NEC has announced the 24-inch MultiSync PA242W colour accurate display and colour critical PA242W-BK-SV display solution. Suitable for applications where accurate colour is necessary such as photography, retouching, video editing and pre-press, the MultiSync PA242W monitor is built on a GB-R LED backlight, which provides a wider colour gamut and more colour control than a conventional white LED backlight. It also features a 1920 x 1200 resolution, internal 14-bit programmable 3D lookup table and 10-bit wide colour gamut LCD panel. The PA242W-BK-SV is the same monitor complemented by a SpectraViewII Colour Calibration Solution, which includes software and colorimeter to provide automated monitor matching and calibration. The MultiSync PA242W and PA242W-BK-SV are now available at an estimated street price of $1,049 and $1,299, respectively.

Alien Skin Software has released an update to its Eye Candy 7 plug-in, which adds the capability to store presets in a cloud storage folder. It also adds compatibility with the new Adobe Photoshop Creative Cloud. “Graphic designers who rely on Eye Candy 7 will appreciate the ability to store special effect presets in the cloud,” said Terence Tay, the designer of Eye Candy. “It’s convenient to develop a customized effect on one computer and have access to it anywhere.” Current owners of Eye Candy 7 can download the update free of charge.

Photography education and entertainment site PhoozL announces a special cash-prize photo contest: ‘Pets in B&W’. This is a judged contest where the top three winners share a progressive (growing) cash prize pool from the paid-entry proceeds. The judge is pro pet photographer and author Andrew Darlow, and the contest is open to all logged-in members of Phoozl.com, amateur to pro, 18+ worldwide. To see more details and to submit, visit the website below.

Xara has announced a new release of their flagship editing suite, Xara Designer Pro X9. The software bundle includes Photo & Graphics Designer 9 for photo editing and vector illustration; Page & Layout Designer for printable documents, PDFs and Xara's unique 'DTP for the web' document publishing; Web Designer 9 Premium for website creation, and more. The program supports automatic image optimisation for Retina displays, and comes with an advanced photo healing brush. Xara Designer Pro X9 costs £249 with upgrades available from £79.

SanDisk today announced the SanDisk Extreme microSDHC and microSDXC UHS-I memory cards. The microSDXC card is equipped with the fastest speeds available on the market (for a 64GB microSDXC memory card), with up to 80MB/sec read and up to 50MB/sec write speeds, allowing faster shot-to-shot performance, rapid data transfer, fast action photography, continuous burst mode and quick file transfers. SanDisk Extreme microSDHC and microSDXC cards are available worldwide now in 16GB to 64GB capacities, with pricing starting from £25 for the 16GB microSDHC card.

Kenro has announced the UK launch of the Nissin Di700 flash gun. The Nissin Di700 features a zooming flash head with an extended 24-200mm coverage and a guide number of 50 (in metres at ISO 100/21°) at the 200mm setting. The model supports 180° horizontal rotation to the right and left, tilts up to 90° and expands 7° downwards to facilitate close-up photography. Other highlights include a recycle time of 0.1-4.0 seconds, an AF assist light, PC sync, 3.5mm sync and an external power socket that makes the Di700 compatible with the Nissin PS 8 power pack. The new Nissin Di700 is available now in Canon and Nikon digital SLR camera fittings (Sony fitting available in September 2013) and has a SRP of £195.

In collaboration with Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC), Nikon has introduced a new robotics solution that allows professional photographers to "achieve shots that were never before possible." Using a Nikon D4 digital SLR camera; one of MRMC’s SFH-30 robotic heads quickly moves and rotates the camera from a position that would not normally be physically possible, allowing photographers to shoot difficult angles and in impossible locations. The camera is then controlled and used to shoot images by a photographer from a remote location. "The impressive latency of this system of less than 0.1 seconds makes this robotics system an ideal solution for shooting fast action sporting events," Nikon claims. The setup was first trialled at Wimbledon 2013, by sports photographer Bob Martin who used a 200-400mm and a 80-400mm lens on his Nikon D4 to capture some truly interesting photos. Click through / scroll down to see a selection of his images.

Panasonic has released a firmware update for its Lumix DMC-G5 compact system camera. Version 1.1 - which is intended for cameras sold and used in PAL broadcast regions - corrects the wording "60p/60i/30p" of AVCHD frame rate on [Rec Quality] menu to "50p/50i/25p." If you use the camera outside these regions - or if the wording of the menu item in question is already correct on your unit - you do not need to download this update.

Website: Panasonic Japan Support

Panasonic has posted a firmware for its flagship Micro Four Thirds camera the Panasonic GH3. According to the company, version 1.2 incorporates the following improvements and fixes:

1. "Low Light AF" is added that makes it possible to set focus on the subject in low-lit situations (-3EV).
2. "Silent Mode" is added which suppresses electronic shutter, shutter sound, operation sound and flash emission with a single setting.
3. "Exposure Comp. Reset" is added which resets the setting of exposure compensation to ±0 whenever the camera is turned off or the shooting mode is changed.
4. Performance of AF is enhanced in use with H-PS14042 and H-PS45175.
5. Connection problem with Apple Mac computers via Wi-Fi is fixed.

Website: Panasonic Japan Support

"Printing your own pictures is all nice and well, but why stop there when you can print your own camera?" Perhaps this is what crossed Leo Marius's mind when he set about creating a fully functional 35mm film SLR camera using a 3D printer. The 24-year-old French student named his invention "OpenReflex," and made the documentation available on the Instructables.com website so that anyone with a suitable 3D printer can make his or her own copy of the device. For more information, visit the website below.

Website: OpenReflex on Instructables.com

Pentax Japan has unveiled a blue-and-white edition of the Pentax K-01 compact system camera. Bundled with an smc Pentax-DA 40mmF2.8XS lens, the special blue-and-white edition of the Pentax K-01 will be available in Japan starting 25th July. Pricing and international availability have yet to be communicated.

Source: Pentax Japan

Pentax has issued a firmware update for the Pentax Q small-sensor compact system camera. Version 1.13 adds support for the Pentax-07 "mount shield lens" and improves overall stability. You can download the firmware update from the website below.

Website: Pentax Japan Support

Singapore-based photographer Aram Pan has created what must be the world's first spherical panoramic image shot on a Hasselblad Lunar. Having produced commercial VRs in Singapore, China, Greece, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Malaysia and Thailand; professional virtual-tour photographer Aram Pan used a Zeiss Touit Distagon T* 12mm f/2.8 lens on his newly purchased, US$6995 Hasselblad Lunar camera to shoot the source frames needed for the 360° panoramic image of Singapore Botanic Gardens, which can be viewed at the website below.

Websitw: 360 Cities

Olympus UK are hosting a spectacular photographic experience at the Giffords Circus, Frampton-upon-Severn on Friday 2nd August 2013. Fifty photography enthusiasts will have the chance to win a pair of free tickets to take part in this exclusive and rare opportunity to photograph amazing Circus performers under the big top, and capture all the excitement. Guests will be able to get hands-on with the latest cameras and lenses from Olympus, including the newly launched PEN E-P5 (read review). Tickets to the event are free, but there are only 50 pairs available. These can be won by entering at the website below.

Páramo Directional Clothing Systems is launching a new ladies’ jacket – the Alondra – designed for wildlife photographers. Seven large pockets allow photographers to organise, transport and easily access a range of essential equipment. Each Alondra jacket sold will contribute a sapling to be planted in the Scottish Highlands by the charity, Trees for Life, with whom Páramo have worked for some 7 years. The Alondra jacket is available in five different sizes for an RRP of £300.

The free-to-view Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY)exhibition is back at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) in London. It runs from July 12th to August 18th in the Society's Pavilion in Exhibition Road, just a few minutes' walk away from the Science Museum. The exhibition is part of this year's Travel Photography Live! festival which starts off in style with renowned wildlife photographer Andy Rouse at the Royal Geographical Society on July 17th. Some of the world's other leading travel, landscape, adventure, people, location and wildlife photographers will also be speaking at the Society during this event, which takes place on the evenings of July 17th and 24th and all day over the weekend of July 27th and 28th. Do note that while the exhibition itself is free, festival tickets cost £25 for each evening event.

The Photographic Museum of Humanity (PMH) has announced the newest of its online exhibitions, entitled "Our Nature." Featuring the works of prestigious photographers like Espen Rasmussen, Freya Najade, Hajime Kimura, Gustavo Jononovich and Nicolas Janowski, the exhibition aims to explore the diversity, beauty and danger of nature and warn society about the consequences of doing nothing to take care of it. You can view the exhibition online at the website blow.