Tenba announces a reintroduction of three vintage bag designs for a new generation of photographers. The Tenba Classic collection includes three models: the P211courier bag, the P415 briefcase camera bag, and the Tenba 2 camera bag. These new Classic bags feature the same fine tailoring and uncompromising materials and hardware as when they were first launched up to thirty-four years ago.

“Startlingly sharp” are two words that come to mind after shooting with the Zeiss Touit 12mm and 32mm lenses. I worked with a Fujifilm X-E1 with X-mount Zeiss lenses; they are also available for Sony NEX bodies. The “crop factor,” if you will, is 1.5x, so the effective focal length on these bodies is similar to an 18mm and 48mm, respectively.

Wildlife photographers with any interest in photographing big Alaskan brown bears should certainly consider the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary, professed to have the highest concentration of large adult brown bears in the world with over 70 bears having been seen at any one time. The sanctuary is located on the Alaskan Peninsula about 100 air miles west of Homer and is only reachable by floatplane.

Significant improvements have been made to the product that is now renamed ILFORD MULTIGRADE FB CLASSIC. The new paper is available in Glossy and Matt surfaces and offers sharper images, improved maximum density and shorter exposure times. The new MULTIGRADE FB CLASSIC has also been developed to better respond to traditional toning techniques than the product it replaces. In a further development, the ILFORD MULTIGRADE FB range is further enhanced by the addition of new ILFORD MULTIGRADE FB COOLTONE. This new fibre base product gives a cool image colour with crisp whites and well separated mid tones.

Canon U.S.A., Inc. announces improvements in the functionality and convenient operation of the EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera and the EOS-1D C Digital SLR Cinema camera through new firmware scheduled to be available starting in January 2014 and November 2013, respectively. Firmware enhancements for the EOS-1D X Digital SLR camera are designed to provide photographers with greater creative freedom and speed, especially in sectors such as sports, wedding, nature/wildlife, and journalism, which often contain rapidly changing action, sometimes in low-light environments. Service enhancements for the EOS-1D C Digital SLR Cinema camera improve lens performance, lens status display, metadata storage, and audio recording.

The world of videography has quickly changed over the past few years. Many photographers have realized the need and advantage of shooting videos. The introduction of DSLRs and lower priced modular video cameras that can produce professional quality videos, has accelerated this trend.

The CES 2014 convention, held last week, was a vast mélange of all things gadget-wise with a smattering of photographic gear thrown into the mix.

The Pentax MX was a 35mm Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera produced from 1976 to 1985 and, for a time, was the company’s flagship SLR. It was solidly built featuring all-mechanical construction, including the shutter, and only the metering system was battery dependent. The new all-digital, all-electronic Pentax MX-1 couldn’t be more different. For openers, the MX-1 is not an SLR but an advanced digital compact camera with the kind of retro styling that’s all the rage these days with camera designers and, apparently, camera buyers, too. So, how does the MX-1 stack up?

“The first questions I ask myself, after receiving the layouts from the art director, are: how can I make this my own, what can I add to it?” Active lifestyle photographer Rod McLean continues: “When we select the final locations and talent, the ideas become clearer. During a tech scout, we’ll shoot various views of the location, create rough comps, and talk about the possible scenarios: the best time to shoot, the props and wardrobe, etc. We all have to have a clear idea what we’ll be shooting and how the final images are going to look because we’ll be setting up the first shot in the dark, waiting for the morning light.”

A native New Yorker, Len Speier has been photographing in the Big Apple and around the world since the Sixties. Although concentrating on street photography, his wandering eye encompasses many venues and subjects. He describes his work as a search for compassion and truth. His work is collected in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris; International Center of Photography; Museum of the City of New York and the Photo Archive of the NYPublic Library. Speier taught photography and photographers' legal rights (he also is an attorney of long standing), is retired Assoc. Professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and lectures on legal rights and street photography, many of which are available on YouTube.