MediaDevil has launched the Grafikcase customised case service. Grafikcase gives creative professionals the opportunity to have a mobile phone, MP3 player or tablet case, customised with a high-resolution image from their portfolio. It also provides photographers with a great way to publicise their studio or freelance services. The Grafikcase is available now for all models of the iPhone, iPod Touch 4G/5G, iPad 2, iPad 3, Blackberry Bold 9900, Samsung Galaxy Note and the Samsung Galaxy S2 and S3, with pricing at £19.97.

The new UV and IR Cut Filter from Hoya is a lens filter that, when attached to your lens, permits only the visible spectrum of light rays to enter the camera. “This is important to digital photographers as the CCD and CMOS sensors found in our cameras are extremely susceptible to catching UV and IR rays just outside the visible spectrum that have a very negative impact on image quality,” the company claims. Available in sizes from 49mm through to 82mm, the new filter can also reduce the effects of atmospheric haze to a greater degree than a standard UV filter. Suggested retail prices start from £84.99 for the 49mm size.

Kata has launched a new line-up of rucksacks for the on-the-go amateur photographer. The new D-Light range offers a series of super-compact yet high-capacity camera bags. The range’s design makes it easy to access gear when the bag is slung on one shoulder, and all bags in the range can be easily converted to a daypack when the user isn’t shooting. Kata’s D-Light series currently comprises the 465-DL (pictured), the 466-DL and the 467-DL “digital rucksacks.”

Issue 19 of Landscape Photography Magazine is now available to download. This edition includes a guide to: macro and close-up photography with Ross Hoddinott, Martin Henson’s thoughts about a hybrid film-digital workflow, a review of the book ‘Joe Cornish, a photographer at work,’ a showcase of photographs by Javier Acosta, Larry Zink and Francesco Gola, an interview with Ross Hoddinott, and more. Do note that the full contents of Landscape Photography Magazine are available to subscribers only.

We sat down with SH Lim, Vice President, Samsung Digital Imaging, HQ, at the IFA show in Berlin to discuss the new Samsung Galaxy Camera and Samsung imaging products in general.

The new “Delta Pro” series from Hama comprises a photo tripod, a video tripod and two universal tripods. The two universal tripods “Delta Pro 180 3D” and “Delta Pro 160 3D” are each equipped with a three-way pan-tilt head, with the numbers 160 and 180 referring to the maximum height of the tripods in centimetres. The “Delta Pro 180 2D” video tripod comes with a smooth two-way pan-tilt head, while the “Delta Pro 180 Ball” photo tripod is equipped with a ball-head. The company hasn’t provided details on the tripods’ maximum load capacity and pricing. The new tripods will be on display at Photokina 2012, Hall 4.2, stand D 020 / E 029.

Samsung has announced its new ‘Pro’ series of microSD memory cards that provide UHS-I support and up to 64GB of data storage. The full line-up includes the premium series ‘Plus’ and commercial series ‘Standard,’ the company says. Water-, temperature-, magnet- and X-ray-proof, the new Samsung ‘Pro’ line-up of microSD cards deliver read speeds of up to 70 Megabytes per second. Pricing for the new cards has yet to be confirmed.

The Plustek OpticFilm 120, a brand new dedicated desktop film scanner that handles both 35mm and medium format, is now available to pre-order in the UK. Sold by WEX Photographic, the OpticFilm 120 from Plustek supports roll film frame sizes from 6x4.5 to 6x12cm and sells for £1999. Core features include a highly sensitive colour CCD and stepper motor delivering a maximum resolution of 10,660ppi, an 8-element glass lens for sharp scans, an infra-red channel for dust and scratch detection, motorised film transport for automated batch scanning, and an innovative folding rear cover that reduces the size of the scanner to save desktop space and prevent dust from entering the device. The scope of delivery includes holders for 35mm and medium-format film strips - including a patent-pending adjustable pitch 120/220mm film holder that holds the film flat -, as well as mounted slides. The Plustek OpticFilm 120 comes bundled with SilverFast Ai Studio 8.

Special thanks to our reader Mark Naftel for calling our attention to this piece of news.

The SlideFrame turns your tablet or other “smart device” into a digital photo frame while it’s charging. Described as “a cross between a high-end digital photo frame and a hand crafted picture frame,” the SlideFrame will be available in several styles to appeal to a broad range of consumers, from photographers to designers, new parents, techies, gadget gurus, and anyone with a tablet. It will also be available in several sizes to fit the most popular smart-devices today, including the iPad, the Kindle Fire, the iPhone and the iPod Touch. In addition to housing these devices, the SlideFrame can also be used to show off a traditional photographic print. Manufactured in the U.S.A., the SlideFrame is available for $59.99-$79.99 depending on size.

Scientists at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have devised an ultra-thin, flat lens that focuses light without imparting the distortions of conventional lenses. Principal investigator Federico Capasso and his team have created the flat lens by plating a very thin wafer of silicon with a nanometre-thin layer of gold. Next, they striped away parts of the gold layer to leave behind an array of V-shaped structures, evenly spaced in rows across the surface. When Capasso’s group shines a laser onto the flat lens, these structures act as nano-antennas that capture the incoming light and hold onto it briefly before releasing it again. Those delays, which are precisely tuned across the surface of the lens, change the direction of the light in the same way that a thick glass lens would, with an important distinction. The flat lens eliminates geometric distortions, astigmatism and coma, and is completely scalable, which is why the physicists working on the project believe that in future, all the bulk components in the majority of optical systems can potentially be replaced by flat surfaces.

Wikipedia has announced the launch of this year’s Wiki Loves Monuments photo competition. In last year’s contest, 5,000 photographers from 18 European countries uploaded more than 168,000 photos. This year’s competition will have significantly greater participation, including the United States and many non-European countries for the first time. Volunteer Wikipedians organise the contest in each country, with the winning photos from national contests considered by an international jury in late October. The international jury will announce the top-ten international photos and the overall best picture winner in early December.  The grand prize winner will be invited to a photo tour in Hong Kong for the annual meeting of Wikipedia editors, photographers, and collaborators: Wikimania 2013.

Sigma Corporation of America has announced availability and pricing for the 15.3x3-megapixel Sigma DP1 Merrill large-sensor compact camera. Going on sale in mid-September at an estimated street price of $999, the raw-capable Sigma DP1 Merrill boasts a totally redesigned 19mm (28mm eq.) f/2,8 lens with moulded-glass aspherical elements, “F” Low Dispersion and Super Multi Layer coating, and a telecentric optical design.

Hasselblad and Broncolor have teamed up for a new 8-venue UK-wide Studioday tour. The launch event, to be held on 10th Octoberat the Hasselblad Studio in Hoxton, London, will provide the first chance in the country for photographers to see latest Hasselblad and broncolor products. The eight Studiodays at venues from Glasgow to Exeter are completely free and open to any photographer interested in test driving Hasselblad/Broncolor equipment in a professional studio setting complete with professional fashion models. Click through / scroll down for exact dates, times and locations.

WD has just announced its fatest My Book external HDD system ever - the My Book VelociRaptor Duo. Comprising two 1TB 10,000 RPM hard drives and two Thunderbolt ports, the My Book VelociRaptor Duo is billed as “the fastest and most reliable high-performance consumer storage device on the market today.” Photographers, graphic designers and post-production professionals can conduct several high-intensity tasks such as video editing and 3D rendering, while completing other graphics-intensive projects. My Book VelociRaptor Duo customers will now have the ability to transfer 22 GB full-length HD movies in less than 65 seconds and 2000 5 MB pictures in less than 33 seconds, the company claims. The My Book VelociRaptor Duo dual-drive storage system is currently available at $899.99.

At Photokina 2012, Olympus will be challenging visitors to directly compare their own digital SLRs against the Olympus OM-D E-M5 in a low-light shoot-off. At the Olympus booth - Stand A11-B10 in Hall 2.2 - visitors will have a chance to put their camera’s picture quality to the test by pitting their own dSLR against an OM-D in the hands of a professional photographer. A model will pose for pictures taken by the public and the resident professional. A0-sized prints will show how well the OM-D E-M5 measures up. Other booth highlights include professional video making in the Audio Lounge and a Hello Terminal where you can have your picture taken against a backdrop.

If you can’t wait until Photokina, check out our own Olympus OM-D vs. Nikon D7000 head-to-head review!

Hama has announced the launch of its Quick Shoot Strap SC, a smaller version of the original Quick Shoot Strap. Featuring a three-point safety lock, the Hama Quick Shoot Strap SC allows the camera to be “moved from the carrying position to the ready position in a snap, without even moving the strap.” In addition, fourteen air cushions are integrated into the neoprene shoulder pad in order to absorb shocks. The Hama Quick Shoot Strap SC carries a recommended retail price of €45. The product will be on display at Photokina 2012, Hall 4.2, stand D 020 / E 029.

Hama has announced a new lineup of aha: camera bags called Skipp. Available in two sizes, Skipp bags feature rounded, overlapping cover flaps and flat accessory compartments divided into three sub-compartments. The 120 model (€49.99), in black or silver, is perfect for smaller system cameras with one additional interchangeable lens and no flash. The 150 size (€59.99) is ideal for larger single-lens reflex cameras with standard equipment. The new bags will be on display at Photokina 2012, Hall 4.2, stand D 020 / E 029.

DxO Labs released DxO Optics Pro v7.5.4 for Mac and Windows. With this update, DxO Optics Pro 7 now supports the Pentax K-30 (pictured) and the Sony DSC-RX100 cameras, and adds 400 new DxO Optics Modules, meaning the program now offers a total of 8,000 camera/lens combinations in its library. This update is free of charge for all owners of DxO Optics Pro 7, as well as for photographers who purchased a license for DxO Optics Pro 6 after 1 September 2011.

Successor to the Compact Prime CP.2 25/T2.9 and designed with professional cinematographers in mind, the new Carl Zeiss Compact Prime CP.2 25/T2.1 is a faster lens with virtually no chromatic aberrations. By using the interchangeable mounts for PL, EF, F, MFT and E, the lens can be easily adapted to numerous camera systems, ensuring compatibility with future cameras as technology changes. Carl Zeiss will start shipping the new Compact Prime CP.2 25/T2.1 on October 1st, 2012. The expected retail price is €3,300 (+VAT) or $ 4,500.