Canon U.S.A. has issued a statement saying the front rubber grips on a certain batch of its EOS Rebel T4i / EOS 650D digital SLR cameras may turn white after a short period of time. The phenomenon is caused by a substance called zinc bis (N,N’-dimethyldithiocarbamate), which is a by-product of a chemical reaction between the rubber accelerator and other substances. (The company says the quantity of rubber accelerator used in the affected production lots was slightly higher than usual.) In addition to the colour change, the substance may, in rare cases, cause allergic skin reactions to develop when it comes into contact with your skin. Click through / scroll down to read the product advisory, which also contains instructions on determining whether your camera is affected or not.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V is a new premium travel-zoom compact camera. A 20x 25-500mm lens, built-in GPS tracking, full 1080i high-definition video with stereo sound, an 18 megapixel CMOS sensor, high-resolution 3-inch screen, manual shooting mode, 10fps continuous shooting, 3D photos, ISO range of 100-12800 and fast auto-focusing are all present and correct. Read our in-depth Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V review to find out if its the best travel camera that your money can buy...

We’ve teamed up with Lovecases.co.uk to offer one lucky winner the opportunity to win a Hama Daytour 180 SLR camera backpack.

The lucky winner is Nick Board. Congratulations!

This bag has been designed by professional photographers, for professional photographers. The spacious interior, with highly logical and functional layout shows that this bag has been tested on the road for hours, where every single detail and layout has been meticulously thought through. The backpack is comfortable to wear, and provides easy access to your equipment so you’ll never miss your shots.

Check out Lovecases’ camera cases and dslr camera bag range.

Earth’s Beauty Tours have announced a new photography workshop on the Isle of Arran on the west coast of Scotland. Taking place from 2-7 April 2013, this workshop is designed for everyone interested in landscape photography. The price (£1,195) includes five nights’ accommodation on a non-sharing basis, breakfast, packed lunch and three-course dinner, return ferry crossing from Ardrossan to Arran, éne-to-one and group tuition and all transport during the course, tutorials on image processing and more. For more information and to register visit the website below.

PQ Blackwell is looking for photographers to test its new tailor-made book service, MILKbooks, during the month of July. Participants will get the benefit of exclusive design templates and tools specially created by Geoff Blackwell and his team of award-winning designers and editors. The test offer is being backed by a promotion of 8 free books for every 10 purchased during July. PQ Blackwell will also reward “early-adopter” photographers with a unique code that entitles them to 10% discount on all purchases for the next 10 years. To register, visit the website below.

DZED Systems have announced Dragonframe 3.0.4 for Mac OS X, The program simplifies stop motion animation, motion graphics, and visual effects, with integrated USB control of Nikon and Canon DSLRs. The application supports lip-sync, automated lighting via DMX, 3D stereoscopic capture, and camera motion control. Previously called Dragon Stop Motion, Dragonframe 3.0.4 offers support for the latest DSLRs from Canon and Nikon, including the Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 1D X and 60Da as well as the Nikon D4, D800 and D800E. The update is free to Dragonframe 3 users.

Nik Software has just released HDR Efex Pro 2. New features include an improved tone mapping engine, full GPU processing and multi-core optimisation, a new depth control function, chromatic aberration reduction, graduated neutral density control, and more. Available now, HDR Efex Pro 2 installs as a plug-in to Photoshop CS5 & CS6, Aperture 3, Lightroom 3 and later, and sells for for €99.95.

Nikon has posted a firmware update for the Nikon D4 digital SLR camera. According to the company, version 1.02 incorporates the following modifications and fixes:

The BenQ G1 is a new digital compact camera with an f/1.8-4.9 lens and a swivelling rear screen. Billed as the world’s slimmest camera in its class, the BenQ G1 is built around a 14-megapixel sensor and a 24-110mm equivalent lens that features optical image stabilisation and an ultra-bright f/1.8 maximum aperture at the wide end. Constructed of seven elements - including one aspherical lens element - in six groups, the lens was designed by BenQ themselves and is built using a high-transmission and part-glass lens material. The articulated, 3-inch screen offers a resolution of 920,000 dots and a wide colour gamut for more saturated colours and realistic images. Other highlights include full HD video capture, a mode dial with manual and semi-automatic shooting modes, a ‘Handheld Night Shot’ mode, a ‘Background Defocus’ filter, several creative filters and a continuous shooting mode of 6 frames per second. The price has yet to be communicated.

Ahead of our full review, here are 36 sample JPEG photos taken with the new Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 28mm F/1.8G lens.

The Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 28mm F/1.8G is a fast aperture wide-angle lens for Nikon full-frame DSLRs.

Ahead of our full review, here are 42 sample JPEG photos taken with the new WCL-X100 wide-angle converter lens for the Fujifilm X100 camera, including the full aperture range.

The WCL-X100 is an 0.8x wide-angle converter for the Fujifilm X100, which turns the X100's 35mm lens into a 28mm focal length.

Ahead of our full review, here are 54 sample JPEG photos and a HD movie taken with the new Sony NEX-F3 camera, including the full ISO range.

The Sony NEX-F3 is a new entry-level compact system camera with a 16.1 megapixel APS-C sensor, ISO 16000 sensitivity, 1080/60i or 24p HD movies, built-in flash, 180° tiltable LCD screen, and 5.5 fps burst shooting.

Manfrotto School of Xcellence has announced a one-hour webinar exploring the use of light shapers hosted by lighting master Joe McNally. In Adventures in Light Shapers of All Sizes and Sources, he will explain the importance of a light shaper to individual images. Attendees of the webinar will have access to the tips and tricks of the trade of how to approach wide lighting in their own photography. The webinar is free and open to all. For more details and to register, visit the website below.

AKVIS today announced SmartMask 4.0, its latest selection tool designed to make image area selection simple. With a few mouse clicks SmartMask v.4.0 helps select fluff, hair, fur, tree branches, glass, or a transparent veil as well as remove unwanted colour shades left on the cutout object by the environment. Now the software is accessible in two editions: as a standalone program and as a plugin to photo editors. The new version also adds compatibility with Adobe Photoshop CS6. SmartMask 4.0 is available for purchase with a Home license for 2 computers ($90), Home Deluxe license ($120) and Business license ($160).

Nikon has announced a milestone in its company history as it celebrates its 20th year as patron of The Open Championship. To mark this anniversary Nikon will be hosting number of local activities during the event, including the PGA Coaching Area which invites keen golfers to have their putting stroke analysed by a PGA professional. A Nikon COOLPX P310 compact camera, fast enough to capture 120fps, will be used to record your movement and which will then be evaluated by the coach in order to suggest improvements to your technique. Additionally, Nikon will be hosting the Time Challenge Gallery competition, giving entrants the chance to win a share of £6500 worth of Nikon prizes.

The British Journal of Photography has launched a radically redesigned new edition, custom made for the Apple iPhone. Rather than simply shrinking existing print or iPad pages onto the screen the magazine’s staff completely recreated the magazine in a format designed for the iPhone. “Most iPhone magazines simply aren’t very readable”, said Art Editor Mick Moore. “Uploading print pages into an app is easy for publishers, but the result is a page that you have to keep pinching and zooming to read. Last year we released an iPad App, with each page custom-made for the tablet, so we wanted to do the same for the iPhone: make a magazine that really works on the small screen.” British Journal of Photography: iPhone Edition is available today. Issues are free for a limited time, and reader feedback on the new edition is being sought. Weekly publication will commence this Autumn, with issues priced at £0.69, with discounts for subscribers.

Ahead of our full review, here are 60 sample JPEG photos and a 1080i movie taken with the new Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V compact camera, including the full ISO range.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V is a travel-zoom camera with a 20x optical zoom and 18.2 megapixel Exmor R CMOS Sensor.

A shortlist of twelve outstanding international photographers, from which one will be selected later this year to receive the Prix Pictet, the world’s photography prize for environmental sustainability, was announced yesterday. The twelve artists will now prepare their work for the finalists’ exhibition to be held at the Saatchi Gallery in London in October. The twelve photographers are Robert Adams, Daniel Beltrá, Mohamed Bourouissa, Philippe Chancel, Edmund Clark, Carl De Keyzer, Luc Delahaye, Rena Effendi, An-My Lê, Joel Sternfeld and Guy Tillim. The winner of the fourth Prix Pictet will be announced by Kofi Annan, Honorary President of the Prix Pictet, on Tuesday 9th October.

Juicy Bits have announced that their latest app, Layout, is now available for the Apple iPad.  Layout uses touch to split frames into sections and populate them with images from the photo library, Facebook, Instagram and Flickr. Photos are enhanced with built-in filters and effects, captions can be added to tell a story, and borders are styled using 100 built-in patterns. Layout supports sharing via e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr, and projects can be stored in iCloud, making them easy to open on multiple iOS devices. The Layout App is available for $2.99 from the iTunes App Store.

iPrintagram is a new iOS app that allows Instagram users to have their pictures printed and delivered to their door in a matter of days. Billed as “the most convenient way to have an Instagram image printed and delivered from a mobile device,” iPrintagr.am gives every user the ability to keep their images not only in digital format, but as a real, hard copy print. The app itself is a free download from the iTunes App Store.