Macphun has announced that four of its photo editing tools have been updated to include support for Photos for Mac. The ability to use Macphun tools such as Noiseless, Tonality, Intensify and Snapheal with Photos will, according to the company, fill the gap left by iPhoto and Aperture. “So many people were left disappointed by the lack of editing tools in Photos for Mac. As photography enthusiasts ourselves, it made perfect sense to improve Photos’ weaknesses,” commented Alex Tsepko, COO of Macphun. “With Macphun’s photo editing extensions, Photos for Mac will finally offer the tools, features, speed and editing quality that its users were expecting... We’re confident this update will be an exciting element of Apple’s eagerly awaited El Capitan.” For existing users, Intensify, Tonality, Snapheal, and Noiseless will automatically update when El Capitan is released.

Tiffen have announced a new product that combines a polariser, a variable neutral density filter and a warm-to-cool FX fader in a single unit. Designed to be used with Sunshades and Matte boxes from ARRI, BrightTangerine, Chrosziel, Movcam, Tilta, TLS Optics & Vocas; the 138mm Multi Rota Tray incorporates an ultra-thin circular polariser delivering "the greatest field of view possible," a 2-6-stop variable ND filter, an M8 compatible gearing ring and a quick-release tray, and ships with a protective case.

Zhongyi Mitakon have taken the wraps off their newest Micro Four Thirds lens, the Speedmaster 25mm f/0.95. This tiny yet ultra-fast manual-focus lens is available to preorder now, priced at $399. According to the company, the optical construction features 11 elements in 9 groups, and a diaphragm with 11 aperture blades. Weighing in at 230 grams, the Mitakon Speedmaster 25mm f/0.95 takes 43mm filters, and offers a close-focus point of 25cm, measured from the sensor plane.

Apple have just announced iOS 9, which will be available on Wednesday, 16th September as a free software update for iPhone 4S and later, iPod touch 5th generation and later, iPad 2 and later and iPad mini (all versions). This update shall bring a longer battery life, improved multitasking with Split View and a new Picture-in-Picture mode. The brand new iCloud Drive app enables users to easily access any file they had previously saved to iCloud from their Home screen, while the revamped Notes app now allows you to add photos to your notes or take a new one with your device's built-in camera. Also, you can now use Siri to search for photos based on date, location or album name by telling the assistant to "show me photos taken in Paris last summer," for example. There are other enhancements including faster typing, more robust security, support for public transport in Maps, plus an all-new News app; but in our understanding, there are no major OS-level changes that directly affect the photo-taking experience on currently available devices (Live Photos are reserved for the new iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus).

Apple today introduced the iPad Pro, featuring a 12.9" Retina display with 5.6 million pixels. The new tablet comes with a powerful new 64-bit A9X processor, while still offering up to 10 hours of battery life. An optional accessory called the Apple Pencil allows for extremely precise photo editing when used in tandem with the new Photoshop Fix app. Running on iOS9, the new Apple iPad Pro features an 8-megapixel iSight camera, and can be paired with Apple’s new Smart Keyboard for increased productivity. The iPad Pro starts at $799 for the 32GB model with Wi-Fi model and $1079 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular 128GB edition, and will be available starting in November. The Apple Pencil will retail for $99, and the Smart Keyboard will be available for $169.

Apple today introduced its latest smartphones, the iPhone 6S and the iPhone 6S Plus. The new iPhones introduce 3D Touch, which senses force to enable new ways to access features and interact with content. They also boast a transformative new approach to photography called Live Photos, bringing still images to life by capturing a moment in motion. High-definition video improves with support for 4K — with a resolution of 3840x2160 pixels — and the expansion of optical image stabilization to video on iPhone 6s Plus. The main camera module has been updated with a 12-megapixel sensor and an Apple-designed image processor. The new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus will be available in gold, silver, space grey and the new rose gold metallic finishes for $0 down with 24 monthly payments starting at $27 and $31, respectively. Both models will be available in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore, the UK and the US beginning Friday, September 25.

Think Tank Photo has added a new size to its camera bag line for compact system cameras. The Mirrorless Mover 25i fits one medium to large CSC body, plus two to four lenses, an 8” tablet, as well as additional accessories. The bag features metal hardware, high quality fabrics, YKK zippers and a magnetic closure. The Mirrorless Mover 25i is available for $64.75.

Think Tank Photo has released the Retrospective 5 Leather, Retrospective 7 Leather, and Retrospective 30 Leather shoulder bags. he new shoulder bags are designed to hold tablets and laptops in dedicated zipper pockets. The Retrospective 5 Leather ($199.75) holds an 8” tablet alongside a standard-sized SLR camera and up to 3 lenses; the Retrospective 7 Leather ($229.75) accommodates a 10” tablet or 11” laptop; and, the Retrospective 30 Leather ($259.75) holds a 10” tablet or 11” laptop plus a pro SLR with lenses, and 2 additional SLR camera bodies in its front pockets.

Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) is reminding interested photographers that the deadline for entries for the 2014 competition is getting closer and closer. With three portfolio categories, three single image categories, a New Talent award, HD video category, Young Travel Photographer of the Year and, for the first time, the new Smart Shot category, amateur and professional photographers of all ages and from all countries have plenty of themes and options to choose from. Entry fees start at £7.50, and entry to Young Travel Photographer of the Year is free. Images can be submitted online or in printed format.

For the second year running Leica Camera is partnering with the Goodwood Revival, a legendary classic car event held from 11-13 September 2015. For the second year running Leica Camera is partnering with the Goodwood Revival: from an array of historic equipment on display to the iconic M-System and cutting-edge binoculars, visitors are invited to meet the team on Brooklands Lawn and discover the event through the Leica lens. The Leica ‘shop’ will also feature a vintage-style photo studio, where visitors will have the opportunity to be photographed in their flamboyant outfits by a professional Leica photographer. The photo studio will be open throughout the event from 10.30 am to 7.00 pm. Leica cameras and binoculars from the current range will also be available to try out and purchase.

G-Technology has announced four new products in its Evolution Series of docking stations, interchangeable external hard drives and accessories. The G-SPEED Studio XL with two ev Series Bay Adapters is a flexible, eight-bay Thunderbolt 2 storage solution, which comes with six enterprise-class hard drives and two integrated ev Series Bay Adapters. Configurable in RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, & 10, it supports multi-stream compressed 4K workflows with extremely large volumes of data at transfer rates of up to 1,200MB/s. Manufacturer’s suggested retail pricing for 18TB is £1,867, 24TB is £2,000, 36TB is £2,667 and 48TB is £3,333. The ev Series Reader RED MINI-MAG Edition (£133, pictured) leverages high-performance connectivity for fast RED footage transfers and backup. Users can transfer content quickly from a RED MINI-MAG media card onto any G-DOCK ev docking station or G-SPEED Studio XL with ev Series Bay Adapters. The G-DOCK ev Solo (£67) is a convenient and flexible USB 3.0 docking solution for shared environments. Last but not least the ev Series FireWire Adapter (£33) easily attaches to your ev Series drive, enabling you to connect to an existing FireWire 800 port on your computer. The first three products will become available in October, and the ev Series FireWire Adapter can be purchased today.

Lenovo has launched  the 5.0” Lenovo VIBE S1, a unique smartphone with two front cameras. The 8MP primary front camera takes the sharpest photos and a 2MP secondary front camera analyzes depth of field information to replicate human binocular vision. After taking a selfie with both cameras, there are various options to modify the selfie by selecting from a number of built-in photo editing tools. ‘Blur’ allows refocusing anywhere within the frame (up to 3 focal planes). With ‘Cut Out’, people can be cropped out of a selfie and then placed on any other image (from a wide selection preloaded on the VIBE S1 or downloaded from the Internet), and even on a photo taken with the 13-megapixel rear camera of the smartphone. The VIBE S1 will be available starting in November in countries where Lenovo smartphones are sold. Pricing starts at $299.

JK Imaging Europe has unveiled the new Kodak PixPro SP360-4K Camera, billed as the world first and most complete 4K recording device to capture 360° immersive videos and still images without the need for multiple cameras. The new, 4K capable version of the PixPro SP360 camera captures 360-degree field of view in multiple directions via its dome shaped lens design and can be panned not only 360-degrees horizontally, but also up and down with a host of different vantage points and views for playback post capture. Newly added features include time-lapse video, 12-megapixel stills capture and a burst mode. Like its predecessor, the new Kodak PixPro SP360-4K comes with a wide range of attachments (over 12) from waterproof housing (up to 60m) to flat adhesive suction mount and remote control. Availability is slated for October 2015.

Canon has launched its hdbook service at a range of retailers across the UK and Ireland. Professionally printed and bound on a state-of-the-art Canon DreamLabo 5000 printer, Canon hdbooks are offered at a range of customisable sizes. The free hdbook software lets you easily design a photo book in minutes. Simply download the software to your PC or Mac from one of the hdbook retailers’ websites, lay out your photos and text, and send it to print. Canon is offering 25% off the first 100 books ordered via each of the retailers.

Canon U.S.A. today announced two new long-zoom 2/3-inch 4K field lenses for 4K UHD broadcast camera systems. The UJ86x9.3B (UHD-DIGISUPER 86) is the flagship Premium 4K field lens and is flanked by the UJ90x9B (UHD-DIGISUPER 90) standard 4K field lens. The zoom ratios of 90x and 86x of these two lenses make them the longest and second-longest 4K broadcast lenses in the world. The UHD-DIGISUPER 86 (pictured) offers a focal range extending from the wide-angle 9.3mm setting out to the telephoto 800mm extremity (18.6-1600mm with the 2x extender). The UHD-DIGISUPER 90 has a wide-angle setting of 9mm and a telephoto extremity of 810mm (18-1620mm with the 2x extender). The UHD-DIGISUPER 86 and 90 lenses will be shipping in October 2015 and March 2016, respectively.

Canon today announced that it is developing a Cinema EOS System 8K camera and professional-use 8K reference display, along with a 120-megapixel still-image SLR camera. The Cinema EOS System 8K camera being developed will be equipped with a Canon Super 35 mm-equivalent CMOS sensor that makes possible high-resolution 8,192 x 4,320 pixel video performance even at a frame rate of 60fps with 13 stops of dynamic range. The 8K reference display currently under development will achieve high brightness, high contrast and a wide gamut, as well as a pixel density exceeding 300ppi.

Hasselblad has released Version 2.9 of its Phocus software. This update adds support for custom colour calibrations without any need for the use of third-party calibration software, and adds a new slider to the Scene Calibration tool.

Transcend Information have announced a high-end UHS-II U3 compliant memory card. By utilising the new UHS-II bus standard featuring a UHS Speed Class rating of 3, Transcend's new SDHC/SDXC UHS-II U3 card boasts a maximum read speed of up to 285MB/s and with write speeds of up to 180MB/s. Outfitted with top-tier MLC NAND flash chips, the card provides enhanced durability, and comes in 32GB and 64GB versions. Transcend SDHC/SDXC UHS-II U3 memory cards are backed by a limited lifetime warranty.