Samsung today announced two new promotions for its NX range of compact system cameras. From today until the 31st October 2013, customers are eligible to receive a free 50-200mm lens worth £249, when they purchase a Samsung NX2000 or Samsung NX300 from participating retailers. Do note that the promotional offers are available to UK and Ireland residents only. To learn more, visit the website below.

Tamron USA will celebrate World Photography Day with a "Garden Macro" photography contest. Entrants will creatively photograph garden-themed macro images and set-up an exhibit at Tamron's 3D virtual online sharing site, MyPhotoExhibits.com, between August 19 and September 19, 2013. Tamron will pick the best overall exhibit based on image quality and creativity. The winner will receive a Tamron SP 90mm F/2.8 Di VC USD Macro 1:1 VC USD lens. The Tamron "Garden Macro" photography contest is open to users of any photographic equipment who reside in the USA and are at least 18 years old. The exhibit must be set up at  by September 19, 2013 and must contain at least 8 images as they relate to topic of Garden Macro photography and use the new "Garden Patio" furniture/ceiling option. All exhibits must be named "Tamron Garden Macro Contest."

The Zeiss Touit 2.8/12 lens has been honoured by the European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA). At this year's ceremony for the coveted EISA Awards, the international jury selected the Touit 2.8/12 lens as the “European Compact System Lens of the Year 2013 – 2014”. Since its launch, the Touit 2.8/12 has already received the iF product design and red dot product design awards in addition to the EISA Award.

Canon has been honoured with three product awards by the European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA). The Canon EOS 100D has been awarded the ‘European SLR Camera 2013-2014’, the EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x lens (pictured) has been named ‘European Professional Lens 2013-2014’ and the Canon EOS 6D has won the ‘European Advanced SLR Camera 2013-2014’ award. “Offering first-class products that enable creative expression is what drives Canon, so we’re honoured to receive these awards,” said Steve Marshall, Product Marketing Director, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon Europe. “By offering truly innovative products and technologies, our vision is to help photographers at all levels take the next step in their imaging journey. These products are a great example of that vision, and this recognition from the EISA judging panel is a testament to their outstanding quality.”

Panasonic has received EISA awards for its Lumix DMC-GH3 compact system camera and the new version of its Lumix G Vario 14-140mm f/3.5-5.6 Asph. / Power O.I.S.lens. Established in 1982, the European Imaging Sound Association (EISA) is a multimedia association that tests consumer electronic products. The Lumix GH3 won the ‘European Photo-Video Camera 2013-2014’ award for its versatility as a high class still and video camera, while the updated Lumix G Vario 14-140mm lens was named the ‘European Compact System Zoom Lens 2013-2014.'

Tamron has today announced that the European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) has presented Tamron with two European Lens awards for 2013-2014. The Tamron SP 90mm F/2.8 Di MACRO 1:1 VC USD (read review) has won the “European Lens 2013-2014” and the Tamron SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di VC USD (read review) has won the “European Zoom Lens 2013-2014.”

Tamron USA now offers 3-business-day repair service turnaround for photographic lenses. Now, all lenses received in the company's system by noon EST are estimated the same day and moved onto the next stage. Lenses under warranty are repaired and shipped back to the customer within three business days. Out of warranty lenses are repaired and shipped back within three business days of the customer's approval of the repair estimate.

The Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR is a new "travelzoom" lens for Nikon digital SLR cameras with DX sized sensors. The optical formula comprises 17 elements in 12 groups, including one extra-low dispersion glass element and one aspherical lens element. Other highlights include Vibration Reduction (VR), a Silent Wave Motor (SWM) for quiet auto focus, and an iris diaphragm with 7 rounded blades. The Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR is available for $599.95/£579.99.

Samyang has announced a new lens for VDSLR cameras. The Samyang 16mm V-DSLR T2.2 ED AS UMC CS cinema lens is a wide-angle, bright lens for cameras equipped with an APS-C sensor. Its optics comprise of 13 elements arranged in 11 groups, including an ED lens element, aspherical element and hybrid-aspherical lens element. Like all other Samyang models, all lens elements are covered with anti-reflection UMC coatings to ensure good light transmission. The lens will be released in the following mounts: Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony A, Sony E (pictured), Canon M, Fujifilm X and MFT. The suggested retail price £449.99 including VAT.

Sigma today announced a new, fee-based service that will enable the company’s Global Vision lens owners to change their lens mounts for use on different camera systems. Starting on 2nd September, Global Vision lens owners can request the Mount Conversion Service to convert their current Sport, Contemporary or Art SLR lenses to their choice of a Sigma, Sony, Pentax, Nikon or Canon mount. Current, applicable full-frame lenses include the 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS Sport and 35mm F1.4 DG Art; APS-C crop sensor lenses include the 30mm F1.4 DC HSM Art, 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC OS Macro Contemporary and 18-35mm F1.8 DC Art. Global Vision category lenses for CSCs (including the 19mm F2.8 DN Art, 30mm F2.8 DN Art and 60mm F2.8 DN Art) can be updated to either a Micro Four Thirds MFT or Sony E- mount. All lenses that undergo the Mount Conversion Service will be covered under warranty for six months following the update.

Fujifilm has released an updated lens roadmap for its X-mount compact system cameras, showing current and upcoming lenses (including the Touit range from Zeiss). Compared to the previous version, the updated roadmap includes two XC branded lenses, the already announced Fujinon XC16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS and the brand new Fujinon XC50-230mm f/4.5-6.7 OIS, which will be available by the end of this year. Fujinon XC optics are “compact and casual” lenses that are more affordable and accessible to amateur photographers.

Nikon has released updated lens distortion control data for a number of its DSLR cameras including the Nikon D4, D90, D600, D800, D800E, D3100, D3200, D5000, D5100, D5200, D7000 and D7100 (pictured). Version 1.009 is now available from the websites below.

Website: Nikon Lens Distortion Control Data for Mac
Website: Nikon Lens Distortion Control Data for Windows

Via its official blog, Carl Zeiss has announced that it "will... label its lenses differently: Carl Zeiss will become ZEISS." Throughout its long history, Carl Zeiss has used various labels on its lenses. From the 1920s, the moniker "Carl Zeiss Jena" would appear on a variety of its products. After WW2, some of the company's employees established a new factory in Oberkochen, West Germany, and adopted a new label with the inscription "Carl Zeiss," while the East German factory located in Jena continued to brand its products "Carl Zeiss Jena." After several, often long-winded international lawsuits, the West German factory dropped the founder's first name, Carl, from its logo; while in the US - where the Oberkochen-based company was granted exclusive use of the name "Carl Zeiss" - the East German factory's produts were relabelled "aus Jena." The reunification of Germany brought about a merger of the two Zeiss firms, and a new company logo was created - but the branding of the photographic lenses continued to differ from that of the firm's other products (such as eyeglasses and microscopes). Now the company decided that it will use only the ZEISS logo on the front ring of its lenses. "The changeover for the lenses will take place at the family level: existing lens families will not be changed after-the-fact, but future families will be labelled with ZEISS," the company said in a statement. "The first family to introduce this change is the ZEISS Touit lenses."

Panasonic has unveiled a new version of its Lumix G 20mm f/1.7 "pancake" lens. Comprising seven elements in five groups, the Panasonic Lumix G 20mm f/1.7 II ASPH uses two aspherical elements to minimise both distortion and chromatic aberrations and comes with an iris diaphragm with 7 rounded blades. According to the company, the new lens "supports Contrast AF system for high precision auto focusing," although it's unclear if the focusing speed has been improved since the previous iteration. The main novelty seems to be the "newly designed metallic profile" of the lens. The new addition will be available from 29th July 2013, priced at around £350.

The Fujifilm X-M1 is a new compact and lightweight compact system camera. Featuring the same 16.3 megapixel APS-C X-Trans CMOS sensor as the flagship X-Pro1, the X-M1 weighs just 330 grams and is about half the size of a regular SLR body. It also offers a 920,000 dot tiltable 3-inch LCD, 5.6fps burst shooting, wireless image transfer, full HD (1920x1080) video recording at 30 frames per second, a built-in flash and hot shoe, ISO200-6400 and a 49 point AF system.

Fujfilm are also announcing the Fujinon XC 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OIS lens, which will ship as a kit lens with the X-M1. Offering a focal range of 24mm-76mm in 35mm terms, the XC16-50mm lens consists of 12 all-glass elements in 10 groups including 3 aspherical elements and 1 ED element. It will be available in black and silver.

The X-M1 is available in three colours - Black, Silver and Brown In the UK, the X-M1 and XC16-50mm lens kit will be on sale from end July 2013 for £679.99.

The Fujinon XF 27mm F2.8 is a new prime lens for the Fujifilm X-Pro1 and X-E1 compact system cameras. The lens has a fixed focal length of 27mm (41mm in 35mm format equivalent), offering a field of view similar to that of the human eye. Weighing 78g and measuring 23mm in length, it's one of the smallest and lightest single focal length lenses available for APS-sensor mirrorless cameras. The Fujifilm XF27mm lens will be on sale from August 2013, price to be announced.

Tokina has announced availability and pricing details for the Nikon version of its new AT-X 12-28mm f4 PRO DX wide zoom. Designed for digital SLR cameras with APS-C sized sensors, the Tokina AT-X 12-28mm f4 PRO DX offers users a 35mm equivalent focal range of 18-42mm on Nikon DX bodies. Weighing in at 600 grams, the Tokina AT-X 12-28mm f4 PRO DX features 14 elements in 12 groups and boasts a minimum focus distance of only 25mm from the sensor plane. Furthermore, the lens sports Tokina’s exclusive one-tocuh focus clutch mechanism that allows the photographer to switch between AF and MF simply by snapping the focus ring forward for AF and back toward the camera to focus manually. In the euro zone, the Nikon version of the Tokina AT-X 12-28mm f4 PRO DX will be available from the first half of the summer, priced at €659.

Via photoscala

From now until 15th September Olympus UK are offering a bonus M.ZUIKO 17mm f/2.8 pancake lens with the purchase of any PEN E-PL5 or E-PM2 body or kit from authorised stockists. The offer will be promoted throughout the Olympus dealer network, both in-store and online, with artwork provided by Olympus user and street photographer Adam Thirtle. His shot entitled CCTV (above) "perfectly illustrates the off-the-cuff style achievable with the pancake lens and an eye for a photo opportunity," Olympus says. For more information, visit the website below.

Sigma has announced pricing and availability details for its 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art lens. Billed as the first zoom lens ever to achieve a maximum aperture of f1.8 throughout the zoom range, the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM is designed for digital SLR cameras with APS-C size sensors, and offers a focal range equivalent to 27-52.5mm in the 35mm format. The lens will arrive in the United States early July for the street price of $799. The UK RRP will be £799.99 including VAT. This new lens will be available in Canon and Sigma mount in early July with Nikon mount following towards the end of July. Availability for Sony and Pentax mount is to be announced at a later date.

The Samyang 300mm f/6.3 ED UMC CS is a small-size, manual focus, reflex lens for compact system cameras. The optical structure features 9 elements arranged in 6 groups, including one ED-type lens ensuring high contrast and effectively preventing chromatic aberration. Available from July for Sony E, Fujifilm X, MFT and Canon M mounts, the Samyang 300mm f/6.3 ED UMC CS has a suggested retail price of £289.99. In addition, the company has re-announced the Samyang 16mm f/2 ED AS UMC CS lens, which will be offered for £419.99 (or £459.99 for the Nikon version).