Manfrotto have launched the new RedBee-210 photo backpack. Adding to the Pro Light collection, the RedBee-210 Backpack offers easy access to gear from both sides, back and top depending on the user’s preference. It can be used to access 2 cameras with lenses at the same time or to hold up to a 400 mm lens attached to the body. The bag’s interior features Manfrotto CPS (Camera Protection System), the fully padded and warranted protection solution boasting 3-D shock-absorbing foam that provides the highest levels of safety and resistance. Th Manfrotto Prolight RedBee-210 photo backpack is available for £139.95.

Wex Photographic has launched its ‘Win Christmas’ campaign, giving away three camera bundles that are featured in their ‘Which Photographer Are You?’ Christmas adverts. Each of the three winners will pick up a complete camera-and-accessory kit, featuring either the Canon EOS 5DS R, the Fuji X-T1 or the Sony HX90V. To be in with a chance of winning these prizes, entrants need to fill in their details online and answer a simple question on Wex's Win Christmas page.

Barber Shop is a brand new collection of Italian leather bags and accessories for photographers, which includes five bags in various colours, plus a range of straps, memory card holders and leather organisers. Every single piece is handcrafted in Bassano del Grappa (Vicenza) by skilled artisans. As the company points out, "every detail of Barber Shop products is designed and tailored to fit the needs of photographers, without giving up style, elegance and the uniqueness of a hand-crafted product." The bags and accessories are now available on the Barber Shop website.

White Knight Press have released their newest camera guide book, Photographer’s Guide to the Sony DSC-RX10 II: Getting the Most from Sony's Advanced Digital Camera. This publication, by Alexander S. White, is a complete guide to the operation of the Sony RX10 II. The book covers all of the features that are new for this model, including its electronic shutter, faster continuous shooting, 4K video recording, and ability to shoot video at up to 960fps for super slow-motion playback. In three appendices, the book discusses accessories for the RX10 II, including cases, power sources, remote controls, and external flash units, and includes a list of websites and other resources for further information. The paperback version is available now for $26.95 through Amazon and other online sellers. The book is also available in PDF format and in downloadable versions for the Kindle, Nook, and iPad for $9.99 each.

Today only - get 46% Off the Sony A5100 camera!

The Sony A5100 scored an impressive 5/5 when we reviewed it a year ago, commenting "Looking and feeling very much like a compact camera, thanks to the combination of the finger-tip zoom lever and the 16-50mm power-zoom kit lens, the small and lightweight Sony A5100 is a great introduction to interchangeable lens cameras."

Get the Sony A5100 camera

Samsung have confirmed today that they are ending camera and camcorder sales in the United Kingdom, including their flagship NX1 mirroorless camera (pictured). Here's the official statement from Samsung:

“We quickly adapt to market needs and demands. In the UK, we have seen a gradual and sustained decline in demand for standalone digital cameras and camcorders and related accessories. For this reason, we have taken the decision to phase out the sales and marketing of these products. This is a local decision, based on local market conditions.”

This follows a similar statement for the German market made last week.

Leica Camera is hosting an exhibition of street photography by Colin O’Brien at its new gallery space above the Leica Store City at 18 The Royal Exchange, London. The photographs, which have been selected from O’Brien’s award-winning ‘London Life’ project, were taken over several decades on his Leica rangefinder cameras. The collection will be available to view at Leica Store City until 29 January 2016, and Colin will also be holding an illustrated lecture at the gallery on Thursday 3 December. Colin will talk through the photographs he shot on his Leica camera and the stories behind them. Attendees at the event will receive a copy of Colin's famous Clerkenwell Car Crash poster. There will also be the opportunity to purchase a signed copy of the publication, London Life.

Entries are now being accepted for the International Images for Science competition 2016. Organised by The Royal Photographic Society, the contest is supported by Siemens as part of the Curiosity Project, a three-year programme which aims to engage young people with science and engineering. Entrants are required to take a visually appealing picture that tells a science story. The top 100 entries will be chosen by an expert panel to be exhibited at the British Science Festival in Swansea in September 2016 and then across the UK. The competition is free to enter, simply register online and upload your images to the website. Closing date is midnight on 1st May 2016.

The team behind The Photography Show has announced that the regional event Capture Birmingham is set to take place from 19-20 March 2016. The event will see photography and arts organisations from across the city invite the public to celebrate the world of photography through a series of exhibitions, photo walks and workshops. Already confirmed on the schedule as an official event location is the Ikon Gallery, hosting an exhibition from ex-Birmingham University student Janet Mendelsohn and photo walks led by Hidden Spaces, which offer people the chance to take unique shots and discover Birmingham’s lesser known architecture and history. In addition, the Forward Photography Festival, hosted by Instagramers of Birmingham and Visit Birmingham, will host a series of InstaMeets, each with a different focus and location to test photography skills. The full programme for Capture Birmingham will be released over the coming months.

Today only - get 67% off the Olympus PEN E-P5 Camera! 

The Olympus PEN E-P5 scored 5/5 Essential! when we reviewed it, concluding "the Olympus E-P5 is a compelling mix of old and new, fusing together a gorgeous retro design with the latest 21st-century technology to create the most stylish and advanced PEN yet."

Get the Olympus PEN E-P5 Camera

Leica has released a new firmware update for the Leica S (Typ 007) medium-format dSLR camera. Registered camera users can now login to the Leica owner’s area of the Leica Website and download the firmware update, version 2.0.0.1, or take their camera to a Leica Store for a free update. The new firmware upgrade improves auto focus, speed and precision, particularly in low ambient light, ensuring consistently reliable and precise focusing – even in unfavourable lighting conditions. In addition to this, firmware version 2.0.0.1 offers optimised white balance with manually entered colour temperature values.

X-Rite's new ColorChecker Video and ColorChecker Passport Video calibration targets are now available in the US. These novel products reduce video editing time, improve colour balance control, make it easier to match multiple cameras and simplify editing for mixed lighting conditions. The pocket-sized X-Rite ColorChecker Passport Video ($149) comes in a rugged hard case, and includes four different targets - a colour reference card, a white balance tool, a three-step greyscale target and a focus calibratio tool. The X-Rite ColorChecker Video ($129) offers a larger form factor and includes 2 series of greyscale patches, a range of skin tone patches, a series of saturated and desaturated chromatic colours, and a full-size white balance target on the reverse side.

CompositingStock.com is a new stock photo site designed specifically photographers and designers who create composite images in Photoshop. With the help of a collapsible safety cone, CompositingStock.com has solved one of the biggest challenges with compositing: determining how big your subject should be in relation to the background. “Many stock photos just don’t work for compositing because they just aren’t taken at the best angle and there’s no sense of scale.” says Dave Cross, Founder of CompositingStock.com. “With our safety cone system, our backgrounds are shot specifically with compositing in mind.” The site provides free compositing tutorials and the option to download sample images to try out the safety cone compositing system. Photographers can join the site as a Contributing Photographer and start earning commission on the sale of their images, with royalties starting at 40%.

Lytro have announced Version 5.0 of their Lytro Desktop software. According to the company, this new edition features breakthrough depth editing capabilities that are not currently possible with any other camera on the market. The Lytro DepthFX tool makes chroma keying for background replacement unnecessary and enables depth-based adjustments to exposure, contrast, colour, hue and saturation. The Lytro Desktop 5.0 update for Lytro Illum is free and will be available for Windows users on 8th December.

Today only - save 83% on the Lexar Professional 128GB Class 10 UHS-II card! 

The premium Lexar Professional 1000x SDHC UHS-I card leverages UHS-I technology to deliver professional-level, high-speed performance and reliability, with 1000x (150MB/s) minimum guaranteed read transfer speed.

Get the Lexar Professional 128GB Class 10 UHS-II 1000x Speed (150MB/s) SDXC Flash Memory Card

Booq will be offering customers a 20% discount over the upcoming Black Friday weekend. From 27th - 30th November, customers can get 20% off using the code BOOQSALE at Booq Europe on Amazon. Booq products on promotion include the Booq Cobra Brief (priced at £220 – £176 with discount), the Booq Boa Shift backpack (£120 – £96 with discount, pictured) and the Booqpad for iPad Air 2 tablet case (£40 £32 with discount).

Olympus are set to issue the latest function-enhancing firmware updates for the OM-D E-M1 and E-M5 Mark II compact system cameras on Wednesday, 26th November. Firmware version 4.0 for the E-M1 (pictured) will add a new focus stacking mode, optical viewfinder simulation, a focus bracketing mode, synchronised PCM audio recording with movie capture, and the ability to disable snapshot focus / MF Clutch from the menu. The company is also releasing a similar firmware upgrade for its OM-D E-M5 Mark II camera adding, on top of these features, a new "Flat" Movie Exclusive Picture Mode. Both of these firmware updates will be available for download from 26th November 02.00 GMT.