The Tiffen Company today unveiled its redesigned Davis & Sanford Magnum XG13 Tripod and FX13 Head. Billed as “the digital imaging industry’s first advanced DSLR/video tripod developed with a switchable counterbalance to prevent the common problem of camera dumping,” the XG13 tripod is manufactured with a powder-coated and anodised finish to resist abrasion under heavy use. Shipped with the Magnum XG13, the FX13 Head is manufactured with the new Davis & Sanford advanced, built-in fluid system. The fluid system is ideal for DSLR shoots in video mode as well as shooting stills of fast-moving subjects like birds. The head has a maximum load capacity of 13lbs and has three spirit levels to ensure perfect levelling. The three-way head has 360-degree pan, 90-degree down, and 60-degree upward tilt plus landscape and portrait tilt mode. The Davis & Sanford Magnum XG13 Tripod and FX13 Head are available today through Tiffen resellers for a street price of $189.

J.D. Power and Associates have published their 2012 Digital Single-Lens Reflex Camera Online Buyer Report. Responses were collected via PowerReviews - a social commerce network recently acquired by Bazaarvoice - and reflect the attitudes of actual DSLR camera owners who used an e-commerce site to make their purchase. According to the report, Pentax ranks highest in online buyer satisfaction with a score of 899 (on a 1,000-point scale), followed closely by Nikon (891) and Canon (888). The average price paid for a digital SLR camera has increased from $937 in 2011 to $1,291 in 2012, reflecting a shift towards more prosumer-oriented and semi-professional cameras.

Oloneo has released Oloneo PhotoEngine 1.1 and Oloneo HDRengine 1.1 for Windows. These updates support DNG v1.4 as well as 24 new cameras including the Nikon D800, D800E and D4, the Canon EOS-1D X, 5D Mark III and PowerShot G1 X, the Sony SLT A37 and SLT A57, as well as the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1 among others. The latest English/International 32-bit/64-bit versions of Oloneo PhotoEngine and Oloneo HDRengine for Windows are available through the Oloneo online store. A 20% Summer Special discount is available until 15th July.

Sigma has announced the release date and suggested retail pricing for the Sigma DP2 Merrill large-sensor digital compact camera. Featuring a 15x3-megapixel Foveon sensor and a 30mm f/2.8 lens, the Sigma DP2 Merrill will be available in the UK from 12th July with a suggested retail price of £799.99. In the United States, the camera will hit the shelves on the same day at an estimated street price of $999.

ChromaLuxe has announced the availability of 18 new configurations for its ChromaLuxe Connection line.  With these new layouts, ChromaLuxe now offers close to 50 configurations with which to arrange its HD Metal Photo Panels to create individualised wall décor in any home or business setting. Metal photo panels from ChromaLuxe present an archival-quality, highly scratch-resistant surface that is waterproof and resistant to UV rays and other damaging elements that would easily destroy standard paper prints. For more information, visit the website below.

The Nimbus Cloud Dome is a new accessory designed to help photographers take professional-looking pictures of jewellery and other small products. As a smaller version of the original Cloud Dome, the new Nimbus is a portable and durable mini-studio that eliminates harsh shadows and strong specular highlights, helping to create evenly lit product shots of shiny objects - even with a smartphone camera. “I insisted that it be usable for any cell phone with a close focus camera, which includes most newer smartphones,” says co-inventor Dave Burchett. “The Nimbus Dome holds the phone steady and takes clear, non-glare, diffused photographs.”

Alamy has published the results of a round table discussion on image licensing and pricing. Participants included picture buyers, photographers, journalists and commentators as well as stock image providers. The key findings from the report are that photographers are finding the current market hard, complicated pricing structures are a disincentive to first-time picture buyers, conventional licensing models are outmoded, and that technology has failed to solve the problem of unauthorised image use so a simplified system is needed. You can download the entire White Paper by visiting the link below.

Lastolite has unveiled its new Low Level Posing Tubs. The set consists of three tubs in a variety of sizes which can be used on their own or in conjunction with Lastolite’s existing set of posing tubs. Each unit is capable of supporting up to a 20-stone adult and comes with its own carry case & shoulder strap. The new Low Level Posing Tubs are available at £130.

Instaprints have launched an online marketplace which offers Instagram users around the world the ability to sell their photos as canvas prints, framed prints, acrylic prints, greeting cards and posters. “Instaprints was designed for anyone who wants to turn their Instagram photos into an online business,” said Sean Broihier, founder of Instaprints. “Instagram users love transforming their photos into stylized works of art. Our website allows those users to generate income by selling their photos as actual art products which you can hang on your wall.” The company sets a base price for each available product, and sellers then add a markup to each base price. When a sale is made, sellers keep their entire markup.

Sony has announced that it is developing a new type of high definition wearable video camera. The device will feature Sony’s SteadyShot image stabilisation technology, an Exmor R CMOS sensor and an ultra-wideangle Carl Zeiss Tessar lens. Additionally, Sony will offer a suite of mounting attachments, including waterproof and ruggedised housings. Sony plans to bring the new point-of-view video camera to market in Fall 2012.

Canon has announced the upcoming release of a major firmware update to its EOS 7D digital SLR camera. Version 2 adds “powerful memory management algorithms” that allow the camera’s buffer to accommodate up to 25 raw files or 130 JPEGs. Additionally, a range of newly-added editing functions gives photographers more control over how images look, allowing post-production to begin in-camera. The firmware update also offers improved audio functionality in movie mode, a digital wind-cut filter, expanded user control over the camera’s auto ISO feature, as well as added capacity for users to track the location of their still images with new support for the GPS Receiver GP-E2. Firmware v2 will roll out from August 2012.

Apple has posted a new Digital Camera Raw Compatibility Update to Apple Aperture 3 and iPhoto 11. Version 3.14 adds support for raw image files generated by the new Canon EOS 650D / Rebel T4i and the Sony SLT-A37. You can download the upgrade from the website below.

Website: Apple

159 individual works have been selected for the fifth annual Foto8 Summershow. Entries were received from photographers on every continent, as far afield as Hong Kong to Chile and Russia to Australia, making this a record year with more than 3200 total image submissions. A panel of internationally respected judges will select an image to be Best in Show for which there is a £2,000 prize. This year the Best in Show will be judged on 5th July by acclaimed British photographers Alison Jackson and Simon Roberts, the BBC’s online photography director Phil Coomes, TimeOut’s chief arts critic Ossian Ward and critic and curator Gerry Badger. The Summershow 2012 Exhibition will run from 7th July – 18th August.

ExpoImaging has released three new Rogue Lighting Kits for “strobists,” or small flash enthusiasts. The Rogue Starter Lighting Kit ($99.95, pictured) is an entry-level bundle consisting of light modifiers designed to improve the quality and variety of lighting choices available to photographers using speedlights on- or off-camera. The Rogue Portrait Lighting Kit ($149.95) is a larger collection of light modifiers providing greater light control for portrait and event photographers shooting with multiple speedlights. Finally, the Rogue Master Lighting Kit ($199.95) is for the most advanced speedlight photographers looking to create multiple lighting set-ups using combinations of the kit’s soft box, bounce flash reflectors, flags, honeycomb grids and coloured gel kits

Focal Press has released a new title, “Photographing Waterdrops: Exploring Macro Worlds with Harold Davis.” Written by award-winning photographer Harold Davis, this photography book is intended to offer a fresh, creative perspective into the dynamic possibilities of natural waterdrop photography. “The photographic opportunities offered by waterdrops are as unique as they are fleeting,” said Davis. “Encapsulated inside each waterdrop is a movement of light, focus and shadow offering a fisheye view of the world that is both recognizable and recognizably abstract.” The 208-page book, “Photographing Waterdrops: Exploring Macro Worlds with Harold Davis” is available for $29.95.

Ricoh has posted a firmware update for the Ricoh GXR system. Affecting all camera-lens modules, Version 1.51 improves the quality of images taken using a combination of negative exposure compensation and Multi-P AUTO white balance. For the Ricoh GXR M module, it additionally fixes bugs related to the colour of the display and the recording of manually entered focal length and f-number values in the DNG file headers. The A16 module (pictured) now correctly records the colours at the top of colour images recorded using color bracketing. You can download the firmware update from the website below.

Website: Ricoh

Polaroid has unveiled the Z2300 instant digital camera, featuring a 10-megapixel imager, a 3-inch LCD screen and an integrated printer with ZINK (Zero Ink) technology. The camera uses Polaroid’s patented, 2"x3” ZINK Paper, an advanced composite material with cyan, yellow, and magenta dye crystals embedded inside. Additionally, your images can be automatically saved to an SD card, just like a regular digital camera. The Z2300’s on-board editing suite allows you to review and crop your pictures right on the camera without transferring them to your PC. And you can choose to automatically print every picture or wait for the perfect shot to avoid wasted prints. The Polaroid Z2300 instant digital camera has a suggested retail price of $159.99. 50-sheet packs of 2x3” Premium ZINK Paper retail for $24.99 and 30-sheet packs sell for $14.99.  Both are available for pre-order via the website below.

The British Journal of Photography’s International Photography Award 2012 is now open for entries. The IPA has been running since 2005, and previous winners include Edmund Clark, whose series Guantanamo: If the lights go out went on to be published by Dewi Lewis; and Peter di Campo, who won the series prize in 2010 with a project on Life Without Lights in Ghana. Facundo Arrizabalaga won the single image prize last year with a shot from the student protests of November 2010, and Walter Astrada picked up the single image award in 2008 with an image depicting a victim of matricide in Guatemala. This year there are two categories to choose from: one awarding the best series of images, and the other the best single image. The closing date is 15 September 2012. For more information, and to enter online, visit the website below.

British TV presenter, radio DJ and photographer Reggie Yates has joined Pentax’s ‘Meet Britain’ campaign and released a video full of tips on how to take the perfect photograph. The competition is asking members of the public to submit images of the things they feel make Britain great. Entrants can submit images across five different categories, including Great British Outdoors, Great British Culture, Friends and Family, Summer Holidays and Celebrations. One winner from each category will take home a Pentax K-30 camera and one overall winner will be awarded £1,000.

Click through / scroll down to watch the Reggie Yates video.