Kenro, the official UK and Ireland distributor for the Benro range of camera bags and tripods, has introduced the Falcon series of robust backpacks for outdoor photographers. Manufactured from abrasion resistant PT1200D PU and water repellent materials, the bags feature adjustable shoulder, chest and waist belts. There are two choices in the series, the Falcon 400 and the Falcon 800, both available in a camouflage finish. The Falcon 400 (£169.80) is capable of carrying up to one SLR camera and 1x400mm lens plus accessories.  The 800 version (£180.00) has the capacity to hold one SLR and 1x800mm lens plus accessories.  A pro lens cushion is built into both backpacks to protect your lens from moving. Both bags are available now.

Panasonic and Sony have jointly announced a new standard for professional-use optical discs. The announcement follows the signing of an agreement between the two electronics giants in July 2013. Named Archival Disc, the new storage medium will be capable of storing a minimum of 300 gigabytes per disc. In addition, both companies plan to leverage their respective technologies to further expand the recording capacity per disc to 500GB and 1TB. Availability of the 300GB discs is slated for summer 2015.

Panasonic has confirmed pricing and availability details for its flagship Lumix GH4 compact system camera. In the United Kingdom the camera will be available from 5 May 2014, priced at £1749.99 (single-lens kit with Panasonic's 14-140mm lens), £1299.99 (body-only) and £2499.99 (body only with the DMW-YAGHE interface unit). A pre-order offer will be available, with participating retailers. Those ordering the camera between 10th March until Monday 2nd June, will receive a free battery grip and battery with their purchase. In the U.S., the Pansonic Lumix DMC-GH4 will be available in late April / early May for $1,699.99 (body only) and $3,299.99 (body only with DMW-YAGHE interface unit).

The Annenberg Space for Photography has announced its next exhibition, Country: Portraits of an American Sound. This exhibit presents images of the pioneers, poets and icons of country music, and will be offered free to the public 31 May through 28 September 2014. Country: Portraits of an American Sound uses historical and contemporary photographs to explore how images shape the public identity of country music performers and of the genre itself. The photographers include the late amateur photographer Elmer Williams; the late studio photographer Walden S. Fabry; veteran Grand Ole Opry staff photographer Les Leverett; the late Los Angeles-based photographerLeigh Wiener; Boston-based documentary photographer Henry Horenstein; iconic entertainment photographers Henry Diltz, Raeanne Rubenstein and Ethan Russell; and contemporary photographers David McClister and Michael Wilson. The Annenberg Space for Photography is located in Century Park at 2000 Avenue of the Stars in Century City, Los Angeles, California.

Rift Labs have announced the UK launch of their latest pocket size camera light, KICK. Distributed exclusively by Color Confidence, the KICK camera light was shown for the first time in the UK at the Photography Show. Offering an output of 400 lumens, KICK emits the full colour spectrum and has an array of controls including brightness, colour, animated lighting, built-in video effects and sampling. The KICK camera light can be mounted on a tripod or used as hand-held device; and multiple KICKs can be connected via WiFi for more elaborate and creative lighting. “When I first saw the extensive capabilities of the KICK camera light, I knew that it would have great appeal to our customers looking to push the boundaries of creativity," Geoffrey Clements, Managing Director, Color Confidence said. "I was delighted that Rift Labs selected Color Confidence to be the exclusive distributor for this product." The KICK camera light will be available from leading photo dealers at a retail price of £135.

Launching at Crufts, the Kennel Club is urging budding and experienced photographers to submit their canine images to the annual Dog Photographer of the Year competition.  Heidi Hudson, Kennel Club Picture Librarian, said: “The Dog Photographer of the Year competition is the biggest canine photography competition in the world and we are looking for stunning images that capture a wonderful moment and that reflect our contemporary experience of living with dogs." The competition, which is exclusively presented by Samsung, is now open and free to enter.  The overall winner will receive a Samsung Galaxy NX camera and will have VIP access to photograph the Crufts Best in Show winner in 2015. The submission deadline is 5p.m. (UK time) on 10 November 2014.

Adorama has released the Flashpoint StreakLight, a brand new portable strobe light for on- or off-camera use. Offering adjustable output from 1/128 to full, in 1/3 stop increments, the Flashpoint StreakLight features high-speed sync, built-in optical slave functionality, four shooting modes and auto-focus assist.  The StreakLight flash has two sync jacks and overheating protection circuitry, and also features a USB port for a wireless remote receiver.  The Flashpoint StreakLight 360Ws is available now for $549 or bundled with the Blast Pack battery for $749.95. The Flashpoint StreakLight 180Ws is available now for $405.95 or bundled with the Blast Pack battery for $599.95.

The Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photographers (SINWP) have announced the winners of their Spectacular Landscapes Photography Competition. Adrian Rohnfelder from Bad Homburg, Germany’s image (above) was chosen from over 370 images entered.  2nd place was Hamish Burson from New Zealand and joint 3rd places were Lisa Katharina Schaefer from New Zealand and Tomasz Janicki from Worcestershire.

The Kraszna-Krausz Foundation (KKF) today revealed the shortlisted entries for its annual photo book awards. Established in 1985, the KKF Book Awards are the UK’s leading prizes for books published in the fields of photography and the moving image and the two winners share a £10,000 prize. The winners will be announced on 30 April at the Sony World Photography Awards gala ceremony held in London. Along with 14 highly commended titles across the two categories, the shortlisted books will be displayed at Somerset House, London from 1-18 May as part of the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition.

The Photographic Museum of Humanity (PMH) has announced an extension to its PMH 2014 Grant, which is now officially set on 12 March 2014. The PMH 2014 Grantan international photography contest offering $4000 in cash prizes. The jury features Alec Soth (Magnum Photos), Iata Cannabrave (Brzilian curator, creator of the Latin American Photography Forum of Sao Paulo), Olivier Laurent (Associate Editor for the British Journal of Photography) and Diana Markosian (PMH 2013 Grant New Generation Prize winner). To participate, you have to submit a series of maximum 15 photos. The contest has no entry fee.

Corel has released VideoStudio Pro X7 and VideoStudio Ultimate X7. The new version adds an updated creative library, new touch-friendly instant movie creator and 64-bit architecture, and features faster 4K support, enhanced one-step sharing, motion tracking, HTML5 authoring, a new favourite filters list and a wide variety of creative editing tools. Suggested retail pricing of VideoStudio Pro X7 is $79.99 / €69.99/ £59.99. VideoStudio Ultimate X7 is available for $99.99 / € 89.99/ £79.99

Ricoh has posted firmware updates for ten Pentax cameras. Applicable to the Pentax K-01, K-3, K-5, K-5II, K-5IIs, K-7, K-30, K-50, K-500 (pictured) and K-r; the upgrade adds compatibility with the new HD Pentax DA AF 1.4X AW Rear Converter. You can download the updates from the websites below.

Pentax K-01 | Pentax K-3 | Pentax K-5 |
Pentax K-5II/s | Pentax K-7 | Pentax K-30 |
Pentax K-50 | Pentax K-500 | Pentax K-r |

Reflecta has launched a new device that enables users to digitise prints, negatives and transparencies with their smartphones. All you need to do is place the smartphone in the appropriate smartphone cradle and insert the photo, slide or negative into the appropriate holder. Place both the cradle and holder into the correct compartment and touch the camera icon to capture the image. using a simple dedicated app. You can even tweak the image brightness and colour, and share the "scanned" image on Facebook. The new Reflecta Smartphone Scanner is now available in specialist shops across the UK at an SRP of £40.50.

Kenro has announced the UK launch of two new cost-effective LED video lights by Reflecta. Available in two models - RPL170 and DR10 (pictured), featuring either 170 or 5 power LEDs respecively; the new Reflecta LED video lights allow colour temperature to be easily adjusted between 3200K to 5500 or 5800K. The RPL170 is dimmable, and features a rotating metal ball head with a hot-shoe and two included Sony adapters to enable it to fit nearly all camera / camcorder shoes. The LED Video Light DR10 is equipped with a soft filter and a daylight filter, and offers 2 brightness levels. The light beam can also be regulated with the two integrated barn doors. The Reflecta LED Video Light RPL 170 and DR10 are both available now with an SRP of £128.28 each.

WD has expanded its prosumer personal cloud solutions with My Cloud EX2, a high-performance two-bay NAS system. My Cloud EX2 provides several capacity options for customers to choose from, including a diskless enclosure allowing users to build their own NAS with the drives of their choice, as well as populated systems in 4TB, 6TB or 8TB capacities. Additionally, you can attach compatible USB 3.0 hard drives to the USB expansion ports. My Cloud EX2 is currently available for $199.99 for the diskless My Cloud EX2, $369.99 for 4TB, $469.99 for 6TB and $569.99 for 8TB.

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Check out our hands-on gallery of photos of the new Nikon Coolpix P600 compact camera, which has a whopping 60x zoom lens.

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Check out our extensive hands-on gallery of photos of the new Kowa Prominar 8.5mm f/2.8, 12mm f/1.8 and 25mm f/1.8 Micro Four Thirds lenses.