Ikelite has launched an underwater case for the Sony RX100 III digital compact camera. This housing provides controls for all important camera functions including the rear dial and front control ring. A sensitive shutter lever makes it easy to half-depress the trigger for focusing and metering. An included flash diffuser improves lighting quality when the camera's built-in flash is used. The housing port is designed to accept 3.0-inch diameter colour filters, and wide angle or macro options with 67mm threads. The Ikelite Housing for the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 III is available for order through any Authorised Ikelite Dealer, priced at £424.99/$550.00.

Professional photographer and writer Michael Reichmann has announced The Luminous Endowment for Photographers. The Endowment, a USA-based not-for-profit charitable organisation, will provide a variety of specific merit-based grants to support non-commercial photographic projects such as fine art landscape photography; documentary photography; publishing photographic work; travel related to a photographic project; and others. A panel of judges, including some of the world’s leading photographers and educators, will review all project proposals. “In creating the Luminous Endowment, I was inspired by a ‘Pay it Forward’ philosophy,” said Michael Reichmann. “While we may not be able to repay those who’ve helped us to achieve personal and professional success, we can find a way to share our good fortune with those who need help both now and in the future.” Donations to the Endowment are a way to “pay it forward.” Plans are now underway to raise one million dollars in the first year. Michael is donating to the Endowment all proceeds from his new limited edition book, Michael Reichmann – a 20-Year Photography Retrospective, a 400-page large-format book that is available only through donations to The Luminous Endowment.

GoRigIt have launched a Kickstarter campaign in an effort to raise funds for their first product release, a phone case with a built in GoPro attachment. "With the GoRigIt case, your iPhone and GoPro become one," the company says. "We’ve made a way for you to see what you’re shooting, ensuring you’re getting the shots you want without hindering any of the functions of your iPhone!" Allowing users to fully utilise the GoPro app by either attaching their phone directly to the GoPro or attaching their phone to any other GoPro mount, the GoRigIt case enables GoPro owners to see what the camera is recording, manage GoPro settings, review what they have captured and effortlessly share their movies on social media platforms. Additionally, the GoRigIt case protects your iPhone so that it can go almost anywhere you would want to take your GoPro. Interested readers are encouraged to visit the project's Kickstarter page for more details.

AKVIS has updated its Chameleon collage creation software to Version 8.5. New features include a Share option that lets you post pictures from the program to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, Google+ and Dropbox; compatibility with Photoshop CC 2014, and support for 64-bit versions of Windows. Users who own versions 5.0-8.0 of AKVIS Chameleon can upgrade to Version 8.5 for free.

Issue 31 of David Noton’s Chasing the Light Online Magazine is now available to purchase. This month David continues his French theme in his Behind the Lens article and accompanying Video Blog with his account of ar wonderful photo trip to France in May. The Low Down continues with Part Two of an article trio on the important topic of Do-It-Yourself Printing, whilst Ross Hoddinott carries on with his Hoddinott’s Hangout column with a personal exploration of the joys of shooting insects close up, including plenty of advice on equipment, technique and approach. Meanwhile Chris Weston provides the next installment of The Storyteller, this time providing a set of a dozen projects and challenges to give you inspiration to get out and about with your camera. Do note that the full contents of Chasing the Light Online Magazine is available to full f11 subscribers only. However non-members can purchase individual issues of the magazine at a price of £4.20.

Pixel Film Studios have released the Glass Light Theme, a new template for Final Cut Pro X. “Our goal is to offer our users a wide variety quality themes and the Glass Light theme adds a shiny template to our growing library,” says Christian Austin, Pixel Film Studios CEO. “Glass Light theme has a reflective glass look our users will love." The theme comes with 48 camera presets that include a variety of different shots. The shots include booms, dollies, sweeps and more. Available for $29.95, Glass Light is compatible with all types of media and comes with all the tools a user needs to create a professional video including a background key for green screen footage, a logo key for personal insignia, 4 transitions and 2 lowers thirds.

Spider Camera Holster has launched two new accessories: the SpiderPro Medium Lens Pouch and Memory Card Organizer.. Compatible with the SpiderPro single and dual-camera holster systems, the Medium Lens Pouch accommodates all small (or short) professional zoom lenses with hood attached. Its unique design allows the user to easily insert the lens with the lens hood still connected, thereby saving time and hassle during use. The pouch’s side opening gives clearance for users to gain a firm and comfortable grip of the lens while swapping. The Spider Holster Memory Card Organizer (pictured) allows for photographers to carry as much memory possible, hands free and with maximum convenience, without having to shuffle through gear bags or sifting through various pockets. Designed for easy access, its fold-out compartment holds 6 Compact Flash memory cards and 3 smaller Secure Digital memory cards – all instantly available, hands free, right at your hip.The base SpiderPro Medium Lens Pouch will carry an MSRP of $65.00. The SpiderPro Memory Card Organizer will carry an MSRP of $35.00. Both accessories will be available for direct purchase through the company website

Plustek USA has launched a new instant rebate programme for selected scanners. The eligible products include - alongside a number of document scanners and book scanning devices - the Plustek OpticFilm 8200i AI, a 35mm film scanner featuring a hardware resolution of 7200x7200ppi and an infrared channel for dust and scratch removal (pictured). Those purchasing the OpticFilm 8200i AI before 30th September are entitled to an instantrebate of $70.

Connected Data have launched their Drobo Mini with Solid State Disk drives delivering as much as 80% more performance compared to a Mini configured with traditional spinning hard drives. Featuring four 2.5” SSD bays with an mSATA accelerator option; the Drobo Mini connects via Thunderbolt or USB 3.0 and protects data without user intervention, even in the event of multiple SSD drive failures. If a drive does fail, Drobo Mini automatically repairs itself and returns to a protected state while providing full access to data without performance being affected. Additional security is provided with battery backup that protects against data loss in the event of a sudden power outage ensuring that all data in flight is protected until power is restored. The Drobo Mini with SSD is available today in three capacity bundles of 1TB, 2TB and 4TB starting at an MSRP of $1,199 through the website below.

PhotographyBB has released Volume 4 of Clarity Magazine. Covering a wide range of topics, this issue includes a helpful guide to understanding a camera’s histogram, an in-depth look at all-flash indoor lighting setups, the focal-distance compression effect of lenses, Lightroom and Photoshop video tutorials, and more. Additionally, Volume Four includes a new feature column on smartphone photography. Priced at $6.99, Clarity Volume 4 is available to download in PDF format from the website below.

Website: PhotographyBB

Sony USA today expanded its product portfolio with two Cyber-shot models, both of which have been available in other markets for a while. The pocket-sized Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX220 (read review) is extremely slim and compact, yet packs an 18.2 megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor with 1080/60p movie recording capabilities, a 10x zoom lens bearing the prestigious 'G' designation, and an integrated Wi-Fi module. The entry-level Sony DSC-W810 features a 20.1MP CCD sensor and 6x optical zoom lens, and can shoot HD movies at 720p. For convenient movie shooting, there’s a dedicated movie button on the camera that instantly starts video recording without digging through menus. The new Sony Cyber-shot WX220 will be available in August in black and gold for about $200, and the new Cyber-shot W810 will be available in September in silver for about $100.

Aperture Exporter is a Mac application allowing users of Apple Aperture to transfer their images and libraries to another photo manager such as Adobe Lightroom. "With only a few options and a click of a button, Aperture Exporter re-generates your Aperture Library as a set of folders and subfolders containing your images," the developers say. The program enables users to "retain meticulously crafted project hierarchies," keep all their metadata including ratings and comments, export images contained in their albums and smart albums, and convert Aperture flags and colour labels to keywords. Aperture Exporter is now available on the Mac App Store, priced at $14.99.

Adobe has released final versions of ACR 8.6 and Photoshop Lightroom 5.6, which were earlier posted as 'release candidates.' These updates add support for raw files generated by the Nikon D810, the Panasonic FZ1000 (pictured) and Lumix GH4, add profiles for twenty-two camera-lens combinations, and fix bugs.

Source: Adobe Lightroom Journal

Tonality from Macphun is a new Mac app for creating superior black-and-white images. The software uses a proprietary 16-bit raw processing engine, advanced imaging algorithms and a comprehensive set of unique digital darkroom features permitting photographers "to do things they never before have been able to achieve," the company says. Starting with "professionally inspired" presets, Tonality includes features like layer-based image editing, adaptive exposure and smart contrast, overlay textures, advanced clarity and structure detail, grain and film emulation, adjustment brushes and a selection of finishing tools for photographers to craft their finest work. Each layer includes separate opacity controls, blending modes and preserves colour data of the original image. “For many photographers, crafting dramatic black-and-white images is their favouritee form of creative expression yet presents uniquely difficult and time-consuming challenges,” said Paul Muzok, CEO of Macphun. “We designed Tonality to overcome those challenges, and be not only the best app for those passionate about monochrome image making but also appeal to the casual photographer who is exploring the genre." Tonality is available today as an electronic download from the Macphun Web Store.

The winners of the world’s longest running photography exhibition have been announced. Student, amateur and professional photographers from around the world were invited to enter their images to The Royal Photographic Society’s International Print Exhibition 157, and over 6,600 images were submitted. The five award winners are Jacqueline Roberts (Germany), William Lakin (UK), Mandy Barker ARPS (UK), Tamara Staples (USA) and Damien Wootten (UK). The exhibition at Berkeley Gallery, Greenwich Heritage Centre, Woolwich, runs until  28 August 2014 before moving on to venues around the United Kingdom.  All the selected images will be posted on the RPS website at the beginning of August. For information about venues and the exhibition, visit the RPS website.

Nikon has released an update to the 64-bit Windows edition of its new Capture NX-D software. According to the company, when the 64-bit Windows version of the application was used to create JPEG-format files converted from raw (.NEF/.NRW), TIFF, or JPEG images using the Convert Files... or Run Batch Process... option in the File menu, a gray band was sometimes visible at the bottom of the images when they were opened in the 64-bit Windows version of Capture NX-D. This issue has been resolved in version 1.0.1.

Website: Nikon

The new BounceLite is a mini-softbox/bounce-card combination for your hotshoe-mounted flash. Currently raising funds on Kickstarter, this ingenious light modifier attaches directly to the flash head and comes with a filter cassette for colour temperature modifying gels such as CTOs and CTBs. The entire BounceLite Collection includes the BounceLite itself, the filter cassette, neoprene case, mounting pads, a filter wallet and two sets of gels. Interested readers are encouraged to visit the project's Kickstarter page.

Zeiss has announced the availability of a firmware upgrade for the E-mount version of its Touit Makro Planar 2.8/50mm T* lens. This update addresses two issues including AF hunting in continuous auto focus mode and "clearly noticeable shutter release delays when pressing the release button with activated flash." Note that you cannot install this firmware update yourself - you will need to send the lens, together with a completed copy of Zeiss' delivery note, to the Zeiss Service address nearest to you.