The sixth annual International Loupe Awards are open for entries. Photographers entering the Loupe Awards select a competition stream – either Open or Amateur – depending on their photographic experience. Those entering the Open Award are eligible for cash prizes across categories, as well as a major award of approximately $15,000. Amateur Award entrants are offered prizes in photographic gear and equipment, courtesy of Kayell Australia. Regular entres for the International Loupe Awards 2013 will close on 31st October (late entries on 15th November). Category judging will take place from 8th to 27th November, with final judging between 2nd and 6th December. Winner announcements will commence from 9th December 2013.

Harlem Street Portraits by veteran New York street photographer Harvey Stein is a new title from Schiffer Publishing. This is the sixth monograph by Mr. Stein, and follows his critically acclaimed book on another iconic New York place, Coney Island 40 Years (Schiffer Publishing, 2011). This new volume presents a collection of black and white portraits of the people of Harlem taken over a period of twenty-three years. The photographs are accompanied by essays by African American activist, writer, and teacher, Herb Boyd, and writer and third generation New Yorker, Miss Rosen. The 192-page hardback is available for $45.

Anna Fox – Resort 1 is a new title from Schilt Publishing. or two years British photographer Anna Fox documented holiday culture at the iconic Butlin’s resort in the seaside town of Bognor Regis, West-Sussex. Butlin’s is a British institution and an established cultural phenomenon, with a very particular character, history and identity. Shot using large-format, Fox's deeply saturated colour photographs provide a fascinating update to a holiday icon most often associated with the golden era of British seaside culture, in contrast to the popular themed adult weekends now on offer and which will be the subject of Resort 2, the second book by Anna Fox planned to be published in 2014. The 104-page volume will be available for £45 | $60 | €50 from 31st October.

Analogue is the new exhibition from celebrated music photographer Tom Sheehan, opening 7th November at Lomography Gallery Store East. The exhibition is a collection of hand-printed images from his archive, including portraits of Tom Waits, Morrissey, Mick Jagger, John Lydon, Arthur Lee, Bruce Springsteen, Robert Smith, Thom Yorke , Echo & The Bunnymen, Coldplay and many more. “I love to shoot on film, it's a medium that people remain interested in,” says Sheehan. “The fact that it's printed by hand has a universal appeal to all creative people.” Lomography Gallery Store East is located at 117 Commercial Street, Old Spitalfields Market, London, E1 6BG.

Exhibtr, the social network for photographers, artists and writers, has partnered with Olympus UK to host a competition for students. The theme of the contest is “People & Portraits.” Students entering the competition have the opportunity to win an Olympus OM-D E-M5 kit including the camera body and an M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-50mm 1:3.5-6.3 lens. Two runners-up will be awarded the "soon to be announced latest high-end compact from Olympus," which sounds intriguing. To enter, simply sign up to exhibtr.com. Once logged in you may upload as many entries as you like. However, remember to ensure all entries you would like to be judged are tagged with the phrase “olycomp.” The competition is open from now until February 2014, to all UK students aged 16 or older.

The Photographer’s Guide to the Sony DSC-RX100 II: Getting the Most from Sony’s Pocketable Digital Camera is a new title from White Knight Press. This guide book explains all operations, features, menus, and controls of the Sony DSC-RX100 II camera, providing information about how to accomplish things with the camera as well as when and why to use certain features. More than 400 photographs illustrate the camera’s controls and menus and include examples of the photographs that can be taken using the RX100 II’s many options. In addition, the book goes beyond the realm of everyday photography with introductions to topics such as infrared photography, street photography, astrophotography, digiscoping, and macro photography. The book is available as a 455-page paperback for $25.95, and as an e-book priced at $9.99.

Want to see exactly what the new Fujifilm X-E2 compact system camera looks like in the flesh?

Check out our extensive hands-on gallery of photos of the Fujifilm X-E2.

Want to see exactly what the new Fujifilm XQ1 premium compact camera looks like in the flesh?

Check out our extensive hands-on gallery of photos of the Fujifilm XQ1, a new compact designed to compete with the popular Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100, including both the silver and black versions.

The Fujifilm X-E2 is a new compact system camera that boasts the world’s fastest AF speed of 0.08 seconds in its class. The X-E2 also delivers even more beautiful colour reproduction and higher definition image capture than the original X-E1 model. Available in solid Black or two-tone Black and Silver, the Fujifilm X-E2 will cost £749.00 body only.

The Fujifilm XQ1 is a new premium compact camera. The pocket-sized Fujifilm XQ1 features a newly developed F1.8, 4x zoom lens and the same type of 2/3” X-Trans TM *1 CMOS II sensor and EXR Processor II as used in the highly regarded X20 camera. The Fujifilm XQ1 will be available in black or silver and cost £349 in the UK.

Fujifilm are releasing a free, dedicated firmware update for the original X100 camera which will offer a number of significant improvements. The new firmware will drastically improve the performance of the autofocus and manual focus functions and offer additional convenience. The Fujifilm X100 Firmware Version 2.00 is available for download today.

The non-profit Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a major project involving the digitisation of more than 220,000 astronomical plates and films taken over the past 120 years by generations of astronomers. The funds will be used to purchase an OPTEK 413 VSM precision scanning machine and begin digitising the plates. Interested readers are encouraged to visit the project's Kickstarter page and make a contribution.

The closing date for this year’s RHS Photographic Competition is fast approaching. Those aged 18 or over are invited to submit images in the following categories: plants, gardens, details, wildlife, people and seasons. Entries from those aged 18 and under are invited in the Young Photographer and Children’s Photographer categories. The entry fee for adults is £6 per image (£5 for RHS members). Interested photographers need to submit their entries before the 1st November in order to be in with a chance of winning the coveted title of RHS Photographer of the Year 2013 and the top prize of £1000.

Lomography has launched a 3-piece experimental lens kit for Micro Four Thirds cameras. The kit includes a fish-eye lens, a 12mm ultra-wideangle lens and a 24mm (48mm equivalent) standard lens. The complete kit is available for £79.

The 2013 ZeissImages.com photo contest is now open for entries. This years theme will be "Ordinary Life". A semi documentary theme where the objective is to capture an ordinary moment in someone's day that becomes an extraordinary photo for everyone to view. This could be a scene from someone struggling to get by day to day or the thrill of a child blowing out a candle on a birthday cake. The photo just needs to portray real events in life that when viewed as a photograph are memorable. Any submitted entry must be photographed with a Zeiss lens. This means smart phones with built in Zeiss lenses are acceptable as are point and shoot cameras, dslr's, rangefinder cameras etc. To submit your photos, you must be a registered member of Zeissimages.com and upload your photos into the category "2013 Contest."

Want to see exactly what the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 compact system camera looks like in the flesh?

Check out our extensive hands-on gallery of photos of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 compact system camera, including the black and orange versions, the new 12-32mm collapsible lens, and the optional hand grip.

You can change the lens on one of these cameras - but can you tell which one?!

We've directly compared the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 compact system camera with the popular Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 compact.

The new Panasonic GM1 is tiny, so small in fact that it clearly rivals the Sony RX100 compact camera in terms of size, both with and without the new 12-32mm lens fitted.

No wonder Panasonic intend to market the Lumix DMC-GM1 as a competitor in the premium compact sector, as well as against other mid-range mirrorless models...