Adobe today released Adobe Spark, an integrated web and mobile solution for "creating and sharing impactful visual stories." Free and designed for everyday communications, Adobe Spark is part of the Creative Cloud ecosystem. “Today anyone can create content and share it via social media, but most people lack the skill, time and resources to create something that cuts through the online clutter,” said Bryan Lamkin, executive vice president and general manager, Digital Media at Adobe. “With Adobe Spark, anyone can create authentic, professional looking visual content for their project, passion, cause or business." The Adobe Spark web app seamlessly syncs with Spark Post, Spark Page and Spark Video iOS mobile apps, allowing users to create, edit and share their story from wherever they are – regardless of their design experience.

The new version of Fripito for Android and iOS offers a new option for a premium subscription. Photographers and travellers can now gain access to all available guides, photo and travel tips, exclusive photos with geotagging and offline maps for a fixed monthly fee. Actually, there are two options, a one-month subscription for $9.99 and a three-month subscription for $23.99. Additionally, the option of purchasing single guides within the app is still available. You can download the Fripito app from Google Play and iTunes.

The Fujinon XF2X TC WR is a new 2x teleconverter extending the telephoto reach of two X-mount lenses, the Fujinon XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR and XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR. Available next month, the Fujinon Teleconverter XF2X TC WR features an optical construction of 9 elements in 5 groups. In addition, thanks to the unified design when mounted to a compatible lens, the teleconverter is weather and dust-resistant and operates at temperatures as low as -10°C. Phase detection AF is still available when using the XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR with the teleconverter mounted. With the XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR lens, photographers can use CDAF. The camera’s optical image stabilization performance is unaffected by the addition of the teleconverter. The Fujinon XF2X TC WR will be on sale in the UK from the end of June with a suggested retail price of £349.

Use This if You Want to Take Great Photographs by Henry Carroll is a new title from Laurence King Publishing. Designed to help people get creative with their camera, this book is a unique new photo journal featuring over 100 fun and thought-provoking photo prompts that will guide users through the fundamentals of creative photography. The 128-page paperback will be released in August, priced at £12.95.

Verbatim has announced a new 100GB Blu-ray disc with an average lifetime of more than 1,000 years. Incorporating titanium for added longevity, the Verbatim MDISC Blu-ray disc preserves stored data by engraving the information into a ‘rock-like’ recording layer resistant to light, temperature, and humidity. The disc is compatible with any BDXL-capable Blu-ray drive. With no more than 1 failure per 100,000 discs expected after more than 1,000 years at 25°C and 50% relative humidity, data can be reliably stored for centuries on MDISC in a typical home or office filing cabinet, the company claims. In comparison, standard Blu-ray, DVD or CDs have an average lifetime of over 25 years. Verbatim’s 100GB BDXL MDISC is sold in a 5 pack for £89.99 or in single units priced at £23.99.

The Moto G Plus is a new smartphone with a 1/2.4"-type 16-megapixel image sensor plus, f/2 lens, dual LED flash, laser-assisted focusing and on-sensor PDAF. Powered by Android 6.0 Marshmallow, the new phablet has a 5.5" Full HD display, 2 gigabytes of RAM and an octa-core CPU. In a nod to enthusiast photographers, the pre-installed camera app allows users to set shutter speed, white balance, ISO sensitivity and a range of other shooting parameters manually. And with a fingerprint reader, a touch is all you need to instantly wake up your phone and start snapping away. The Moto G Plus will be available starting today in Brazil and Moto G Plus will be available starting today in India. Both versions will arrive soon in various countries across North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific. Pricing to be confirmed.

X-Rite has announced partnership with SmallHD, the creator of durable production monitors for creative professionals. Within the framework of this partnership, SmallHD will bundle X-Rite OEM i1Display Pro (pictured) with their first-ever line of daylight-viewable, FullHD display models 1703HDR, 2403HDR and 3203HDR. “We are very excited to have our OEM i1Display Pro bundled across the new line of SmallHD Production-Monitor displays to enhance viewing accuracy. The announcement aligns with SmallHD's recently released larger daylight-viewable HDR production monitors,” said X-Rite Vice President of Product Marketing Chris Winczewski. “The partnership with SmallHD demonstrates our focused commitment for the expansion of X-Rite’s photo and video products into the video, filmmaking and broadcast markets.”

Duo-Pisces have released PSMania 1.0, their new photo editor for iOS devices. Perfect for photo enthusiasts, PSMania allows anyone to apply interesting image processing effects to their images. There are more than thirty different image filters to choose from, and most offer a slider to adjust the filter parameters in real time. PSMania is free and available through the App Store in the Photo & Video category.

Samsung have issued a firmware update for the Samsung NX1 compact system camera. Version 1.41 resolves a Bluetooth connection issue with smartphones running on Android 6.0. You can download the firmware upgrade from the website below.

Website: Samsung NX1 Support

Samsung have posted a firmware update for the Samsung NX500 compact system camera. According to the company, version 1.12 fixes a Bluetooth connection problem with smartphones running Android 6.0 Marshmallow. You can download the firmware upgrade from the website below.

Website: Samsung NX500 Support Page

LockCircle has announced a special cinematic production cage for the Leica SL (Typ 601) camera. The Metal Jacket features an exclusive “Asymmetrical Cage Design” and offers multiple mounting options for accessories like viewfinders, 4K HDMI Recorders, monitors and more. The Metal Jacket cage integrates the MultiPort HDMI / USB 3.0 / Audio / Controller Interface port savers for camera protection, and comes in “Classic Black” anodised finish, hard anodised “Dura-T (Tactical Grey)” and “Dura-K (Kant Titanium Brown)” versions. Weighing in at 225 grams (7.9 ounces), the LockCircle Metal Jacket for the Leica SL (Typ 601) has several threads to mount the AC tape measurement (titanium pin) hook at the exact sensor focal plane.

Canon U.S.A. has just released its inaugural Photography Trends Study. This survey of 1004 adult U.S. consumers has revealed a surprising degree of self-confidence among amateur photographers, with 80% of respondents claiming to have "good-to-excellent" photography skills, and 62% boasting that their snapping skills have improved in the past two to five years. Food photography appears to be one of the favourite genres, with more than half of consumers taking food photos to show off a personal creation or new recipe. More than one in four respondents admit they share photos of food to brag and to give friends and family "FOMO" (Fear Of Missing Out). The survey has also revealed that more people take photos of their pets than of themselves, even as 57% confess to taking selfies on a regular basis. Less surprisingly, the majority (80%) are capturing photos during family gatherings and holidays. Interestingly, photos at the gym are only taken by 16% of U.S. consumers.

COOPH has added a new garment to its catalogue of specialist photography gear – the Field Jacket. Made from EtaProof, a 100% cotton fabric from Swiss weaving mill Stotz, the COOPH Field Jacket holds a variety of inner and outer pockets to stash photographic accessories and even has a quick access pocket to store a smartphone. Ulrich Grill, founder of COOPH and a professional photographer himself, said: “We are pretty stoked to add this all-year jacket to our growing range of photography apparel. The Field Jacket is hardwearing and feature-packed, but it doesn’t look like your typical photographer’s vest. That was planned. We partnered with the finest mill in Europe to help realize our idea – and I’m eager to see people wearing the jacket.” The COOPH Field Jacket is available for €398.

Fantasea Line has launched the new FG9X underwater housing for the Canon PowerShot G9 X camera. The housing provides full access to all camera buttons with clearly labeled controls and features a new touch-screen technology, providing access to essential contact points on the camera's touch-sensitive screen. Depth rated to 60 metres, the Fantasea FG9X offers a moisture detector, double O-ring protection and an M67 thread on its lens port. The Fantasea FG9X housing is now available for $400.

Corel have released AfterShot Pro 3, which adds an all-new highlight recovery algorithm, comprehensive watermarking, layer-based blemish correction, as well as dynamic update abilities. "Collectively, we’re now capturing trillions of photos each year. Photographers need a simpler and more agile way to manage and edit their photos," said Greg Wood, Senior Director of Photo Products at Corel. "AfterShot Pro 3 is a faster and more affordable solution for photographers looking for high-quality results. It doesn’t lock you into catalogues or a subscription and is focused on photographers' common need: great images in less time.” AfterShot Pro 3 is available now for Windows, Mac OS and Linux for £69.99/€89.99 and existing registered users can purchase for the upgrade price of £49.99/€69.99.