Zeiss is to supply aerial specialist Heliguy with cinemizer OLED head-mounted displays for their professional aerial photography platform, Ikarus. The Ikarus Heavy Lift octocopter system was designed to carry the weight of professional movie cameras for over 15 minutes. Lighter payloads, such as stills cameras can remain airborne for as long as 30 minutes. The cinemizer OLED acts as a remote viewfinder, using a wireless video link from the octocopter. Using remote controlled aerial platforms like Ikarus is far cheaper, and quieter than using helicopters to get aerial shots, so the system is ideal for wildlife photography, Zeiss says.

Kenro has launched the full range of the new Marumi UV Haze Filters to the UK market. Specifically designed to reduce haze, these filters have been created to block ultraviolet rays. There are sixteen sizes available ranging between 37mm and 95mm, priced from £11.88 to £105.36.

LockCircle has introduced a new family of PrimeCircle professional filters to offer to filmmakers, videographers and photographers
a complete line of cost-effective 4 X 4" and 4 X 5,65" filters. Diamond cut from German Ultra-White optical glass, PrimeCircle professional filters are available now in a full range of  Technical, Diffusion and ND Grad filters.

Kenro has announced the immediate availability of a new range of 'holding devices' for tablets and smartphones, made by Reflecta. There are eight sizes available in the new Reflecta Tabula Range that hold devices in 7-11" sizes. Devices can be mounted either horizontally or vertically, and some models allow you to swivel the unit once mounted. "It's important to be able to view tablets and smartphones at the proper angle when used on a desk.... balancing them on a stapler or hole punch is not the best solution," says Kenro MD Paul Kench. "These new Reflecta Tabula holders not only look great, they are extremely functional." Suggested retail prices range from £3.54 incl VAT to £65.64 incl VAT.

Epson has extended its SignatureWorthy range to include its brightest  canvas media with a cool tint. The Exhibition Canvas Natural Satin has been designed for displaying high-end works such as portrait photography and fine art. The company claims that because it is not using any optical brightener agent, the yellowing effect over time is minimised. The Exhibition Natural Satin Canvas is priced from  £80.07 per 12.2m roll  and will be available in 2014 in widths of 17", 24" and 44".

Leica has announced a partnership with Exclusive Resorts, a private destination club for luxury vacations. The German camera and optics manufacturer invites photographers to submit their best travel photos that capture the "exotic, exhilarating and emotional moments" that they encounter when on vacation. The photographer with the winning image will receive a new Leica X Vario camera (pictured) and three nights with Exclusive Resorts at the destination and villa of their choosing. To enter your best vacation photos, visit the website below

X-Rite has announced its first annual Festival of Color Calibration taking place all through the month of November. Together with their dealer network, X-Rite will be bringing hands-on colour management to photographers with free laptop calibration at locations throughout the USA. During Festival of Colour Calibration events, retailers will host on-site colour management seminars, give away free sample packs of Ilford paper, and offer special pricing on the most popular X-Rite colour management solutions. Throughout this month, the company will be offering instant rebates including: $10 off ColorChecker Passport, $10 off ColorMunki Smile (pictured), $25 off ColorMunki Display, $40 off i1Display Pro, and $50 off ColorMunki Photo.

C&A Licensing, the authorised Polaroid licensee for camera accessories, mountable sports video cameras and the instant digital camera line, is bringing back the Polaroid Pic-300 instant film camera. The Polaroid Pic-300 includes auto flash and four scene settings, and comes equipped with a detachable wrist strap. The camera is available on Amazon and Target for $69.99.

The Profoto B1 is a 500Ws cordless off-camera flash, offering TTL metering with Canon and Nikon cameras, in connection with a hotshoe-mounted Air Remote TTL unit. The remote is sold separately, so that photographers may choose the right remote for their camera. The Air Remote TTL-C for Canon cameras with E-TTL II support is launched together with the B1. The Air Remote TTL-N for Nikon cameras with i-TTL support will be available in 2014. The 500Ws light output is enough to overpower the sun on a sunny day, or to light larger sets or groups of people. The light output can be controlled in 1/10 f-stop steps over the entire 9 f-stop power range. The B1 is also equipped with a high-efficient LED modeling light, powerful enough to be used as a portable video light.

Motion Source Video Production has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for a new shoulder rig they have developed. Designed by a team of filmmakers who had the goal to develop a camera shoulder rig that any amateur filmmaker can afford, the Motion Source Shoulder Rig has numerous features and can easily compete with, and even outpreform, the more expensive rigs currently on the market, the inventors say. With a donation of $29, Motion Source will hand deliver a shoulder rig to a college student studying film at a local Chicago school. This campaign will also allow customers to preorder the shoulder rig for less than retail cost.

The finalists of the EyeTime 2013 competition have just been announced. Hosted by the Morpholio Project, EyeTime 2013 invited students and young professionals or enthusiasts to submit a collection of up to three digital images. There were two categories, Emerging Talent and Future Voices. The complete list of finalists, along with their entries, can be seen at the website below.

Wacom has announced a partnership with Square Group to open its first Experience Centre sales outlet in the UK. Launching on Thursday 7th November, the shop will have the full range of Wacom products on display including the recently launched Cintiq Companion creative tablets, as well as the new line-up of Intuos pen tablets. In addition, a brand ambassador will be available for customer queries at all times including Saturdays. For more information, call the store on 01494 492 000.

The Doxie Flip is new battery-powered, cordless A6 scanner that flips over to perfectly capture photos, The scanner features a
clever transparent scanning window and quick release removable lid, so you can place it directly on old photo albums, fragile originals, and other objects that are otherwise difficult to scan and see through directly to what you’re scanning. For large originals, Doxie's patented AutoStitch feature (available this December with a free software update) takes multiple, overlapping scans and stitches them together, so you can scan everything – even large surfaces and huge framed prints. The new Doxie Flip is available starting today for $149 / €139 / £119.

 

Fujifilm has posted new firmware updates for the majority of its  X-mount lenses. The Fujinon XC16-50mmF3.5-5.6 OIS gains phase-detect AF compatibility when used on a Fujifilm X-E2 compact system camera. The Fujinon XF60mmF2.4 R Macro, XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS, XF35mmF1.4 R, XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS and XF14mmF2.8 R also benefit from this enhancement, plus a "Lens Modulation Optimiser" function when used on the X-E2. You can download these firmware upgrades from the website below.

Website: Fujifilm Firmware Updates

Tamron has just announced the development of a new long telephoto zoom lens for full-frame cameras. The Tamron SP150-600mm f/5-6.3 lens features VC image stabilization, speedy USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive) auto focus and state-of-the-art eBAND (Extended Bandwidth & Angular-Dependency) lens coating. The optical formula incorporates 20 elements arranged in 13 groups and an iris diaphragm with nine rounded aperture blades. The lens will be showcased at the Tamron booth at Salon de la Photo 2013.

The HD Pentax-DA 20-40mm f/2.8-4 ED Limited DC WR is a weather-resistant wide zoom lens designed for Pentax K-mount digital cameras. The first zoom lens in the acclaimed Limited Lens series, this zoom lens features an in-lens AF driving motor and offers a 35mm equivalent focal range of 30.5-61.5mm. The Pentax 20-40mm f/2.8-4 lens has been treated with the PENTAX-developed HD coating, a high-grade, multi-layer coating that reduces reflection in the visible light spectrum to less than 50% of that of conventional multi-layer coatings. It also incorporates an ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass and a super-low-dispersion glass element in its optical formula. Other highlights include a quick-shift focus system, Super Protect coating and an iris diaphragm with rounded blades. Available in black and silver, the HD Pentax-DA 20-40mm f/2.8-4 ED Limited DC WR carries an RRP of £849.99.

Pentax has just announced the world's smallest and lightest interchangeable wide-zoom lens. Designed exclusively for use with Q-mount compact system cameras, the Pentax-08 Wide Zoom offers a 35mm equivalent focal range of 17.5-27mm and incorporates a moulded-glass DSA (Dual Super Aspherical) element two ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass elements and one super-low-dispersion glass element in its optical formula. Other highlights include an internal focusing mechanism with a quick-shift focus system, and a built-in lens shutter equipped with an ND filter and an iris diaphragm. The Pentax-08 Wide Zoom carries a recommended retail price of £429.99. 

Canon U.S.A.  will offer an optional feature upgrade for the Canon EOS C100 digital video camera which will support the company's Dual Pixel CMOS AF autofocus technology. This optional upgrade, which enables continuous AF with all compatible Canon EF lenses. is expected to be available in February 2014 for a cost of $500.00 and will require the EOS C100 camera body to be shipped to a Canon service center.

G-Technology today announced two new portable external storage solutions. The G-Drive slim and G-Drive mobile are now available with 7,200 RPM hard disk drives.Designed for the Apple MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, the G-Drive slim (£69.95) features the industry’s only 7mm z-height, 7,200 RPM, hard drive – the Travelstar Z7K500 – as well as a high-performance USB 3.0 interface. Its slender, lightweight aluminium case packs up to 500GB of storage for photos, videos, music and more. The G-Drive mobile (£105.00, pictured) offers a USB 3.0 interface and a 1TB, 7,200 RPM HGST Travelstar7K1000 mobile hard drive.