X-Rite have announced a comprehensive list of events designed to teach photographers about the benefits of a fully colour managed workflow. “The more we talk to new and existing customers, the clearer it becomes that increasing people’s knowledge of how to effectively colour manage a photographic workflow really helps to improve people’s photographic experiences,” Managing Director of X-Rite Photo Europe, Geoffrey Clements said. “Good colour management across all your devices saves time, money and ultimately produces better images. We’re looking forward to continuing to educate and support photographers throughout these events.” Throughout the events there will be a number of special offers including, the special promotion in conjunction with Adobe, where users can buy either a ColorMunki Photo or i1Photo Pro 2 and enjoy a one year Adobe Creative Cloud Photography plan membership or buy the i1Display Pro and claim a 15 percent discount on an annual Adobe Creative Cloud Photography plan membership. Click through / scroll down for the full list of dates and locations.

Sigma have issued a product advisory stating that some of their Canon-mount lenses cannot be used with live view on the Canon EOS 750D and 760D digtial SLR cameras. Specifically, when the Live View Mode button on the camera body is pressed, the operation stops without displaying images on the rear LCD monitor, the company says. This issue affects 7 current and 6 discontinued Sigma zoom lenses. The company will provide users with a firmware update free of charge. Click through / read on for a detailed list of affected lenses.

The CamDolly Cinema System is the industry’s first truly portable and modular dolly system for professional-grade video and film equipment. Currently seeking funds on Kickstarter, the CamDolly Cinema System is the product of a collaboration between filmmaker Mat Jaz, filmmaker Bohus Blahut of Clutch & Company and the design team at Fotodiox- The system includes everything a filmmaker needs to build five different dolly modes, or "protocols" – each designed to create a specific type of shot. The entire CamDolly Cinema System easily fits into a compact car and packs neatly into three luggage sized cases. A single person can move all of the system's components to a shooting location with ease, and assemble the CamDolly into one of its five protocols in under 15 minutes. If the Kickstarter campaign achieves its $100,000 goal, CamDolly production will begin immediately with the first shipment expected in mid-June.

The Epson International Pano Awards 2015 competition is now open for entries. Dedicated to the art of panoramic photography, the sixth Epson International Pano Awards is open to all professional and amateur photographers with a combined pool of more than$50,000, including $20,000 cash. Prizes include an Epson Stylus Pro 7900 printer, an Epson Stylus Pro 4900 printer, and an Epson EB-1775 Ultra-Slim Projector. ‘Over the years we have been delighted to see this world-class photographic competition grow to the point where it now attracts thousands of entries from hundreds of photographers from around the world Each year the photographs are more and more impressive and the outstanding quality of both image capture and print astounds me,’ said Craig Heckenberg, General Manager Business Division, Epson Australia. ‘Epson is very proud to continue our support of this global competition and, as always, we look forward to seeing this year’s entries and the winners for each category.' Do note that entry fees apply.

Canon Europe today announced that it is acquiring London-based digital start-up Lifecake, the company behind the Lifecake photo-sharing app for families, which allows parents to store, organise, share and relive key moments of their children’s lives.  With the app, parents can create photo and video timelines that the whole family can experience on smartphones, tablets, computers and in printed photobooks. Lifecake is currently available in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian.

Sony have unveiled two new A-mount lenses at a press event in London - the Vario-Sonnar T* 16-35mm F2.8 ZA SSM II and the Vario-Sonnar T* 24-70mm F2.8 ZA SSM II.

Both the SAL1635Z2 and the SAL2470Z2 are updated versions of current lenses, offering significant improvements in image quality, ghost reduction and AF performance, together with a new dust and moisture- resistant design.

Pricing and availability are still to be announced.

Ricoh has launched the Pentax K-3 II digital SLR camera. Following in the footsteps of the award-winning Pentax K-3, the new model delivers exceptionally high-resolution images supported by state-of-the-art technologies including an enhanced shake reduction system — the most highly effective in the K series — and a newly developed super-resolution technology; the Pixel Shift Resolution System. This innovative system delivers super-high-resolution images with far more truthful colour reproduction and much finer detail, while significantly lowering the level of high-sensitivity noise. Like its predecessor, the Pentax K-3 II also features: an APS-C-size CMOS image sensor with approximately 24.35 effective megapixels; an AA-filter-free design for high-resolution image reproduction; a high-performance 27-point AF system; high-speed continuous shooting at approximately 8.3 images per second; and a dustproof, weather-resistant construction ideal for capturing shots outdoors. It even incorporates a GPS module for the accurate recording of shooting locations and simplified, high-precision tracking of celestial bodies, to eliminate the need for an optional GPS unit. The body-only price is £769.99, and the camera is also going to be available in a number of kit configurations from 22 May 2015.

Zeiss has announced their first full-frame autofocus lenses for Sony's E-mount cameras. "The Batis family of lenses is the first time we have launched autofocus lenses for Sony's full-frame E-mount cameras which are Zeiss through and through – in other words exclusively developed and distributed by us," says Dr. Michael Pollmann, Product Manager at Zeiss Camera Lenses. The lenses feature an OLED display that shows the distance between the camera system and the plane of focus, as well as the depth of field. The Zeiss Batis 2/25 and 1.8/85 lenses will be available for purchase in April and start shipping in July 2015. The 25mm lens comprises 10 elements in 8 groups, and offers a maximum reproduction ratio of 1:5.2. The Zeiss Batis 1.8/85 is an 85mm telephoto prime comprising 11 elements in 8 groups. The recommended retail prices are $1,299/€1092 for the Zeiss Batis 2/25 and $1,199/€1008 for the Zeiss Batis 1.8/85.

Nikon has posted a firmware update for its professional Nikon D4S digital SLR camera. Version 1.20 adds full support for the SB-500 flash unit, improves AWB consistency and removes the limit on the number of shots that can be taken in a single burst when a continuous-release mode is selected in M and S modes. The new firmware also changes how focus points are displayed in the viewfinder if the camera is rotated between portrait and landscape orientation, and fixes bugs. Click through / read on for the details.

The Polaroid Zip, one of the smallest and lightest portable printers ever made, is now available worldwide. Connecting wirelessly to any smartphone or tablet, the Polaroid Zip mobile printer allows users to instantly print 2x3-inch colour photos from virtually any image on their Apple or Android device. Approximately the size of a smartphone, the Polaroid Zip weighs just 186g (.41lbs) and can be taken anywhere. The device measures 2.91” x 4.72”, just less than one inch thick and boasts a striking high-gloss finish augmented by the iconic Polaroid logo. Despite its wealth of features, the only physical control is a power button which has been seamlessly integrated into the unit’s simple design. The Polaroid Zip mobile printer features a free app for iOS and Android and connects to mobile devices via Bluetooth 4.0 or NFC. The Polaroid Zip is currently available for $129.99 in the US at Photojojo.com and online at B&H Photo, and internationally on Amazon.

ReaConverter 7 Lite is a free version of ReaConverter, ReaSoft's batch image conversion and editing program for Windows. The Lite edition supports 5 most popular formats: BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF both for reading and for writing, and all editing options of the full version including colour and position alteration, watermarks, retouching and other features. The full version supports over 400 image file formats and offers a range of automated functions not found in ReaConverter 7 Lite.

Joining the existing Explorer and Athena ranges, the new Hiker line-up from Nest includes three shoulder bags and two backpacks. All of these bags are available in a camouflage 600D waterproof nylon version as well as a black 210D waterproof rip-stop nylon edition which has a stylish patterned finish. The Hiker 10, 20 and 30 shoulder bags offer an integrated padded shoulder strap and rain cover. The Nest Hiker 100 backpack has two sections, one for camera gear and one for everyday items. The Hiker 200 is a dedicated photo backpack with a separate compartment for a 15" notebook. Pricing starts at £49.99 for the shoulder bags and £99.99 for the backpacks.

Yongnuo has announced a new full-frame 35mm prime with auto focus. The Canon-mount Yongnuo YN35mm F2 lens has a minimum focus distance of 25cm, and a maximum magnification of 0.23x. The optical construction features 7 elements in 5 groups and an iris diaphragm witrh 7 rounded blades. The lens takes 52mm filters, and will be available from Yongnuo's Amazon and eBay stores.