The Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II Limited Edition is a new compact system camera that pays homage to the titanium-clad Olympus OM-3Ti film SLR released in 1994. The beautifully redesigned E-M5 Mark II will be available in a distinctively retro, titanium-tinted body that evokes the golden age of the original Olympus OM series, a period that laid the foundations for the flagship Olympus Micro Four Thirds cameras of today. In addition to the titanium colour, the Limited Edition differs from the regular model with a special OM-D-branded leather strap, an owner’s card bearing a quote from the legendary OM designer, Yoshihisa Maitani, and a premium-stitched leather case for the card. A number between one and 7,000 will appear on the other side of the card, as only 7,000 of these cameras are due to be made. The Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II Limited Edition will be available from June 2015 priced at £999.99. A kit with the all-round zoom M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-150mm 1:4.0-5.6 II lens will also be available for £1349.99.

MindShift Gear has released the new, higher volume rotation180° Horizon rotating photo backpack. Featuring an integrated rotating beltpack for accessing trail essentials, the rotation180° Horizon backpack allows for instant access to food, binoculars, cameras and lenses, and other essential equipment. Plus, there is now added extra space in the main pack for larger gear, including clothing, climbing gear, and up to a 13” laptop. “The rotation180º Horizon backpack is an essential addition to our award-winning rotation backpack series,” said MindShift Gear’s CEO and lead designer Doug Murdoch. “Its 34 llitres of capacity and its ability to hold a laptop, a 10” tablet, and up to a 3 liter hydration reservoir provide the dimensions and features for which outdoor adventurers have been clamoring. It employs the same patented technology that won two of Europe’s top design awards, the Red Dot Award and the OutDoor Industry Award.” MindShift Gear's rotation180° Horizon backpack is available for $259.99.

The olloCase is a slim, protective case for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus that allows a seamless integration with olloclip's add-on conversion lenses. “We want olloCase to embody the pure functionality of our olloclip photo lenses — and to eliminate the need for moving parts, while still providing the style and protection consumers are looking for,” said Patrick O’Neill, CEO and founder of olloclip. “This new case is a significant improvement over our previous version. It improves speed and removes any unnecessary obstacles between a user and the photos or videos they want to shoot.” olloCase retails for £24.99 and is available in two colours -- matte clear with dark gray bumper and matte smoke with black bumper.

Kenro has announced an updated version of its Braun Champion ActionCam. Featuring a 2-inch TFT display, longer battery life (up to 150 minutes), 130-degree lens and Wi-Fi functionality, the camera shoots Full HD (1920x1080p/30fps) movies and 5-megapixel stills. A waterproof housing is included with the kit, which is depth rated for 55 metres. The recommended retail price of the Braun Champion II ActionCam is £117 including VAT.

Canon China has posted four high-resolution sample photographs taken with the brand new EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens. Captured with a variety of APS-C and 35mm full-frame bodies, these Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM samples demonstrate what the lens is capable of when used wide open (and slightly stopped down). You can download the official EF 50mm f/1.8 STM sample images from the website below.

Website: Canon China

Canon have unveiled a new 50mm lens. The EF 50mm f/1.8 STM features Canon's proprietary STM stepping motor technology and supports the manufacturer's EOS Movie Servo AF function to provide smooth and quiet continuous AF during video recording. Boasting an improved exterior design, including a new focus ring placement, it provides photographers with the most compact Canon EF 50mm lens ever, at just 1.5 inches in length. In addition, this new lens uses a metal mount providing additional stability and ruggedness compared to its predecessor. The new Canon EF 50mm f/1.8mm STM standard prime lens is scheduled to be available by the end of May for an estimated retail price of £129.99/€189.99/$125.99.

Fuji has announced that it will release a free firmware update for the Fujifilm X-T1 and Fujifilm X-T1 Graphite Silver Edition (pictured). Version 4.00 introduces a new AF system with Zone and Wide/Tracking modes for effortless capture of moving subjects, improved focus accuracy and Eye Detection AF. Additionally, the firmware update adds an Auto Macro function, which automatically switches the camera into the Macro mode while maintaining the conventional AF speed. The optimised algorithm also delivers a more natural and smooth AF action during movie recording. The new firmware will be available from the end of June.

Manfrotto today launched their new Fluid Video Monopods Family. This product range features a world-first patented system that uses the innovative fluid cartridge incorporated into the base, allowing judder-free panoramic rotation not achievable with regular monopods. Consisting of four supports, the whole Fluid Video Monopod Family is priced from £94.95.

Manfrotto today announced the launch of their new zero backlash follow focus. This piece of video equipment allows the operator to select a focus range between two points, thanks to its hard stops. Its mount is compatible with 15mm/0.59” rods, and it is supplied with one 50 tooth/0.8 module drive wheel, one ø35 mm friction wheel, one gear ring to be fitted around the lens, two marking disks that enables the operator to mark focal reference points and one 3mm Allen Key. The videographer can change not only the gearbox direction but also the follow focus’ position when it is mounted on the rods: this way the device can be used with different lenses. The zero backlash mechanism means that the operator can pull a very precise focus with essentially any interchangeable-lens camera without the vibrations and uncertain results caused by manual direct focus. The Manfrotto Follow Focus is now available for £519.95.

QromaScan is a smartphone-based photo "scanning" solution that digitises and tags prints in one step using voice recognition. Users simply place their iPhone on top of Qroma Scan's LED illuminated lightbox, and use a natural language phrase the tell the innovative QromaScan app the date, location and people in their photos. By sliding photos into the lightbox, the QromaScan app dials in the best visual settings and captures the image with the appropriate metadata. Photos are automatically organised using metadata tags that are recognised by external applications such as Adobe Lightroom. QromaScan is available for preorder now on Kicksrtarter

MAC Group will be taking on the sales, marketing, distribution and service for Elinchrom in the United States. “There were many factors that made our decision easy,” said Chris Whittle, Elinchrom President. “The previous success MAC Group accomplished when building a lighting company into a world class brand could be a marketing case study at Harvard. The superb relationships MAC Group has built among dealers and influencers, and their commitment to marketing, brand building, education and content made MAC Group’s team simply feel like a perfect fit for us.”

Triggertrap has unveiled a brand new “Wearables” mode for its Triggertrap Mobile app, photographers to use a smartwatch to trigger a DSLR camera. This latest update supports the current range of Pebble smartwatches, as well as the upcoming Pebble Time. Support for Apple Watch will be added to the app in the coming weeks. The update is available to download on the iOS app store, and the Triggertrap app for Pebble is available on the Pebble App Store.

PicsArt, the largest mobile creative community, has announced an update that enables users to collaborate on work via Facebook and generate timelapse videos that showcase their unique editing techniques. “We believe PicsArt provides users with the best tools to express themselves and now we are giving them more ways to share that expression,” said PicsArt’s founder, Hovhannes Avoyan. “Everyday our users are creating expressively heartfelt work with PicsArt’s tools. We want to make sure we are also giving them equally expressive ways to share that work.” PicsArt’s latest iOS and Android app update also brings enhanced social features that make collaborating and giving feedback more immediate and fluid. A new “Open” button on images makes sharing and commenting on artwork easier than ever. PicsArt users are also able to "like" images by double-tapping them and stay updated with pop-up notifications that alert users of new work from their favourite artists.

Iridient Digital has released Iridient Developer 3.0.2. This update adds support for the Nikon 1 J5, the Olympus TG-4 and Stylus 1S, the Leica M Monochrom (Typ 246), the Canon EOS 760D (Rebel T6s, 8000D), EOS 750D (Rebel T6i, Kiss X8i) and the EOS M3. Additionally, it includes further improvements to the v3 noise reduction introduced in version 3. Both Luminance and Colour noise reduction adjustments in particular are now much more effective with some forms of noise, especially when strongly increasing shadow brightness and with high ISO images. The maximum strength of noise reduction has also been increased to give smoother, lower noise output when set to high levels while still retaining good detail and colour fidelity.

SnapSelect (read review) is now free on the Mac App Store, for just one week. Usually priced at £15.99, Snapselect is an easy-to-use app that makes choosing your best images from hundreds or thousands taken super simple and very fast. Starting by importing photos from your photos folder, library or external drive, Snapselect uses patented image recognition technology to automatically group similar images and duplicates, as well as sort all photos by the time they were taken for convenient viewing. You can easily browse through images, compare one photo to another, separate bad images from great images, and instantly export the best picks to a custom folder, library and popular photo editing apps, or share via Facebook, Twitter & other social networks. “SnapSelect is already helping thousands of people who want to be able to select their best images quickly and easily,” Paul Muzok, CEO of Macphun says. “This special promotion, limited for just a few days is great way of helping many more. It’s the perfect opportunity to see how simple Macphun’s apps for photography are to use.”