Just in time for Amazon Prime Day, YI Technology is launching the YI 4K Action Camera. Billed as the industry’s first action camera to combine 4K/30fps video recording, integrated touchscreen, and up to two hours of battery life, the YI 4K Action Camera is built with Sony’s 12MP IMX377 CMOS image sensor and the latest A9SE75 processor from Ambarella, allowing users to capture and share moments with increased speed and lower power consumption. “Today’s action videographers demand both long recording times and the best image quality,” said Sean Da, Co-Founder and CEO of, YI Technology. “That’s why we’ve packed the YI 4K Action Camera with the best components the industry has to offer, to deliver truly outstanding performance at an affordable price.” A Bluetooth 4.0 remote control is available for shooting from a distance. And the accompanying apps for iOS and Android allow people to not just shoot, but also edit and share pictures and videos on the fly. The YI 4K Action Camera will be available on July 12 in Night Black, Pearl White, and Rose Gold for $249.

A diverse speaker line-up for this year’s Digital Splash event - a photography show which takes place in the Liverpool Echo Arena on the 15th and 16th October – has been unveiled. Attendees will be able to listen to several presentations delivered by acclaimed photographers Jonathan Critchley, Michael Freeman, Faye and Trevor Yerbury, Tim Wallace and husband and wife wildlife team Ann and Steve Toon. In addition to the workshops and seminars from these top pro photographers; the weekend-long event will also include live shoots & demonstrations, photo-walks and inspiring exhibitions. Visitors will also be able to see all of the major photographic brands under one roof including Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Olympus, Fujifilm, Pentax & Ricoh, Sony, Sigma, Tamron, Lowepro, Manfrotto and more, with their teams of experts on hand. Those registering in advance on the Digital Splash website will be able to enter Digital Splash 2016 free of charge, and will also be sent a 25% discount code to use against any talk and workshop bookings.

Ashampoo have released Ashampoo Slideshow Studio HD 4 for Windows. New features and enhancements include several new transition effects; support for Apple, Android, Sony and Microsoft devices; and new output formats including MKV, VP9 and MP4. A new wizard helps beginners create slideshows with ease. Other additions include faster encoding with NVENC and Intel Media support, as well as support for 4K resolutions. The program is available now for $39.99.

Want to see exactly what the new Sony Planar T* FE 50mm F1.4 ZA lens looks like in the flesh?

Check out our hands-on gallery of photos of the Sony Planar T* FE 50mm F1.4 ZA lens.

The price of the Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS has now been confirmed. Available from July, the new Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS lens will cost £2,500 in the UK and $2,500 in the US. In addition, the new 2x and 1.4x teleconverters will cost £550 each and also be available in July.
 

Sony today announced the availability of a new radio-controlled lighting system. Designed for compatibility with Sony’s Alpha interchangeable lens cameras and external flash units, the new lighting system will include the FA-WRC1M wireless radio commander as well as the FA-WRR1 wireless radio receiver. The new system will start to ship in September 2016 with the FA-WRC1M Remote Commander priced at approximately €420 and the FA-WRR1 Remote Receiver priced at approximately €240.

The Sony Planar T* FE 50mm F1.4 ZA is a new full-frame lens for their E-mount camera system. This 50mm prime lens features a large F1.4 maximum aperture that offers impressive contrast and outstanding resolution that are hallmarks of the ZEISS brand. The new FE 50mm F1.4 ZA lens will ship this July and will be available across Europe for approximately €1,800 and in the UK for £1,500.

Wrekenton, Gateshead-based amateur photographer Lee Stoneman has been selected as the fourth winner of Jessops’s Share your summer competition; winning the opportunity to exhibit his work across 52 Jessops store windows. Lee’s stunning shot of the Tyne Bridge cleverly plays on natural light. On his win, Lee said: “I’m over the moon to be picked by Jessops to display my work in 52 store windows. I love the quayside at Newcastle, especially early morning when this image was taken. I captured this image just as the light was shining through the trees onto the leaves and illuminating the dew. The tide was turning which gave some great reflections. I hope my photo being on display will inspire people to look at Newcastle in a different light – and start taking more pictures of it!” On top of a week-long window display, Lee will also be invited to show off his work in the Olympus-sponsored Project Space Gallery in Bermondsey, London from 8th – 14th August.

As part of the inaugural season at The Met Breuer, the exhibition diane arbus: in the beginning will open on 12th July, featuring more than 100 photographs from one of the most influential and provocative artists of the 20th century. This landmark exhibition will highlight never-before-seen early work of Diane Arbus, focusing on the first seven years of her career, from 1956 to 1962, the period in which she developed the idiosyncratic style and approach for which she has been recognized, praised, criticised and copied the world over. "It is a rare privilege to present an exhibition this revelatory, on an artist of Arbus's stature. More than two-thirds of these works have never before been exhibited or published," said Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "We sincerely thank the Estate of Diane Arbus for entrusting us to show an unknown aspect of this remarkable artist's legacy with the camera." The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue which includes two essays: "in the beginning" by Jeff L. Rosenheim and "notes from the archive" by Karan Rinaldo, Senior Research Assistant. The book is published by The Met and distributed by Yale University Press (hardcover; $50).

Samsung has announced the industry’s first ultra-fast memory cards based on the JEDEC Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 1.0 Card Extension Standard. Coming in a wide range of storage capacities including 256, 128, 64 and 32 gigabytes; Samsung’s UFS cards provide more than five times faster sequential read performance compared to that of a typical microSD card, reading sequentially at up to 530MB/s. With a UFS card, consumers have the ability to read a 5GB, Full-HD movie in approximately 10 seconds, compared to a typical UHS-1 microSD card, which would take over 50 seconds with 95MB/s of sequential reading speed. When it comes to writing, the new 256GB UFS card attains a 170MB/s write speed. Do note that UFS-compatible devices have yet to be announced.

The new Fujifilm X-T2 compact system camera can shoot at 11fps with the with the VPB-XT2 battery grip attached, or a slightly slower 8fps if the grip isn't fitted.

The key difference is that shooting at 11fps is limited to 73 JPEGs / 30 Lossless Raws / 27 Uncompressed Raws, whereas at 8fps shooting appears to be unlimited, at least when the VPB-XT2 battery grip is fitted.

Here are a couple of video clips showing the Fujifilm X-T2 in action on both settings until the camera's buffer is full (using the JPEG setting).

Photography Blog attended the recent UK press launch of the Fujifilm X-T2 in central London. As one of the first people outside of Fujifilm to actually get their hands on the X-T2, here are my initial thoughts...

Fujifilm have updated their XF Lens Roadmap, with three new lenses scheduled for release in 2016 and 2017.

2016

XF 23mm f/2 R WR

2017

XF 50mm f/2 R WR

XF 80mm f/2 R LM OIS WR 1:1 Macro (this replaces the 120mm Macro lens that has previously appeared on the lens roadmap)

Want to see exactly what the new Fujifilm X-T2 compact system camera looks like in the flesh?

Check out our extensive hands-on gallery of photos of the Fujifilm X-T2 compact system camera, including a side-by-side comparison with the original X-T1 model, the new VPB-XT2 vertical power booster grip, and the EF-X500 flashgun.

Want to see exactly how the new Fujifilm X-T2 compact system camera compares to the original X-T1 camera?

Check out our hands-on gallery of photos of the Fujifilm X-T2 and X-T1 compact system cameras.

Want to see exactly what the new VPB-XT2 vertical power booster grip for the Fujifilm X-T2 looks like?

Check out our hands-on gallery of photos of the VPB-XT2 vertical power booster grip.