Wignut has announced the immediate availability of Lo-Fi, a retro photo effect application for MacOS and Windows. The application allows users to mix a wide range of effects from the film world, such as grain, cross-processing, lens blur, light leaks, and frames. The program sells for $29.

This year Panasonic returns to the Focus On Imaging show to showcase its Lumix and Lumix G series digital cameras, HD camcorders and 3D imaging products. All new products will be available to explore including the TZ20 Travel Compact (read review), the GF2 and GH2 compact system cameras and Micro Four Thirds lenses. There will also e an extensive collection of HD Camcorders to sample, including the HDC-TM900, HDC-HS900, HDC-SD900, HDC-SD800 and HDC-SD90 models.

Lastolite has just launched the new Hotrod Strip Softbox. Available in two sizes, 30cmx120cm and 40cmx120cm, the Hotrod Strip Softbox has been designed for use with battery-operated flash units and features a ‘cold shoe’ for simple flash attachment. The smaller version costs £120, whilst the bigger one is available for £132 including VAT.

On 22nd March Brian Griffin, one of the most influential UK photographers, will deliver a lecture on how to survive financially while pursuing creative photography. “In 2001 I decided that I would never take photographs again purely for money, and would find ways to survive purely on my creativity,” he says. Organised by London Independent Photography (LIP), the lecture “is a fantastic opportunity to hear first-hand how an internationally recognised photographer has managed to develop their creative vision - and pay the bills,” says LIP’s Chairman, Adrian Capps. The event will take place from 7pm on 22nd March at the following location: Rudolf Steiner House, 35 Park Road, London. Tickets are £8 in advance or £10 at the door.

Corel has announced its participation at the Focus On Imaging 2011 show. The Corel team will be hosting a range of photo and video editing demonstrations and workshops at regular intervals throughout each day and invites attendees to meet the team of experts at its interactive Digital Darkroom stand E9, 6-9 March at Birmingham’s NEC. The company is also going to offer a number of online deals during the show, including a 25% discount on Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3 and Corel Painter 11.

Samyang has announced a manual-focus fish-eye lens designed for the Sony NEX-VG10 interchangeable-lens camcorder. The new lens comes with a native Sony E bayonet mount and promises easy and smooth - perhaps stepless, but it’s unclear from the wording of the product announcement - diaphragm control. The Samyang 8mm f/3.5 Fish-Eye CS VG10 lens will be on display at the Focus On Imaging show in Birmingham. Pricing and availability to be announced.

Wacom have confirmed their attendance at the Focus On Imaging 2011 show. ‘Where it comes to life’ is the guiding idea behind Wacom’s presence at the show, where the focus will be on the Intuos4 range of pen tablets, as well as the Cintiq 21UX and Cintiq 12WX interactive pen displays. Ian Sayers, Wacom evangelist, specialised in offering practical training solutions to the creative industry, will also be on the stand to provide expertise and knowledge to visitors on how to get the best out of leading digital imaging software packages using a Wacom tablet. Finally, the company will also offer special deals on certain Intuos4 models during the show.

The Photographers’ Gallery today named the four shortlisted artists nominated for its annual Deutsche Börse Photography Prize (DBPP). The annual award of £30,000 rewards a living photographer, of any nationality, who has made the most significant contribution, in exhibition or publication format, to the medium of photography in Europe between 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010. The four shortlisted artists are Thomas Demand, Roe Ethridge, Jim Goldberg, and Elad Lassry. The winner will be announced at a special ceremony at Ambika P3, University of Westminster, London, on 26 April 2011.

Olympus have released a new firmware update for the XZ-1 compact camera. Version 1.1 resolves the issue that occurred when the POWER button of the dedicated flash units was operated.

Website: Olympus XZ-1 Firmware Update

Olympus have released a new firmware update for the E-PL2 compact system camera. Version 1.1 changes the default setting of Image Stabilizer (IS) to “On” when converter lens scene mode FISHEYE EFFECT, WIDE-ANGLE, and MACRO are selected.

Website: Olympus E-PL2 Firmware Update

Olympus have released a new firmware update for the E-5 DSLR camera. Version 1.1 resolves the issue of the LCD monitor color compensation being reset.

Website: Olympus E-5 Firmware Update

The Pentax Optio S1 is a fashionable and elegant digital compact camera. Aiming to take on the Canon IXUS range, the Pentax S1 has a 14 megapixel sensor, 5x optical zoom lens (28-140mm), 2.7 inch LCD, and 720p HD video capture. Available later this month, the Pentax S1 costs $199.95 / £119.99.

Want to see exactly what the stylish new Pentax Optio S1 compact camera looks like?

We’ve got an exclusive hands-on photo gallery of the Pentax Optio S1 - click “Read the story” to see it…Please note that this is pre-production model is slightly different to the release version, which will have a black rather than red lens barrel.

Apple has unveiled the iPad 2. Incorporating a dual-core Apple A5 processor that’s up to two times faster than the one in the original iPad, the new iPad 2 is 33% thinner and up to 15% lighter than its predecessor, and features both a front- and a back-facing camera.for capturing video and stills. Like the previous version, the Apple iPad 2 sports a 9.7” LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with a resolution of 1024x768 pixels, and will be available from 11th March in the US, starting at $499 for the 16GB Wi-Fi variant. Coinciding with the US launch, Apple is releasing a new iPad version of its iMovie video editing software, priced at $4.99. The tablet will go on sale in 26 other countries, including the UK, on 25th March.

The Eizo ColorEdge CG275W is a 27-inch self-calibrating monitor for professionals in prepress, digital photography, graphic design, video editing and post-production. Featuring a built-in calibration sensor, the Eizo ColorEdge CG275W can be scheduled to self-calibrate outside of work hours when the computer is turned off. The monitor has a native resolution is 2560x1440 pixels, maximum brightness of 270 cd/m2, contrast ratio of 850:1, 6 ms gray-to-gray response time, and 178° viewing angles. The ColorEdge CG275W will begin shipping in late March.

DxO Labs have released DxO Optics Pro 6.5.5 for MacOS and Windows. The new version of the software adds support for the Sony A33 and Nikon Coolpix P7000 digital cameras in both its Standard and Elite editions. Furthermore, this release includes 50 new DxO Optics Modules, supporting lenses from Canon, Nikon, Sigma, Tamron, Tokina, and Sony for numerous Canon, Nikon, and Sony camera bodies.

Website: DxO Labs

X-Rite has announced its March webinar schedule. There will be a two-part “Getting Started in Lightroom 3” webinar, with the first part airing on the 3th and the second on the 10th; plus a lecture on using X-Rite’s ColorChecker Passport (pictured), and a “Beyond Monitor Calibration” seminar for those who would like to get prints that match their display. These webinars are offered free of charge, and attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions during the presentations. For the detailed schedule see the announcement below.

The finalists of the fourth International Garden Photographer of the Year (IGPOTY) competition have been announced. All of the photographs have been reviewed over a 10 week period by some of the leading garden photographers in the world, as well as representatives of Kew Gardens, the National Trust and the Royal Photographic Society. The winners will be announced on 3 May 2011. The finalists can be viewed at the website below.