LPA Design has announced the PocketWizard Plus IV Transceiver. The new model includes all the features of the Plus III and adds key new functionality. When used as a transmitter, its top shoe provides on-camera TTL compatibility with most Canon, Nikon and Panasonic cameras and flashes. “Photographers love the Plus III, but they’ve expressed their desire for a Plus III with a top shoe,” says Heather Ambrose, PocketWizard Marketing Manager. “So we designed one. We took it a step further and added TTL pass-through for an on-camera flash, and a metal foot. It’s like a Plus III on its side, with the most-requested features added in.” When used as a receiver, you can easily mount and trigger virtually any speedlight in the shoe, set to a manual power level. The new Plus IV is currently on show at the PocketWizard Booth (#663) at PhotoPlus 2015. The product is expected to be available at retail in January 2016.

Think Tank Photo have just announced Lily Deanne, the first camera bags they have ever designed specifically for women photographers. The new bags were created by the company's co-founder, Pulitzer Prize-winner Deanne Fitzmaurice, and long-time Think Tank designer Lily Fisher. The range comprises three models - Lucido, Mezzo and Tutto. The Lily Deanne Lucido holds one standard size DSLR with one to three lenses and accessories and an 8” tablet. The Lily Deanne Mezzo fits one standard-size DSLR with mid-range zoom attached, plus two to three additional lenses and a 10” tablet or 11” laptop. The Lily Deanne Tutto accommodates one gripped DSLR with mid-range zoom lens attached and two to five additional lenses and 2 flashes, or one standard-size DSLR with 70-200mm f/2.8 attached and two to five lenses in its main compartment and 2 flashes, and a 15” laptop.

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of its Explorers of Light Ambassador Programme, Canon U.S.A. is welcoming seven new ambassadors, including Lindsay Adler, David Bergman, Jimmy Chin, Charles Glatzer, Joel Grimes, Peter Hurley, and Roberto Valenzuela. These influential talents are constantly advancing their craft and helping to create new ways in which our world is visually captured and shared. The programme brings these creative individuals together to offer their expertise while also acting as a conduit of communication between Canon and various developing imaging markets, the company says. “Our world is constantly changing, and Canon prides itself on being at the forefront of change. For 20 years the Explorers of Light programme has enabled us to align with amazing professional photographers that educate and inspire, and now these new luminaries will help us to engage in meaningful two-way communication with exciting and emerging imaging markets,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, president and COO, Canon U.S.A.

Panasonic UK are offering a range of promotions in time for the festive season. Those who purchase a qualifying Lumix camera or camcorder from a participating retailer before Monday 25 January 2016 will be eligible to claim up to £150 (€210) cashback. To take advantage of this offer, participants (aged 18 or over only) must complete the online registration form at the website below 28 days after product purchase.

Epson today announced that they are P-Series printers including  the 24-inch SureColor P6000 and SureColor P7000 and 44-inch SureColor P8000 and SureColor P9000. Equipped with Epson’s latest PrecisionCore TFP printhead and newly-developed UltraChrome archival ink technology, the new SureColor P-Series printers are designed for professional photographic applications. Available now for purchase through authorised Epson Professional Imaging SureColor P-Series resellers, the Epson SureColor P-Series printers are currently on display at PhotoPlus Expo at the Javits Center in NYC.

If you're interested in how the new Leica SL mirrorless camera compares in size to the Canon EOS 5DS R full-frame DSLR, then look no further, as we've compiled a gallery of side-by side product shots of the two cameras.

Lensbaby has announced the new Composer Pro II with Edge 50 Optic. Introduced at PhotoPlus Expo 2015, the Lesnbaby Composer Pro II with Edge 50 Optic is a high-quality, 50mm f/3.2 upgraded metal-bodied tilt lens providing a sharp slice of focus bordered by silky, smooth blur. The lens body swivels and tilts on a smooth metal ball and socket design, and is compatible with the Lensbaby Optic Swap System, allowing users to swap optics in and out of the Composer Pro II lens body to change effect and focal length. The Composer Pro II with Edge 50 Optic retails for $424.95 and is available for Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony Alpha A, Pentax K, Fuji X, Sony Alpha E, Micro 4/3rds, and Samsung NX.

Schneider Kreuznach's newest leaf shutter lenses are now available to purchase through Phase One photography partners worldwide. Like the 35mm and 120mm lenses introduced simultaneously with the Phase One XF System, these Schneider Kreuznach lenses - including the 55mm LS f/2.8, the 80mm LS f/2.8 and the 150mm LS f/3.5 - are built to a new and more robust quality standard. The new lenses feature a metal focusing ring and AF/MF selector ring of precision milled aluminium and a new metal lens hood with anti-skid rubber edging. The 55mm LS f/2.8 lens is available for €3.990 / $4,990, the 80mm LS f/2.8 costs €2.490 / $3,290, while the 150mm LS f/3.5 (pictured) sells for €4.490 / $5,990.
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Western Digital and SanDisk today announced that Western Digital will acquire all of the outstanding shares of SanDisk for a combination of cash and stock. The offer values SanDisk common stock at $86.50 per share or a total equity value of approximately $19 billion. "This transformational acquisition aligns with our long-term strategy to be an innovative leader in the storage industry by providing compelling, high-quality products with leading technology," said Steve Milligan, chief executive officer, Western Digital. "The combined company will be ideally positioned to capture the growth opportunities created by the rapidly evolving storage industry. I'm excited to welcome the SanDisk team as we look to create additional value for all of our stakeholders, including our customers, shareholders and employees."

Phase One today released the first major XF Camera System update. The update adds a Seismographic Vibration Delay function that ensures camera stillness at the moment of capture, introduces a BullsEye Level tool on the XF OneTouch UI to enable easy camera alignment, and adds a Hyperfocal Point Calibration feature, which allows photographers to use Capture One PRO to calibrate and store their perfect hyperfocal point. Additionally, Focus confirmation on the XF OneTouch UI now gives full focus control in the Waist Level Finder workflow, and Focus Step enables focus control directly from Live View in Capture One PRO for ultimate focus accuracy.

The Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 is a new professional grade photo printer designed for art schools, graphic artists, designers and professional photographers. Boasting an advanced 12-ink pigment based system, as well as a new 1.28” print head and processing engine, the imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 produces outstanding quality prints up to A2 in approximately just six minutes.

The imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 will be available from the end of October with an MSRP of $1299.99. This will be the first in a new series of professional grade printers from Canon.

If you're interested in how much bigger the new Leica SL mirrorless camera is than the Sony A7R II, then look no further, as we've compiled a gallery of side-by side product shots of the two cameras.

As you can see, the Leica SL body isn't that much bigger than the Sony A7R II - it's the Leica SL 24-90mm f/2.8-4 zoom lens that was launched alongside the SL camera which really skews the comprison between the two systems.

Fujifilm have announced a new, weather- and dust-resistant standard prime for the company's X-series compact system cameras. The Fujinon XF35mm f/2 R WR features 9 elements in 6 groups, including 2 aspherical lens elements, and an iris diaphragm with nine rounded blades for a pleasing bokeh. At just 45.9mm in length and with a diameter of 60mm, the slim and stylish design allows comfortable operation and draws minimum attention to the photographer; whilst the all-metal construction of the lens exterior ensures it is durable enough for a wide variety of shooting situations. An inner focusing system, which moves the lens elements, is combined with a stepping motor to produce quiet, accurate and fast autofocus capable of locking on to the subject in as little as 0.08s. The lens will be available from November for £299.

Fujifilm have announced a new weather-resistant teleconverter for their X-mount compact system cameras. The Fujinon XF1.4x TC WR is capable of multiplying the focal length of compatible lensesby 1.4x. When mounted, the teleconverter reduces the lens’ brightness by one f-stop, however its optical design constructed of 7 elements in 3 groups maintains the optical performance of the original lens. The camera’s auto focus performance is unaffected by the addition of the teleconverter. The Fujinon XF1.4x TC WR will go on sale next month, priced at £329.

Want to see exactly what the new Leica SL (Typ 601) mirrorless camera looks like in the flesh?

Check out our extensive hands-on gallery of photos of the Leica SL (Typ 601) mirrorless camera with the 24-90mm f/2.8-4 and 90-280mm f/2.8-4 lenses.

Leica have released 7 full-resolution sample photos taken with the brand new Leica SL compact system camera. Available to download in raw Adobe DNG format, these Leica SL samples were captured by professional photographer Callo Albanese at a varety of sensitivity settings ranging from ISO 400/27° to ISO 6,400/39°.

Website: Official Leica SL Sample Pictures

The Leica SL (Typ 601) is a new mirrorless system camera that marks "the beginning of a new era in professional photography". The Leica SL features the fastest auto-focusing of any full-frame system camera, a 24 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor, 4K video with a frame rate of 30 frames per second, 4.4million pixel electronic viewfinder, 2.95” back panel display with a viewing angle of up to 170°, Maestro II Series processor, 11fps burst shooting, built-in wi-fi and a highest ISO setting of 50,000.

Three new lenses have also been unveiled alongside the Leica SL - the Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24–90 mm f/2.8–4 ASPH. standard zoom, Leica APO-Vario-Elmarit-SL 90–280 mm f/2.8–4, and the Leica Summilux-SL 50 mm f/1.4. In addition, all lenses for the Leica T camera can be used without an adapter as they share the same mount. In addition, appropriate adapters allow almost all Leica S, M, and R system lenses ever made to be mounted on the Leica SL, as well as lenses from other manufacturers.

The Leica SL (Typ 601) body is scheduled to be available in the UK from authorised Leica stockists from 16 November 2015, at a suggested retail price of £5,050 including VAT.
The Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24–90 mm f/2.8–4 ASPH. zoom lens is scheduled to be available at the same time, at a suggested retail price of £3,150 including VAT. The Leica APO-Vario-Elmarit-SL 90-280mm f/2.8–4 will be available in Q2 2016, and the Leica Summilux-SL 50mm f/1.4 ASPH. will be available in Q4 2016, pricing for both to be confirmed at a later date.

In the USA the Leica SL (Type 601) body (SRP: $7,450) and Vario-Elmarit-SL 24–90 mm f/2.8–4 ASPH zoom lens (SRP: $4,950) will be available beginning November 16 at your local Leica Store, Leica Boutique or Leica Dealer.

Gary Fong today launched a new Dramatic Lighting Kit, which includes two Speed Snoots, two PowerGrids, a Coloured Gel Kit, and a custom Gary Fong Gear Bag. The Speed Snoots boast a newly designed mounting system for quick, easy attaching and detaching along with a collapsible design for easy storage. The Speed Snoots block light spill, allowing photographers complete control of the light emitted by off-camera flashes. The Dramatic Lighting Kit is offered exclusively on the Gary Fong e-store and is available for $119.95.