Canon ranked third for the number of U.S. patents awarded in 2017, has been in the top five for 32 consecutive years, and first among Japanese companies for thirteen years running.

"Looking East: Portraits by Steve McCurry" is a new book that presents a selection of the best and most poignant portraits by acclaimed photographer Steve McCurry. Looking East was first published by Phaidon in 2011 and has since sold over 30,000 copies worldwide. Now available for the first time in an elegant paperback edition, this book features an astounding range of colour photographs, gorgeously reproduced in large format.

Sony have released firmware uodate 2.0 for the A9 mirrorless camera. Continuous auto-focus for moving subjects and AF-C stability while zooming have been enhanced, while "all-round operational stability" has been improved, among other minor changes.

KODAKCoin is a new photo-centric cryptocurrency designed to empower photographers and agencies to take greater control in image rights management. “Kodak has always sought to democratize photography and make licensing fair to artists. These technologies give the photography community an innovative and easy way to do just that.” said Kodak CEO Jeff Clarke. The initial coin offering will open on January 31, 2018 and is open to accredited investors from the U.S., UK, Canada and other select countries.

The Lenovo Mirage Camera is a new VR180 camera that simplifies creating virtual reality content with easy video or image capture and wireless upload to your personal Google Photos and YouTube account. VR180 eliminates the need for specialized virtual reality videography skills and professional camera gear to shoot immersive 3D VR videos and photos.

The Mirage Camera is expected to be available beginning in the second quarter this year.

The YI Horizon VR180 camera gives users an easy way to capture high-resolution, immersive video. It seamlessly integrates with YouTube and Google Photos so viewers can easily activate a VR experience when viewed with Google Cardboard, Daydream, PSVR, and a number of other certified VR viewers. the YI Horizon VR180 Camera captures 3D video in 5.7K resolution at 30 frames per second (fps).

The RICOH THETA V Partner Program will launch in Spring 2018. The new program will support third-party developers interested in creating their own Android-based plug-ins for the RICOH THETA V, the top-of-the-line Ricoh 360-degree camera capable of capturing fully-spherical photos and 4K video. As part of the program, Ricoh is making available the RICOH THETA V's application program interface (API) and software development kit (SDK) and will provide tools and guidance to support plug-in development. It will also open an online RICOH THETA V partner marketplace, where plug-ins can be uploaded and shared.

The AirSelfie2 pocket-sized flying camera features 12-megapixel resolution, 85° field of view and 50 percent longer battery life. Other enhancements include 16 GB memory and choice of four colors. The AirSelfie2 includes a flying camera, a powerbank for anywhere/anytime recharging, a USB cable for connecting to a computer and a protective bumper. AirSelfie2 will be through airselfiecamera.com and select retailers for $299.95.

The Vuze+ VR Camera is the first camera to give VR content creators, filmmakers, and video and production industry pros the full suite of tools needed for capturing, producing and sharing VR content, all within one eco-system. Priced at $1,199, the Vuze+ VR  camera includes sophisticated capture functionality, such as live broadcasting and custom lenses for improved image quality, and is accompanied by Vuze VR Studio editing software, as well as access to Humaneyes Zone, an industry-first VR platform enabling users to host, stream and share VR content.

The Pilot Era is the world’s first VR 360° camera with in-camera 8K video stitching. With the new Pilot Era, photographers will be able to use a self-contained professional-grade panoramic camera to create high quality stitched videos and images easily and quickly and upload them, all within the camera itself. Pilot Era is the only camera which can shoot and record images and videos from 4k to 8k and stitch them seamlessly inside the camera, with up to 6K stitched in real time. The Pilot Era is expected to be available on Amazon in April 2018.

Insta360 has unveiled an eight-lens professional VR camera and a new prototype for a light field camera at CES 2018. The eight-lens professional VR camera will be capable of shooting fully spherical, stereoscopic (3D) video at upwards of 10K resolution, with 4/3” image sensors giving the camera a high dynamic range. The 6DOF Light Field Camera uses128 cameras laid out in a rectangular grid array to create 180° video with 6 degrees of freedom (6DOF), meaning viewers can “move” throughout a piece of content along six directions.

The Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 180–400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR is the first Nikon telephoto lens to have a built-in 1.4x teleconverter. Priced at a whopping £10,999 / €12,400 / $12,399, the Nikon 80-400mm f/4 promises edge-to-edge sharpness throughout the zoom range, even when shooting wide open, plus built-in Vibration Reduction (VR) which offers a four-stop advantage. Sales of the Nikon 80-400mm f/4 lens will start on March 8th 2018.

Sony has announced a new accessory Camera Control Box (model CCB-WD1) that connects to the RX0 camera and enables PC control with a web browser via a wired IP connection. Up to 100 can be controlled to produce high quality movie effects like “bullet-time” or virtual reality, or to shoot high profile events from unique angles. The new CCB-WD1 Camera Control Box will ship next month for about $700 US or $900 CA. 

Sony are also releasing version 6.2 of its PlayMemories Mobile application in January 2018, which will allow users to link their smartphone or tablet to up to 50 RX0 cameras via an access point to control them simultaneously.

The LaCie DJI Copilot is a complete backup on-set solution, allowing users to playback, copy and manage their drone footage from their mobile device without a PC. You can quickly connect and reference the built-in screen to initiate direct file transfer from an SD card to LaCie DJI Copilot without the need of a laptop or a mobile network. With 2TB of storage, the LaCie DJI Copilot enables users to easily store up to 65 hours of 4K 30fps video footage and 20K+ RAW photos. The LaCie DJI Copilot’s street price in the U.S. will be $349 and will be shipping in the spring.

The winners of the Hasselblad Masters Awards 2018 have been announced. Bronius Rudnickas, Hasselblad Marketing Manager: “Over 30 000 images were submitted to this year’s competition and that was a record, we are glad to see the competition is growing every year.” Every Hasselblad Masters award winner will hold the title of ‘Hasselblad Master’ and be a brand ambassador for two years. In addition, they will receive a brand new Hasselblad medium format camera and be invited to shoot for a collaborative project with Hasselblad. This project will be printed and released in the bi-annual Hasselblad Masters book.

HOME is a major collaborative project between FUJIFILM Corporation and Magnum Photos. Each participating Magnum photographer was invited to explore the subject of HOME - a theme chosen for its global nature and the inherently human sentiment – in their own style and sensibility. The project will be showcased in exhibitions in New York (Milk Gallery, 2-14 March 2018), London (The Vinyl Factory, 18 – 27 May 2018), Paris (Gallery Joseph, 10-17 June 2018), Toyko (Daikanyama Hillside Forum, 21-30 July 2018) and Cologne (Koeln Messe, 26-19 September).

The new superfast SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD is perfect for saving and editing hi-res photos and videos on-the-go. Western Digital are also releasing the My Passport Wireless SSD (pictured) at CES 2018, which features one-touch card copy to enable editing and sharing of content out in the field, as well as a new capability to directly access the device within third-party mobile creative apps, like FiLMiC Pro and LumaFusion.

The Panasonic LUMIX GH5S is a new flagship compact system camera aimed firmly at videographers, sitting alongside the G9 and GH5 models. Whereas the recently released Lumix G9 is aimed at stills photographers and the popular GH5 at both stills and videographers, the new GH5s has been designed and developed for professional filmmakers. It features a brand new 10.2 megapixel sensor, 4K 60p / 50p video recording in Cinema 4K, internal 4:2:2 10-bit recording, Dual Native ISO Technology, Timecode IN/OUT compatibility, 14-bit RAW recording, true Multi-Aspect Ratios, and it ships with V-Log pre-installed (rather than being a paid upgrade, as on the GH5).

We've spent a little time getting to know the Panasonic LUMIX GH5S, so check out our first impressions of Panasonic's new compact system camera...