Fuji has posted a firmware upgrade for the Fujifilm X-E2 compact system camera. According to the company, version 2.10 incorporates the following enhancements:

1.Addition of compatibility with "XF18-135mmF3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR"

2.Change of aperture display for zoom lenses
Display of aperture value when zooming with the shutter button pressed halfway will become same as the display when zooming without the shutter button pressed.

Website: Fujifilm

Fuji has issued a firmware upgrade for the Fujifilm X-E1 compact system camera. Version 2.30 incorporates the following enhancements:

1.Addition of compatibility with "XF18-135mmF3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR

2.Change of aperture display for zoom lenses
Display of aperture value when zooming with the shutter button pressed halfway will become same as the display when zooming without the shutter button pressed.

Website: Fujifilm

Fashion photographer Nick Knight has collaborated with American Express to create his first real-time photography exhibition hosted on Twitter. Leaving the studio and taking to the streets of the capital, Nick set out to capture photos of the hidden inspiration he sees in the places he passes every day, shared in real time via @AmexUK. The exhibition uncovers the hidden beauty in these unexpected places - including city gardens and urban habitats to help people realise the full potential of London. Vice President Brand and Communications, American Express, Melissa Weber says, “The cities we live in are brimming with potential, although we may only appreciate a fraction of what they have to offer. As a fashion photographer, Nick has consistently challenged conventional notions of beauty. We’ve challenged him to re-imagine his commute to work and take a look at other sides to London, in the hope that they inspire others to realise the potential of their city.”

This summer Olympus are asking the United Kingdom's amateur photographers to take a shot at becoming a master photographer in a new competition they are calling Olympus Protégés. Entrants to the competition will have a once in a lifetime opportunity to work with some of the biggest names in the photographic industry. To be in with a chance of becoming a Protégé, entrants simply have to select the category that they would like to master, and then upload the photograph they are most proud to have taken along with a message supporting why they should be chosen.

Canon and Microsoft have signed a broad patent cross-licensing agreement. Covering a broad range of products and services, this contract allows both companies to gain licences to each other’s patent portfolios. “This collaborative approach with Canon allows us to deliver inventive technologies that benefit consumers around the world,” said Nick Psyhogeos, general manager, associate general counsel, IP Licensing of the Innovation and Intellectual Property Group at Microsoft. “Microsoft believes cooperative licensing is an effective way to accelerate innovation while reducing patent disputes.”

DNP Imagingcomm America has announced the official start of the “Memories Deserve Prints Media Sweepstakes.” Fans of DNP’s Facebook page can enter for a chance to win a free media pack - two rolls of DNP media and thermal-dye ribbons (ARV: $189.99) - for DNP’s DS40 or DS80 dye-sublimation photo printers. DNP media utilizes a special coating to ensure every print produced is resistant to water, fingerprints, dust and fading. The DS40 can also print 400 4x6 images from a single media roll, for a total of 800 prints per pack. The deadline for entries is 18th July and a total of three winners will be announced on 21st July. All U.S. citizens of at least 18 years of age are eligible to enter the sweepstakes by providing basic contact information through the entry form at the website below.

The team behind this year’s South West Coast Path Photographic Competition announced that David Noton has agreed to come on board as their professional judge. “As a travelling professional photographer for almost 30 years, it’s been a rollercoaster of global adventure which has illustrated just how lucky we are to have such a jewel as the South West Coast Path on our doorstep," David says. "I never tire of walking the Coast Path which I find endlessly photographically inspiring." Amateur and professional photographers, of all ages, are encouraged to enter their best pictures of the Coast Path in this annual photographic competition, which closes on 31 December 2014. Prizes include a One Night Luxury Spa Break at Carbis Bay Hotel & Spa, Cornwall and a gift voucher towards products from David Noton’s website.

Jessops Summer Photo Festival, now in its second year, kicks off today and runs for 7 weeks until (20th August). The first week is Sony Week, with a dozen demonstration days taking place in-store, including two seminars by guest speakers Michael Wayne Plant and Nick Webster. Michael Wayne Plant is a Sony Advocate and social documentary photographer who is constantly learning new ways to work with his subjects on the stories that interest him. He holds a particular interest in Street Portrait photography and will be sharing his top tips for getting that perfect street photograph. He will be showing how he uses the Sony A7 A7R and going through camera settings, sharing tricks and enabling you make the camera work for its customisable features. Nick Webster is a Sony Advocate and a UK-based Sports and Editorial photographer who will be giving industry leading advice as to how you can capture spectacular sports photographs. The Jessops Photo Festival events cover a range of topics and are free to book. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis. For more details on the events and to reserve a place, visit the website below.

Luxi For All is a diffusion dome attachment for your mobile device's front-facing camera which, when paired with the Luxi app, helps you determine the best settings for your SLR or other "serious" camera. Essentially turning your smartphone/tablet into an incident light meter, Luxi For All is now in the midst of a successful Kickstarter campaign, with nearly $50,000 pledged by nearly 2,000 backers.. It comes ready for use with any iOS device, when paired with any of several free software applications. An Android application is in development, and will be available before Luxi For All ships in August.

Epson today announced that its Ultimicron electronic viewfinder technology is incorporated in the new Leica Visoflex electronic viewfinder for the Leica T compact system camera. The newest, Visoflex is an optional high-resolution electronic viewfinder that boasts XGA (1024 x RGB x 768), 2.36 million dot resolution. The use of a color filter prevents the colour break-up that can occur with other colour systems when shooting fast-moving subjects and while panning. First launched in 2009, Ultimicron is based on the HTPS technology that ensures sufficient visibility in any environment, Epson claims.

The Yongnuo YN300W is a hybrid 300Ws studio strobe / system flash boasting full support for Canon's wireless E-TTL exposure control system. Key features include a built-in modelling light with an E27 type 150W light-bulb, a rear-mounted LCD control panel, a cooling fan, rear-curtain sync and an array of sync options including a PC terminal, a photoresistor with E-TTL support and, unusually for a mains flash, a hotshoe-foot that accepts TTL radio trigger receivers. Recycle times range from 0.1s to 1.1s, while manual power settings go from 1/1 all the way down to 1/128th. Flash duration can be anywhere between 1/50,000s to 1/800s depending on the chosen power setting (we assume these are t0.5 times). The guide number is 56 (in metres at ISO 100/21°, with no light modifiers attached). There is no word on pricing yet and it is currently unclear if a Nikon version will ever be available to purchase.

Website: Yongnuo Hong Kong

Issue 30 of David Noton’s Chasing the Light online magazine is now available. This month, David Noton's Video Blog takes us to Paris, where he and Wendy shared a memorable anniversary trip; and in Stepping Back he explores the considerable influence of this country on his professional and personal life. In this month’s How It’s Done, David explores the artistic merit of his ‘Balmoral Blur’, and for the Low Down he presents Part One of an article trio on the important topic of Do-It-Yourself Printing. In his brand new regular column, The Storyteller, world-class wildlife photographerChrist Weston explains how he works with a 50mm ‘standard’ lens to ensure he is able to make a connection with his wildlife subjects, importantly allowing them to come to him, rather than the other way around. Do note that the full contents of Chasing the Light online magazine is available to f11 subscribers only. Non-members can purchase individual issues of the magazine at a price of £4.20.

Now in its 157th year, The Royal Photographic Society’s annual International Print Exhibition is the longest standing exhibition of its kind in the world, dating back to 1854. The selection for this year's event exhibition has been made and the exhibition of 100 prints will open in London on 31 July 2014. The winners, who come from Germany, USA and the UK, will be announced at a reception the same evening. The photographs will be shown in the opening exhibiton at Berkeley Gallery, Greenwich Heritage Centre, Woolwich.

Eye-Fi has announced that its Eye-Fi Connected functionality is now compatible with over 300 more digital camera models. Eye-Fi Connected firmware is embedded into a camera to enable it to instantly detect when an Eye-Fi SD card is inserted. This functionality allows the photographer to control the wireless features using the in-camera menu options to seamlessly transfer pictures to their smartphone, tablet or PC, wirelessly. Eye-Fi Connected cameras also include features such as the ability to power toggle the Wi-Fi radio, select when photos transfer and advanced power management to maximise battery life. Eye-Fi Connected has been adopted by virtually every digital camera manufacturer, including Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, Panasonic, Casio, Ricoh, Pentax, JVC, Olympus and Panasonic.

Photodex has released an update to its ProShow Web slideshow app for iPhone and iPad. Allowing users to combine photos, video, text, music and effects to create easy-to-share, professional-looking video slideshows; the latest version of ProShow Web for iOS adds a new GUI, custom timing control, photo and video captions, new privacy settings for videos, improved show syncing and over 200 new text effects. The ProShow Web app is free and integrates with Photodex's ProShow Web online video creation service. Options to upgrade to Plus or Premium plans to unlock more features, like HD video creation and longer, un-watermarked videos, start at $4.99 and can be purchased in-app.

Fashion photographer Nick Knight is collaborating with American Express to create his first real-time photography exhibition to be hosted on Twitter. Tomorrow, Nick will set out from his home in West London capturing photos of the hidden inspiration he sees in the places he passes every day and sharing in real time to help uncover the city’s secret spots and help people see London in a new light. Locations will take in the likes of Brunswick Centre, the Trellick Tower in Kensington and the space beneath the Westway dual carriageway. In order to view the exhibition, follow #MySecretCity or @AmexUK.

MMD, a leading technology company and brand licence partner for Philips Monitors, have unveiled the innovations they plan to showcase at IFA 2014 in Berlin. These include the brand-new SoftBlue light display with anti-blue light technology - which eliminates emissions of blue light at harmful wavelengths, helping to mitigate the negative impact on eyes and improve well-being, but without compromising colour and image quality - and G-SYNC at 144 Hz, a new 21:9 Panoramic Ultra Wide Screen which delivers a resolution of 3440x1440 pixels, a new 27-inch display with Adobe RGB colur space coverage, as well as a range of Smart All-in-One touch displays. The IFA show will run from 5-10 September. The Philips stand will be located in Hall 22.

Sigma USA has launched a new “Try Before You Buy” loaner programme that offers consumers the opportunity to test a dp2 Quattro camera before it hits the shops in August. The dp2 Quattro camera, priced at $999 and the first camera in the series, features a fixed 30mm 2.8 standard lens that is specifically designed and optimised to pair with the APS-C sized Foveon X3 Quattro sensor. “The ‘Test Shoot: Try Before You Buy’ program is a bold and unique initiative from Sigma and for the photo industry,” said Christine Moossmann, director of marketing for Sigma Corporation of America. “It gives consumers an opportunity to shoot with the dp2 Quattro camera and experience, first hand, the amazing images the camera and the new Quattro sensor produce. There are so many camera options out there and we’d like to make the buying process more personal. "  Sigma will ship the camera to the participants via two-day shipping and the loan period for each participant will be five days. The programme will run until the end of this month.