Intelligent Imaging Solutions have released an update to their piccure+ software, billed as "a revolution in computational photography." Leveraging the processing capabilities of advanced GPUs, Version 3.0 promises an increase in speed of up to 6x compared to version 2.5. Compared to version 2, the increase in speed is 10x faster. Pricing starts at $79.99 for a single license.

G-Technology have announced a partnership with Atomos, a manufacturer of smart 4K and HD video production tools, to develop solutions that help creative professionals save time in the content creation process. "At Atomos, we are committed to creating easy-to-use products that merge the complicated steps in the content creation process,” said Jeromy Young, CEO and Co-founder, Atomos. “By partnering with G-Technology, the most well-known and respected storage brand in the media and entertainment industry, we’re extending our capabilities even further, helping our users quickly transfer and store their most precious work.” The new prototypes will be on display at Cine Gear, June 3-4, in Hollywood at the G-Technology booth #S315A and the Atomos booth #S137.

Leica Camera has announced that the Leica S-Adapter L for the Leica SL compact system camera is now available.The S-Adapter L allows the use of 16 Leica S-Lenses with focal lengths from 24 to 180mm (including six central shutter lenses), in addition to the system’s own lenses, the Vario-Elmarit–SL 24-90mm f/2.8-4 ASPH. and the Leica APO-Vario-Elmarit-SL 90-280mm f/2.8-4. The Leica S-Adapter L is available now from Leica stores and authorised Leica dealers in the UK at a suggested retail price of £950. Another new addition to the range of accessories and equipment for the Leica SL camera system is the AA-SCL4 Audio Adapter, which is scheduled to be available at the end of June 2016 for an SRP of £120.

The Sony World Photography Awards are now open for entries. Photographers are welcome to enter their work for free into any of the awards’ four competitions: Professional, Open, Youth and Student Focus. The 2017 edition also sees new categories introduced across the all competitions challenging photographers to push their creative boundaries. In addition to the Professional, Open, Youth and Student Focus competitions, the hunt is also on to find the UK’s best photographer in the UK National award. Entries to the UK National Award will be taken from those with British nationality entering any of the ten Open categories. The Sony World Photography Awards shortlist will be announced on 28 February 2017, Open and National Awards winners revealed on March 28 and overall winners announced on April 20.

SkyPixel has launched a 360-degree Panorama Contest in conjunction with DJI. 360-degree panoramas are a relatively new feature on SkyPixel, and a separate section of the website dedicated to 360-degree imaging had been soft launched prior to the contest. Contestants may use any aerial platform to capture and submit their entries. The Grand Prize includes a DJI Phantom 4 and a Huawei P9 Plus smartphone, and the submission deadline is 20 June 2016.

The Elinchrom EL-Skyport Plus HS transmitter is now available to Sony users. This will give them the ability to control and visualise power settings for all their compatible Elinchrom lights and the capability to shoot at speeds up to 1/8000s in Hi-Sync mode. The ODS (Over Drive Sync) enables users to fine tune the Skyport Plus HS transmitter’s trigger signal to optimise exposure at high shutter speeds whilst gaining up to 2 more f-stops of light. Moreover, users can control the modelling lamp and power of each flash unit directly from the Skyport transmitter, which instantly shows the updated settings. The Elinchrom EL-Skyport Plus HS is available for $249.95 / €249 / £199.

DxO have just released DxO OpticsPro 11 for Mac and Windows. Featuring the company's proprietary DxO PRIME 2016 noise reduction, which enables photographers to salvage noisy photos thought previously unusable, DxO OpticsPro 11 preserves smooth transitions, retains more details, and more faithfully preserves colours in dark areas, and it does this all automatically by reading each camera's precise calibration data. Additionally, DxO PRIME 2016 is now able to process RAW files up to 4x faster than before. The ESSENTIAL and ELITE editions of DxO OpticsPro 11 for Mac and Windows are immediately available in the DxO online store and at photo resellers at a special discount through 30 June 2016.

Western Digital today expanded its line of SanDisk-branded mobile storage solutions with the new SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive USB Type-C flash drive. The newest generation drive features a new retractable design, faster speeds and capacities of up to 128GB. “By 2020 we expect that 44 percent of all mobile phones sold worldwide will include a USB-C connector, that’s about 800% growth over the next four years,” said Ken Hyers, director, Wireless Device Strategies, Strategy Analytics. “At this rate of anticipated growth, we expect to see more and more solutions like the SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive USB Type-C flash drive that offer consumers a way to move and access their content between devices with varying connectors.” The SanDisk Ultra Dual USB Type-C Flash Drive is now available worldwide at Amazon and other leading retailers. The new offering comes in capacities of 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB with UK RRP of £10.00, £13.00, £21.00 and £39.00, respectively.

Issue 53 of David Noton’s Chasing the Light Online Magazine is now available. In this month’s Behind the Lens article, David Noton invites readers to travel with him to Paris where he enjoys a few days of spring photography with the new Canon 1Dx Mark II. In Photo Essentials, he continues his exploration of camera settings. Meanwhile, in the Low Down David this time turns his attention to the photographic inspiration to be found in colour. And finally, he presents two of his popular Fundamentals of Post-Production Videos. Do note that the full contents of Chasing the Light Online Magazine is available to full f11 subscribers only. However non-members can purchase individual issues of the magazine at a price of £4.20.

Transcend has launched  its brand new StoreJet Cloud 110 and StoreJet Cloud 210 Personal Cloud Storage products. Allowing users to access all of their data wherever they might be - while storing it all at home -, Transcend’s StoreJet Cloud offers a centralised 4TB and 8TB storage capacity, automatic data backup, fast transfer speeds and media streaming. With a stable Internet connection, users can freely access all personal files stored on their StoreJet Cloud through Transcend’s exclusive StoreJet Cloud web link and iOS or Android app. Transcend’s StoreJet Cloud also allows multiple personal accounts to be created by family members and friends. Each account is individually maintained and securely protected. StoreJet Cloud also offers a one-touch backup function when a USB flash drive or external hard drive is connected to the rear USB 3.0 port. For Mac users, StoreJet Cloud works with Apple Time Machine, enabling fast and easy backup.

AKVIS have announced the release of AKVIS SmartMask 8.0 for Windows and Mac. This edition adds support for Ultra HD 4K & 5K monitors. Thanks to new technologies, the interface details, texts and icons scale correctly even on super high resolution monitors. Version.8.0 is a free upgrade for everyone who bought the product in the last 12 months. The software runs on Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10; and on Mac OS X 10.7-10.11. The product is available as a standalone application and as a plug-in for Adobe Photoshop and Corel PaintShop Pro.

World-famous guitarist and lifelong stereoscopy enthusiast Brian May has announced the upcoming launch of a virtual reality and 3D stereo image viewer designed for smartphone users. The new OWL VR Smart Phone Kit takes the existing OWL Stereo Viewer and, through use of a simple but ingenious adaptor, enables its use with a smartphone not only to view online 3D images, but also those taken by the user. Manufactured from high-grade polypropylene and fully collapsible to a thin flat configuration, the OWL is supplied ready for use in seconds. Its carefully positioned high-quality lenses, plus fully adjustable focus, present every user with the ideal optical geometry for perfect viewing of side-by-side 3D photos. The OWL Smart Phone VR Kit will be available from mid-June for £25.

Western Digital Technologies have completed the acquisition of SanDisk. “Today is a significant day in the history of Western Digital,” said Steve Milligan, CEO. “We are delighted to welcome SanDisk into the Western Digital family. This transformational combination creates a media-agnostic leader in storage technology with a robust portfolio of products and solutions that will address a wide range of applications in almost all of the world’s computing and mobile devices.” Under the terms of the transaction, each outstanding share of SanDisk common stock was converted into the right to receive $67.50 per share in cash and 0.2387 shares of Western Digital common stock. Steve Milligan will continue to serve as chief executive officer of Western Digital. Sanjay Mehrotra, co-founder, president and chief executive officer of SanDisk, will serve as a member of the Western Digital Board of Directors.