Adorama is now shipping the new Flashpoint CoolVee7 Video Light, which features seven cool-running, daylight fluorescent spiral lamps that deliver a total output equivalent of up to 760W of tungsten lighting. Available for $199.95, the Flashpoint CoolVee7 comes with two light modifiers, including ae detachable, pebble-finished reflector and an octagonal softbox. The scope of delivery also includes seven Daylight Compact Fluorescent 32W/120V bulbs. The Flashpoint 30W Spiral Fluorescent Replacement Bulb is available for $3.95. The Flashpoint 45W Spiral Fluorescent Upgrade Bulb can be purchased for $5.65.

LensRentals today announced the official launch of its "try before you buy" Keeper programme. Allowing customers to hire equipment and apply up to seven days of rental fees towards the purchase of the product(s), the Keeper programme offers something for every level of enthusiast. Consumers can visit the LensRentals website, browse through the huge range of equipment for rental to discover items with a green "Yep. It's a Keeper!" badge that identifies products eligible for the Keeper programme. Clicking on the green badge presents consumers with a range of prices and how the discounts are applied. "Cameras and video equipment can be very expensive.  We know that many consumers would prefer to try and test certain items before deciding to make that investment," said LensRentals, Founder and CEO, Roger Cicala.  "We're thrilled to officially launch the Keeper programme and offer everyone the opportunity to keep items they know and love."

Microsoft and Thomson Reuters Foundation are partnering Talenthouse, a global community of artists, to present photographers with a series of career opportunities as part of this year’s Trust Women Photo Award. Photojournalists and other photographers around the world are invited to submit images capturing the lives and stories of remarkable women around the world, who are achieving "incredible things" in their communities. The selected artist, as chosen by a judging panel which includes Finbarr O’Reilly, Reuters photographer and World Press Photo winner, will have their photography showcased in London at the Trust Women Conference, the annual international event organised by Thomson Reuters Foundation which is dedicated to the advancement of women’s rights and the fight against human trafficking and slavery. Photographers have until Thursday, 19 February 2015 at 6 p.m. GMT to submit their images through the website below.

Olympus has released a comprehensive firmware update for the Olympus Stylus 1. Version 2.0 adds compatibility with the WCON-08X Wide-angle Converter and CLA-14 adapter that together convert its lens' widest focal length to 22.4mm (eq.) without affecting the f:2.8 aperture. The new firmware upgrade also adds new Interval Shooting and Time Lapse Movie modes and compatibility with OI.Share v2.5, which adds remote wireless shutter release from a smartphone. Version 2.0 is available free of charge for download via the Olympus Digital Camera Updater.

MMD has added a new 27" IPS-AHVA display with factory-calibrated colour and Adobe RGB support to its line-up of Philips branded monitors. Using 10 bits to describe each colour, the new 27-inch Quad HD display can represent over one billion colours simultaneously – when connected to a PC via a DisplayPort cable. Pre-calibrated to render colours accurately, the 272P4APJKHB display supports 99% Adobe RGB and 100% of the sRGB colour space. With MultiView on board, the display connects to multiple sources simultaneously. The new Philips monitor is now available in major electronics stores at a suggested retail price of £649.

Alex White has just published his latest camera guide book, the Photographer’s Guide to the Panasonic Lumix LX100. The 248-page book shows beginning and intermediate photographers how to capture excellent images and video sequences with the LX100. The book explains the camera’s controls for autofocus, manual focus, aperture, shutter speed, exposure compensation, white balance, and ISO, as well as many other settings. In three appendices, the book provides information about accessories for the LX100, including cases, external flash units, and other items, and includes a list of web sites and other resources for further information. The Photographer’s Guide to the Panasonic Lumix LX100 is on sale for $9.99 in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats at the website below; with the paperback version being available for $29.95 through Amazon.

Adobe today released Lightroom mobile for Android phones. Lightroom mobile is a companion app to Lightroom 5 desktop software, available as part of Adobe Creative Cloud. First released for iPad and iPhone, Lightroom mobile allows you to utilise your Android phone to review and edit your images and have the changes sync back to your Lightroom catalogue at home. Lightroom mobile for Android requires a device equipped with a quad-core CPU with 1.7 GHZ ARMv7 architecture, 1GB RAM, 8GB of internal storage and Android Jellybean, KitKat, or Lollipop. Do note that it may take up to 24 hours for Lightroom mobile to be available in your local Google Play app store.

Fuji have published seven full-resolution sample images captured with the just-announced Fujifilm X-A2 compact system camera and new Fujinon XC16-50mm II & Fujinon XC50-230mm lenses. Shot at sensitivity settings ranging from ISO 200 to ISO 800, these Fujifilm X-A2 samples span a variety of genres including wildlife, landscape, portraiture, street and architectural photography.

Website: Fujifilm X-A2 Samples

Fuji have posted 12 high-resolution sample photographs taken with the Fujifilm XQ2 digital compact camera announced today. Shot at various sensitivity settings ranging from ISO 100 to ISO 800, the sample images were made by photographers Issaque Foujita, Tomasz Lazar, Yukio Uchida and Paco Navarro. You can download these Fujifilm XQ2 samples from the website below.

Website: Fujifilm XQ2 Samples

The new Fujifilm X-A2 is an ultralight, "selfie-ready" compact system camera featuringo a 175° tilting LCD, a 16.3-megapixel APS-C sensor and newly-developed Eye auto focus (AF), Auto Macro AF and Multi-Target AF technologies. Other highlights include on-board Wi-Fi, in-camera raw processing, a sensitivity range of ISO 100 – ISO 25600, a start-up time of 0.5 seconds, new Classic Chrome and other film simulation modes, Full HD videos, and a multiple exposure mode. The Fujifilm X-A2 ships with the newly-developed Fujinon XC16-50mm II (24-76mm) F3.5-5.6 OIS zoom lens, for a kit price of £449.99 / $549.95. Availability is slated for February in the USA and March in the UK.

The Fujinon XC50-230mm F4.5-6.7 OIS II is a new, optically stabilised telezoom lens for Fujifilm's X-series compact system cameras. Featuring a 35mm equivalent focal range of 76-350mm, the Fujinon XC50-230mm F4.5-6.7 OIS II's optical formula comprises 13 all glass elements in 10 groups including 1 aspherical lens and 1 ED element. Availability and pricing to be confirmed..

The Fujinon XC16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OIS II is a new 24-76mm equivalent, optically stabilised zoom lens for Fujifilm's X-series compact system cameras. The lens consists of 12 all-glass elements in 10 groups including 3 aspherical elements and 1 ED element, and an iris with 7 rounded aperture blades. The lens can be purchased in a bundle with the new Fujifilm X-A2 compact system camera.

The Fujifilm XQ2 is a premium pocket-sized digital camera with a bright 4x zoom lens, an advanced 12-megapixel 2/3” X-Trans CMOS II sensor with phase detection, and the EXR Processor II that delivers the fastest auto focus speed in its category. Key highlights include a 25-100mm (eq.) f/1.8-4.9 lens, built-in WiFi, Full HD movies with stereo sound, a sensitivity range of ISO 100 - ISO 12,800, and a 3" rear screen with 920,000 dots. The Fujifilm XQ2 will be available in black, white and black-and-silver in February (March in the UK), for an MSRP of £329.99 / $399.95.

Fuji has announced a duo of superzoom cameras; the Fujifilm FinePix S9900W with wireless connectivity and the Fujifilm FinePix S9800, a near-identical model sans Wi-Fi. These camreras feature a 16.2 Megapixel CMOS sensor with a maximum ISO sensitivity of 12,800, and deliver rapid focusing speeds for beautiful high resolution images. Both cameras also give users an f/2.9-6.5 lens that offers a 35mm equivalent focal range of 24-1200mm while going all the way down to 1cm in Super Macro mode. The cameras each have a startup time of just 1 second, autofocus in as little as 0.15 seconds, and are ready to take another shot in just 0.6 seconds. Those wanting to capture a burst of full resolution images in quick succession can do so using the continuous shooting speed of 10fps for a maximum of 10 frames. The Fujifilm Finepix S9900W / S9800 will be available in March 2015 for £299.99 / $349.95 and £259.99 / $329.95.

Waterproof to 15m, shockproof from 1.75m and freezeproof to -10 °C; the Fujifilm FinePix XP80 is Fuji’s toughest camera to date. Key features include a 16.4-megapixel 1/2.3” CMOS sensor, a 28-140mm equivalent lens with optical image stabilisation, Full HD movie capture at up to 60 frames per second, and wireless connectivity for instant image and movie sharing. Other highlights include a high-speed 480fps movie mode for slo-mo playback, an LCD screen with anti-reflection coating, and a dedicated HDR mode for shooting in contrasty light. Available in Blue, Yellow, and Graphite with green accents, the Fujifilm FinePix XP80 will retail for £199.99 / $229.95, starting March 2015.

Gary Fong today introduced his new Interactive Virtual Camera Modules. With a model-specific virtual camera, photographers have the ability to intuitively navigate through information-packed Premium Video Tutorials that directly reflect what each button does. The Premium Videos behind each press of the virtual camera’s buttons contain extended, carefully-detailed tutorial courses from Gary Fong himself. “Customer education is the cornerstone of our business,” Gary says. “It is imperative we explore new approaches to learning, such as the Interactive Virtual Camera Modules, to teach our customers how to bring their cameras to life.” The Interactive Virtual Camera Modules are currently available for the Sony a6000 and the Sony A7 II. Modules for the Canon 7D Mark II and Nikon D750 are coming soon