Wilmotte Gallery at The Lichfield Studios is launching its 2010 contemporary art programme with new work by French photographer Marie Passa de Safar from 28 April. Marie Passa de Safar’s photography is closer to painting or charcoal drawing, with architecture, nature and still life all reappraised through her eyes and re-presented at the point where figuration and abstraction meet. This is the first UK show for Passa de Safar, who graduated in architecture and design and worked for many years at an international architecture agency before turning her attention to photography in 2007. Wilmotte Gallery at The Lichfield Studios is located at 133 Oxford Gardens, London, W10 6NE. The exhibition runs until 18 May.

Website: The Lichfield Studios

Remember Martin Hartley, the Arctic explorer who left the UK in February, equipped with a Leica MP 35mm film camera? Now’s your chance to win an original, signed print of one of his photographs. The spectacular photo has been flown back direct from the Arctic where Martin is currently on the ice with the 2010 Catlin Arctic Survey helping to investigate the effects of ocean acidification. For your chance to win this prize, and for more details on the prize draw, pay a visit to the website below.

Website: Catlin Arctic Survey

Kata has unveiled two brand new telephoto lens backpacks – the Kata TLB 300 & 600 - designed specifically for photographers using and carrying long lenses. Both bags feature fully adjustable, “expedition quality” harnesses, designed to ease the strain of carrying heavy camera equipment, and both can accommodate a professional DSLR camera body with a 300mm or up to 600mm lens. When smaller lenses are in use a horizontal divider can be set at the required height and any spare space below the lens can be used for additional storage. SRP for the TLB 300 is £179.95 and the TLB 600 (pictured) £219.95.

Jessops has just announced the arrival of the Fujfilm FinePix HS10. Available now priced at £399, the Fujifilm FinePix HS10 offers a 10-megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor, a 24-720mm equivalent 30x optical zoom, a 3-inch tilting LCD panel, Full HD movie capture with stereo sound and 10fps continuous shooting at full resolution.

Review: Read our in-depth review of the Fujifilm FinePix HS10

DxO Labs have posted detailed raw-based sensor data for the Canon EOS 550D digital SLR camera. With a DxOMark Sensor score of 65.5, essentially the same as the Canon EOS 7D and the Sony Alpha A550, the Canon EOS 550D finished on 33rd place. There are no major deviations in the findings versus the pre-production model they tested back in February.

Website: DxOMark Raw Sensor Data for the Canon EOS 550D / Rebel T2i
Review: Read our in-depth review of the Canon EOS 550D

DigiLabs has announced that with the release of its new photo creativity software, My Photo Creations, it will enable end-users to enter the self publishing market and increase sales for licensees. Currently, DigiLabs’ end-users can create and share flash photobooks online with friends, family, colleagues, customers, etc. Now viewers of these shared books will be able to purchase a printed copy of the book, right online, thanks to the new “Share and Sell” feature. “This new functionality will offer our licensees a simple and easy way to enter the self-publishing market,” says Nader Anvari, Chief Marketing Officer for DigiLabs.

Website: DigiLabs

The Impossible Project announced that it has just released the second instant film for Polaroid cameras, called PX 600 Silver Shade. Last month saw the introduction of its first product, PX 100 Silver Shade, a film for Polaroid SX70 cameras. The new PX 600 is a high definition integral film for Polaroid 600 cameras, featuring “beautifully detailed monochrome characteristics”, the company says. The PX 600 Silver Shade film will be available on www.the-impossible-project.com as well as at selected retail partners. Launch events will be held on April 22 at Chandal in Barcelona, on April 24 at The Photographers’ Gallery in London and on April 30 in the SofortBildShop Berlin. April 30 will also mark the opening day of The Impossible Project’s Space in New York City.

Sigma has announced that, through collaboration with Adobe, Sigma lenses will be compatible with the “Lens Correction” feature of Adobe Photoshop CS5 and CS5 Extended. When the improved “Lens Correction” filter is selected, it will provide accurate correction of aberrations automatically in accordance with each lens parameter. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 will apply optimum correction of aberration to photographers who own Sigma lenses, the manufacturer claims.

Cisco has announced the Flip SlideHD pocket camcorder featuring an all-new form factor and 720p HD video recording at 30fps. The Flip SlideHD is the first Flip Video camera that lets consumers shoot up to four hours of HD video or store up to 12 hours of videos, photos, and content from Flip channels. SlideHD is also the first Flip to enable real-time video sharing on a 3-inch wide transflective touch screen with a unique slide-up design. Also, SlideHD lets users design their own camcorder to make it uniquely their own.  Users can also choose from thousands of designs from artists, leading design firms, celebrities, and iconic brands, or they can easily upload their own image to create a one-of-a-kind camcorder. The Flip SlideHD camcorder is immediately available for an MSRP of $279.99 at major retailers, online retailers and at the Flip store.

Website: Flip Store

Energizer is launching a new AA/AAA battery charger on 19 April that will display a digital countdown informing users how many hours are left until the batteries are fully charged. The Energizer Recharge Smart Charger also includes a digital fuel gauge to inform users how full the batteries are. This could be very useful, the company claims, because photographers may not need completely full batteries every time they go out on a shoot and monitoring the fuel gauge can inform them if they have enough power to get the job done. The Energy Star certified battery charger is offered at the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $19.99.

Lloyds TSB has just launched the Weather Photographer of the Year competition in the UK, with a top prize of £10,000. Running until 30 September 2010, the Lloyds TSB Insurance Weather Photographer of the Year will culminate in a public exhibition in London where the finalists’ entries will be on show ahead of the winner being announced in November. The public will have the opportunity to vote on their favourite pictures online, with £100 going to the most popular photo uploaded each week. As always, we suggest that you check out the Terms & Conditions before entering your work.

Website: British Weather Photographer of the Year

Olympus has introduced Olympus Viewer 2, the new version of its raw converter and image / movie editor. The successor to Olympus Master 2 and Olympus Studio 2 also delivers Art Filter effects for raw development as well as enhanced OS compatibility. Fully compatible with Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Windows 7, Olympus Viewer 2 will be available to E-System and PEN users as a free download from Olympus websites from early May 2010.

The Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 DC HSM, the world’s widest rectilinear lens for DSLR cameras with an APS-C sized sensor, has just been given a price tag in the UK. This is the first ultra-wide zoom lens with a minimum focal length of 8mm, designed specifically for APS-C size image sensors. The wide-angle of view of 121.2 degrees produces striking images with exaggerated perspective, enabling photographers to emphasise the subject.The suggested retail price is £799.99. This new lens will be available at the end of April in Sigma, Canon and Nikon fit. Sony and Pentax will follow shortly, says Paul Reynolds of Sigma Imaging (UK) Ltd.

Photographer Toby Smith has carried out an ambitious project to document illegal deforestation in Madagascar. He first identified the logging areas before documenting the activity deep within UNESCO protected rainforests.The project has now been published across 17 pages in GEO magazine (Germany) after being embargoed for 6 months as evidence in international courts. Now, as part of the London International Documentary Festival, Smith will exhibit a selection of his striking images for the first time hoping to draw public attention to illegal deforestation in the island state. The exhibition runs from 17 to 26 April 2010 in Barbican Mezzanine, Silk Street, London. Admission is free.

Canon has issued a firmware update for the EOS 7D digital SLR camera. Version 1.2.1 corrects a phenomenon in which vertical magenta-colored banding appears in still images taken in movie-shooting mode, optimises program shift when the ISO setting of the camera is set to AUTO, and fixes a few bugs.

Website: Canon EOS 7D Firmware Update

In a week’s time, Olympus is going to release a major firmware update for all of its Micro Four Thirds cameras, which promises an improvement in focusing speed. The new firmware update, affecting the Olympus E-P1, E-P2 and E-PL1 models, will become available at 3am CET on 22 April. Apart from speeding up the auto-focus of these cameras, the update also allows photographers using the Olympus E-P2 and E-PL1 with the VF-2 electronic viewfinder fitted to view the menu and recorded images on the LCD. Finally, for the E-P1 and E-P2, the update also makes continuous auto-focus tracking in movie mode as fast and accurate as on the new E-PL1.

Website: Olympus - Firmware Update Instructions

GhostRighters today announced the availability of its new business services for professional photographers. GhostRighters specialises in helping photographers become formidable competitors in the markets they serve by providing as much writing and marketing support as they need. The company’s goal is to increase a photographer’s exposure, help them retain their current customers and find new ones, build an effective and communicative brand that is not only widely known, but widely respected, sought-after and praised.  This new service offers 3 distinct areas of assistance: GhostWrite, GhostMarket, and GhostWeb. Within each of these categories, a number of offerings are available including press releases, newsletters, blog design and blog postings, print and online advertising campaigns, email blasts, website design, logo and business card designs, and more.

Website: GhostRighters

Sony Europe has announced a competition and promotion linked to the upcoming launch of their new EVIL camera whose concept model (pictured) was first shown at PMA 2010. To celebrate the unveiling of this compact system camera, two lucky winners and a guest will be whisked away to a 2010 FIFA World Cup match. If you want the chance to take pictures alongside the professionals, send them three of your best pictures on the theme of “street scenes”. Entries must be submitted by 11.59:59pm (GMT) on Friday 26th April 2010. Note that this competition is open to residents of the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Russia, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, Portugal, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, Greece, Turkey and Denmark only.

Website: World Cup Finals Photography Competition