XP Distribution, the specialist distributor for X-Rite’s range of colour management products aimed at photographers and filmmakers, has announced its attendance at Photokina 2016. X-Rite will return to Hall 4.1, Stand J029 from 20th to 25th September, to demonstrate solutions for achieving accurate colour in both photo and filmmaking workflows. The company's experts will be on hand throughout the event to offer visitors colour workflow advice on everything from capturing to viewing colour, all the way through edit and print. In addition, X-Rite will be showcasing their full range of colour management products including ColorChecker Passport Photo, ColorChecker Classic and ColorChecker Video; ColorMunki Photo, ColorMunki Smile and ColorMunki Display, as well as i1Display Pro. As part of the 40th anniversary celebration of the ColorChecker Classic, visitors to the X-Rite stand can enter a giveaway to win a five-day, all-inclusive workshop with Frank Doorhof in the Netherlands, worth approximately £5,000.

Cascable, an iOS-based remote control app that works with a number of Wi-FI capable cameras, has just been updated to version 2.0. Now supporting 50 models of camera from Canon, Nikon, Sony and Olympus, Cascable enablesfull remote control as well as copying and exporting full resolution photos, including raw files. The basic edition of Cascable 2.0 is available for free from the iTunes App Store, with Pro feature packs being available at $9.99 each.

“All that Life can Afford” is a new solo show featuring the photography of street photographer Matt Stuart. Hosted by East London's theprintspace gallery, the free-to-attend “All that Life can Afford” exhibition features images selected from Stuart’s extensive archive of photos, captured during the 20 years he’s been shooting in the genre. His pictures are full of clever juxtapositions of comedy, wit, and masterfully timed moments, cutting through the urban noise, ebbs and flows of human traffic to reveal witty, tender, magical moments which are gone as quickly as they appeared. The exhibition, which runs from 19th – 26th August, is accompanied by Matt’s first book : All That Life Can Afford (£30), published February 2016 by the Plague Press.

Calumet have announced their second Student Photographer of the Year competition to celebrate World Photo Day, which takes place on 19th August. All UK students are invited to submit a single photo of their best work along with up to 20 words explaining their chosen image. People who join Calumet’s Student Membership can submit an additional two images to the competition, with the scheme costing £25 and members receive free gifts worth over £150. Images need to be no larger than 2MB. The overall winner will be presented with their award at Calumet’s ‘Encounter More Open Days’ taking place in October and November across the company’s eight stores. The closing day for entries is 14 October 2016.

The O2 is inviting budding photographers to enter a competition for the chance to be an official photographer for an upcoming event at the venue. To get involved, simply head over to The O2 to enjoy one of the many fun and unique things to do, take a picture of your experience and share it on Instagram using #SummerOfFun and @theO2london. The deadline for entries is 22 August 2016. The prize will be a meal for four at one of the restaurants at The O2 to the value of £100 and a climb Up at The O2 for four people.

Macphun have revealed a sneak peek at Aurora HDR 2017, which introduces a number of new tools and improvements including batch processing, reworked Tone Mapping and Bracket Merging technologies, a Polarise Filter, plus new presets created by HDR professionals. Additionally, the rendering of raw files will now be much faster. Aurora 2017 will officially launch on 29th September, and will be available for pre-order from 14th September.

Panasonic have announced that their Lumix GX80 compact system camera will be used by official photographer, Warren Little, to capture images at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Having worked for Getty Images for 18 years, Warren is now covering the games with the GX80 and a selection of Lumix G lenses suitable for capturing a wide range of scenes. The camera features a 16-megapixel Live MOS sensor, 5-axis Dual Image Stabilisation and Panasonic’s 4K Photo technology, which lets you take a complete 4K video of an event and then select a single still frame from the footage. Images taken by Warren using the GX80 will be showcased on Panasonic’s social media platforms and across Panasonic’s website

Samyang have just introduced a new ultra-bright, ultra-wide manual-focus prime lens for full frame DSLR cameras. Featuring an optical construction comprising 13 elements in 12 groups - including 3 extra-low-dispersion and 2 aspherical glass elements - and an iris diaphragm with 7 rounded blades, the Samyang 20mm F1.8 ED AS UMC offers an angle of view of 94.8° and a close-focus point of 20cm/8". The lens will be available in Canon EF, Nikon F, Pentax K, Sony Alpha, Canon M, Fujifilm X, Samsung NX, Sony E, FourThirds and Micro FourThirds fit; at a recommended retail price of €499.00.

Hama have launched a three-in-one lens set for smartphones and tablets. The Hama Uni set comprises a 180° fisheye lens, a 0.67X wide-angle lens and a macro lens. Thanks to the universal lens clip, the lenses fit all smartphones and tablets with a lens diameter of up to 13 mm. The new three-in-one set is available for €12.99.

Sony have issued a firmware update for the Sony A6300 compact system camera. According to the company, Version 1.10 "improves stability in picture shooting mode by optimizing temperature control" - i.e. addresses the camera's widely reported overheating issue - and improves overall operational stability. You can download the firmware upgrade from the website below.

Website: Sony eSupport

Canon’s team of over 70technicians and support staff will be in Brazil for nearly a month to support professional photographers and broadcasters covering the Summer Olympics. “Canon is proud to offer professional photographers and broadcasters high quality image-making solutions that are thoughtfully designed and versatile so that they can capture sharp, clear, detailed images and video,” said Elizabeth Pratt, director, Professional Client Development and Support, Canon U.S.A. “Knowing that iconic images will be captured, seen and shared by people around the world really drives Canon to provide professionals with not only high quality equipment but the customer support they need to help ensure they never miss a beat if anything happens to their equipment.”

Manfrotto has announced the addition of four new camcorder cases to its Pro Light Collection. This new Manfrotto bag range fits all the most popular camcorder models on the market. The special shaped foam contained in the internal Manfrotto Camera Protection System (CPS) safeguards the equipment stored inside the bag. It closely surrounds the camera, lenses and accessories, providing softer cushioning that also functions as strong storage protection. The Manfrotto Flexi divider enables users to make the most of the space available inside the bag and create multiple configurations according to the specific camera and accessories they are using. Prices for the new Manfrotto Pro Light camcorder cases start from £119.95.

The Laowa 12mm f/2.8 from Venus Optics is now available via Kickstarter. Billed as, the "World’s Widest f/2.8 Lens with Close-to-Zero Distortion," the Laowa 12mm f/2.8 lens comprises 16 elements in 10 groups, including 2 aspherical elements and 3 elements made of glass with anomalous dispersion. This manual focus lens offers a field of view of 122°, 7 aperture blades, minimum focusing distance of 18cm, and an aperture range of f/2.8 - f/22. The recommended retail price is $949.00. Along with the new Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Lens, Venus Optics also announces the Laowa Magic Shift Converter which is able to enlarge the full frame image circle to provide a sufficiently large image field for shift movements. It will transform the Laowa 12mm f/2.8 lens into a 17mm f/4 Shift Lens with +/- 10mm shift capability for Full-Frame E-mount cameras.

Manfrotto have launched Version 2.1 of the Manfrotto Digital Director app, new Digital Director models compatible with iPad Pro 12,9“ and iPad mini 4, and a range of new accessories. Digital Director is the only Apple certified (MFi – Made for iPad) electronic device that connects your camera (select Canon and Nikon DSLRs) and iPad allowing you to shoot, check, edit, share and manage your pictures. The new Digital Director App V. 2.1 adds an intervalometer and time-lapse controls, bracketing, DoF preview, a simplified workflow, automated playback, the ability to download raw images for sharing via Wi-Fi web server, e-mail and FTP, and more. THe company has also launched a new semi- rigid case designed to organise and carry Digital Director for iPad Air 2, iPad Air, iPad mini 4, iPad mini 3 and iPad mini 2; a Sunhood for iPad mini 4, mini 3 and mini 2; plus a number of frame inserts for the iPad Air, Air 2, mini 2, 3 and 4, and iPad Pro 12.9”.

The exhibition 'Exile,' at Visa Pour L’Image Perpignan (29 August - 2 September 2016), will bring together work of 22 Magnum Photographers to present a visual representation of nearly 70 years of international migration and displacement. Providing a historic context to the current migration crisis in Europe, Exile will include images of civilians returning home following World War II by Robert Capa; Philip Jones Griffiths’ Vietnamese woman fleeing a US bomb attack; and John Vink’s documentation of the displaced in South Sudan. Presenting coverage of conflicts ranging from the Six Day War, Iraq, Rwanda and the Arab Spring the exhibition also includes work by Abbas, Bruno Barbey, Chris Steele-Perkins, Thomas Dworzak, Alex Majoli, Susan Meiselas, Paulo Pellegrin and Jerome Sessini amongst others. Alongside the exhibition, Magnum Photos and Canon are organising First Impressions, a free 5-day portfolio review event at Visa Pour L’Image for photographers wishing to gain an insightful and honest critique of their work.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is a new phablet with a 5.7" Quad HD Dual Edge Super AMOLED screen with Gorilla Glass 5, USB-C connectivity and a water-resistant chassis. In terms of photography-related features, the new Galaxy Note 7 gets the 1/2.5"-type 12-megapixel image sensor and bright f/1.7 lens of the Galaxy S7, combined with on-chip PDAF technology for fast and accurate focusing. There's also a front-facing camera with a 5-megapixel imager, a microSD memory card slot, a water-resistant S Pen stylus and an intriguing iris scanner. Additionally, the Galaxy Note7 can be used with the new high-resolution (3840×1920) Gear 360 camera, to capture, edit and share 360-degree images and videos on the go. These memories can then be shared with friends via platforms including YouTube 360 and Facebook.

The Priolite Ultra is the World’s smallest Li-ion battery powered, metal-body, metal-hardware, and metal-mount monolight for high-speed flash photography. The new flash enables Nikon, Canon, Pentax, and Sony photographers to synchronise their cameras with the help of the Priolite HotSync System at up to 1/8000th of a second; allowing them to shoot with wide-open apertures in sunlit environments, freezing motion of fast moving subjects. Unlike other solutions, the Priolite HotSync System works over the entire power range of the strobe. “Priolite offers the only solution for High-Speed Flash photography with up to 1000Ws per light, and is the only professional lighting manufacturer with HotSync support for Pentax medium format cameras and DSLRs from Sony, Canon, Nikon, and Pentax, but when I first saw Priolite Ultra, I was very impressed,” says commercial photographer Alex Munoz. “The ridiculously small size enables me to take multiple lights, even if I have to hike, drive, or fly. What's even more impressive is how Priolite was able to retain the metal body, metal hardware, and metal mount, thus not compromising on durability and quality.” Interested reeaders are encouraged to pay a visit to the Priolite Ultra's Kickstarter page.