Hasselblad has announced the US pricing of the limited-edition stainless steel version of the Hasselblad H4D-40 medium-format DSLR camera. Featuring Hasselblad’s True Focus and Absolute Position Lock technologies, the stainless steel Hasselblad H4D-40 - manufactured in a special limited production run of only 100 units - is available for $18,995 (body only), or $20,995 (with HC 2.8/80mm lens).

Hama has announced a compact LED panel for video-enabled DSLR cameras. “It’s approximately the size of a pack of cigarettes, and its two-centimetre depth is sufficient to hold 40 dimmable daylight LEDs,” the company says. Powered by 3 AAA batteries, the Hama LED lamp has an operating time of one hour and is available for €129.

Habitat for Humanity’s quarterly magazine, Habitat World, has opened its annual photo contest. Habitat for Humanity International is a non-profit organisation that seeks to eliminate housing issues and homelessness from the world. The Habitat World annual photo contest encourages photographers to submit photos that demonstrate the deep need for housing solutions and illustrate Habitat’s work around the world. The contest winner will be awarded a spot as a volunteer in Haiti this fall. Habitat World will pay the winner’s air transportation and trip fees, which include modest daily accommodations and meals. Additionally, photos and statements from the contest winner and top four finalists will be published in the December 2011 issue of Habitat World, which has a readership of 1 million.

Fujifilm Japan have announced a delay in shipping the X100 camera and accessories to customers. Blaming higher than expected demand for the shortage of the X100, the LC-X100 case and the LH-X100 lens hood, Fujifilm have promised to urgently increase production to satisfy orders. The X100 officially starting shipping in Japan last week, and reports are filtering through that small numbers of pre-orders have been met in the UK from this week.

Website: Fujifilm Japan

The parent company of Manfrotto, Vitec, has acquired the lighting company Lastolite for £8.75 million. The acquisition is designed to complement Vitec’s existing range of Manfrotto lighting supports and LED lights with lighting control accessories.Lastolite specializes in lighting control accessories and backgrounds for the photo, video and cinema industry.

This year’s Focus on Imaging show was well attended, despite the current UK financial climate and the surprise absence of one of the industry’s big hitters, Canon. Although most products on show have already been announced, this was the first chance to get hands-on with stand-out products like the Fujifilm X100, to listen to one of the many free techniques sessions, or to grab one of the retail bargains on offer. We have a gallery of photos of some of the most interesting stands and products from around the show.

Fujifilm are showcasing their impressive new range of digital cameras at Focus, including the hotly anticipated X100. Making it’s UK debut, full production versions of the X100 are available on the Fujifilm stand to try out for yourself, and to pre-order at various retailers around the show. We were told that UK shipments will be in 2-3 weeks. Other key models for Fujifilm this year include the HS20, a superzoom with a 30x lens, the latest members of the F-series, the F550EXR and F500EXR, and the affordable SP2950 superzoom. We have hands-on photos with all these new models in our gallery.

Sony are showing off a transparent prototype of their upcoming replacement for the A700 DSLR, widely rumoured to be called the A77, at the Focus on Imaging show. Bigger than the more dimunitive A55 and A33 models, the A700 replacement will use the same SLT translucent mirror technology. We have some hands-on photos of the transparent A77 camera in our gallery, including a side-by-side comparison with the earlier model that was shown last year at Photokina.

The World Photography Organisation has announced that Bruce Davidson is to be awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Photography Award (previously known as the Lifetime Achievement Award) at this year’s Sony World Photography Awards. Born in Oak Park, Illinois, Davidson is one of America’s most distinguished photographers. After completing his military service in 1957 he worked as a photographer for Life Magazine and in 1958, Henri CartierBresson invited him to join Magnum Photos. His work has been exhibited at many major institutions including The Museum of Modern Art, The Smithsonian Museum of American Art, The International Center of Photography, The Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego, Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris, The Aperture Foundation in New York, and The Foundation Cartier-Bresson in Paris and Tate Modern in London.

Panasonic USA has announced the suggested retail prices for its premium line-up of Lumix digital camera models. These include the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8 ($299.99, pictured), DMC-ZS10 ($399.99), DMC-TS3 ($399.99) and FX78 ($349.99).

Photographer and accomplished author Andy Stansfield (pictured) has announced two innovative one-day workshops for aspiring freelance photographers and writers. ‘Photography Skills for Writers’  will help participants gain an increased understanding of editors’ image requirements for different purposes,  and how to shoot images which will complement their writing and appeal to editors; while ‘Writing Skills for Photographers’ will coach photographers in the skills necessary for writing captions, magazine features and even books to accompany their images. The maximum size of each workshop will be 10-12, depending on venue, and the cost will be £85 which includes tuition, light refreshments and lunch.

Rollei has announced the addition of three new 14-megapixel models to its Powerflex series. These include the Rollei Powerflex 470 (€199.90 including a camera pouch and a 4GB memory card, pictured) boasting a 28-196mm equivalent 7x zoom lens, HD movie recording and a 3-inch rear screen; the Rollei Powerflex 460 (€179.99 including a camera pouch and a 2GB memory card) sporting a 26-130mm equivalent 5x optical zoom and a 3-inch screen; and the Rollei Powerflex 455 (€129.90) featuring a 5x Rollei Apogon zoom lens, HD video recording and a 2.7-inch display in a package that weighs just 110g.

Taking inspiration from manual-focus AI, AI-s and pre-AI Nikkor lenses, photographic.ly has created a fun new wristband for photographers, featuring f-stops from f/1.4 to f/16 using the original colour codes. (The colour coding system, which involved consistent use of specific colours on the aperture rings and DOF scales of every manual-focus Nikkor lens, was invented in order to help users quickly estimate the depth of field at any given aperture setting.) “This silicone writsband is a fantastic way to both display your love of photography and your love of photographic history,” says David Schloss, Executive Director at MacCreate/Photographic.ly. Priced at $8.49, the Nikkor-inspired f-stop bracelet ships from the US to “anywhere on the planet” for a fixed cost of $0.99. The sale of each wristband generates twenty-cents for SPCA International.

Website: Photographic.ly

The JVC GS-TD1 - billed as the world’s first consumer camcorder to record 3D footage in Full HD - is now available in the USA. The GS-TD1 uses two camera lenses and two 3.32 megapixel CMOS sensors – one for each lens – to capture three-dimensional images. Video shot using the GS-TD1 can be burned to a Blu-ray disc for 3D playback on a compatible Blu-ray player, and viewed on any 3D TV. The JVC GZ-TD1 Full HD 3D camcorder is available now for $1,699.95.

As noted in our Samyang booth report, the Korean lens maker has announced the development of a new, manual-focus fish-eye lens for Micro Four Thirds. As seen in the photo above, the Samyang 7.5mm f/3.5 UMC for Micro Four Thirds (right) is much smaller than the company’s existing 8mm f/3.5 Aspherical IF MC fish-eye lens (left), which is made for DSLR cameras with an APS-C sized sensor, yet it’s still capable of delivering a diagonal angle of view of 180°. Directly competing with the Panasonic Lumix G Fish-Eye 8mm f/3.5 (read review), the new Samyang lens is the first model in a new series of lenses designed specifically for compact system cameras, the company says.

Lens makers Samyang are making their UK debut at Focus on Imaging, with their full range of manual focus lenses on display. This includes the new Samyang 35mm f/1.4 AS UMC, a bright wide-angle lens for manual-focus enthusiasts, the Samyang 14mm f/2.8 IF ED MC and lenses for the Samsung NX system. On show behind glass was the recently announced Samyang 8mm f/3.5 Fish-Eye CS VG10, a manual-focus fish-eye lens designed for the Sony NEX-VG10 interchangeable-lens camcorder, and a world first, a concept version of a new 7.5mm Micro Four Thirds fisheye len providing 180 degree field of vision.

The Sony HX100v, HX9v and WX10 are three key products in the Cybershot range for 2011. At around £400, the HX100v is literally the big draw, with a 30x zoom lens and a tilting LCD screen. The HX9v, priced at around £340, is a serious rival to the Panasonic TZ-series, with a 16x zoom in a pocketable body. The WX10 at £280 is the best-specified member of the slim and stylish W-range. All three cameras share exactly the same 16.2 megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor. The HX100v and HX9v will be available in the UK from April, and the WX10 will be in the shops by the end of March.

Samyang has modified the design of the Samyang 35mm f/1.4 AS UMC lens by adding a DOF scale at the request of photographers. Originally announced on 16 September 2010, this ultra-fast moderate wide-angle manual-focus lens has also seen a reduction in size, Samyang says. Available in Canon, Four Thirds, Nikon, Pentax, Samsung NX and Sony Alpha fit, the lens is priced at €379 including taxes.

Panasonic has announced a range of new SDHC UHS-I Memory Cards with read and write speeds of up to 95MB/s and 80MB/s, respectively. The new Gold cards will be globally introduced in April 2011 with 8 GB, 16 GB, and 32 GB capacities. Pricing to be announced.