The World Photography Festival, London, opens at Somerset House on 26 April 2011. Following stops in San Francisco, Sao Paulo and Shanghai, the World Photography Festival comes to London for the first time and will run until 1 May. At the heart of the festival is The Sony World Photography Awards 2011 which is also taking place in London for the first time. Formerly held in Cannes at the prestigious Palais des Festivals, the 2011 Awards winners will be announced at Odeon Leicester Square, 27 April 2011. The Sony World Photography Awards Winners’ Showcase and Bruce Davidson exhibitions will be on display until 22 May. To view the full programme, visit the website below.

Lexar UK is now shipping the Lexar Professional SDXC 133x memory card in capacities of 128GB and 64GB. Offering a Class 10 speed rating with a minimum guaranteed speed of 20MB per second, these high-capacity memory cards come bundled with the latest version of Image Rescue, a program designed to help recover lost or deleted photo and video files. The 64GB and 128GB Lexar Professional SDXC memory cards are available now at Amazon UK and MyMemory with MSRPs of £179.99 and £299.99, respectively.

Medl Mobile have released version 1.3 of Mediapad Pro, an Apple iPad app intended for the presentation of professional portfolios. The new version features enhanced content management and peripheral capabilities as well as an optimised Guestbook function. Also, you can now hide certain categories, and enjoy improved viewing and zooming features versus the previous versions. MediaPad Pro 1.3 is available now on iTunes for $14.99.

iFunia has released version 2.0 of its flagship product, MagicShow for MacOS. MagicShow is an “intuitive yet powerful flash gallery making software that offers a perfect way for users to present their photos,” the developers say. The software, which comes with 25 ready-to-use gallery templates, allows users to create a flash photo gallery in three easy steps. Compatible with MacOS X 10.6.6 or later, MagicShow 2.0 is currently available for $9.99 through the Mac App Store. Note that this is a limited-time offer - normally, the program retails at $39.95.

Akvis has released version 12.5 of Akvis Sketch, a program which converts digital or digitised photos into pencil sketches, charcoal/pastel drawings or watercolours. Available as a standalone application as well as a plug-in to a photo editor, version 12.5 adds raw image support and batch processing capabilities to the standalone mode (previously, this was only available using the plug-in as a Photoshop action). Users of versions 9 through 12 of Sketch can upgrade to version 12.5 for free, but those who have an older version must pay for the upgrade.

Stagsden, Bedfordshire based 3 Legged Thing has unveiled the X1 Brian carbon fibre tripod. Part of the manufacturer’s ‘Rock Legend Range’, the X1 Brian tripod is named after Brian May, and features a detachable and removable triple section central column. With a folded height of 40 cm, ‘Brian’ is the smallest of the range, and yet extends to over 1.9m. Other tripods in the line-up include the 1.3kg X2 Eddie (van Halen), and the 1.6kg X3 Jimmy (Page) featuring a maximum load capacity of 15kg. 3 Legged Thing’s magnesium alloy tripod range comprises the X1a Adrian (Smith) and the X3a Kirk (Hammett), the latter of which will hold 12kg of photographic equipment (with a suitable head attached, of course). A carbon-fibre monopod called Bob (named after Bob Dylan) completes the product range. The monopod and all the tripods are available to purchase online at the website below, priced from £109.

The Romano Archives have published an amazing collection of rare colour footage showing Allied war photographers and cameramen at work during World War II. Founded by Italian historian Vincent Romano, the Romano Archives are dedicated to the digitisation and online distribution of historical documents and records, as well as WW2 newsreels filmed on colour material such as Kodachrome. This compilation features mainly US war photographers and cameramen in action in various theatres of the war, including places like Paris, Iwo Jima and Torgau, Germany, where US Army forces first met with Red Army units coming from the East. The footage shows the varied equipment used by members of the US Army Signal Corps and other Allied war photographers, including 35mm rangefinders and large-format press cameras, as well as a range of motion-picture cameras and accessories.

Click through / scroll down to view the compilation.

Living Apart is a Magnum Photos touring exhibition that showcases the work of top photographer Ian Berry who has captured some of the most important moments of South Africa’s history over a 40-year period. Currently on show at the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool, the exhibition features about 90 evocative images documenting the collapse of apartheid, the historic appointment of Nelson Mandela and its remarkable aftermath. The International Slavery Museum is located at Albert Dock, Liverpool, L3 4AQ, and is open daily from 10am to 5pm. The Ian Berry exhibition runs until 6 November 2011; entry is free.

HP has announced the HP EliteBook 8560w notebook, which has a built-in CFast memory card reader. According to Engadget, the HP EliteBook 8560w is the first laptop ever to feature a CFast slot. CFast memory cards - such as the ones announced by Pretec, Super Talent and Transcend - combine a fast SATA interface with the form factor of a Compact Flash card. Offering transfer speeds that are several times higher than that of a 600x CF card, CFast memory cards have the potential to become the storage media used by future generations of professional digital SLR cameras, although we are not aware of any current camera models supporting this medium at present.

Via Engadget

EyeSee 360, the company famous for its GoPano Plus optic that lets a DSLR or video camera capture a full 360° panoramic image in a single take, has announced the GoPano micro for the Apple iPhone 4. Where the GoPano Plus was a rather large piece of kit that was designed to work with digital SLR cameras and lenses, the GoPano micro is a much smaller unit that attaches to the iPhone 4. Currently existing in prototype form, the GoPano micro allows users to capture 360° panoramic images or video with the help of the iPhone 4’s built-in camera and the GoPano app. “The GoPano micro will record everything around you simultaneously,” the company says. “You can go back to the recorded video and choose to view any perspective, any angle at any point in time.” Click through / scroll down for a video demonstration.

JP Distribution, the exclusive UK distributor for Westcott, has just launched the new Spiderlite TD6 constant light source. Billed as the industry’s most powerful compact fluorescent lighting system on the market today, the Wescott Spiderlite TD6 is able to house up to six 50-watt fluorescent lights, with an optional Tungsten Halogen 6-pack also available. The low-profile switches on the back of the Spiderlite TD6 operate 2 lamps per switch and can be easily turned on and off to control light output. An inline cord switch allows for powering on and off the main unit when lights are placed up high and difficult to reach.  The built-in adapter ring allows for quick and easy mounting of a variety of softboxes and stripbanks. For example, you can shoot at a shutter speed of 1/60th of a second, aperture of f/8 at ISO 400/27° when using the 6-pack Westcott 50-watt Daylight Balanced Fluorescent Lamps and a 24” x 32” softbox. The price of the Spiderlite TD6 complete with a tilter bracket is £500.

In his flagship US boutique, British jewellery designer Stephen Webster will host a never-before-seen exhibition of prints by renowned UK photographer Duffy. Together with Terence Donovan and David Bailey, Duffy is recognised as one of the innovators of “documentary” fashion photography, a style that revolutionised the fashion industry. He produced an extraordinary body of work but destroyed most of his negatives in 1979. Fortunately, many of his pictures survived the destruction, and now, after nearly three years of painstaking archival of the surviving images, Duffy’s photographs will be shown and available for purchase. A private cocktail reception on 2nd May will open the exhibition, featuring hors d’ouevres created by award-winning chef and food writer Mark Hix. Approximately thirty photographs will remain on public display at the Stephen Webster Rodeo Drive boutique (02 North Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills) through the end of May. These extremely limited prints will also be sold, both framed and unframed, for the very first time in the United States.

Beauty CULTure is a new exhibition at the Annenberg Space for Photography. Featuring works from iconic photographers such as Albert Watson, Bert Stern, Herb Ritts, Man Ray, Jean-Paul Goude, Guy Bourdin, Horst, Melvin Sokolsky, Matthew Rolston, Philippe Halsman, Lauren Greenfield and Tyen, Beauty CULTure “encourages a social dialogue about the allure and mystique of the pursuit of female beauty, as well as the cult-like glorification and multi-billion dollar industries that surround it”, the organisers say. The exhibition opens to the public in Los Angeles on 21st May and runs through 27th November 2011. The Annenberg Space for Photography is located at 2000 Avenue of the Stars, Century City, and is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11am - 6pm, closed Monday and Tuesday. Admission is free.

Cinevate, in partnership with Tenba, has introduced a new collection of custom-built cases for their Core and Simplis Rigs, plus Atlas and Pegasus Camera Sliders.  Each new case is designed to protect Cinevate gear in various sizes and configurations, along with accompanying DSLR, video and filmmaking systems. The new “Protected by Tenba” collection will launch with hard-sided cases for the Core Rig and Atlas and Pegasus linear tracking systems, plus hard and soft-sided rolling cases, backpacks and shoulder bags for the Simplis Rig. The new cases will begin shipping in May at suggested retail prices between $189.95 and $369.95.

Photo-games site Phoozl.com has launched the Spring edition of the “Alphabetography Photo Challenge: the Four Seasons” contest on Facebook. The challenge runs for approximately 45 days to its conclusion on May 22. The concept is the following: photo enthusiasts submit photos that apply or relate to the current letter that’s in play. So during the “S” letter period, for instance, participants upload photos that are associated with a word starting with the letter “S”. When the gameplay moves to “P”, “P” photos are submitted. And so on through the six letters of the word “Spring”. Contest participants need only a Facebook account to enter, and they must be at least 18 years old. Photo submissions are acceptable from anywhere in the world, and there are no restrictions on when photos are taken or if they have been manipulated.

DxO Labs have unveiled their findings and DxOMark Sensor Scores for the Fujifilm FinePix X100 large-sensor digital compact camera. According to their measurements, the X100’s sensor is essentially on a par with the Pentax K-x and the Sony A55 in terms of colour depth and dynamic range, and is significantly ahead of both in terms of high-ISO image quality in low light. The Nikon D7000 and the Sony A580, on the other hand, scored better on every front. (Remember that these numbers measure raw sensor performance only, and tell you nothing about things like the cameras’ handling, operational speed, image processing, mechanical quality or overall ease of use.)

Website: Fujifilm FinePix X100 on DxOMark

Addonics has announced the CF/CFast Drive, which lets you “create” a solid state drive with a high-speed SATA interface by simply using any CF card or a high speed CFast card. The CF/CFast Drive can be installed into a standard 5 1/4” drive bay of a desktop- or rack-mounted system to accommodate up to six CF/CFast media. They can be configured as six independent drives or combined into a RAID group. There are four models available, priced from $135 to $199 (cards not included).

Rollei has announced an add-on telephoto conversion lens for the Apple iPhone 4. With an angle of view of 16°, the manual-focus Rollei telephoto lens allows the iPhone camera to capture distant subjects in great detail. Focusing is by way of a traditional focus ring, and is helped by a distance scale that goes from 3m to infinity, with markings at 10m, 20m, 30m and 40m. Weighing in at only 45 grams, the Rollei 8x telephoto lens will be available in stores from the end of April for a recommended retail price of €34.95. The scope of delivery includes the lens itself, a miniature tripod with a mount for the Apple iPhone 4, a hard case for the phone and a cleaning cloth. Click through / scroll down for more information, and an image gallery of the product.