MAC Group has launched a $25 mail-in rebate programme for US customers who purchase a new PocketWizard MiniTT1 and/or FlexTT5 radio for use with Canon or Nikon digital SLR cameras. Running until the end of May, the promotion is valid on every Canon/Nikon MiniTT1 or FlexTT5 purchased from an Authorised PocketWizard Dealer. For more information on this rebate, visit the website below.

Hearst Corporation has announced the 2013 international biennial competition to recognise and showcase the professional work of talented young photographers. Open to all U.S. and international freelance, amateur and professional photographers and students aged 18 to 35, third Hearst 8 X 10 competition will recognize eight winners and will feature their work in two exhibition spaces located in the atrium of Hearst Tower, the company’s acclaimed New York City headquarters. All entries must be submitted no longer than 1 August 2012. Additional information and submission guidelines can be found at the website below.

Vision Research has announced the Phantom Miro M320S digital high-speed camera. The Miro M320S is capable of recording 1320 frames per second (fps) at its full resolution of 1920x1200 pixels; 1540fps at 1920x1080 Full HD resolution; 2250fps at 1152x1152 pixels; and higher frame rates at reduced resolutions. The Phantom Miro M320S has a 19.2x12.0mm, >2-megapixel CMOS imager, offers 12-bit analogue-to-digital conversion and can be configured with 3GB, 6GB or 12GB of internal RAM. Featuring a single HD-SDI output, the M320S can adapt to a wide range of monitors and HD field recorders for a video-based workflow.  For maximum quality using uncompressed raw files, the M320S takes advantage of the new Phantom CineFlash Storage system, which ships standard with every M320S camera. The removable CineFlash drives offer up to 240GB of storage. Available with Canon EF, Nikon F, 35mm PL and C lens mounts for approximately $44,000, the Phantom Miro M320S is primarily targeted at TV production crews, engineers and scientists, but we would not be surprised to see the technology trickle down to consumer products in the future.

The new Sony NEX-FS700 is an E-mount interchangeable-lens Full HD camcorder designed for high-speed shooting at up to 960 frames per second (fps). More precisely, the camcorder delivers Full-HD quality images at 120 and 240 frames per second in an 8 or 16 seconds burst mode respectively, with 480 and 960fps available at reduced resolution. The Sony NEX-FS700 additionally features built-in ND filters, with a newly designed wheel that rotates across the sensor like a turret. The wheel includes positions for Clear, 1/4 (2 Stop), 1/16 (4 Stop), and 1/64 (6 Stop). Furthermore, the NEX-FS700’s 3GHD-SDI and HDMI connectors can output Full-HD 50p and 60p, in addition to standard HD 60i, 24p, 25p or 30p frame rates with embedded time code and audio. 3G HD-SDI can output native 23.98, 25, 29.97 progressive signals; users can choose to output PsF over the 3G HD-SDI. The camcorder incorporates a 4K “Exmor” Super 35 CMOS sensor with a resolution of 11.6 megapixels, and Sony is planning a future firmware upgrade that will enable the NEX-FS700 to output 4K bit-stream data over 3G HD-SDI when used with an optional Sony 4K recorder. The NEX-FS700 is planned to be available in June 2012, with pricing to be confirmed.

Lensbaby LLC has released the Lensbaby Composer Pro for a range of compact system cameras (CSCs), including Micro Four Thirds, NEX and Samsung NX models. Compatible with the Lensbaby Optic Swap System, the Lensbaby Composer Pro ships with the Double Glass Optic installed. The Double Glass Optic, a 50mm f/2 selective focus optic, creates a Sweet Spot of sharp focus that photographers can move around the photo by tilting the Composer Pro’s swiveling lens body. Other compatible products in the Lensbaby Optic Swap system include the separately sold Edge 80, Sweet 35, Fisheye, Soft Focus, Pinhole/Zone plate, Single Glass, and Plastic Optics. Each optic can be swapped into the Composer Pro to deliver a different creative effect. The Lensbaby Composer Pro retails for $300.

Canon today introduced the EOS 60Da digital SLR camera, a successor to the Canon EOS 20Da that is optimised for astrophotography. The Canon EOS 60Da features a 18-megapixel sensor (a major improvement versus the 20Da’s 8-megapixel imager) with a modifiedinfrared-blocking filter which helps achieve a hydrogen-alpha light sensitivity that is approximately three times higher than that of a normal Canon DSLR camera. This allows astrophotographers to capture crisp, clear images of reddish diffuse nebulae. The high-resolution flip-out vari-angle screen allows photographers to adjust the screen for easy viewing without straining even while the camera is mounted to a telescope via a third-party T-ring adapter. Moreover, the EOS 60Da’s Live View mode is equipped with a Silent Shooting feature that eliminates shutter-induced vibration for maximum camera stability when the camera is mounted to a telescope or super-telephoto EF lens. As a specialised product, the EOS 60Da is only available to order from select authorised dealers. The estimated retail price is $1,499 and it is expected to be available this month.

In the UK and Ireland, the Canon EOS 60Da will retail for £1,174.99/€1,399, starting June 2012.

The Revolve camera dolly is a portable, versatile and affordable camera dolly system. “It allows anyone with a video camera to achieve smooth, dynamic, cinematic video easily and in a package they can actually afford,” explains designer and inventor Jeremy Canterbury. “It is compatible with virtually any camera, and is suitable for use on all surfaces and at any location.” Jeremy has recently initiated a Kickstarter project to fund themanufacturing of this product in order to make it available to the video community. Interested readers are encouraged to visit the website below.

Website: REVOLVE by Jeremy Canterbury

The seventh issue of Adore Noir Magazine is available for purchase. Now in its second year, Adore Noir is a fine art photography magazine available exclusively in digital format. Featuring ethereal nudes by Michael Zelbel, long-exposure land- and seascapes by David Burdeny, a retrospective collection of images by Joyce Tenneson, still lifes and environmental portraits by Hungaro-Canadian photographer Gábor Gasztonyi, an essay by Chad M. Kushins, illustrated with photographs by Joseph Szabó, a selection of pictures from the series “Pain & Loneliness” by by Hannah Kozak, world-class photojournalism by Jenny Gutmann and dramatic portraiture by Alexander Tkachev; this issue reinforces the magazine’s commitment to high-quality black-and-white imagery. The magazine has also announced a portfolio contest, giving its readers the chance to be featured in the October 2012 issue (do note that entry fees apply). Adore Noir magazine is available for $2.95 from the website below.

Website: Adore Noir

Kdan Mobile Software has released Pocket Snapper - Virtual Studio for the iPhone. The app creates a virtual studio with models and utilises the device’s built-in gyro sensors to simulate the authentic photo-taking experience, the company says, adding that the app “allows amateur photographers to practice and sharpen their photo-taking skills”. Pocket Snapper is available on iTunes for $1.99.

The 2012 international Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) awards are now open for entries. “Open to amateur and professional photographers from all countries and of all ages, Travel Photographer of the Year is one of the world’s most prestigious photography competitions, with photographers from nearly 90 countries taking part last year alone,” the organisers say. This year’s overall winner – the Travel Photographer of the Year 2012 - will be the first-ever recipient of the Cutty Sark Award, presented by Cutty Sark Blended Scotch Whisky. This very special prize consists of two elements: firstly, the winner will receive £5,000 - £2,500 as cash, plus an expenses-paid international photography commission to shoot images for Cutty Sark with a further £2,500 commission fee. Category winners will also receive exciting and valuable prizes including a Fujifilm X-Pro1 kit with three lenses, as well as jorneys to Kenya and the Greek Islands.

Enlight Photo’s ioShutter, which enables you to use an iPod touch, iPhone or iPad as a wired remote release for your Canon, Hasselblad or Pentax camera, is now available. Plug one end of the ioShutter cable into the device’s headphone jack and the other into the camera’s remote terminal, fire up the ioShutter app, and start taking pictures. “With your ioShutter cable plugged in, the free ioShutter app then gives you a ton of fun functions; options for Timers, Bulb setups for long exposures to get that great night sky or cityscape shot, Timelapse programmes and two unique world firsts: ClapToSnap sound trigger and ShakeToTake movement trigger,” says Enlight Photo founder James Madelin. The release cable is available through the Enlight Photo Online Pro Store for $69.99, while the free ioShutter app can be downloaded from iTunes. The pro version of the app sells for $9.99.

Canon UK has launched a major spring cashback promotion. Running until Tuesday 5 June 2012, the offer enables customers in the United Kingdom and Ireland to claim a cashback of £25 / €30 to £175 / €200 on select Canon products including digital SLR bodies, lenses, accessories, compact cameras and inkjet printers. The last claim date for the promotion will be 31 July 2012. Click through / scroll down for the complete list of participating products.

Canon has once again earned placement in Fortune Magazine’s “World’s Most Admired Companies” list. Canon achieved the number-five position in the computer industry, while also earning the number-two position in the Asia/Pacific region, moving up two spots from last year. Fortune magazine’s Most Admired List is considered the definitive report card on corporate reputation, and this year surveyed a total of 698 companies from 32 countries. Criteria such as investment and social responsibility were reflective of the results, and companies that have consistently outperformed their peers were those that demonstrated a commitment to achieving success through people, and placing a high value on leadership and talent.

Sigma UK has announced the suggested retail price (SRP) of the new Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 EX DC APO OS HSM lens. Available in mid April for Canon fit and mid May for Nikon and Sigma fit, the lens features Sigma’s proprietary OS (Optical Stabiliser) system, Super Multi-Layer Coating, six SLD glass elements and “hyper-sonic” focus motor. The price of the lens is £949.99.

At the same time, Sigma Corporation of America has announced the immediate availability of the upgraded 50-150mm lens, with an MSRP of $1,099.

Akvis has released Version 5.5 of Akvis Magnifier. Available as a plug-in or a standalone program, the software is claimed to “deliver good results” when ‘uprezzing’ a photo to create poster-sized enlargements. “Resizing pictures with Akvis Magnifier yields a much higher quality image than simple bicubic interpolation,” the company says. Version 5.5 adds compatibility with the upcoming Photoshop CS6 and Photoshop Elements 11 (plug-in version), fixes a bug which caused the program to crash when using the graphics processing unit on a computer running MacOS X Lion 10.7.3, and improves colour processing when loading raw images. Registered users of Magnifier can update their version free of charge.

PlayMemories Studio is a new and easy-to-use application for viewing, managing, editing and sharing digital photos and HD video clips on the Sony PlayStation 3 console. The integrated viewer in PlayMemories Studio lets you browse and view photos and videos – including 3D images and clips – on your TV screen. A Map view displays all your geotagged images on an on-screen globe, while one-button effects allow you to turn your photos into monochrome/sepia, emulate the effect of a soft-focus lens or a toy camera etc. PlayMemories Studio also allows users to tag, trim and join video clips.PlayMemories Studio can be purchased at the PlayStation Store, with a 30-day trial available as a free download.