Toshiba has announced its latest, UHS-II compliant Exceria and Exceria Pro SDHC and SDXC memory cards, which are claimed to offer the world's fastest write speeds of all currently available SD cards. The Toshiba Exceria Pro series will offer photographers a maximum data write speed of 240MB/s , while the "regular" Exceria series will offer write speeds of up to 120MB/s. Pricing and availability have yet to be confirmed.

Modelled after the successful ShootNYC event launched in New York five years ago, the inaugural ShootLDN event will be taking place at The Old Truman brewery in London on 2 and 3 October. ShootLDN will host a comprehensive programme of photography-related lectures and workshops run by leading industry professionals, including photographers; photo agencies; picture editors; model agencies and fashion houses. As part of the free and interactive professional seminar and product demonstration programme Hasselblad has arranged for one of the four original Hasselblad Lunar Surface  cameras (as used in training by astronaut teams, including Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin) to be available at ShootLDN. At the  two day show Hasselblad event partners, broncolor, Wacom, Adobe, EIZO and Epson will showcase  key products to assist photographers with every stage of workflow  and a  special Adobe Mini-Theatre will host hourly tutorials and demonstrations, covering Photoshop, Lightroom and the Adobe Creative Cloud.

Broncolor has launched a new range of easy-to-assemble softboxes and octaboxes. Marketed in a total of nine different shapes and sizes, embracing square, rectangular and octagonal shapes, or as a strip; the new light shapers are much easier to construct and dismantle than their predecessors – thanks to new coloured markings on the pre-assembled tensioning rods and support ring. According to the company, the new 35x 60cm Softbox will cost £110 (ex Vat) A 75cm Octabox will cost £140 (ex VAT).

Lytro has expanded its US distribution, with in-store availability at 44 Best Buy stores across the country, as well as at B&H's NYC superstore. Lytro is also currently available through international retail partners in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. This, along with today's UK launch, marks Lytro’s second international retail expansion, following the camera’s debut in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and Canada in October 2012. “As we continue to expand internationally, this is an opportunity to work with partners who share our vision for light field technology and support it across new markets. We look forward to seeing the kinds of living pictures our new European customers will create,” said Jason Rosenthal, CEO of Lytro.

This summer will see the return of the biennial landscape photography exhibition, ‘Masters of Vision.' Hosted by Southwell Minster Cathedral, Church St, Southwell, Nottinghamshire, NG25 0HD; the exhibition opens at 10am on Saturday 27 July and runs through 26 August.  This year's master photographer, Joe Cornish, will host a talk on the opening day where he will share his favourite images. Admission to the exhibition itself is free, while tickets to Joe Cornish's talk will be available from the website below.

Gulf Photo Plus has announced POP UP GPP London, an all-star photofest featuring world-­renowned photographers Zack Arias, Gregory Heisler, David Hobby and Joe McNally. Each instructor has developed a unique 3-­‐hour session, specific to his particular style and strengths that cannot be found anywhere else. One ticket buys access to a complete package of a 3-­‐hour session with each of the guest speakers over one photography-­‐filled weekend, 28-29 September 2013. The London event will be the first in series of worldwide Pop Up GPP events, with more destinations to be announced for 2014. Entrance to the event is $449 (approx. £290) or $399 if bought before 1st August. Tickets can be purchased online, at the website below.

The Lytro light field camera is now available in the UK. Unlike conventional cameras, the Lytro light field camera captures all rays of light in a scene, providing capabilities that haven’t been seen before, such as the ability to focus a picture after it’s taken. The Lytro camera is available in Graphite, Electric Blue or Moxie Pink (8GB) for £399 and Red Hot (16 GB) for £469.

JK Imaging, the worldwide licensee of the Kodak brand name for digital cameras, has expanded its Astro Zoom (AZ) range with a number of new 16-megapixel models. The Kodak Pixpro AZ521, AZ362 and AZ251 join the Pixpro AZ361, which was announced in April. The range-topping Kodak AZ521 offers 52x optical zoom (24-1248mm eq.), Full HD video and a 3" rear screen. The Kodak Pixpro AZ362 ($249.99, pictured) boasts a 24-864mm equivalent lens with OIS, Full HD movie recording capability (which is a step up from the AZ361's 720p video) and a 3", 460,000-dot display. Finally, the AA-battery-powered Kodak Astro Zoom AZ251 ($149.99) offers a 24-600mm equivalent superzoom lens with image stabilisation, a 3", 230,000-dot monitor and 720p HD movies.

Website: Kodak Digital Devices

Lehmann Aviation has just launched the LA300, a new automatic drone for taking aerial images and video with the Nokia Lumia 1020. The Lehmann LA300 is a highly user-friendly unmanned aerial vehicle, which flies at a range of up to 15km, at speeds of 20-80km/h. For flight preparation and mission control the user just has to «draw» on a touchscreen tablet the area of interest, enter waypoints and Lehmann’s OperationCentre will automatically generate missions and program the drone. The drone is launched by hand and lands within a few metres of the launch site. The LA300 is priced at €4 990, ready to fly.

Muku Shuttr from Muku Labs is a new wireless remote release for iPhones and a number of Android-based smartphones. Founder Kevin Leung has recently launched a Kickstarter campaign that seeks to raise $10,000 to help him commercialise the product. For more information, visit the website below.

DxO Labs have launched DxO Optics Pro 8.3 with support for smartphones as well as GoPro. Samsung NX and Samsung EX cameras. The software automatically removes distortions due to the GoPro cameras’ use of a very wide-angle lens. Among other things, DxO Optics Pro v8.3’s exclusive correction of volume anamorphosis restores the proper proportions of the subjects located on the edges of images, resulting in photos that look much more natural. DxO Optics Pro 8.3 supports the GoPro HERO3 line (Black, Silver, and White editions), along with the GoPro HD HERO2. The software also benefits from the addition of new DxO Optics Modules that automatically correct the optical defects of the iPhone 4, 4S, and 5, as well as of the Samsung Galaxy S3 and S4 smartphones. This upgrade is free for all owners of DxO Optics Pro 8, as well as for DxO Optics Pro 7 users who obtained a software licence on or after 1 September 2012.

JVC has unveiled a new and upgraded version of its Adixxion action camera. The new JVC GC-XA2 Adixxion model offers a range of performance and feature enhancements that boost image quality and versatility, and the camera remains ready for most any situation, no external housing necessary. Like its predecessor, the new GC-XA2 is water-, shock-, dust- and freeze-proof with built-in LCD and Wi-Fi. Performance improvements in the new model include 1920 x 1080 60p/50p Full HD recording, and1280 x 720 high-speed recording at 120fps/100fps for 4x slow-motion playback. Other upgrades include a brighter (f/2.4) and wider-angle (137°) lens, a higher-resolution LCD monitor with Auto off and Auto brightness functions, a higher-resolution (8Mp) image sensor, a higher audio bit rate and improved noise reduction. The JVC GC-XA2 Adixxion will be available in late July for $299.95.

Projecteo, a matchbox­ sized slide film projector, is now available. "The idea is to bask in pictures with friends and families, just like the old days," says Projecteo inventor Ben Redford. Users first choose the desired photos from their Instagram account, then order the slides via the Projecteo website. The photos are developed on to a single frame of 35mm Kodak film, with nine pictures on each. The pictures are then mounted on a specially designed wheel. A Projecteo with one slide wheel costs $34.99.

Light Blue Software has released version 4.2 of Light Blue, its business management software for photographers. Completely redesigned from the ground up, this update adds iPad and iPhone versions to complement the desktop software. The mobile apps are slimmed-down versions of the desktop software, giving you the information you need on your jobs and contacts when you’re out and about. These apps are built to interact with Light Blue  Software’s cloud-based systems, so you don’t need an internet connection to get at your information, which is especially useful in areas with low network coverage. Existing users of v1–v3 can update their copy of Light Blue 4.2 for $150. New users can register their copy for $470.