Lomography are now stocking Pixelstick, a 1.8m long light-painting tool featuring 200 full-colour LEDs inside a lightweight aluminium housing. The mounted controller reads images from an SD card and displays them, one vertical line at a time, on the LEDs. "With Pixelstick, you can seamlessly insert any image into your long exposures," the company says. "Pixelstick can even increment through a series of images over multiple exposures, opening up light-painting to the world of timelapse, and allowing for animations of a scope and quality never before seen." Pixelstick is available for £299 on the Lomography Online Store.

Sony has today introduced their new flagship full-frame mirrorless camera, the A7R II. Featuring the world’s first back-illuminated full-frame Exmor R CMOS sensor with a resolution of 42.4 megapixels, the new Sony A7R II boasts high-speed AF response up to 40% faster than the original A7R thanks to 399 focal plane phase detection AF points. The 42.4 MP sensor combines gapless on-chip lens design and anti-reflective coating on the surface of the sensor’s glass seal to improve light collection efficiency, resulting in high sensitivity with low-noise performance and a wide dynamic range. This allows the camera to shoot at an ISO range of 100 to 25,600 that is expandable to ISO50-102,400. The new flagship A7R II model is equipped with an innovative 5-axis image stabilisation system that has been fine-tuned to support its high-resolution shooting capacity. Additionally, the 5-axis stabilisation works synergistically with Sony α lenses with OSS to provide maximum stabilisation and clarity. The Sony A7R II full-frame interchangeable lens camera will be available in August for about $3,200.

The Sony RX100 IV (DSC-RX100M4) is a new digital compact camera featuring a 1"-type stacked Exmor RS CMOS sensor and a 24-70mm (eq.) f/1.8-2.8 lens. Thanks to the attached DRAM chip, the Sony RX100 IV is capable of capturing full-resolution stills at 16 frames per second, and the ultra-fast readout of the image sensor enables users to select shutter speeds as fast as 1/32,000 second. The camera can also record 4K movies using the XAVC S codec, which records video at a high data rate of 100 Mbps. The camera utilises full-pixel readout without pixel binning to ensure that all the finer details of 4K video are captured with minimal moire and ‘jaggies.' Additionally, the RX100 IV can capture 40x super slow motion video at up to 960fps. The new Sony Cyber-shot RX100 IV will be available this July for about $1000.

The Sony RX10 II (DSC-RX10M2) is a new compact camera featuring the world’s first 1"-type stacked Exmor RS CMOS sensor and a Zeiss branded 24-200mm (eq.) f/2.8 lens. The addition of an attached DRAM chip enables the camera to shoot full-resolution stills at 14 frames per second for an extended period of time. Additionally, the ultra-fast readout of the image sensor is responsible for the high speed Anti-Distortion Shutter (maximum speed of 1/32000 second), which allows the Sony RX10 II to capture sharp images with a wide open aperture at brightness levels up to EV197. The camera can record 4K movies using the XAVC S codec, and reduced-resolution slow-motion video at up to 960fps. The new Sony RX10 II high-zoom camera will be available this July for about $1,300.

Want to see exactly what the new Leica Q (Typ 116) camera looks like in the flesh?

Check out our hands-on gallery of photos of the Leica Q (Typ 116) camera.

The Leica Q (Typ 116) is a new 35mm full-frame compact camera with a fixed 28mm f/1.7 lens. The first model in a new line of digital compact cameras, the Leica Q features auto-focus speed of 0.15 second, ISO range of 100-50,000, 10fps continuous shooting, 1080p/60fps video, built-in wi-fi and NFC connectivity, 3.6 megapixed electronic LCOS viewfinder, and a touchscreen 3" TFT LCD monitor with 1,040,000 pixels. The Leica Q (Typ 116) is available now in the UK at a suggested retail price of £2,900 including VAT. In the US the Leica Q retails for and SRP of $4,250.

The winners of the Camera Grand Prix 2015, hosted by the Camera Journal Press Club of Japan (CJPC), received their awards in Tokyo on Monday, 1 June 2015. The Camera Grand Prix, held since 1984, is a prestigious award whose winners are selected by a judging committee made up of the members of the CJPC, top editorial staff of the member publications, academic experts, technical writers, professional photographers and TIPA (Technical Image Press Association). The winning products for the Camera GP 2015 include theCanon EOS 7D Mark II ("Camera of the Year" and "Readers' Award"), theCanon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM lens ("Lens of the Year"), the Lytro Illum, the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II and the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-CM1 ("Editors' Award").

Renowned photographer and lighting guru Damien Lovegrove will be hosting a fashion photography workshop in Southern France from 10-12 July 2015. During this intensive three-day workshop Damien will share his years of experience, creativity and knowledge of fashion photography to help you develop your own unique style and build the confidence required to shoot fashion successfully. You will learn how to direct a professional model, adapt swiftly to changing light conditions and gain a greater understanding of how to get the most out of your kit. The cost for three days is £996. Photography Blog readers can get a discount of £117 by entering the following code at the checkout.

Despite the fact that the Leica Q camera hasn't even been announced yet, the Leica Q app is now available on Google Play and Apple iTunes for Andorid, iPad and IPhone devices. "The Leica Q app connects your camera to your iPhone or iPad. It allows you to remote control your camera and gives you access to your images. The Leica Q app supports the Leica Q (Typ 116) camera." Suffice to say, we'd expect the Leica Q camera to make an official appearance sooner rather than later...

The new Samsung Galaxy S6 active is a rugged smartphone with a 16-megapixel camera and a 5.1" QuadHD screen boasting a resolution of 577 pixels per inch. Built to withstand whatever everyday life throws its way, the Samsung Galaxy S6 active has IP68 certified casing that is water resistant up to 1.5 metres for up to 30 minutes, shock resistant, and dustproof. The 16-megapixel rear- and 5-megapixel front-facing cameras are claimed to "launch faster than ever," whilst auto-real time High Dynamic Range (HDR) promises balanced exposures even in contrasty light. Photos and videos are saved unto the smartphone's 32GB internal storage unit. The Android 5.0.2 powered Galaxy S6 active has a 3500mAh battery and a 64-bit octa-core processor but unlike the S6 edge and regular Galaxy S6 models, it appears not to feature optical image stabilisation. In the US, the Galaxy S6 active will be available exclusively atAT&T.

Version 3 of Camera MX is now available in the Google Play Store. This update adds a new Shoot the Past mode, which grants users the ability to go back in time up to three seconds before the shutter release was pressed to select and save missed shots. The new version additionally features a completely redesigned user interface and a wider range of photo editing options. The app is available for free.

The Metabones Speed Booster XL 0.64x is a new Micro Four Thirds Speed Booster adapter with a magnification of 0.64x. Reducing the MFT 'crop factor' from 2x to 1.28x, the Metabones Speed Booster XL 0.64x adapter uses an advanced 6-element optical design to achieve "extraordinary optical performance" at apertures up to f/0.8, a new record for the Micro Four Thirds format. The Speed Booster XL 0.64x is similar to the Blackmagic-specific 0.64x BMCC Speed Booster, but the working distance has increased by 1mm to permit use on the Panasonic GH4 and a number of other Micro Four Thirds cameras without touching the flexible outer cover of the camera’s shutter mechanism. Also, when the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 is used in Cinema 4K video mode the horizontal full frame crop factor is reduced from 2.34x to 1.50x, thus effectively transforming the GH4 into a Super-35 format 4K cine camera. Planned lens mounts for the Speed Booster XL 0.64x include an active Canon-EF version and a Nikon F version with what Metabones call "the most advanced Nikon G aperture adjustment mechanism in the industry." The Speed Booster XL 0.64x will be available for $649. (Canon EF mount) and $479 (Nikon F/G mount).

JK Imaging have announced a cashback offer on the Kodak Pixpro SP360 Extreme Kit. Those who buy the camera bundle before 15th July can claim £30/€40 back by downloading and returning this cashback form. Note that claims must be submitted before 9th September. This promotion is open to residents in the UK and Ireland aged 18 or over only.

We Want More: Image Making and Music in the 21st Century is an upcoming exhibition hosted by The Photographers' Gallery in London. Exploring the expanded role that photography and image-production plays in defining music culture today, this exhibtion is presented across two floors, dedicated in turn to musicians and their fan bases. It includes works commissioned commercially as well as personal projects initiated by the photographers themselves and a selection of creative collaborations whose aim is to unpick the genre of Music Photography. The exhibition also presents a selection of music videos created by photographers, rather than moving image directors, demonstrating the increasing dialogue and interface between these mediums. Curated by Diane Smyth, We Wnat More opens on 17 July 2015.