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.

Want to see exactly what the new Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II expert compact camera looks like in the flesh?

Check out our extensive hands-on gallery of photos of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II compact camera, including a side-by-side comparison with the RX100 model, and with the optional electronic viewfinder fitted.

Want to see exactly what the new Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1R expert compact camera looks like in the flesh?

Check out our hands-on gallery of photos of the full-frame Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1R compact camera.

The Sony Cyber-shot RX100 II is the first ever Sony camera to feature NFC connectivity. Succesor to the popular RX100, the new RX100 II compact camera has a 20.2 megapixel back-illuminated Exmor R 1.0-type CMOS sensor, Multi Interface Shoe and Multi Terminal accessory connections, a tiltable LCD screen, Full HD 24p/25p movie for cinematic video footage, plus built-in wi-fi. The Sony RX100 II will be available from mid-July 2013, priced at around £650 in the UK. The RX100 model will continue for the forseeable future.

New accessories inclue a grip for both the RX100 and RX100 II, the AG-R1, which will cost £10, the VFA-49R1 49mm lens filter adapter, and the LCJ-RXC leather case (£75).

The Sony Cyber-shot RX1R is a new 35mm full-frame compact camera without an optical low-pass filter. To compensate for the OLPF’s removal, the RX1R’s processing functions have been optimised to maintain image sharpness without compromising lens/sensor performance. Designed to deliver the sharpest ever detail, the Cyber-shot RX1R has the same 24.3 effective megapixel sensor and Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* F2 lens as the original RX1 model. Available in mid-July 2013, the RX1R will cost the same as the RX1 at £2,600 in the UK.

The Sony HVL-F43M is a new flash gun for the latest cameras and interchangeable-lens camcorders equipped with Sony’s Multi Interface Shoe. Successor to the HVL-F43AM model, the HVL-F43M also doubles as a powerful LED video light for keen videographers. Price and availability of the Sony HVL-F43M are to be confirmed.

G-Technology today announced that its Driven Creativity 2013 awards competition is now open for entries. Contest categories include animation, music, photography, short film and GoPro Active. The competition is free to participants and entries will be accepted from June 27 until October 29, 2013 at the website below.

VSCO has announced that its iPhone app, VSCO Cam is now available for free. The app supports Focus and Exposure Rings plus White Balance Lock for increased creative control. The Library boasts multiple thumbnail sizes for a customisable browsing experience, as well as the ability to organize, favorite and filter images. "The superior technology of VSCO Cam is best seen in the editing of images," the company says. "VSCO Cam includes a default set of Presets and Tools whose strength can be adjusted, allowing for efficient editing and precise customisation." VSCO Cam is available on the iTunes App Store.

Resolution is a new app released by Cypress Innovations, which has been specifically designed to let users see every last pixel of the images on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. "Photographers who want to view all the details of their images will appreciate the ability to zoom in without restriction," the company says. "The app enables users to look at full‐sized images and thumbnails in a folder at the same time... The image information (exif information) and location information of the images is also viewable, and raw images can also be viewed, on supported devices." The Resolution app is currently awaiting approval from Apple.

Kenro has announced the additionh of several new filter sizes to Marumi's respected range of photographic accessories. Now available in four new sizes between 37mm-46mm, the Marumi DHG Light Control ND Filter has been designed to improve the results of landscape photography. Marumi's DHG Circular Polarising filters are now available in the newly added sizes of 86mm and 95mm. The two new sizes can also be seen in the DHG Super Circular Polarising range which incorporates the same features as the Digital High Grade range but with water and oil repellent coating. The 86mm and 95mm sizes are now also available within the Marumi DHG Lens Protect and Super Lens Protect Filter range.

Triggertrap today announced updates to both its iOS mobile app and product line. With its latest update, the Triggertrap Mobile iOS app enables trigger response times that are up to 12 times faster than previously possible (improved from 60 milliseconds to as low as 5 milliseconds depending on the device used), complementing its launch of the Triggertrap Flash Adapter accessory (see video after the jump). The Triggertrap Flash Adapter sells for $29.99 and is available for direct purchase through Triggertrap’s online shop at the website below.

PhotoFast has just launched i-FlashDrive HD, which is billed as the first and only two-way storage device between iOS and Mac/PC. The drive’s free corresponding application delivers the ability to upload, organise, edit and manage files across multiple devices, including PC, iPad, iPhone and more. The 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models of the compact and portable i-FlashDrive are offered as a combo kit, which include both the Lightning adapter and 30-pin connector for increased compatibility with Apple mobile devices as well as USB devices. Additionally, i-FlashDrive offers backwards compatibility, working seamlessly when plugged in on the standard USB side with multiple operating systems including iOS 6, Windows XP/7/8, OSX and Linux. PhotoFast's i-FlashDrive HD is available online in 8, 16, 32 or 64 GB capacities, ranging in price from £60 to £210.

Brian Griffith has released Version 2.1.1 of Iridient Developer, his critically acclaimed image processing software for Mac OS X. This release features all-new, native demosaic processing for the Fuji X-Trans (X-Pro1, X-E1, X100S and X20) cameras, in addition to the existing support for these cameras using either Apple's RAW libraries or Adobe DNG (linear) format conversion. The new demosaic method provides improved fine detail rendering, even better sharpness and other advantages over Apple's conversion. Version 2.1.1 also includes a number of improvements to preview drawing for Retina displays, better handling of touch gestures for preview scrolling on older laptops and other bug fixes, adds support for 14 new cameras, and greatly reduces the memory usage of the new noise reduction methods introduced in Version 2.1.

Jennifer Karády and Elley Ho, alongside agencies Fraser Communications and Heward Jue, Inc., have been selected to receive this year's Getty Images Creative Grants. In the project Healing our Hidden War, Brooklyn-based photographer Jennifer Karády and agency Fraser Communications will collaborate with Volunteers of America, Los Angeles (VOALA) to tell the stories of military veterans returning from deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq, revealing the invisible trauma of war and how it affects them. Educating Children | Transforming Worlds, by California photographer Elley Ho and Creative Director Heward Jue will utilize video and print to demonstrate how the Asante Africa Foundation's education programs for children are profoundly transforming lives and communities in East Africa.

Calumet’s seminar academy is set to pilot an exclusive ‘Air to Air Photography’ day for six ‘high-flying’ photographers. For £495 each, delegates will get a full day’s masterclass, complete with a unique airborne photo-shoot ‘sortie’ in the afternoon. “We are teaming up with professional aviation photographer and pilot Keith Wilson and experienced aerobatic and formation pilot and photographer Mick Osbaldeston to offer delegates this matchless introduction to air-to-air photography," said Calumet marketing executive Sian Hamer. "The date currently set for the first seminar is July 8 - so interested photographers need to act fast.” The morning will be spent at The Shropshire Aero Club at Sleap Aerodrome, Harmer Hill, covering all aspects of safety, equipment and technique. Then each delegate boards a high wing Cessna for his or her unique chance to fly in close proximity to another plane that they can photograph.

Rollei has released two telescopic arm extensions for fast and secure attachment of all action cams and compact cameras with a 1/4“ tripod thread. The Rollei Arm Extension S 505mm (€39.95) weighs just 95g and can be easily extended from 20 to 50 cm. The Rollei Arm Extension L 950mm (€49.95) weighs 30g more, but can be extended from 30 to 95cm. The camera adapter for both is made entirely from stainless steel, while the ball head is made from aluminium. Consequently, both are equipped for use under extreme conditions and can be freely adjusted in terms of angle and tilt. Both the S and L versions are available in black, blue, orange and yellow. Each telescopic rod can take a maximum load of 500g.

CamRanger is now compatible with a free Android application available in the Google Play store. CamRanger is a device that wirelessly controls Canon and Nikon digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras. The CamRanger has a wireless range of up to 150 feet for wireless tethering for photography and video monitoring and control. The CamRanger allows wireless tethering for over 30 different Canon and Nikon cameras. The included software includes live view, touch focusing, focus stacking, intervalometer, HDR, changing settings, record and focus during movie, client mode and much more.

DxO FilmPack v4.0.2 is now fully compatible with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5. Available in two editions, Essential and Expert, DxO FilmPack v4.0.2 can be installed as a plugin for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 and 5, Photoshop CS3, CS4, CS5 and CS6, Photoshop  Elements 10 and 11, Apple Aperture 3, and DxO Optics Pro v8.2, and as a standalone application for Mac and Windows - all with the same license.  DxO FilmPack v4.0.2 is available at a discount through June 30, 2013.

Nikon have released a new firmware update for the D7100 DSLR. Version C 1.01 includes 8 modifications, including when movie recording at 1920 × 1080/24p in M exposure mode, subject brightness did not change, even when shutter speed was adjusted.