Arsenal, the World's first smart camera assistant that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to control your digital SLR or compact system camera via a smartphone app, has raised more than $1 million on Kickstarter in just two weeks, exceeding its initial fundraising goal by 2,000%. "With a single tap, you can activate Arsenal’s settings assistant AI," says Arsenal inventor Ryan Stout. "The settings assistant is trained on thousands of great photos. It can determine the optimal settings for the scene you're shooting. Next it fine tunes those settings using 18 different environmental factors. The result is great settings for any shot." After surpassing its original campaign goal of $50,000 in less than nine hours, Arsenal has now reached two stretch goals: the first at $300,000, and the second at $1 million. Each goal enabled Arsenal’s creators to fund the development of additional features in time for launch. These additional features include a laive histogram, an intriguing Night Shot feature, and new video control and playback functions. According to the timeline published on the project's Kickstarter page, Arsenal will start shipping in January next year.

ExpoImaging, creators of the innovative Rogue FlashBender 2 speedlight modifiers, have teamed up with Photography Blog to offer you the chance to win one of three XL Pro Lighting Systems.

The three lucky winners are: Claire Nutman, Sue H Jenkins and Frank Bramkamp. Congratulations!

Benro today announced the new Aero 7, a compact and portable video tripod capable of supporting up to 15 lbs. Featuring a reverse-folding leg design, Benro’s Aero 7 is a clear evolution from its other Aero siblings. In addition to its standard ability to reverse-fold to a smaller, more compact size and transform into a video monopod, the inclusion of the removable flat-base S7 video head and the new 2-in-1 centre column makes the Aero 7 a great travelling companion for filmmakers and videographers needing a fully featured tripod for their medium-sized rigs. For even more versatility, one of the Aero 7’s legs can be unthreaded and joined with the tripod’s centre column to become a fully functioning video monopod. The suggested retail price of the Aero 7 is $399 for the aluminium version, and $599 for carbon fibre.

Camtraptions have just launched their new camera trap sensor. The company has been creating sensors for DSLR camera trap photography since 2014. The original Camtraptions PIR motion sensor broke new ground by making it easy for anyone to turn an old DSLR camera into a high-quality camera trap for photographing wildlife. Over the last three years, Camtraptions has gathered feedback from its users and taken the collective experience of camera trappers around the world to develop a new sensor that introduces a number of innovative features for both still photography and video shooting. The new sensor incorporates a rugged weather-proof housing and adjustable “blinkers” that limit the sensor’s field of view to provide greater control over the composition of the final image. It is very discreet and can be either strapped to a tree or mounted on a small tripod next to an animal trail or some other focal point for wildlife. The Camtraptions sensor is compatible with Canon, Nikon and Sony cameras, with more camera brands to be supported in the near future. The sensor can be preordered now for £150 at Camtraptions.com.

Impossible have curated a selection of vivid frames and classic Polaroid cameras to capture the magic of summer light. Offering a monochrome twist to the original Polaroid camera, Impossible’s special edition Polaroid 600 Two-Tone Black & White (pictured) elevates the playful point-and-shoot classic with a custom black & white finish (£129/€149/$179). Impossible have also created the Metallic Frame Edition colour film pack for 600-type cameras, placing your analogue instant photos in a range of shimmering foil frames. Each photo in the pack of eight film (£18.99/€21.00/$24.49) features a different coloured metallic frame, from gold and blue to purple and pink.

The team at Benjamin Button have just launched the first smart wearable camera in the shape of a button created for kids. Parents simply clip Benjamin Button to their child's clothing and they will get authentic Full HD content from their child's perspective with up to three hours of recording time. Based on sound recognition, face recognition and action recognition, parents will automatically be given only the best parts of the day that have been captured with Benjamin. There's an option to manually choose the best moments. The button is large enough to eliminate any risk of choking, has advanced encryption privacy security, and is made of BPA-free plastic. The company is taking pre-orders for Benjamin Button exclusively through Kickstarter until 3rd July.

OmegaBrandess has announced the upcoming launch of a new remote shutter release cable for the GigaPan Epic Pro and GigaPan Epic Pro V (pictured) that will be compatible with newer generation Sony cameras using the Multi-Terminal connection. The 510-3501revA Cable will be available for $45, starting July 2017.

UK-based street photographer Johnny Mobasher has launched a new website dedicated to street photographers worldwide. The aim of StreetPhotography.com is to support, educate, and inspire a new generation of street photographers in the post Cartier-Bresson world. The website aims to showcase and promote the very best of the genre, while, simultaneously, providing inspiration to aspiring photographers by way of exclusive content from established names like Bruce Gilden, Jill Freedman, and Marian Schmidt. StreetPhotography.com will allow registered users to submit their photography, essays, and editorials for publication on the site free of charge

The third major update to Zoner Photo Studio X enables users to quickly and easily compare and edit several photos at once. THe Clarity tool has been perfected, and people who love printed photos will be glad that they can now order prints in a number of sizes straight from the program. Another has been perfected, and people who love printed photos will be glad that they can now order prints in a number of sizes straight from the program. Another new feature is the option to publish photos on several social networks at once, including delayed publication. The program also offers a new video trimming function in the Manager module. A 30-day trial version of Zoner Photo Studio X can be downloaded from the company's website. Users who haven’t yet purchased ZPS X and who have already exhausted their trial period get a fresh 10-day trial period for free, so that they can check out the new update.

Phase One today announced Capture One Styles Packs. Each Capture One Styles Pack contains up to 18 different Styles focused on a specific theme. This flexible offering builds on recent enhancements in Capture One Pro 10.1, such as an easier preview of large style collections and nested style collections. It is designed to deliver greater speed and efficiency when editing multiple images. Styles Packs released today include 'Cinematic,' Black-and-White, 'Matte,' 'Seasonal' and 'Essentials.' Each Styles Pack, containing 15-18 styles, for Windows and Mac operating systems is priced at €69/$69. Five Styles are available for download as a free sample package.

Calumet Photographic has raised more than £3,800 for Great Ormond Street Hospital during its spring Open Days. The event also gave customers the opportunity to meet with experts from leading brands, such as Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm and Sony. The latest equipment was also available for people to test out, including Sony’s new A9. This year’s schedule saw professional photographer and videographer David Newton (pictured) top the bill. He presented several seminars throughout the day at London and Manchester’s Open Days, where he discussed light modification and the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. “It was fantastic to see so many people attend my seminars and become actively engaged in the sessions,” David says. “Lots of people had questions and were obviously very keen to learn more about their artform. It was a pleasure to be there.”

Several rare Leica cameras and accessories will be auctioned off tomorrow at the 31st Westlicht Photographica Auction in Vienna, Austria. These include a very early Leica I with an Elmax lens, a black-paint Leica M3 from one of the first series from 1959, a Leica MP-292 and a 1944 vintage ‘Rundbild’ outfit for 360° photography, complete with a matching tripod. Amongst the ‘Leica Copies’ is the extremely rare WICA (Wiener Camera) from 1948 with a starting price of $2,250 and an estimated hammer price of between $3,900 and $4,250. Bids can be placed online, on the phone, by fax or in person in the WestLicht auction rooms at Westbahnstrasse 40.

The Detu Twin dual-lens 360° camera, previewed at CES 2017, is now available to purchase. The slimline camera is ultra lightweight and allows you to upload 360° videos and photos straight to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Configured with dual back to back optical F2.0 fisheye lenses, the Detu Twin produces 360-degree, 30fps videos with a resolution of 3040x1520 pixels. The Detu 360 camera app, available for iOS or Android stitches all footage from each individual source, automatically and in real time. The Twin will also livestream to YouTube and Facebook. The camera is available for $228 on Amazon.

Tenba has updated its Roadie line of rolling cases including a new checkable, uncrushable flagship model. Tenba Roadies are sleek, discrete cases that include some key “industry first” features like a removable camera insert, an exterior pocket for a portable battery. Roadies were designed with a high-end luggage aesthetic to ensure they look professional yet don’t draw unwanted attention to the gear inside. One model in the Roadie Collection, the Roadie Air Case Roller 21, utilises Tenba's patented layered wall construction to provide the protection of a hard-shell case at a fraction of the weight. It can withstand more than 400 pounds stacked on top, so it will ensure equipment protection when the case needs to be checked unexpectedly, like when airline overhead space has filled up, or when flying on a small regional jet.

To celebrate the new SW320 monitor, BenQ have launched the new ‘Get Creative in Venice!’ promotion that will offer one lucky winner a 6 day, all-expenses paid photo trip to Venice, Italy. The trip is worth approximately £4,000 and will take place from 8th – 13th July 2018. The photo adventure is designed not only to guide the winner through the most photogenic locations carefully planned for the best light, but will enable them to mentally visualise a scene before capturing the perfect moment. To be in with a chance of winning this once-in-a-lifetime prize, entrants simply need to fill out a short form on the company's website. Featuring a true 10-bit IPS panel, hardware calibration, 99% Adobe RGB colour space coverage and a 14-bit 3D look-up table, the 31.5" SW320 UHD monitor comes with BenQ’s Palette Master Elements software for hardware calibration. The Gamut Duo feature allows users to view content side-by-side in various colour spaces on one screen. The Hotkey Puck can assign colour spaces to preset buttons and switch between them quickly and conveniently. HDR has been introduced to offer higher contrast, vivid colours and brighter images, and to allow professionals to display true-to-life video with the same accurate colour and detail it was captured with. The Technocolor colour certified monitor has its own SD memory card slot and offers fast USB 3.0 connectivity. The BenQ SW320 is available for £1,245.60 including VAT.