The 12-megapixel Leica V-Lux 3 is the Leica version of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ150 superzoom camera (read review), which was announced earlier this year. Featuring the same 25-300mm equivalent zoom lens, high-speed CMOS sensor, 12fps continuous shooting speed, raw image capture and Full HD video mode as its Panasonic counterpart, the Leica V-Lux 3 comes bundled with Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements, and is scheduled to be available from January, at a price of.£690. For maximum protection of the Leica V-Lux 3 in outdoor conditions, a strong, black camera case will be available as an optional accessory, at an SRP of £135.

Tamron has announced its first E-mount lens designed for the NEX system. This compact and lightweight, 27-300mm equivalent all-in-one zoom lens features a 62mm filter thread, Vibration Compensation and an optical formula that comprises 17 elements arranged in 13 groups. Available from 15th December, the Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 Di III VC features a seven-bladed iris diaphragm and comes with a petal type lens hood.

Visions of Sport is a coffee-table book featuring some of the best sports photographs found in the archives of Getty Images. The 200-page hardback includes both black-and-white and colour images of the most famous sports stars, including Maria Sharapova, Muhammad Ali, Jessica Ennis, Lewis Hamilton, and many more. Containing over 150 photos, Visions of Sport is available now for an RRP of £16.99 through the website below.

Claudio Stefanutti Photography has announced Contact Sheet Maker 1.2.0 for iPad, an update to their photography app that allows the user to save up to 24 thumbnails of photographs per page as a multi-page PDF document. The contact sheet can then be easily emailed, stored in Dropbox, viewed on any mobile device or computer that supports PDF files, or printed via any AirPrint enabled printer. Contact Sheet Maker 1.2.0 is available on iTunes for $3.99.

The Lomographic Society has introduced a limited-edition Spinner 360° clone wrapped in Toledo leather. The Spinner 360° is a fully mechanical camera that captures 360° panoramas on 35mm film with a spectacular spin. Set in motion by pulling the trigger-cord with simple manpower, the rubber band drive lets the Spinner 360° revolve on its grip while taking a photo at a fixed shutter speed. The Spinner 360° Leather Edition is decorated with a geometric network pattern, as seen in the photo above.

The CompactFlash Association (CFA) has released the specifications for a new high-performance memory card format called XQA. Smaller than CompactFlash, XQA memory cards promise durability, robustness and actual write speeds of at least 125 megabytes per second. XQD cards will be shown at the CompactFlash Association booth at CP+ 2012, February 9-12 in Yokohama, Japan.

Nevercenter has announced that a free, fully-functional public beta of CameraBag 2 Desktop, a Mac/Windows program which allows you to simulate the look of many classic film types and techniques, is now available for download. “[The software[ is much like those apps that add instant filters to your photos, but CameraBag 2 Desktop has a much higher level of control, allowing you to adjust the levels, combine filters and layer effects,” the company says. “It’s intended to bring back the feeling of film, but without all the hassle of developing your own Photoshop filters.” You can download CameraBag 2 from the website below.

The Optrix HD Sport is a rugged, waterproof case designed to transform your iPhone 4, 4S or iPod Touch into an action sports camera. Bundled with a variety of base mounts that safely adhere to any surface, the Optrix HD Sport “securely houses the iPhone 4 or iPod Touch while allowing users easy access to its interface, enabling instant playback, video editing or even uploading,” the company says. Currently available for pre-order, the Optrix HD Sport can be purchased for $79.99 through the website below.

The World Photography Organisation today issued a last call for entries for the 2012 Sony World Photography Awards, billed as “the world’s most comprehensive photography competition”.  The awards include a Professional competition, which invites entries from the world’s leading photographers and ‘serious enthusiasts’, and an Open competition for everyone with an interest in photography. For the 2012 awards, a ‘Nature & Wildlife’ category has been introduced to the Professional competition and there are no less than three new categories in the Open competition including ‘Enhanced’, ‘Split Second’ and ‘Low-light’. The submission deadline is 4 January 2012. For full details, visit the website below.

A new exhibition from photographer Nick Danziger documenting the lives of people living in some of the world’s poorest countries is taking place at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) in London. In 2000, the United Nations’ eight Millennium Development Goals were agreed, aiming to eliminate poverty, to achieve universal primary education, to reduce child mortality and to improve maternal health, by 2015. In ‘Revisited’ Nick presents photographs from these countries – Armenia, Bolivia, Cambodia, Honduras, India, Niger, northern Uganda, and Zambia - which tell stories about real lives, through which he examines whether these goals are succeeding or are simply unfeasible targets with impossible aims. Free to enter, ‘Revisted’ is on show at the Pavilion of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR Monday-Friday 10am-5pm, until 11 January 2012 (closed 24 December – 2 January).

Colour Confidence today launched two new monitor calibration packages based around the X-Rite ColorMunki Display. The Colour Confidence Studio Photo (£155+VAT, pictured) is designed specifically for photographers and includes the ColorMunki Display screen calibration device, a Kodak Colour Management Check Up Kit and a durable, foldaway grey card for ensuring accurate image capture both indoors and out. The other package, Studio View (£199+VAT), is targeted at a broader range of imaging professionals, and includes - on top of the ColorMunki - a PChOOD Monitor Hood Pro monitor hood and an A4 sized Colour Confidence GrafiLite daylight balanced light source for print assessment. Both packages are available for order on the website below, although note that Studio View will only start shipping on 12th December.

Panasonic has released a firmware update for the Panasonic Lumix GH2 compact system camera. Version 1.1 adds a new 24Mb/s video mode, full compatibility with power zoom lenses, full-area enlargement of the AF area setting, more accurate adjustment of the output of the camera’s built-in flash; plus improves noise reduction efficiency at high sensitivity settings, AF speed in video mode and the speed of consecutive shooting when using the autoexposure bracketing feature; increases the number of recordable images in consecutive shooting; and allows the Extra Tele Conversion function to be turned on and off separately in photo and video modes. For more information on the firmware update, visit the website below.

Website: Panasonic Japan

Nikon has posted a firmware update for the Nikon Coolpix P7000 digital compact camera. Version 1.2 improves auto focus accuracy, enables the use of auto exposure bracketing in combination with the self-timer, and fixes a number of bugs. You can download the firmware update from the website below.

Leica has issued a firmware update for the Leica M9 full-frame digital rangefinder camera. Version 1.176 enables M9 owners to use “any SD card that is in accordance with the respective standards”, with practically no restrictions. While stressing that “it is impossible to test the compatibility of every single card of every single supplier”, Leica now says that all SD cards manufactured by SanDisk should function properly in the M9 once the firmware update is installed (when the previous firmware version was released, the company “mistakenly stated” that San Disk Extreme Pro SDHC I UHS-I and San Disk Extreme HD Video SDHC I memory cards might not be compatible with the camera). You can download Version1.176 from the website below.

Light & Land has announced the addition of professional landscape and architectural photographer, David Clapp, to its team of photography tutors. David has several years’ experience of running his own workshops and he is a regular contributor to the UK photography press as well as having a strong following for his social media commentary. His addition to the Light & Land team also sees the launch of a brand new range of photographic city breaks – including Valencia, Düsseldorf and Berlin. These 3-day long weekend tours allow for shooting architecture and cityscapes at dawn, dusk and even at night. For more information on David Clapp’s spring & summer 2012 tours, visit the website below.

Snapfish by HP is offering a new range of personalised photo gifts for the holiday season. “From large coffee table photo books to small books that make great stocking-fillers, Snapfish offers easy tools and fun ideas to create sentimental holiday gifts,” the company says. “With the new photo organiser, collecting photos for books is easier than ever. Personalising books is simple and fun with many themes and fonts to choose from.” For more information, visit the website below.

PhotoWhoa is a new website offering daily deals on a variety of photographic products. “We differ from other photography-related daily deals sites by really offering our users insights on the product they are buying,” says PhotoWhoa co-founder Kevin Tang. “We provide in-depth coverage and review on each and every product we sell, and we focus on only one deal at a time.” To check out the website, simply follow the link below. (Do note that in order to see the deal of the day, you’ll have to provide your e-mail address first.)

Website: PhotoWhoa