The Nissin MG8000 Extreme flash is now available in the United Kingdom. Offered in both Canon and Nikon fit, the Nissin MG8000 Extreme sparked mass interest amongst the industry when shown for the first time at Focus-on-Imaging in March 2012 due to its unique quartz-based flash tube which ensures the unit remains cool, even in extreme-use conditions. When tested, the Nissin MG8000 can produce over 1000 full flashes without any fear of overheating, the company claims. The Nissin MG8000 Extreme boasts a recycle time of just 3 seconds for the first 200 shots, and then 5 to 7 seconds for subsequent frames, maintaining its guide number throughout the burst. Other highlights include an included external diffuser, tilt-swivel head, guide number of 60 (in metres at ISO 100/21° with the head zoomed to the 105mm position), full support for Canon’s and Nikon’s wireless TTL flash control systems, high-speed synchronisation and a stroboscopic flash mode. Weighing in at 400g, the Nissin MG8000 Extreme has a guide price of £545.40.

The Thule Perspektiv Daypack has won the prestigious iF Product Design Award. The camera bag has been recognised for it’s design, finish, material and innovation level, as well as functionality, ergonomics and safety. The Thule Perspektiv series has six camera bags in various sizes for different needs. This spring, the Thule Perspektiv Backpack, Thule Perspektiv Daypack, Thule Perspektiv Messenger Bag, Thule Perspektiv Medium and Large Top Loaders and Thule Perspektiv Action Camera Case will be launched at select retailers, both in Europe and North America.

CyberLink today released an update for PowerDirector 11 adding support for the latest GoPro HD HERO3 Black Edition camera.  With today’s update, CyberLink has expanded the comprehensive 4K video editing capabilities in PowerDirector 11 to support the GoPro HD HERO3 Black Edition, which delivers 4K and 2.7K video resolutions at 12 and 30fps respectively. The new PowerDirector 11 update is now available to existing users for free via the CyberLink Update Center.

Trygger has launched a Kickstarter campaign to introduce a new product: the Camera Clip. This new, detachable iPhone 5 accessory has an integrated polarising filter to reduce glare and cut out unwanted reflections off non-metallic surfaces, while delivering richer colours and superior contrast. “It’s going to make the world through your phone look more like the world you see through your eyes so you can capture all of life’s moments the way you remember them,” the company says. “We designed it to fit snugly on the iPhone 5 so no extraneous light could leak into your photos.” The planned retail price of the Trygger 5 Camera Clip is $39.95.

Website: iPhone 5 Trygger Camera Clip on Kickstarter

Geonaute, a sports electronics company based in France, has announced the upcoming launch of a 360° action camera. Equipped with three wide-angle lenses and three 8-megapixel sensors, it offers an almost full spherical field of view (360° horizontal and 150° vertical). Shockproof and bundled with a waterproof housing rated to IPX7 standards, the mountable, wearable Geonaute sports camera can be used just about anywhere while having only a minimum impact on the user during their activity. Weighing in at less than 200 grams, the Geonaute records videos in MP4 format and stores them on microSD cards. The camera comes equipped with a battery that promises recording times of over 2 hours. The camera will be officially unveiled at CES, booth 26703 LVCC South Hall, with pricing to be confirmed.

Tiffen has released a special Steadicam bundle configuration – the Steadicam Merlin Arm & Vest. The new kit includes the Steadicam Merlin 2 camera stabilising systems as well as the Merlin’s Arm Pin Kit and Vest, sold as one complete package. The new configuration offers a special discount over purchasing systems and components individually.

OmegaBrandess and Flipbac have announced a set of new add-on grips for digital compact cameras. Flipbac Camera Grips can be easily applied to the front of your camera to prevent slipping and create a solid hold. Made of 100% silicone, the Flipbac Camera Grips flex to the shape of your camera body for a perfect fit.

Issue 23 of Landscape Photography Magazine is now available for download. This edition includes a guide to depth of field, a review of the book “Photographing the Elements” by David Hay, a review of the Pentax 645D digital SLR camera, an interview with David Wiggett, an article on the creative use of shutter speed by Mark Sisson - and much more. Do note that the full contents of Landscape Photography Magazine are available to subscribers only.

Following the success of the British Journal of Photography’s award-winning iPad edition, the team behind the app is now launching 125 Magazine for iPad. 125 magazine is one of the world’s leading fashion photography magazines – a visual compendium of new ideas in photography, fashion, art and culture. The iPad edition is a new version of the magazine, which showcases previously unseen content, moving image and animation. The first issue is free, and out now on the iTunes App Store. Individual paid-for issues and a subscription option will be available from January.

Adobe today announced that it has acquired Behance, an online social media platform that enables creatives to showcase and share their work.  In the last 30 days, portfolios on Behance-powered sites have received over 90 million views and today there are over 3 million projects hosted on the Behance platform. “Behance will play a key role in Adobe’s efforts to serve the creative world in the years to come and will accelerate our efforts to enable a more open and collaborative creative community,” said David Wadhwani, senior vice president and general manager, Adobe.

The 2013 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition will open for entries on 7 January 2013. Photographers can submit images for 18 categories, with three categories specifically for those aged 17 and under. The submission deadline is 25 February 2013. To enter the 2013 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition, head to the website below.

Polaroid has confirmed plans to release an Android-powered mirrorless system camera. Rumours of the upcoming launch started circulating on the Internet four days ago when the picture reprinted above popped up on a Russian social network site. Since then Scott Hardy, President and CEO of Polaroid has confirmed that the product was real and that “additional information and specs will be released” at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Interestingly, the new model exhibits a surprising degree of similarity with the Nikon 1 J1 and J2 cameras and one of their lenses - although the lens release button is in a different location.

Via PR | Imaging-Resource

Dane-Elec has announced a range of UHS-I Class 10 SDHC and SDXC memory cards. “Dane-Elec’s UHS-1 memory cards are a game-changer for professional photographers and serious digital photography enthusiasts,” stated Sherry Chapman, Dane-Elec director of marketing. “Built for capture, storage and rapid transfer of high quality photos, these cards have only one mission: Picture-perfect performance at lightning-fast speeds. Photographers will never again miss a shot because of their equipment.” Dane-Elec SDHC Class 10 cards are available in 8, 16 and 32GB capacities. They deliver read speeds up to 95MB/s and write speeds up to 90MB/s. The Class 10 cards are available in 64GB and promise read speeds up to 95MB/s and write speeds up to 60MB/s. Dane-Elec products will be on display at 2013 CES, in Hospitality Suite 7-121 of the Las Vegas Hotel & Casino.

Nero has released a free Android app called NeroKwik. The program connects all the photos users have spread across their mobile devices, PCs, and social networks. Rather than upload, sync or move photos to a centralised cloud platform, NeroKwik simply connects mobile devices and services through the cloud. “NeroKwik addresses the three biggest hurdles people have when it comes to sharing photos with mobile devices,” said Nero Chief Product Officer, Martin Stein. “Sometimes it is hard to find specific images just when you need them. By having access to all your photos, even if they are on your PC, Facebook or another mobile device will mean you can find the ones you want, and fast. Additionally, the joy of sharing photos is seeing the feedback from your friends and family. NeroKwik makes this a better experience.” If you own a device running Android 4.0 or higher, you can download the app from the Google Play Store.