The European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) has recognised the Samsung NX300 and Galaxy NX compact system cameras with two prestigious awards. The 20.3-megapixel NX300 has been named the 'European Compact System Camera of the Year 2013-2014,' while the Android-powered Samsung Galaxy NX (pictured) has been awarded the 'European Photo Innovation 2013-2014' title.

This year, Sony has won two photography-related EISA awards. The company's flagship camera, the Alpha SLT-A99, has been recognised with the 'European Advanced Camera of the year 2013-2014' title, while the Cyber-shot DSC-HX50 superzoom (pictured) has scooped up the 'European Compact Camera of the year 2013-2014' award. Beyond photography, the company has also received accolades in the television, HT receiver and tablet categories.

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.”

The European Imaging Sound Association (EISA) has recognised the Nikon D7100 digital SLR camera with the ‘European Camera of the Year’ award. Marina Gurevich, Product Manager for Consumer DSLRs at Nikon Europe, said: “We are very proud to receive this important award from EISA for our enthusiast-level DX format D7100. Since launching the camera in February this year, it has earned rave reviews – which we believe is down to its impressive resolution, professional-level 51-point autofocus system and a combination of powerful features in a durable body.”

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.'

The European Imaging & Sound Association (EISA) has honoured two Olympus cameras with leading awards. The Olympus PEN E-P5 has won the European Advanced Compact System Camera 2013-2014, and the Tough TG-2 (pictured) took the accolades in the European Travel Camera category. The EISA is an organisation representing 50 leading camera, imaging and audio magazines in 20 European countries. Each year it selects outstanding products and technologies from a wide spectrum of audio-visual product categories.

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.

Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) founder and professional photographer Chris Coe is to lead a special photographic workshop in Morocco, in conjunction with cazenove+loyd. The seven-day adventure (April 27th – May 3rd 2014) takes participants to Marrakech and the High Atlas Mountains, where Chris will teach them about the craft of composition, while showing them how to capture the essence and atmosphere of Morocco in their photographs. Prices  start at £1,975, to include all photography tuition, accommodation, full board meals, guiding and internal transfers. International flights and travel insurance are not included. For further information on the itinerary or to book a place, visit the website below.

Think Tank Photo’s new outdoor photography camera bag company, MindShift Gear, has released its multi-purpose Contact Sheet. Designed for photographers who work in wet or dirty environments and who need a clean, dry work area, this 3.5’ x 5’ waterproof ground tarp provides a barrier from the elements. The 3.5’x5’ Contact Sheet stuffs into a mesh pouch for easy transportation and storage. MindShift Gear's Contact Sheet is available for $39.99.

RotaryView has launched the first free online marketplace for 360° images today. The database contains thousands of commercial 360° shots, along with RotaryView's 360° mobile app and prosumer technologies – giving small-to-medium sized businesses a set of free and low-cost tools to achieve the professional look for online product sales. “We’ve been in the commercial 360° image space for over fifteen years and decided the whole system needed a reboot to catch on with the masses,” said RotaryView CEO and co-founder Gev Rotem.  “With RotaryView, you don’t need professional equipment; we make it simple and affordable.  We’ve even built up a community of 360° images populated by photographers, retailers, resellers and big name brands – all around the idea of sharing 360° photography to help everyone sell more products.”

From 19th August, the Met Museum in NYC will be hosting an exhibition of portraits by Julia Margaret Cameron, one of photography's earliest masters. Cameron (1815-1879) blended an unorthodox technique, a deeply spiritual sensibility, and a Pre-Raphaelite–inflected aesthetic to create a gallery of vivid portraits and a mirror of the Victorian soul. The showing of 35 works is drawn entirely from the Metropolitan’s own collection, including major works from the Rubel Collection acquired in 1997 and the Gilman Collection acquired in 2005. The photographs will be on display until 5 January 2014 at the Howard Gilman Gallery.

PictoColor has released iCorrect OneClick Color 2.1 for Apple iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Developed by FreshAir Software, iCorrect OneClick Color for iPad automatically corrects the colour and exposure of photos. The automatic correction can be fine tuned using sliders to independently adjust brightness, shadows, highlights, contrast, saturation, tint and colour temperature. Version 2.1 brings updated Facebook support, more save and share resolution options and new sharing options: upload to Twitter, copy to clipboard, send to other apps including Instagram, Muzy and more. iCorrect OneClick Color for iOS is available on iTunes for $2.99.

Photographing Women: 1,000 Poses is a beautiful yet very practical ebook authored by fashion photographer Eliot Siegel. Designed to inspire photographers and models alike, the book's poses are organised by type including standing, sitting, reclining, crouching, kneeling, and dynamic poses, as well as head and shoulder shots and expressions. For selected images, Siegel includes a lighting diagram as well as a detailed explanation of why a pose works, or why it doesn't. Normally priced at $43.99, Photographing Women: 1,000 Poses is now available for $12.99. This limited-time offer is valid until 17 August 2013.

Veteran AFP photographer Olivier Morin has managed to capture Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt crossing the finish line at the same time as a lightning bolt illuminated the sky during the IAAF World Championships in Moscow. Photographing lightnings alone isn't terribly complicated - you set your camera to the lowest ISO, choose an f-stop that allows you to use a several-seconds-long exposure, trip the shutter and repeat until you get a usable picture - but capturing a lightning bolt with the kind of fast shutter speed that's necessary to "freeze" a world-class sprinter takes an extreme amount of luck, even if you are a seasoned professional photographer who has made every necessary step well in advance to take a stunning image. Apparently, luck does come to those who are prepared, after all. Morin commented: “In 25 years of career, I have never had an outside, uncontrollable element make the shot. And I think that if I tried for another 50 years, it would never happen again. I really can only take 1% credit for this photo.”

The Bob Carlos Clarke Foundation has donated a selection of rarely seen celebrity portraits to the National Portrait Gallery. Taken between 1971 and 1998 by renowned photographer Bob Carlos Clarke (1950 – 2006), the images include portraits of high profile figures such as Marco Pierre White (pictured above), who Carlos Clarke photographed in his studio following the success of his acclaimed recipe book White Heat, and a striking portrait of Mick Jagger, taken during a Rolling Stones performance at The Marquee in London in 1971. The photographs can be viewed in the National Portrait Gallery’s online digital collection at the website below.

Canon today announced the details of its biggest-ever presence at the IBC show held from 13-17 September in Amsterdam. Canon has been an exhibitor at IBC for more than 30 years, and 2013 will see the company’s largest stand to-date. Covering a full 432m², the stand will display Canon’s complete range of products, including more than 75 lenses, as well Full HD and 4K camera solutions. Ken Koyama, Deputy Head of Professional Imaging Group, Canon Europe, said: “Last year’s IBC was our chance to introduce Canon’s expansion into 4K to the European market. This year we’re focusing even more on fully demonstrating not only the capabilities of new 4K technology, but how the breadth of Canon’s overall range enables production of first class content at all levels." Canon’s stand location at IBC 2013 will be Hall 11, Stand E50.

Brian Griffith has released Iridient Developer 2.2, an update to his critically acclaimed image processing software for Mac OS X. This release includes support for lens vignetting corrections including automatic correction from LCP lens profile files, DNG format images with embedded lens metadata and some camera manufacturer's raw metadata. Manual lens vignetting adjustments are now available as well. This release improves the "Auto Levels" noise reduction option introduced in version 2.1, and adds support for raw image files generated by the Canon EOS 70D, the Sony DSC-RX100 II and DSC-RX1R, the Fujifilm X-M1, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, DMC-FZ72 and DMC-FZ70, and the Pentax Q7. This is a paid upgrade for users who originally purchased a licence before 1 February 2012.

The Palm Springs Photo Festival and Photo District News have joined forces to present over 1600 reviews in their annual Official Portfolio Review Programme during this year's PhotoPlus Expo at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City, 24-26 October 2013. By registering, photographers will be able to schedule one-on-one, 20-minute sessions with difficult-to-meet, New York-based book publishers, advertising agency creatives, magazine photo editors, gallery and museum directors and curators, reps, industry consultants and more. The first 80 who pre-register for Portfolio Reviews before 1st September will be eligible to have a page devoted to their work (including contact info), included in the event's Portfolio Review Source-Book, printed by Blurb, which will be distributed to each of the reviewers at the PhotoPlus Portfolio Review. You can register at the website below.

Flixel Photos have announced that supermodel and businesswoman Tyra Banks  has invested in the company through Fierce Capital, the investment arm of The Tyra Banks Company. Flixel photographic images add an innovative element to traditional photographs by incorporating a seamless element of motion across an otherwise still image known as a “cinemagraph.” As a result of the new relationship, Flixel-branded cinemagraphs will be seen during Cycle 20 of ANTM, which premiered August 2 on the CW Network. "“Cinemagraphs combine the best of both worlds – the passive-viewing aspects of photography and the captivating aspects of video,” said Philippe LeBlanc, Flixel’s CEO. “We are very excited to partner with Fierce Capital and The Tyra Banks Company to introduce this exciting artform to... the millions of amateur and professional photographers and others worldwide who will create extraordinary works of art using Flixel technology.”