Nikon’s new FSB-8 digital camera bracket has been specifically designed to connect the new Nikon Coolpix P300 digital compact camera with the manufacturer’s range of Fieldscopes, spotting scopes and EZ Micro products. By positioning the FSB-8 bracket between the camera and a Nikon scope, P300 owners can use the camera to take close-up shots of birds and wildlife. Bundled with a long cable release, the Nikon FSB-8 bracket will be available from April at an RRP of £119.99.

Sony has announced the winners of the Sony World Photography Awards Open contest. Beating competition from over 51,000 submissions from 148 counties, the ten category winners are Edina Csoboth from Hungary, Marek Troszczynski from Poland, Wolfgang Weinhardt from Germany, Raghuranjan Sarkar from India, Chumlong Nilkon from Thailand, Chan Kwok Hung from Hong Kong, Andiyan Lutfi and Hubert Januar from Indonesia, James Chong from Singapore, and Carlos Henrique Reinesch from Brazil. Featured above is Edina Csoboth’s entry, which finished first in the Fashion category.

Peter Wallis is the very lucky winner of a fantastic Olympus XZ-1 premium compact camera, worth £399.99 / $499.99.

Thanks to everyone who took part and stay tuned for another great giveaway very soon…

This contest closed at 12 midday GMT on Monday 21st March 2011.

Shooting wide open with a fast lens was becoming a luxury in the digital age. The fortunate few can afford super fast pro lenses on SLR’s whilst only the dedicated search out old prime optics and adapters for their systems. Now the beauty of F1.8 is available on a compact from a classic photography brand that really knows about optics. It boasts a larger than average sensor and a lens that delivers edge to edge sharpness even wide open, providing opportunities for depth of field control only previously dreamt about. So confident are Olympus about the edge sharpness that the XZ-1 shoots near maximum aperture even on auto settings which is more than can be said for many system cameras that default to smaller apertures sacrificing any chance of that wonderful bokeh. Don’t believe the hype? Check out our Olympus XZ-1 review.

Due to an even better than expected reaction to the Olympus XZ-1, they are in very short supply, so here is you chance to get you hands on one of the few available - absolutely free!

For more information on Olympus products please visit: www.olympus.co.uk

ExpoImaging today announced availability of the Rogue Grid, the newest addition to its Rogue FlashBender product line. Weighing just 3.5 ounces, the Rogue Grid is uniquely designed to produce three different honeycomb grid angles. A 25? grid and a 45? grid align and stack to create a 16? grid, producing three distinct levels of spot lighting control in a compact and lightweight package. The Rogue Grid is available now for $49.95.

Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) and the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) have announced the schedule of events that will accompany this year’s TPOTY exhibition. The exhibition itself will be held from 6th May to 10th June, and will be complemented by three days of informative and entertaining lectures and workshops, where travel and photography lovers can learn from renowned experts and immerse themselves in images, geography, history, and photographic technique. Priced at £55 per day, these include Exploring Photography and Travel (14th May), Wild Day (15th May) and People & Culture Day (5th June). A three-day ticket to cover all the events costs £140. Admission to the TPOTY exhibition itself is free. Click through / read on for more information.

JP Distribution today announced the new range of Parabolic Umbrellas from Westcott. The line includes a White Diffusion, a White/Black and a Silver model, with each being 7’ in diameter and weighing in at 2.5 pounds. These parabolic umbrellas are constructed using 16 durable fibreglass ribs composite that offer added strength and durability over standard steel or aluminium frames, the company says. Each model costs £110 including VAT and a heavy-duty nylon carry case.

A group of photographers have got together to run some charity print auctions in aid of the disaster relief effort in Japan, and are now looking for both interested art buyers and more photographers who would be happy to offer some of their work for the cause. Photographers willing to join are required to pay the cost of a single print and list it on eBay for sale. People interested in buying the prints - and help Japan doing so - are also encouraged to visit the project’s website.

Website: Photos for Japan

Magnum Photos and Caseable have teamed up to create a line of limited edition laptop cases with select Magnum images. Interested readers are encouraged to vote for their favourite pictures on the Magnum Photos Facebook page. The top 3 images will be printed on Caseable cases. Voting is open until the end of April.

Website: Magnum Photos - Facebook

Lomography UK has launched its biggest consumer promotion to date. Within the framework of its “One Million Piggies Giveaway”, Lomography UK we will be giving away one million piggies to participants, with each piggy being worth £1 in the Lomography online store. Today, piggies will be awarded to everyone who uploads more than 50 shots to the Lomography website. Tomorrow, the company is giving away 5 piggies to anyone who “likes” their top 100 favourite Lomography shots and comments on ten of them. The promotion will continue until Friday, with each day bringing new “piggy challenges”. Click through for more detailed information.

AKVIS has just released a new program called HDRFactory. The software creates HDR-images from a series of photographs taken at different exposures, or from a single photograph. HDRFactory also includes an efficient deghosting tool for removing ghost artifacts that sometimes appear when combining photos with moving objects. AKVIS HDRFactory can also be used for photo correction. You can adjust color saturation and brightness, and bring out the detail in dark and bright areas. The software is available in two versions - as an independent program (standalone) and as a plugin to a photo editor. The price of a Home Licence is $69.

Photo and fine art printing lab theprintspace has added Canson Baryta Photographique and Canson Arches Aquarelle Rag to its range of print papers. Canson Baryta is an alpha-cellulose, acid-free pure white museum grade paper, whilst Canson Rag (pictured) is a highly textured paper, with a slightly warm off white base and one of the highest Dmax possible, allowing it to achieve maximum blacks.

Samsung today announced a new partnership with iconic record store, Rough Trade East. The partnership with Samsung centres upon the NX digital cameras, namely the NX10, NX11 and NX100. Commenting on the partnership, Stephen Godfroy, Director of Rough Trade, said: “Music and photography have always been inexorably linked, we’re continuing that tradition with a typical Rough Trade DIY ethos, involving staff, audience and artists to capture the magic of a place like Rough Trade East.”

Peterman’s Eye Publishing has recently kicked off its third annual travel photography photo competition. “Whether your travel is up the Irrawaddy River, or simply down to your local farmer’s market, we like to think of Peterman’s Eye as a place to discover, share, and preserve those memories,” the organisers say. The first prize is $1,500; the second is $1,000; and the second is $500. Entries must be uploaded before 15th April through the Peterman’s Eye website.

Website: Peterman’s Eye

Blurb today unveiled Version 3.0 of its bookmaking software, Blurb BookSmart. The program now includes the two most-requested features from Blurb customers: a two-page photo spread and a way to change the size of an existing photo book. Moreover, it is also possible to convert the pocket sized text book format to the larger trade size. BookSmart 3.0 is available for download from Blurb’s website.

WD today introduced its My Book Studio Edition II dual-drive storage system with 6 terabytes of storage and a quad interface offering FireWire 800, FireWire 400, eSATA and USB 2.0 connectivity. Other features include a capacity gauge to see at a glance how much space is available on the system, user replaceable drives, eco-friendly operation and continuous automatic backup thanks to bundled software. Formatted for Mac computers, the WD My Book Studio Edition II 6TB drive comes with a 5-year limited warranty at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $549.99. The drive can be re-formatted for Windows 7 / Vista.

What Else Magazine is running an experimental project about intimate life and its representation in photography. Those willing to participate are encouraged to take a photograph of themselves nude or semi-naked and an object they like and send it to the magazine editors. The best shots will be published on the What Else Magazine App available through the Android Market and the iTunes App Store.

The Pentax Optio RS1500 is a digital camera with a customisable skin. The Optio RS1500 comes with ten ready-made unique front skins. You can also easily customise the camera yourself as it also comes with five blank pre-cut paper foils. In addition, the new Optio RS1500 includes two lens rings – black and orange, so you can begin customising your camera straight away. The RS1500 has a subtle aluminium design and also offers a 4x wide-angle zoom (equivalent to 28-112mm in 35mm), a 3 inch LCD display and HD video recording (1280x720 pixels, 30fps). The Pentax RS1500 will be available in April 2011 for £89.99.