. The Super-Angulon 28mm f/4.5 Aspheric tilt-shift lens (pictured) offers 12mm of shift and 8 degrees of tilt, and an oversized image circle with a diameter of 72mm. According to the company, “[t]he advanced technology of the mechanics allows for movements independent of each other without degrading the image quality in resolution or in distortion which makes extreme displacements possible up to the edge of the coverage.”  All lenses are available with bayonet mounts for Canon EOS, Nikon F, Sony Alpha and Pentax K series SLR cameras.

Schneider Kreuznach has unveiled a new range of lenses especially for video applications with full-format single-lens reflex cameras. The new series includes three fixed focal lengths: T2.1/75mm, T2.1/50mm and T2.1/25mm. The main feature of this new series is the precise manual focus ring, which means that the lenses can be used with professional accessories such as follow focus mechanisms. As with all Schneider-Kreuznach lenses, they are robust enough to withstand intensive daily use without any problems. All lenses are available with Canon or Nikon mount.

Want to see exactly what the new Panasonic Lumix GH3 compact system camera looks like in the flesh? We have compiled a hands-on gallery for your perusal. Updated and expanded!

Want to see exactly what the new Samsung NX lenses look like in the flesh? We have compiled a hands-on gallery for your perusal.

The Samsung 12-24mm wide-angle will be launched in October for £479, and the 45mm macro f1.8 in 2012 at £229, bringing the range of Samsung NX system lenses up to 11 in total. Both the NX 12-24mm and 45mm have Samsung’s unique i-Function control and will only be available in black.

Want to see exactly what the new, raw-capable Casio Exilim ZR1000 digital travel-zoom camera looks like in the flesh? We have compiled a hands-on gallery for your perusal.

Want to see exactly what the new Casio Exilim EX-H50 digital travel-zoom camera looks like in the flesh? We have compiled a hands-on gallery for your perusal.

At Photokina 2012, Panasonic are showcasing mock-ups of their 43mm f/1.2 and 150mm f/2.8 Micro Four Thirds lenses, which they plan to launch sometime in 2013 or 2014. They are on display behind glass in a rather poorly-lit area of the Panasonic booth.