Sigma has announced that the updated Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 EX DG OS APO HSM telephoto zoom lens is now available for purchase in the USA. Unveiled at Photokina 2010, the lens features one SLD and two FLD glass elements for maximum correction of chromatic aberrations. The OS (optical stabiliser) function offers the use of shutter speeds approximately 4 stops slower than would otherwise be possible. The super multi-layer coating reduces flare and ghosting. The Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 EX DG OS APO HSM is available for the MSRP of $4,700.

The Samyang 35mm f/1.4 AS UMC is now available for Pentax and Sony digital SLR cameras. Released at the beginning of the month for Canon and Nikon, the manual-focus Samyang 35mm f/1.4 AS UMC uses a system of floating lens elements in order to preserve high image quality even at the lens’ close focus point of 30cm. Like the Canon version, the Pentax and Sony variants sell for €399 including taxes.

Canon today announced updated availability dates for five of its EF lenses. The Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM zooming fisheye lens ($1,399, pictured) will be released late July, the Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM ($6,599) and EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM ($10,499) telephoto primes are scheduled to be available in late August, while the Canon EF 500mm F4L IS II USM ($9,499) and EF 600mm F4L IS II USM ($11,999) superteles will likely hit the shops in December.

Nikon today filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Sigma over the manufacture and sale of stabilised lenses. Reuters reports that Nikon is seeking 12.6 billion yen in damages, claiming that Sigma has infringed some of its patents related to lens-based vibration reduction (optical image stabilisation). “Although Nikon attempted to resolve Sigma’s patent infringement through negotiation, a non-adversarial resolution could not be reached,” Nikon said in a statement. “Consequently, Nikon concluded that filing a lawsuit was the only way it could protect its intellectual property.”

The Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD lens has won the Lens of the Year award at the Camera GP 2011 Awards hosted by the Camera Journal Press Club of Japan. Sporting an ultrasonic Piezo AF motor and vibration compensation, the Tamron 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD is the world’s lightest and smallest 15x travel zoom for DSLR cameras with an APS-C sized sensor.

Kenro has re-announced the UK release of the Tokina AT-X 16.5-135mm f3.5-5.6 DX lens for cropped-sensor Canon and Nikon digital SLR cameras. This compact zoom lens uses an optical design that benefits from three aspherical elements, one all-glass precision-moulded element and two compound elements yielding high contrast. Additionally two Super-low Dispersion (SD) glass elements correct chromatic aberration. The recommended retail price of the Tokina AT-X 16.5-135mm f/3.5-5.6 superzoom lens has a recommended retail price of £816.

The Samyang 35mm f/1.4 AS UMC manual-focus lens is now available for Canon and Nikon. The lens, whose final version was announced in March, uses a system of floating lens elements in order to preserve high image quality even at the lens’ close focus point of 30cm. The Canon version of the lens sells for €399, while the Nikon variant (pictured) costs €419 including taxes.

The Samyang 8mm f/3.5 Fish-eye CS VG10 lens, designed for the Sony NEX-VG10 large-sensor, interchangeable-lens camcorder, has officially been launched. Announced two months ago, the lens comes with a native Sony E bayonet mount and promises easy and smooth diaphragm control.  Due to the camcorder’s one-off construction, the bayonet mount was carefully adjusted to ensure the widest possible field of vision and to prevent vignetting, the company says. The manual-focus Samyang 8mm f/3.5 Fish-eye CS VG10 is available for €299.

Today Nikon officially announced the AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G lens, which features an all-new optical formula, a weather-sealed mount and instant manual override. The design comprises seven elements in six groups, including one aspherical element. The dedicated Silent Wave Motor (SWM) ensures quiet auto focus as well as full-time access to manual focus. Fully compatible with Nikon’s modern film and FX-format digial SLR cameras, it offers a 75mm (equivalent) focal length when used with the manufacturer’s DX-format DSLRs. Weighing in at only 185 grams, the lens is supplied with a lens hood and a soft pouch. In the US, the AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G will be available from 16th June at a suggested retail price of $219.95, and in the UK and Europe from 2nd June 2011 at £199.99 / €232.00.

A newly released video sheds light on how the Voigtländer Nokton 25mm f/0.95 Micro Four Thirds lens is made. Created by JBC and shared by WasabiFoto, this seven-and-a-half-minute video introduces viewers to the manufacturing process and includes a number of sample images and footage shot with the lens. Although there seem to be a couple of technical inaccuracies in the voice-over, we have found the piece to be very interesting and well put together. Click through / scroll down for the video.

Canon has won four awards from the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA). The Association has found the Canon EOS 600D (read review) to be the best entry-level digital SLR camera released in the past 12 months, awarded the Best Superzoom Camera title to the Powershot SX230 HS (pictured), honoured the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II USM lens with the “Best Professional Lens” award, and hailed the Pixma MG8150 as the best multifunction photo printer.

The Sigma APO 70-200mm f2.8 EX DG OS HSM has won a TIPA award for being the best “expert” lens in 2011. Announced a year ago, the Sigma APO 70-200mm f2.8 EX DG OS HSM lens contains two of the company’s new “F” Low Dispersion (FLD) glass elements and comes with optical image stabilisation as well as a HyperSonic Motor for quiet auto focus. Constructed of 22 elements in 17 groups, the lens has a filter thread size of 77mm and has an iris diaphragm with 9 rounded blades for smooth bokeh. Like most Sigma lenses, the APO 70-200mm f2.8 EX DG OS HSM is available for a number of different SLR systems, including Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sigma and Sony/Minolta.

EyeSee 360, the company famous for its GoPano Plus optic that lets a DSLR or video camera capture a full 360° panoramic image in a single take, has announced the GoPano micro for the Apple iPhone 4. Where the GoPano Plus was a rather large piece of kit that was designed to work with digital SLR cameras and lenses, the GoPano micro is a much smaller unit that attaches to the iPhone 4. Currently existing in prototype form, the GoPano micro allows users to capture 360° panoramic images or video with the help of the iPhone 4’s built-in camera and the GoPano app. “The GoPano micro will record everything around you simultaneously,” the company says. “You can go back to the recorded video and choose to view any perspective, any angle at any point in time.” Click through / scroll down for a video demonstration.

Rollei has announced an add-on telephoto conversion lens for the Apple iPhone 4. With an angle of view of 16°, the manual-focus Rollei telephoto lens allows the iPhone camera to capture distant subjects in great detail. Focusing is by way of a traditional focus ring, and is helped by a distance scale that goes from 3m to infinity, with markings at 10m, 20m, 30m and 40m. Weighing in at only 45 grams, the Rollei 8x telephoto lens will be available in stores from the end of April for a recommended retail price of €34.95. The scope of delivery includes the lens itself, a miniature tripod with a mount for the Apple iPhone 4, a hard case for the phone and a cleaning cloth. Click through / scroll down for more information, and an image gallery of the product.

Canon is exhibiting a wide range of products at the 2011 NAB Show, booth # C-4325. Included in the booth’s exhibit will be Canon’s new PL-mount lenses, a new portable 20x HD zoom with a built-in extender (pictured), the company’s robotic pan-tilt HD cameras, the new Canon XA10 professional camcorder, XF300-series and XF100-series professional camcorders, EOS DSLR cameras, the REALiS WUX4000 Installation LCOS projector, and large-format imagePROGRAF printers.  Also on display during the show will be the new Technicolor CineStyle for the Canon 5D Mark II, a custom picture style which provides cinematographers with the image latitude for digital intermediate colour-grading and delivery.

Canon USA has introduced two advanced-design PL-mount lenses that address the emerging 4K production standards. Designated as the Canon FK14.5-60 wide-angle cine zoom and the Canon FK30-300 telephoto cine zoom, both of these lenses are more compact and lightweight than contemporary PL-mount lenses and both feature a totally new Canon optical design that virtually eliminates focus breathing. The wide-angle FK14.5-60 (pictured) maintains its T2.6 maximum aperture over the entire focal range, and boasts a high MTF even wide open. (T-stops are prectically f-stops corrected for light loss caused by the absorbance and reflectance of the actual lens elements employed.) As you will probably have guessed, these lenses are not meant for the amateur videographer, although some of the technology used to make them may eventually trickle down to lenses used by mere mortals.

Lensbaby has just announced the Lensbaby Composer Pro, which looks a lot like the Lensbaby Composer but features a metal swivel ball and a refined focus mechanism for professional performance. Compatible with the Lensbaby Optic Swap system, the Lensbaby Composer Pro delivers “ultra-smooth focus and tilt control”, and comes in Canon, FourThirds, Nikon, Pentax and Sony mounts. Available now in the Lensbaby Store for $300 with a double-glass optic or $400 with the new Sweet 35 optic.

According to Nikon, the total production of Nikkor interchangeable lenses for its SLR cameras reached 60 million this March. As the 55 millionth Nikkor was manufactured in August 2010, this means that Nikon produced no less than 5 million lenses in barely more than half a year. Many of these were completely new lenses launched in Fall 2010, such as the AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR (read review), the AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.4G, (read review), or the AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4G ED VR (review coming soon).

During the NAB Show in Las Vegas from April 9-14, 2011, Carl Zeiss will introduce an attractive bundled lens set for its SLR lenses. The set contains the following lenses with F (ZF.2) or EF bayonet (ZE): Distagon T* 2,8/21, Distagon T* 2/28, Distagon T* 2/35, Planar T* 1,4/50 and Planar T* 1,4/85. The five lenses come in a special waterproof case (IP67), custom-made for this set. A special inlay ensures that each lens fits perfectly inside the suitcase and protects the lenses from shock and vibration. The new SLR lens set will be offered at a recommended retail price of €4562 excluding VAT, and will be available starting May.

HolgaDirect has launched an updated version of its popular Holga Lens for Canon and Nikon DSLR cameras. This is a low-cost plastic 60mm f/8 lens which, once mounted to a Canon or Nikon digital SLR camera, enables digital photographers to closely reproduce the characteristic Holga look associated with Holga medium-format film cameras. The updated version has soft-focus properties and produces more Holga-like vignetting. Several conversion lenses including the Holga Wide Angle Lens, Holga Telephoto Lens, Holga Close-Up Lenses and Holga Macro Lenses can be added for more creative effects. The Holga Lens for digital SLR cameras is available in Canon and Nikon fit at a price of $24.99. Pricing for the add-on conversion lenses ranges from $13.99 to $16.99.