Canon has expanded its EOS system with a new special-purpose flash, the Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX II. Compatible with Canon’s complete range of EOS digital SLR cameras, the Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX II offers photographers fully automatic E-TTL II flash metering to deliver accurate and consistent exposures. Improved focusing lamps utilise new high-brightness white LEDs, which offer enhanced illumination than the predecessor product – making it easier to focus in low-light conditions. The unit's two separate flash tubes can be controlled independently. In addition, an improved body design includes a new one-touch lock lever, making it quick and simple to attach the flash to your camera. The Canon Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX II, which can also be used as a wireless optical master unit to operate and trigger EX-series Speedlites remotely, has a guide number of 14 (at ISO 100/21°) and a maxiumum recycle time of 5.5 seconds. The unit will be available from April 2014 with an SRP of £599.99/€699.99.

Canon today unveiled the PowerShot G1 X Mark II Enhanced Grip Edition. Successor to the PowerShot G1 X, the Canon Powershot G1 X Mark II promises "DSLR-like image quality and handling within the compact form and function of the highly successful PowerShot G-series." Featuring a completely re-mastered design, with a stainless steel chassis and all aluminium metal exterior, the camera has a sizeable ergonomic grip and a large CMOS imager. The new sensor configuration means that it can adapt and use the full width of the lens image circle, whether capturing images in its default 3:2 aspect ratio at 12.8MP or 4:3 ratio at 13.1MP. The camera comes equipped with a 12.5-62.5mm (24-120mm eq.) f/2.0-3.9 lens and features a focus peaking function, perfect for manual focus enthusiasts. The improved AiAF System now includes thirty-one AF points compared to the PowerShot G1X’s nine. The Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II Enhanced Grip Edition will be available from May 2014 with an SRP of £799.00/€949.00/$799.99.

Billed as Canon’s slimmest ever 30x optical zoom camera, the new PowerShot SX700 HS features a 16-megapixel CMOS imager, 25-750mm equivalent superzoom lens, Full HD 60p movies with stereo sound, and integrated Wi-Fi with NFC (Near Field Communication) technology. Offering Manual, Av and Tv shooting modes, the Canon Powershot SX700 HS also boasts a five-axis Enhanced Dynamic IS mode that stabilises movies and stills alike. The new Wi-Fi connectivity includes remote shooting from smartphones and allows you to keep your images backed up with Image Sync, which lets you wirelessly transfer shots to cloud storage destinations including Canon Image Gateway, Flickr and Google Drive. The Canon PowerShot SX700 HS will be available from March 2014 with an SRP of £329.00/€399.00/$349.99.

Canon today added a trio of new high-zoom cameras to its IXUS series. The 20-megapixel Canon IXUS 155 (called the ELPH 150 IS in North America, £129/€149/$150) offers 10x optical zoom in a stylish ultra compact body with metal exterior (pictured). The Canon IXUS 150 (ELPH 140 IS, £109/€129/$130) and IXUS 145 (ELPH 135, £99/€119/120) come equipped with 16-megapixel sensors and 8x optical zoom. The IXUS 155 and IXUS 150 feature Canon’s advanced optical Image Stabiliser with Intelligent IS technology. When it comes to video recording, all three models are limited to 720p resolution for reasons inherent in the properties of their CCD sensors. The Canon IXUS 145, IXUS 150 and IXUS 155 will be available later this month.

Canon today announced its newest rugged camera, the PowerShot D30. Waterproof to depths of up to 25m, shockproof for drops of up to 2.0m and freezeproof down to -10 °C, the CanonPowerShot D30 utilises a 12.1-megapixel CMOS sensor and a 28-140mm equivalent lens, as well as an on-board GPS module. Its special underwater shooting mode and the easily accessible Custom White Balance function allow you to quickly adjust settings for natural colours when submerged. In addition to capturing twelve-megapixel stills, the Canon PowerShot D30 can also record Full HD videos at the touch of a dedicated movie record button. A bright 3", 460k-dot LCD screen with Sunlight LCD mode rounds off the features list. The Canon PowerShot D30 will be available from April 2014 at a suggested retail price of £299.00/€349.00/$329.99.

See exactly what the new Sony A6000 compact system camera looks like in the flesh.

Check out our extensive hands-on gallery of 58 photos of the Sony A6000 compact system camera, including both the silver and black versions.

See exactly what the new Sony Cyber-shot HX400V compact camera looks like in the flesh.

Check out our extensive hands-on gallery of 34 photos of the Sony Cyber-shot HX400V compact camera.

See exactly what the new Sony Cyber-shot H400 compact camera looks like in the flesh.

Check out our extensive hands-on gallery of 24 photos of the Sony Cyber-shot H400 compact camera.

See exactly what the new Sony Cyber-shot HX60V compact camera looks like in the flesh.

Check out our extensive hands-on gallery of 29 photos of the Sony Cyber-shot HX60V compact camera.

The Sony A6000 compact system camera features the world’s fastest autofocus amongst interchangeable lens cameras. The A6000's Fast Hybrid AF system produces an autofocus performance of just 0.06 sec with high precision accuracy and an extremely wide autofocus coverage area with 179 focal points. The Sony A6000 also features a 24.3 megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor, BIONZ X processor, built-in flash, OLED Tru-Finder, two control dials, NFC and Wi-Fi and downloadable PlayMemories Camera Apps.

Available in black or silver, the Sony A6000 will be available in mid-April priced at £550 body only, £670 with the 16-50mm kit lens, £800 in a double telephoto lens kit, and £1400 with the 16-70mm Carl Zeiss lens.

The Sony Cyber-shot HX400V is a premium super-zoom bridge camera with a 50x zoom lens. The Sony HX400V also offers a 20.4 megapixel Exmor RTM CMOS sensor, BIONZ X processor, DSLR-style handling, electronic viewfinder and manual controls, Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity and built-in GPS. The Sony Cyber-shot HX400V will be avilable in March for £420.

The Sony Cyber-shot H400 is an affordable new super-zoom camera with a 63x optical zoom lens, the highest ever in a compact digital camera. The Sony H400 also features a 20.1 megapixel CCD sensor, DSLR-style body, electronic viewfinder, Intelligent Auto, dedicated movie button and high-capacity lithium-ion battery.

The Sony Cyber-shot H400 will be available in April priced at £250.

The Sony Cyber-shot HX60V/HX60 is a premium travel-zoom camera with 20.4 megapixels, 30x optical zoom, Bionz X processor, Wi-Fi/NFC connectivity and GPS (HX60V only). The Sony HX60 V costs £340 and the HX60 £330, both available in March.

The Sony Cyber-shot WX350 is the world’s smallest and lightest compact camera with a powerful 20x optical zoom. The Sony WX350 offers 18.2 megapixels, Wi-Fi/NFC and 470-shot battery life and will be available in March for £260.

The Sony Cyber-shot WX220 offers a 18.2 megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor, BIONZ X processor and 10x optical zoom G Lens, and is available in March for £180..

The easy-to-use Sony Cyber-shot W800 has a 20.1MP CCD sensor and 5x optical zoom lens with Advanced Flash and Party Modes, available in March for £80.

ADVA Soft today released Handy Photo 2.0, an update to its all-in-one photo editing app for iOS and Android devices. Featuring a completely redesigned user interface, Handy Photo 2.0 offers an array of editing tools, including new selective editing features for colour and tone, advanced retouching tools, more than 20 photo filters that can be easily adjusted as needed, and a variety of high-resolution textures and frames. HandyPhoto 2.0 is available now on iTunes.

SanDisk today announced the SanDisk Ultra Dual USB Drive, which features both a micro-USB and a USB 2.0 connector in a sleek form factor.“The SanDisk Ultra Dual USB Drive provides a simple, convenient way to offload and backup files from smartphones and tablets – with the peace of mind that comes with the trusted SanDisk brand,” said Dinesh Bahal, vice president, product marketing, SanDisk. “This new drive integrates with SanDisk’s Memory Zone app to make freeing up space on mobile devices simpler than ever, improving the user experience.” While other methods of transferring files from a mobile device to a computer require wires, applications or a wireless set-up, the SanDisk Ultra Dual USB Drive simply needs to be connected to a phone or tabletsupporting USB on-the-go to access up to 64GB of ‘plug and play’ storage capacity. The SanDisk Ultra Dual USB Drive is available now in 16GB to 64GB capacities carrying MSRPs of €16.22 to €49.33.

Cinemartin has released version 3.X of its Cinec video converter / encoder for Windows. Adding support for Cineform, Sony XAVC, XAVC-S and RED files (.r3d) as well as 4K Ultra HD videos created with Snapdragon 800 powered mobile devices; Cinec 3.X comes with a number of new features such sd Motion Picture Adjustments, Dual Preview Monitor and the ability to create transparent videos with the new Quicktime Animation preset. The software is available in Standard, Pro and Gold versions, priced at €99, €199 and €799 respectively.

SLR Magic has launched its Anamorphot 1.33x 50 anamorphic adapter for indie filmmakers. Developed with the help of EOSHD, the Anamorphot 1.33x 50 (£749 / €899 is designed to improve image quality in widescreen formats, while creating special horizontal flare effects, commonly referred to as anamorphic streaks when pointed toward a light source. In addition to the Anamorphot 1.33x 50, SLR Magic has also launched a 77mm Achromatic Dioptre Set (£249 / €299), designed for use with the anamorphic adapter. Both products will be available late March 2014.