Elinchrom has added four new Indirect Softboxes to its Litemotiv family of light shapers. Built with a new fabric that offers better light distribution, the new Litemotiv Indirects will sculpt and diffuse the light in a rich, and even way. The four new models include the Indirect Litemotiv Octa 190cm ($1,420), the Indirect Litemotiv Square 145cm x 145cm ($1,330), the Indirect Litemotiv  Recta 72cm x 175cm ($1,230) and the Indirect Litemotiv Strip 33cm x 175cm ($1,169). All Indirect Litemotivs are supplied with an external diffuser, internal diffuser and carrying bag.

The Tamron SP 45mm F/1.8 Di VC USD is the World's first full-frame standard prime with Vibration Compensation technology. Its optical formula comprises 10 elements arranged in 8 groups including two moulded glass aspherical elements and a low-dispersion element; plus an iris diaphragm with nine rounded aperture blades. The Vibration Compensation feature provides up to 3.5 stops' worth of image stabilisation for steady hand-held shooting. The Canon and Nikon versions will become available in October, with a non-VC model in Sony fit coming at a later date.

The Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 Di VC USD is a stabilised, moisture-resistant moderate wide-angle lens for full-frame SLR cameras, featuring a minimum focus distance of 0.2m and a maximum reproduction ratio of 1:2.5. The optical formula comprises 10 elements in 9 groups, including two moulded glass aspherical elements, a low-dispersion and an extra-low-dispersion element; as well as an iris diaphragm with 9 rounded blades. The front lens element boasts an oil- and water-repellent coating, while some of the other optical elements have been treated with eBAND and BBAR coatings to minimise flare and ghosting. The Canon- and Nikon-mount versions of the SP 35mm f/1.8 Di VC USD feature Tamron's Vibration Compensation technology, which provides up to 3 stops' worth of of image stabilisation when shooting hand-held. The lens will be available from October in Canon and Nikon fit, with a Sony version (sans VC) to be announced at a later date. Pricing has yet to be communicated.

At IFA 2015, Panasonic are showcasing the Lumix GH4R, an advanced version of the existing GH4 compact system camera. The photo/video hybrid now offers unlimited 4K recording (Cinema 4K: 4096x2160 / 24 fps and QFHD 4K: 3840x2160 / up to 30 fps in MOV/MP4) and V-Log L video capability. Taking full advantage of the Panasonic GH4R’s Four Thirds sensor, V-Log L boasts log characteristics with 12 stops, allowing videographers to capture the darkest scenes and avoid ‘bleaching out’ details in very bright environments. V-Log L is also available to existing GH4 users, via a paid software upgrade. By purchasing the DMW-SFU1 Upgrade Software Key and updating the camera’s firmware to version 2.3, users of the original GH4 can also enjoy the benefits of V-Log L functionality for a one off cost of £79. The new Panasonic Lumix GH4R will be available from 7th September 2015 and will retail at £1199.

BenQ has launched a new colour critical 27" monitor that offers photography professionals "unprecedented colour accuracy." Featuring a 10-bit IPS panel with a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels, an adjustable 14-bit look-up table allowing hardware calibration without altering graphics card output data, and a 99% coverage of the aRGB colour space. An integrated controller enables users to quickly switch between 3 custom modes; Adobe RGB, sRGB and Black-and-White photo mode. The monitor achieves an average Delta E≤2 for both aRGB and sRGB. The SW2700PT display includes a variety of input terminals such as D-Sub, DVI-D, HDMI, DisplayPort, Mini Display Port, USB 3.0 together with a built-in SD card reader. The BenQ SW2700PT is available now, priced at £499.20.

Hasselblad has announced two new promotions for those wishing to buy the CMOS-powered Hassleblad H5D-50c medium-fomat camera. The first offer enables you to purchase either the H5D-50c / H5D-50c with Wi-Fi for €20,900 / €21,400 and get the HCD 28mm lens plus the HC 2.8/80mm lens for free. The second promotion allows current medium-format camera owners to trade in their gear for an H5D-50c (also including the Wi-Fi version) and receive a €1,500 discount on any one Hasselblad lens or a €3,200 discount on any two Hasselblad lenses of their choice.

DxO have just announced the availability of the DxO ONE camera in 10 European countries. Launching in October 2015, the DxO ONE is an incredibly compact, yet surprisingly sophisticated camera that connects directly to your iPhone and iPad to let you instantly share high-resolution images with your family, friends and followers. Its fast f/1.8 prime lens (32mm equivalent) is paired to a relatively big, 1"-type sensor with a resolution of 20.2 megapixels.As a fully connected camera, the DxO ONE enables users to receive continuous app and firmware enhancements via automatic App Store updates. In just the past two months, the team at DxO added manual focus, EV bias in auto, paired program mode, max ISO / max Speed, and more. Before the year is out, DxO ONE users can expect to receive a host of new features, such as high-speed raw burst, horizon level, advanced viewfinder and detailed EXIF displays. The camera will be available at a price of £449 (VAT included) in the United Kingdom, and at the price of €599 in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands and in Switzerland.

GoPro have released a new feature that allows the user to create short video clips directly on the camera or mobile device for easy sharing. On-camera trimming, available on HERO4 Black with LCD BacPac, HERO4 Silver , and HERO+ LCD, allows you to save your trimmed file directly back onto the memory card, adjacent to the rest of the video files for later sharing. The in-app functionality will allow for instant saving to your camera roll and very precise trimming from all Wi-Fi enabled GoPro cameras.

Canon China have published half a dozen full-resolution sample images captured with their new EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM lens. The  Canon EF 35mm F/1.4L II USM is the world’s first lens to boast the company's exclusive Blue Spectrum Refractive Optics technology, which utilises organic material newly developed by Canon to achieve a higher level of chromatic aberration correction than other existing technologies. The molecular design of BR Optics refracts blue light to a greater degree than other existing optical technologies including UD glass, Super UD glass and Fluorite, to control colour fringing as effectively as possible.In addition to BR Optics, the new lens incorporates two aspherical elements and one UD glass element in a 14 element, 11 group optical formula. The EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM lens also features Canon’s proprietary Sub-Wavelength Structure Coating (SWC), applied to the rear surface of the first and second aspheric lens elements to help combat flare and ghosting.

Website: Canon China

Having issued a Windows 10 compatibility announcement at the beginning of this month, Fujifilm now released firmware updates for seven X-series compacts and CSCs. These include the Fujifilm X100S, X100T (pictured), X20, X30, X-Pro1, XQ2 and X-E2 models. Similar firmware upgrades for other Fuji cameras are planned to be released later this year.

In its most important move since the company' acquisition by Facebook, Instagram now allows users to share photos and videos in both portrait and landscape formats, in addition to the much loved/hated square. "Square format has been and always will be part of who we are," the company said in a statement. "That said, the visual story you’re trying to tell should always come first, and we want to make it simple and fun for you to share moments just the way you want to. It turns out that nearly one in five photos or videos people post aren’t in the square format, and we know that it hasn’t been easy to share this type of content on Instagram... We’re especially excited about what this update means for video... which in widescreen can be more cinematic than ever." Instagram has also announced that from now on, all filters will work on all types of media, with intensity adjustments now available on videos as well as stills.

Serif have announced a free trial version of their new professional, Mac-only image editing software; Affinity Photo. "Since its launch this summer Affinity Photo became Editors’ Choice and a main feature in the Mac App Store, 5-star rated by customers, and #1 photography app in over 100 countries," Affinity Product Manager Dale Cook told PhotographyBLOG. "Affinity Photo’s award-winning innovation and incredible performance is free to try in full for 10 days — all adjustments, filters, tools, features, importers, exporters, and file saving work with no restrictions or watermarks."

As Official Sponsor of Rugby World Cup 2015, Canon is giving customers the chance to win one of 50 pairs of tickets when they buy a selected Canon product. The offer runs until 31st October 2015 for eligible products purchased from UK or ROI retailers. Eligible products include the Canon EOS 7D Mark II (pictured), EOS 750D and EOS 760D digital SLR cameras, the EOS M3 compact system camera, the PowerShot G7 X, SX60 and SX710 compacts, and the PIXMA MG7550, PIXMA MG6650 and SELPHY CP910 printers. Customers purchasing one of these products will also receive a free Gilbert Official Rugby World Cup 2015 Replica Ball.

The  Canon EF 35mm F/1.4L II USM is a new moderate wide-angle lens for 35mm full-frame SLR cameras. This is the world’s first lens to boast the company's exclusive Blue Spectrum Refractive Optics technology, which utilises organic material newly developed by Canon to achieve a higher level of chromatic aberration correction than other existing technologies. The molecular design of BR Optics refracts blue light to a greater degree than other existing optical technologies including UD glass, Super UD glass and Fluorite, to control colour fringing as effectively as possible.In addition to BR Optics, the new lens incorporates two aspherical elements and one UD glass element in a 14 element, 11 group optical formula. The EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM lens also features Canon’s proprietary Sub-Wavelength Structure Coating (SWC), applied to the rear surface of the first and second aspheric lens elements to help combat flare and ghosting. The new Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM lens is scheduled to be available in October 2015, for an estimated retail price of£1799.99 / €2499.99 / $1,799.00.

Canon have announced the upcoming US launch of their EOS M3 compact system camera. The company's third CSC has an 24.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, DIGIC 6 processor, a touch-screen interface, Hybrid CMOS AF III and 49-point AF System, Full 1080p HD Movie mode, ISO 100-12800, a 3-inch 1,040,000-dot LCD monitor that tilts up 180 degrees and down 45 degrees, integrated Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity, 4.2fps burst shooting, 14-bit RAW support, built-in pop-up flash and a flash hot-shoe. The Canon EOS M3 will go on sale in the US in early October for an estimated retail price of $679.99. An EOS M3 EF-M 18-55mm IS STM lens kit will be available in the customer’s choice of black or white for an estimated retail price of $799.99. Additionally, a two-lens kit featuring the EOS M3 digital camera with the EF-M 18-55mm IS STM lens and the EF-M 55-200mm IS STM lens will be on sale for an estimated retail price of $1,049.00.

Canon today announced that they have developed Blue Spectrum Refractive (BR), a new optical element that corrects chromatic aberrations at an extremely high level. Offering characteristics that significantly refract blue light, which lies within the short-wavelength range, the BR optical element is making its debut in the new EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM wide-angle lens, which is scheduled to go on sale in October 2015.

The winners of the 2nd International Landscape Photographer of the Year (ILPOTY) competition have been announced. The overall winner (based on a folio submission of at least 4 images) is Luke Austin from Australia. Luke uses a Nikon D800E with the Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8, 45mm f2.8 Tilt Shift and 70-200mm f4 lenses, and an assortment of Feisol Pro and Tournament series tripods. The runner-up International Landscape Photographer of the Year is Ricardo Da Cunha from Australia..

Canon has announced the CJ12ex4.3B portable 4K 2/3-inch broadcast lens, the world’s first 4K wide-angle lens for use with 4K broadcast cameras featuring 2/3"-type imagers. Designed as a portable wide-angle 12x zoom lens, the CJ12ex4.3B supports framing of scenes containing large amounts of image detail. The form factor for production shooters will be very similar to shooting with Canon's HD lenses in size, weight and controls. Its light weight of 4lbs, 10oz. and compact size make it ideal for shoulder-mounted Electronic News Gathering applications. “With a 96.3 degree angle of view, our best-in-class wide-angle lens will allow broadcasters to capture more of the scene in stunning 4K quality,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, president and COO, Canon U.S.A. A built-in 2x extender allows more telephoto operation without sacrificing 4K image quality. The CJ12ex4.3B portable broadcast lens is scheduled to be available in December.

The Olympus Global Open Photo Contest is accepting entries through to 05:00 am GMT on Friday 20 November. Entries are invited in four categories which are offered under five thematic headings: Life (“Birth”), Future (“Places to Preserve”), People (“Smiles”), and Technical (“Macro” and “Art”). Up to 5 entries per theme can be submitted, and entrants are free to amend entry descriptions, take down entries or add fresh photos at any time during the competition period. The total value of the prizes on offer is approximately €30,000.