Schneider Kreuznach has introduced its first-ever lenses designed for the Micro Four Thirds system. The first lens in the series, the 28mm equivalent Super-Angulon 14mm f/2 wide-angle lens, will be available by the third quarter of 2013. In the fourth quarter, it will be followed by the Xenon 30mm f/1.4 “universal” prime and the Makro-Symmar 60mm f/2.4 macro lens. The Super-Angulon 14mm f/2 features 10 elements with 4 aspherical surfaces, the Xenon 30mm f/1.4 has 7 elements with 1 aspherical surface, while the Makro-Symmar is an 8-element lens. Unusually for Schneider Kreuznach, these lenses will offer auto focus capabilities as well as diaphragm control via the camera body. Pricing and exact availability to be confirmed.

The Casio EX-ZR1000 is the new, raw-capable flagship model in the manufacturer’s High Speed Exilim line-up, featuring a 24-300mm equivalent lens and newly designed user interface that includes a function ring and a hinged rear display. Powered by the Exilim Engine HS, the Casio Exilim EX-ZR1000 boasts performance indicators such as a start-up time of 0.99 second, auto focus lag of 0.15 second and a minimum shot-to-shot time of 0.26 second. Users can operate a Step Zoom with nine settings in addition to the regular zoom by rotating the function ring mounted around the lens. The function ring also allows them to set the exposure value (EV) shift, shutter speed, manual focus, and white balance. The maximum continuous shooting speed of the EX-ZR1000 camera is 30fps (up to 6fps with auto focus). A fixed-focus “snapshot” mode allows users to take “decisive-moment” photographs with no focus lag at all. Pricing has yet to be announced.

The Casio Exilim EX-H50 is a new, sixteen-megapixel travelzoom camera with 24x optical zoom and CCD-shift image stabilisation. This high-zoom, compact digital camera features a wide-angle 25-600mm equivalent zoom lens and a wide-screen 3.0-inch monitor, all packed into a slim body that fits easily in the hand. The new camera also comes with a silent mode, which instantly changes the camera’s settings to avoid disturbing others nearby. This includes silencing all sounds, disabling the flash, and deactivating the self-timer and AF Assist Lamp. The silent mode is especially helpful when taking pictures in places like museums, aquariums, and restaurants.  The Casio Exilim EX-H50 is available in three colours: black, white and red. Pricing has yet to be communicated.

Canon Japan has posted a number of full-resolution sample images and two sample videos shot with the new Canon EOS 6D full-frame digital SLR camera. There are eight photos in total, although half of them - mostly the high-ISO ones - are currently marked as “coming soon.” In addition to the full-resolution stills, there are two reduced-resolution (960x640-pixel) sample movies. One of them is entitled “Deep Green,” while the other is an accompanying “behind-the-scenes” video also shot on the Canon 6D. There are two more movies on the page, currently marked as “coming soon.” You can download the Canon EOS 6D sample photos from, and watch the sample videos on the website below.

Want to see exactly what the new Spark from Lensbaby looks like in the flesh? We have compiled a hands-on gallery for your perusal.

The Lensbaby Spark is a more affordable return to the company’s roots, costing £79 in the UK and $80 in the US. It’s also much easier to use for beginners than the more expensive Lensbaby models because it can’t be moved outside the field of view of an APS-C sensor. With a constant f/5.6 aperture, 50mm focal length and manual focusing, we think the cheap and very cheerful Lensbaby Spark will find a place in quite a lot of stockings come Christmas…

Lensbaby has released the Lensbaby Spark, a new selective-focus lens geared toward young photo enthusiasts who are “looking for a creative spark to help break out of the box of traditional photography.” Like most other Lensbabies, the Spark is a manual-focus lens with a sweet spot of focus that users can move around the frame by bending the lens. Unlike its more expensive stablemates, the $80 Lensbaby Spark doesnt’t come with interchangeable aperture disks but makes do with a fixed f/5.6 aperture - meaning the size of the sweet spot cannot be controlled, and depth of field is dependent solely on camera-to-subject distance. It also lacks the Lensbaby Composer’s convenient focus ring - photographers squeeze to focus, and tilt to move the sweet spot around the image. The Spark is available now.

The Hasselblad Lunar is an E-mount, Italian-designed ‘ultimate luxury’ mirrorless, interchangeable lens camera. Planned for an early 2013 launch, the Lunar can be used in fully automatic or fully manual mode and is described as “a camera for both serious photographers and enthusiasts who aspire to shooting with a Hasselblad.” The right-hand grip is claimed to offer “unparalleled ergonomics,” while the camera itself comes equipped with an APS-C 24.3 MP sensor, 25-point AF system, OLED electronic viewfinder and TriNavi control system. (In other words, it has the internals, control system and lens mount of the Sony NEX-7 in a newly designed body.) The Hasselblad Lunar will be priced at around €5000 and will be available in a choice of standard models plus a variety of exclusive hand grips and precious materials on special order.

Hasselblad has decided to work with Sony to “cultivate new markets for photo enthusiasts and consumer digital imaging products.” Dr. Larry Hansen, Hasselblad Chairman and CEO says: “This partnership will enable us to access an area of the photographic sector, which we have never reached out to before, by tapping on Sony’s excellent state of the art technology and spirit of ground breaking innovation. Owning a Hasselblad, made in Sweden, will no longer be just a dream for many photographic enthusiasts.” The first fruit of this cooperation is the new Hasselblad Lunar compact system camera - essentially a Sony NEX-7 in disguise - which will be available from the first quarter of 2013.

Want to see exactly what the new Leica V-Lux 4 digital compact camera looks like in the flesh? We have compiled a hands-on gallery for your perusal.

Continuing Leica’s close relationship with Panasonic, the V-Lux 4 is essentially a re-purposed FZ200 with the usual Leica kudos and styling thrown into the mix, along with a free copy of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4. £690 snags you the Leica V-Lux 4 when it launches in November.

Want to see exactly what the new Leica D-Lux 6 digital compact camera looks like in the flesh? We have compiled a hands-on gallery for your perusal.

Want to see exactly what the new Pentax X-5 camera looks like in the flesh? We have compiled a hands-on gallery for your perusal.

Lexar has unveiled the industry’s first 256GB Secure Digital Extended Capacity UHS-I memory card. The Class 10 Lexar Professional 400x SDXC UHS-I card allows photographers to capture, store, and transfer a large number of high-quality photos and extended lengths of 1080p full-HD and 3D video with a minimum guaranteed sustained read transfer speed of 60MB per second..Additionally, the card includes a free copy of the latest version of award-winning Image Rescue 4 software to help with the recovery of lost or deleted photo and video files, even if they’ve been erased or the card has been corrupted (note that recovery is not 100% guaranteed). The Lexar Professional 400x 256GB SDXC UHS-I memory card will be available in October for £670.99 from leading retail and e-tail outlets worldwide.

Want to see exactly what the new Leica M live view enabled, 24-megapixel rangefinder camera looks like in the flesh? We have compiled a gallery of hands-on photos for your perusal.

Want to see exactly what the new HD Pentax-DFA645 Macro 90mm f/2.8 ED AW SR, HD-Pentax DA 560mm f/5.6 ED AW and Pentax DA 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 ED SDM lenses look like in the flesh? We have compiled a hands-on gallery for your perusal.

Want to see exactly what the new Pentax K-5 II digital SLR camera looks like in the flesh? We have compiled a hands-on gallery for your perusal.

Want to see exactly what the new Pentax Q10 compact system camera looks like in the flesh? We have compiled a hands-on gallery for your perusal.

Want to see exactly what the new Fujifilm X-E1 compact system camera looks like in the flesh? We have compiled a gallery of hands-on photos for your perusal.

Want to see exactly what the new Fujifilm XF1 camera looks like in the flesh? We have compiled a hands-on gallery for your perusal.

Vanguard today announced the launch of its new Abeo Plus tripod and Quovio series photo-video bags at the Photokina 2012 Imaging Fair in Cologne, Germany. The latest in Vanguard’s Abeo family of tripods for photo, video and nature observation, the new Abeo Plus tripod is available in diamond-woven carbon fibre or heavy-gauge aluminium versions. The tripod comes in three sizes at street prices of $219.99 - $479.99, and is also available as a kit with BBH-200 professional ball head. Kit prices range from $369.99 - $699.99. The Quovio photo-video bag series comprises the Quovio 26 and Quovio 41 shoulder bags, the Quovio 44 photo backpack and the Quovio 49T trolley bag. Quovio series bags are available at street prices of $119.99 - $279.99.

PNY Technologies today unveiled its new CompactFlash Pro-Elite Plus line-up. The UDMA 7 compliant CompactFlash Pro-Elite Plus cards feature write speeds of 90MB/s and read speeds of 120 MB/s. Designed especially for semi-professional and professionnal photographers, the cards are available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities, ideal for high resolution shooting and HD video content recording. The PNY Pro-Elite Plus is available from PNY’s network of distributors, with all photographers that buy one receiving a free water- and shock resistant Flash card case. Pricing has yet to be confirmed.