X-Rite today announced an exclusive offer with Serif, creators of Affinity Photo, to offer a free software download for macOS or Windows worth £48.99 / €54.99 with each purchase of selected X-Rite products. The promotion runs from 1 October to 31 December 2017. Eligible products include the X-Rite ColorMunki Display, the X-Rite ColorChecker Passport Photo and the X-Rite ColorMunki Photographer Kit. Click through / scroll down for the details.

Tether Tools have announced that they will be assuming exclusive manufacturing, global sales, and distribution of TetherBlock products. Created by professional photographer David Blattel, the TetherBlock is a well-designed solution that helps tethering cables stay connected and secure. The TetherBlock’s patented cable-channeling design prevents accidental removal of a cable from the camera's data ports by routing a USB, FireWire, or HDMI cable through the TetherBlock’s S-channel. From there, a photographer can either shoot hand held or attach the TetherBlock to their camera's tripod mount or with the TetherBlock Arca, directly to an Arca Swiss compatible tripod. “I originally created TetherBlock to solve a challenge I had in my own photography work,” Blattel says. “I never intended it to replace my photography career. Tether Tools is the premier provider of tethering solutions and TetherBlock will reach many more photographers through their efforts than I could through my own.”

Vitec Photographic, the company behid the Gitzo and Manfrotto brands, has announced its collaboration with Sony in the imaging market. The collaboration, which was announced at Gitzo's 100-year anniversary event in Tokyo, will start with a brand new line of products developed for Sony’s α-series interchangeable-lens cameras. The range will include new Manfrotto and Gitzo tripods, plates, photo and video heads targeted at professionals. A customised version of Digital Director will complement the new range of products that will be showcased at events and tradeshows worldwide throughout 2018.

Designed for smartphones, the Quadralite A1 combines the functionality of a flash, LED lamp, and a wireless trigger. Promising to "transform your smartphone into a professional studio camera," the Quadralite A1 acts as an independent, wirelessly triggered flash as well as a wireless trigger and controller for additional Quadralite lights (both flashes and LED lights). A companion app converts your smartphone into an impressive control centre allowing you to take the entire studio under your control.

Synology today launched their DiskStation DS418play, a 4-bay NAS ideal for serving as a home multimedia center. Equipped with a dual-core 2GHz processor capable of bursting up to 2.5GHz, it comes with 2GB DDR3L memory by default, which is twice the size of its predecessor, and expands up to 6GB to enhance multi-tasking operations. Powered by a new hardware transcoding engine, DS418play supports up to two channels of H.265/H.264 4K video transcoding. "Mobiledevices supporting 4K video recording are becoming increasingly popular. However, since 4K video clips are capacity-consuming and not all TVs at home support 4K video playback, users tend to record videos with lower resolution as an alternative," said Michael Wang, product manager at Synology Inc. "With DS418play supporting up to 40TB of raw capacity, users can store their favorite videos in ultra-high definition, organize and share videos with families and friends effortlessly, and transcode videos on-the-fly to allow video playback on devices that do not support 4K."

Timelapse+ have launched their new Timelapse Workflow plugin for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. The plugin allows photographers to group photos by time-lapse, automatically create keyframes, blend settings between keyframes and preview your time-lapse -- all without leaving Lightroom. “After meeting in person with a customer to walk them through post-processing, I realized that for many people, if they’re not already familiar with the process, it can be complicated and it’s easy to mess up and get disappointing

results while working.” Said Elijah Parker, Founder of Timelapse+, “If you're doing any kind of day-to-night or night-to-day, this plugin becomes essential for blending changes in white balance or exposure across a series of frames. Get great results with a minimal learning curve.” The TImelapse Workflow Plugin is free for anyone who owns the Timelapse VIEW intervalometer.

The GoPro HERO6 is a new action camera that shoots 4K video at 60fps and Full HD at 240fps. This is enabled by a new, custom designed GP1 processor, which also promises improved image quality, dynamic range, low-light performance and "dramatically improved" video stabilisation over previous HERO camera generations. Similarly to its predecessor, the GoPro HERO6 is waterproof to 10 metres, and also offers support for QuikStoriesan app feature that makes it easy to share short videos of your adventures, and compatibility with Karma and existing GoPro mounts. The Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled camera is now available for $499.99.

Canon U.S.A.today announced that its parent company will be recognised at the 69th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards for its complete lineup of 4K field production zoom lenses, which includes all of Canon’s CN-E, CINE-SERVO and COMPACT-SERVO lines. 

"We are grateful to receive this esteemed recognition for our comprehensive collection of 4K zoom lenses for large-format single-sensor cameras," said Yuichi Ishizuka, president and COO, Canon U.S.A. "As resolutions leap from HD to 4K and beyond, it is important to recognize the lens’ role in resolving those pristine images and the importance placed on manufacturers and optical engineers to keep pace and match the sensor technologies of the more advanced cameras and sensors in the market today. The images we admire on screen all start with the lens.”

MindShift Gear have just announced their new BackLight 36L photo daypack. The backpack holds two gripped DSLRs with lenses attached and 4–6 standard zoom lenses plus a flash, or two gripped mirrorless bodies with lenses attached and 6–8 lenses plus a flash. Additionally, the BackLight 36L has 11 litres of daypack capacity providing plenty of space for personal gear, including separate dedicated compartments for a 10” tablet and 15” laptop. The back panel opening allows access to all of your gear when taking the pack off is not an option. The zippered rear opening reduces the amount of dust, mud, ice or other elements coming in contact with your gear or the pack, while keeping your shoulder harness clean. The BackLight 36L photo daypack is available for $289.99.

GoPro are set to unveil the new GoPro Hero 6 today, if widespread online leaks and rumours are to be believed. According to reports, the Hero 6 will be capable of shooting 4K video at 60fps , a big upgrade from the current Hero5 and Hero5 Session cameras, which can only shoot 4K at 30fps.

The live show will begin at 9AM PST / 5PM BST, but viewers can start tuning in at 8:30AM PST—there will be music and a countdown clock to the beginning of the show.

Panasonic has released a new firmware update for the Panasonic GH5 Micro Four Thirds compact system camera. As preannounced back in August, Version 2.0 enables tethered shooting via USB, using the “LUMIX Tether” PC software. Users can control the camera by connecting it to a PC via a USB. It lets them view the image on a large PC screen while shooting, which is helpful in commercial photoshoots of portraits, products, etc where continuous confirmation is required. The firmware also improves AF performance, enables faster shooting in 4K Photo and 6K Photo modes, adds an additional ALL-Intra-I Video Recording mode, 4K HDR video recording, various enhancements to the Anamorphic video recording mode and the in-body image stabiliser, and much more

Manfrotto Distribution UK have announced that as of 14th September 2017, they will be the exclusive UK distributor for broncolor. Commenting on the partnership Chris Carr, Vice President for Lighting, Partner Brands and UK, “broncolor is one of the most recognised and reputable lighting brands in the UK and is the perfect fit within our portfolio. We are proud to offer to the market broncolor’s range of premium lighting products, combining outstanding technological innovation and superb quality that you would expect from product produced by hand in Switzerland.”

Polaroid today announced the Polaroid flexible LED lighting panel, a lightweight, bendable light source for photographers and videographers. Measuring at 12x12” and just 16mm wide, the the super slim Polaroid flexible LED panel mat weighs a mere one pound, making it easy to arrange and mold the light into your ideal position. Even at this ultra-portable size, the Polaroid flexible LED lighting panel delivers superb colour reproduction similar in comparison to a 5600K natural light source; with 256 LEDs it can produce up to 4500 Lumens. Anyone from professional photographers to casual enthusiasts can use the simple wireless remote control to quickly dim the daylight balanced light source. Photographers and videographers can purchase the Polaroid flexible LED lighting panel from Amazon for $124.99.

Leica honoured photographers Terje Abusdal and Sergey Melnitchenko with the prestigious Leica Oskar Barnack Award and Leica Oskar Barnack Award Newcomer, respectively. before an audience of approximately 300 guests in Berlin’s Saint Elisabeth church at an exclusive reception on September 13^th. Blurring the lines between fact and fiction, Abusdal’s series Slash & Burn creates a mystical and expressive portrait of the Forest Finns, a Norwegian ethnic minority group that leads a life in close touch with nature.  As the winner of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award, Abusdal was presented with a cash prize of €25,000 (approximately $30,000) and Leica M-System (a camera and lens) valued at an additional €10,000. Meanwhile, Ukrainian photographer Sergey Melnitchenko was honored with the Newcomer Award for up-and-coming professional photographers aged 25 or younger for his portfolio entitled Behind the Scenes. The winning portfolio is a series of images captured behind the scenes in a Chinese nightclub that tells the stories of everyday life for dancers, with all the rough edges of show business including, bruised and battered legs, scratches and scars, feet raw from dancing, and laddered stockings in the light of make-up mirrors. For his award-winning portfolio, Melnitchenko was presented with a cash prize of €10,000 as well as a Leica rangefinder camera and lens.

Magix have released a new update of Photostory Deluxe, offering a significant performance upgrade over the previous version. High-resolution image material is now processed up to five times faster, whilst advanced full image editing enables precise photo optimisationdirectly within the program. A fully reworked workflow with 16-bit colour precision enables more creative freedom during effects editing and prevents image artifacts in colour transitions. Over 1,500 intros/outros, transitions, background noise and songs for popular themes such as vacation and travel have been completely redesigned in a clear new layout. The popular Photostory Wizard now has an optimized interface and can now be used for quick photo import. Fullscreen editing is now more advanced and can also be used in the main interface. Photostory Deluxe is now available for € 69,99 / $69.99 / £59.99.

Magix have released a free version of Fastcut, a video editor optimised for action cams and smartphones. Living up to its name, Fastcut 

is easy to use, intuitive and fast. Users simply need to select the required video clips, choose a soundtrack from the in-app library, click "Create video" and the program will create a finished video in seconds. Magix still offer a paid version, Fastcut Plus, which includes features like post-capture image stabilisation and advanced editing tools. Fastcut is free, while Fastcut Plus is available for £39.99.

Fantasea Line have unveiled the rugged and stylish FA6000 underwater housing for the Sony A6000 compact system camera. Depth rated to 60 metres / 200 feet, the Fantasea FA6000 housing features an ergonomic design with access to all essential camera functions. It is shock resistant and protects the camera from water, sand, dust, frost, impact, as well as other damaging elements and harmful occurrences. The FA6000 Housing was designed to be compatible with a complete accessory system, enabling photographers to enhance the quality of their images. Retail price of the FA6000 housing in the USA is $780.