Sekonic's Lightmaster Pro L-478D and L-478DR touch-enabled lightmeters are now available as part a $512 special edition bundle that also includes X-Rite's ColorChecker Passport and White Balance Target. This offer is currently only available for US customers, who will save $50 compared to buying everything individually. The bundle also includes software to calibrate the meters and create exposure profiles for cameras. Current L-478D/DR owners can purchase the ColorChecker Passport and gray card for $49.

Just posted: Our review of Canon's top-end standard zoom, the EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM. Launched a year ago to replace its 10-year old predecessor, it's designed as a workhorse for professional photographers, and features a completely new optical design and improved, weathersealed build. In the latest of our lens reviews produced in collaboration with DxOMark, we take a look both lab and real-world performance. As usual, you can also compare it to a wide range of similar lenses using our unique lens data widget. Click through to see what we thought.

A dispute between Canadian pro photographer, Barbara Ann and Ottawa radio station HOT 89.9 illustrates the problematic climate in which companies often turn to the Internet for free photographic images. Someone at the radio station found, via a Google search, a wedding photo that was then used as part of a Keynote slide presentation made to potential advertisers. When contacted by the photographer, the station removed the image but the two parties remain far apart on an agreement over compensation. (via PetaPixel)

Panasonic has announced firmware updates for its Lumix DMC-GH3 high-end movie-focused mirrorless camera, the 14-42mm and 45-175mm power zooms and the 45-150mm. The GH3 update will allow users to connect to a computer via Wi-Fi by entering the computer name (NetBIOS names for Mac). It also adds an MP4 1080p60, 28Mbps mode to video recording. Meanwhile the lens updates promise improved autofocus performance in AF Continuous mode when mounted on the GH3. The updates will be available at the end of this month.

US photographic trade body PMA and dpreview.com are conducting a survey looking for the views of dedicated amateur photographers. The survey asks about your photographic habits, the features you'd like to see in cameras and your use and experience of photo sharing sites and printing services. We're aiming to get a clearer understanding of what committed non-professional photographers want from their cameras and related services and your answers may even result in those things getting a bit better - including dpreview.com. Responses will be discussed at this year's 6Sight conference. As an incentive, one lucky respondent will be sent a shiny new Apple iPad with Retina Display.

Fujifilm UK has given more details of the upcoming XF 55-200mm F3.5-4.8 R LM OIS telephoto zoom for its X system cameras. Full specifications include an inner focusing system driven by no fewer than four linear stepper motors, and a promise of class-leading OIS with four to five stops correction, to go alongside the maximum aperture that's half a stop faster than typical SLR lenses covering the same range. The company says the lens will be available in May 2013. Meanwhile the promised XF 23mm F1.4 R and XF 27mm F2.8 R pancake are expected to appear in the middle of the year, and the XF 56mm F1.4 R and XF 10-24mm F4 R OIS at the end of 2013.

Last week Microsoft released the Windows Phone 8 version of its Photosynth 360 degree panorama app, making it compatible with latest generation smartphones such as the Nokia Lumia 920, HTC 8X or Samsung Ativ Odyssey. We installed the app on Samsung's first Windows Phone 8 device, the Ativ Odyssey, and had a closer look at what it can do. Click through for our hands-on article.

We've had a chance to use the Nikon Coolpix A - the company's DX-format, fixed-lens compact. The Coolpix A features a 16MP APS-C sensor with no optical low-pass filter and a 28mm equivalent F2.8 prime lens. Nikon has done a lot of work to make the Coolpix A consistent with its DSLRs, from its interface to its compatibility with accessories. Click through for more.

Nikon has posted a gallery of ten images and a video of the new Coolpix A DX-format compact camera. The camera features a 16MP APS-C sensor with no optical low-pass filter and a 28mm equivalent F2.8 prime lens. The images that Nikon has posted are taken by documentary photographer Doug Menuez in JPEG Fine (8-bit) mode. Click through for some images and a link to the full gallery. 

We've just posted a hands-on preview of Nikon's latest small form-factor compact, the Coolpix P330. Externally almost identical to its predecessor the P310, the P330 features a larger 1/1.7" BSI-CMOS sensor and raw capture mode - two additions that should make it much more popular with enthusiasts, as well as putting it in direct competition with Canon's popular PowerShot S110. We've spent a little time with the P330, and for more details, images and specifications, click through to read our hands-on preview. 

Nikon's AF-S Nikkor 80-400mm F4.5-5.6 G ED VR will be eagerly welcomed by many enthusiast and professional Nikon photographers who've been waiting for a replacement for its 12 year-old predecessor. The original 80-400mm was Nikon's first lens to offer vibration reduction but the intervening years have left it looking rather long in the tooth. The latest version boasts a new optical design, built-in SWM focus motor and much improved vibration reduction. In this short article, Barnaby Britton gives his opinion. 

Nikon has unveiled its first DX-format compact, the Coolpix A, alongside the enthusiast-focused Coolpix P330. The Coolpix A fits a 16MP APS-C CMOS sensor with no optical low-pass filter behind a 28mm equivalent, F2.8 prime lens. The Coolpix P330, meanwhile, gains a 1/1.7" sensor and Raw-shooting capability, over its predecessor. The Coolpix A will cost around $1100/£1000/€1100, while the P330 will retail for around $380/£350/€380.

Nikon has launched the AF-S Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR, a redesigned version of the 12-year-old 80-400mm VR. The G version features an entirely new optical formulation, ring-type AF-S focus motor and revamped VR system capable of a claimed four stops of stabilization.

Nikon Europe has announced the Coolpix L320 CCD-based superzoom, while Nikon USA has announced the Coolpix S3500. The 16MP L320 features a 22.5–585mm equiv. zoom lens, 3.0" LCD, 720p HD recording and runs on two AA batteries. It will be available from the end of this month at a retail price of around £199.99. Nikon USA has announced the Coolpix S3500, revealed last week in Europe.

Last week North Korea started to allow foreigners to use a 3G mobile network from inside its borders. This means that tourists and visiting professionals alike can now tweet and upload instagrams from Pyongyang. However, access to mobile networks is still limited for locals. Two of the most notable Instagrammers in North Korea are Associated Press journalists Jean Lee and David Guttenfelder. Since the change, the journalists have used their accounts to present life inside North Korea. Click through to see their images.

Canon has developed a 35mm full-frame CMOS image sensor designed for low-light video capture. The 16:9 sensor features a 1920x1080 pixel array, meaning each pixel measures a huge 19 microns along each edge - 7.5 times larger than the ones in the EOS-1D X. The large pixels and low readout-noise circuitry allow the sensor to capture light around 10 times less bright than current CCDs used for astronomy. The sensor will first be shown in public at a security show in Japan.

Phase One has unveiled the Wi-Fi enabled IQ260, IQ260 Achromatic and IQ280 medium format digital camera backs. The 60MP IQ260 and IQ260 Achromatic feature maximum shutter speeds of 1/10,000th of a second. The IQ260 Achromatic is a black-and-white version, with no color and IR filter. The cameras' wireless capabilities allow users to remotely capture and view images from iOS devices. All three backs feature 3.2" multi-touch rear screens with 1.15m dot resolution, and built-in accelerometers. They will be available from June 2013 at suggested retail prices starting from €29,990 /$39,990.

Graphics tablet maker Wacom has announced on Facebook it will launch a mobile multi-touch tablet this summer. While it has not posted any details about this device, Wacom's social media post says it will include a pressure-sensitive pen, multi-touch options, an HD display and 'other valuable features that you haven’t seen in other tablets'.

Just posted: Fujifilm X-E1 review. With a sensor and imaging pipeline that is identical to the X-Pro1's the X-E1 promises much of the X-Pro1's fun in a more compact and affordable package. We've spent the past few weeks using the X-E1 intensely with the full range of lenses now available for the X-system, and have prepared a full in-depth review. Following the release of raw support from Capture 1 and much improved raw support from Adobe, the X-E1 (and X-Pro 1) just got a whole lot more appealing, too. Click through for a link to our full review. 

Freelance photojournalist Sara Naomi Lewkowicz recently recounted the events that led to her presence during an incident of domestic violence. The harrowing images that she captured illustrate, among other things, the extent to which this photographer was able to 'blend' into the lives of her subjects, capturing a scene in which you'd imagine an outsider would be prohibited from documenting. Yet Lewkowicz's account has drawn online detractors who question whether intervention, not documentation was the appropriate response. Read on for more details.

PocketWizard has added a budget model to its camera/flash radio trigger line: the PlusX 'auto-sensing' transceiver, that automatically switches between transmit and receive as needed. The PlusX offers the ability to trigger cameras and flashes over 10 radio channels. It features a side-profile design, backlit display, an internal antenna, and a dual-function LED indicating connection status plus battery life. PocketWizard PlusX will be available towards the end of March at a suggested retail price of $99. There is currently no information about the European price and availability.

The Instagram Socialmatic concept camera, first announced in May 2012, could become a reality by next year following some recent agreements between Socialmatic LLC and C & A Marketing. The two companies would work together to bring the device to market under the Polaroid brand name. Intended as the Instagram app icon come to life, the stand-alone digital Polaroid Socialmatic Camera would both share images on the popular photo-sharing social network and print them using a built-in system. Read more about the proposed specs on connect.dpeview.com.

Think Tank has announced three new accessories for their camera bag line-up. The Low Rider Strap with a split-pad design attaches a second bag to one's main rolling luggage and is available for $29.75. The Pro DSLR Battery Holder, priced at $17.50 accommodates two full-sized DSLR battery packs. A limited edition Pixel Pocket Rocket holds CF and QXD memory cards. Priced at $18.75, this memory card holder was manufactured in just one production run and will be unavailable once the stocks runs out. European prices and availability information to be confirmed.

Nikon has announced the launch of its Nikon School in UK. The company's education and training program that has been popular in the US for a decade will start in London from April 2013. It will offer photography courses, from beginner to advanced, to product specific courses and workshops. The company is currently offering £20 discount for online bookings. Click through for more information and links to the School's website.

Sensor maker Aptina has announced it has signed a patent cross-license agreement with Sony, that provides each company with access to the other’s patent portfolio. This agreement gives two prominent sensor makers access to some of each other's technologies for future development of cameras and other imaging products.

Day four at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and the team at connect.dpreview.com is still at the show, visiting manufacturer stands to find the newest in smartphone and tablet camera technology. We've added brief hands-on articles of the weatherproof Sony Xperia Z tablet and multi-screen YotaPhone. Click through for links to the latest content at connect.dpreview.com.

Accessory maker Satechi has announced the BT Smart Trigger, an iOS-controlled Bluetooth 4.0 shutter release for Canon DSLRs. It features multiple shooting modes including timelapse and long exposures, via the free Smart Trigger app. The trigger has a claimed battery life of up to 10 years and range of 50 feet. It is currently available for an introductory price of $44.99. An Android-compatible version will be available from March 2013.

Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy S4, its next flagship Android smartphone on March 14 at a press event in New York. The company took to its Twitter account this morning to tell followers to be ready '4' the next Galaxy. Read more at connect.dpreview.com

Video-sharing service Vimeo has partnered with video-editing company Vivoom, to add a filter effects tool called 'Looks'. More than 500 effects ranging from vintage to futuristic and can be applied during video upload. Each effect can be adjusted from 0-100% intensity. Looks will be free to Vimeo’s registered users for the next 90 days. Read more at connect.dpreview.com.

Toshiba Semiconductors has been demonstrating a sensor module for mobile phones that allows Lytro-style refocusable images. The company promises 2MP images from an 8MP sensor and is already working on a version with higher-resolution output. However, there's reason to believe such cameras would be even more prone to the drawbacks we identified in Lytro's camera. Click through to find out more.

While most smartphone manufacturers have opted for a 13MP camera module, HTC is going the opposite way in terms of sensor resolution, equipping the HTC One with a 4MP camera. However, the photodiodes that collect the light on the HTC's sensor module are similar in size to those found in enthusiast compact cameras such as the Canon Powershot G15, and as such, and HTC promises this will result in much better low-light performance than conventional smartphone cameras. We take a closer look at what HTC is calling 'ultrapixel' technology at connect.dpreview.com

US technology company Rambus has unveiled 'Binary Pixel' sensor technology, promising greatly expanded dynamic range for the small sensors used in devices such as smartphones. Current image sensors are unable to record light above a specific saturation point, which results in clipped highlights. Binary Pixel technology gets around this by recording when a pixel has received a certain amount of light, then resetting it and in effect restarting the exposure. The result is significantly expanded dynamic range from a single exposure. 

Adobe has announced a smartphone version of its Photoshop Touch app for both Android and iOS. The app was originally launched for 10-inch tablets and more recently a version for smaller tablets such as the iPad Mini and Google Nexus 7. It includes features familiar to Photoshop users such as layers, advanced selections tools, adjustments and filters, but in a much smaller format. Photoshop Touch for smartphones is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play for U.S. $4.99. Read more at connect.dpreview.com

Popular photo-sharing service Instagram has reached a milestone of 100 million monthly active users. The mobile app, among the most popular ways of sharing images worldwide, was launched in October 2010. The platform has seen exponential growth since then. Read more about its two-and-a-half-year journey, including the Facebook acquisition in 2012, controversial changes to its Terms of Service and more at connect.dpreview.com

The latest release candidates of Adobe Camera Raw (7.4) and Lightroom (4.4) include improved demosaicing logic for Fujifilm's X-Trans sensor cameras, including the flagship X-Pro1. We found previous ACR versions struggled with fine detail and color accuracy, so were anxious to re-process our X-Pro1 files in ACR 7.4 RC. Is this the update X-Pro1 owners have been waiting for? Have a look at our results.

It is day two at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and the team at connect.dpreview.com are there, covering the newest in smartphone and tablet camera technology. We've visited the stands of LG, Samsung, ZTE, Asus and Huawei to cover their latest products and as well as news and commentary we've published several brief hands-on articles with the latest new gear. Click through for links to the latest content at connect.dpreview.com.

Adobe has announced 'release candidate' versions of Lightroom 4.4 and Adobe Camera Raw 7.4. As usual, the latest near-complete versions add support for recent cameras. What makes this release especially significant, however, is improved support for Fujifilm's X-Trans sensor models, including the X-Pro1 and X-E1. The Lightroom update also corrects a series of bugs present in the current version of the software. As usual, release candidates are considered well tested but not final.

Just Posted: Sony NEX-3N hands-on preview with real world samples. We've had a chance to use and shoot with a NEX-3N and, now that Sony US has announced the camera, we can publish our look at the latest model. The 3N is the fourth entry-level NEX camera and the smallest so far. Despite this, it includes most of the features of its predecessors. We look at what has been added and what it lacks, compared to last year's NEX-F3.

A controversy over photojournalistic ethics and integrity has sprung up over the accusation that Magnum photographer Paolo Pellegrin misrepresented both the subject and context of an award-winning image. An image purporting to show a gun-wielding former Marine corps sniper in a rough neighborhood is actually of a former photojournalism student in a safe neighborhood. Was this simply poor record-keeping or a deliberate fabrication? Read on for more details.

Pentax Ricoh has moved its K-01 K-mount mirrorless camera to the 'discontinued' section of its website after just 12 months on the market. The unconventional-looking K-01 used a full-depth Pentax K lens mount but relied on contrast-detection AF, rather than the phase-detection systems for which all autofocus K-mount lenses have been primarily designed. Designed by Marc Newson, the K-01 was one of the most unusual-looking cameras we've ever tested. Click through for more details. 

Phase One has announced Capture One Express 7, the latest version of its enthusiast Raw image processing tool. A stripped-down version of Capture One Pro, Capture One Express 7 gains features including HDR processing, lens correction and digital asset management tools. Express doesn't support tethered shooting, but images can be viewed remotely and wirelessly using either the Capture Pilot iOS app or a web browser on other devices. Capture One Express 7 will cost $99/€69 with discounted upgrades. Click through for the press release and more details.

We're at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, this week to cover the newest in smartphone and tablet technology. Manufacturers are making major headway to improve 'the camera that's always with you' and day one of the weeklong event offered plenty to impress us. We've got hands-on with the latest from LG and Huawei and more MWC news at connect.dpreview.com.

Luxi is a diffusion dome accessory that aims to turns your smartphone into an affordable incident light meter. The accessory is currently gaining traction via a Kickstarter campaign, is designed to work as an incident light meter by measuring the light for an entire scene, rather than just reflected light. Luxi is expected to retail for $24.95, and its developers claim the accessory will work with existing light meter apps. See the Luxi in action at connect.dpreview.com.

Sony US has announced the Alpha SLT-A58 and NEX 3N cameras, five days after they were announced in Europe. The A58 replaces both the A37 and A57, helping to simplify the company's lineup. Meanwhile, the NEX-3N gains a compact-camera-style zoom lever and a smaller body than its predecessor, the F3. Both gain a lock-on focus mode and Auto Object Framing mode. The SLT-A58 will cost around $600 as a kit with the 18-55mm zoom, while the NEX-3N comes with a 16-50mm power zoom lens for around $500.

Sony US has announced the Zeiss-branded Planar T* 50mm F1.4 ZA SSM and 70-400mm F4-5.6 G SSM II A-mount lenses, alongside a redesigned DT 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 SAM II entry-level kit zoom. Both have already been announced in Europe. The lenses will ship from May 2013 at retail prices of around $1500, $2200 and $220 respectively.

Sony has announced the Cyber-shot DSC-WX300, DSC-HX300 and DSC-TX30 compact cameras in the US market. The HX300 is a 20MP 50x superzoom with a 24-1200mm equiv. lens. Meanwhile the WX300 is an 18MP Wi-Fi compact superzoom with a 25-500mm equiv. lens. The tough, waterproof, card-style TX30 offers a 26-130mm equiv zoom. The WX300 will cost around $330, while the HX300 and TX30 will have retail prices of $500 and $350 respectively.

We've updated our Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 review with an additional page of lens data, brought to you in collaboration with DxOMark. The RX1's headline feature may well be its 24MP full frame image sensor, but the fixed Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 35mm F2 lens is an equally crucial part of its imaging chain. We've added a full set of technical lens measurements to our review to illustrate how it performs, presented in our unique data widget. You can also see how it measures up against the best 35mm lenses available for SLRs.   

Nikon has released a service advisory for its D600 digital SLR, addressing dust and dirt accumulation on the camera's sensor. Based on user complaints, Nikon has belatedly acknowledged that dust removal 'may be difficult using normal measures' and advises customers to contact their nearest Nikon service center if they experience this problem. Service centers will examine and service such cameras 'as needed.' Click through for more details, and links to the service advisory.

Nikon has signed a licensing deal with Microsoft to cover the use of patented technologies in its Android-based cameras. The deal is the latest instance of Microsoft pursuing makers of Android devices, claiming patent infringement. Despite free access being one of the founding ideas of Google's Android operating system, Microsoft has been increasingly successful in convincing manufacturers of Android devices that they need to strike licensing deals for some of its technologies.

A project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has embedded advanced processing functions into an image processor for mobile devices. The chip includes features such as 'real-time' HDR processing and sophisticated bilateral noise reduction at a hardware level - making the process more energy efficient than running it as software, and making the chip more appropriate for battery-limited mobile devices. The work was funded by iPhone manufacturer Foxconn and a prototype chip, fabricated by the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, is now being tested.