Tomorrow, Jessops will open their second store in the centre of London. Jessops on New Oxford Street will mark the opening of the company's 56th high-street branch, bringing a wider choice of cameras, expert advice and specialist photography services to the capital. “The location of our New Oxford Street store builds on the success of our existing flagship London store,” says Neil Old, CEO of Jessops. “There is a lot of exciting redevelopment in this part of London with an estimated 200,000 passengers passing through the new Tottenham Court Road station when it is completed later this year. This will allow us to offer our leading service and products to a wide audience of potential photographers.” The new shop will be located at 102 New Oxford Street, London, WC1A 1HB. The first 30 customers on Friday morning will receive 100 free prints.

Free trial versions of Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer are now available for Windows users. The ‘try before you buy’ offer follows the launch of the two products on Windows late last year, and means potential customers will be able to spend ten days testing the software before committing to a purchase. “Even though we offer a no-strings refund policy for 14 days, trial versions for Windows have been a popular request and we know there’s still a huge market out there of people who want a professional graphics or photo editor for a one-time cost with no expensive ongoing payments," says Ashley Hewson, Managing Director of Serif.

Exploring Ultraviolet Photography: Bee Vision, Forensic Imaging, and Other Near Ultraviolet Adventures with Your DSLR by David Prutchi is a new title from Amherst Media. In this book, the author shows readers how to select equipment that allows them to capture otherworldly ultraviolet images. Readers will learn how to use filters that block visible light and prevent infrared light leaks and will discover how complementing or overpowering sunlight with artificial UV light sources can help them create more powerful photographs. The 128-page paperback will go on sale on 25th February, priced at £33.99

Panasonic has developed a new technology, enabling electrical control of the near infrared (NIR) light sensitivity of the same pixel in an organic CMOS image sensor. This technology allows for switchning between modes of colour imaging and NIR imaging frame by frame, without the mechanical IR cut filter required for conventional image sensors. The sensitivity of all the pixels in the image sensor, which has directly stacked organic films, is simultaneously controlled by changing the applied voltage to the organic films. This technology also enables global shutter operation, the company says. Panasonic will present some part of these technologies at the international academic conference: ISSCC (International Solid-State Circuit Conference) 2017.

Photo London has announced the list of participating galleries for the third edition of the Fair, taking place 18 – 21 May 2017 at Somerset House (pictured). Building on the success of the previous two editions, Photo London 2017 will showcase the best in contemporary photography to a growing international audience of collectors and enthusiasts. The 86 galleries exhibiting in 2017 were selected by an expert Curatorial Committee led by Philippe Garner, Former Director at Christie’s and International Head of Photographs and 20th Century Decorative Arts and Design at Christie’s. As a result of their work, the third edition of the Fair includes galleries from 17 different countries: Austria; Australia; Azerbaijan; Belgium; Canada, Chile, France; Germany; Iceland; Italy; Japan; Spain; Switzerland; Turkey; United Arab Emirates; UK and USA. To its established mix of galleries featuring all forms of photography from the dawn of the medium to the present day, Photo London has this year added a number of leading contemporary galleries including Victoria Miro, Sprüth Magers and Alison Jacques Gallery. Photo London 2017 also features an expanded 'Discovery' section – a showcase for emerging galleries, publishers and artists, curated for the first time by Art Consultant and Curator Tristan Lund. The 2017 Discovery galleries include Cob Gallery (London), BERG Contemporary (Reykjavík), EUQINOMprojects (San Francisco) and Rubber Factory (New York), and the section will feature works by some of the world's leading young artists including Asger Carlsen, Waheeda Malullah, Thomas Albdorf, and Laura Pannack.

According to Canon U.S.A., an estimated 75 percent of the photographers covering the Big Game between the teams from New England and Atlanta used Canon EOS DSLR cameras and EF lenses in the Houston stadium. “It’s an honor to see yet another major sporting event where the country’s most talented and acclaimed sports photographers captured exciting moments with Canon equipment. These images will be seen by millions of people around the world and will forever be etched in sports history. We understand there are many equipment options for professional photographers and Canon is honoured to serve these professionals and provide assurances that both our products and support live up to the requirements and expectations of our devoted customers,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, president and COO, Canon U.S.A.

At BVE 2017, Zeiss will be showcasing a wide variety of cinematography and photography lenses, paired with a number of market leading cameras such as the RED Epic-W 8K, Sony FS7 and ARRI Amira. These will include the new Lightweight Zoom LWZ.3, the company's range of Cinema Zoom CZ.2 lenses and Compact Prime CP.2 lenses, as well as the Otus, Milvus, Batis, Loxia and Touit family of lenses designed for Canon, Nikon, Sony E and Fuji X-mount camera systems. In addition to displaying their products, Zeiss will be giving visitors to the stand the chance to enter a competition to win a brand new ExoLens Pro Wide-Angle lens for their smartphones.

Turner-prize nominated and Deutsche Börse Prize winning photographer Richard Billingham has started filming his first feature, Ray & Liz. Billingham shot to fame in 1996 wit his groundbreaking photographic series ‘Ray's a Laugh’, extraordinary images of family life in his childhood home, a tower block in Cradley Heath in the West Midlands. ‘Ray's a Laugh’ was exhibited internationally and featured in the pivotal show, Sensation (1997) at The Royal Academy of Arts. He has continued to photograph his family, and presented a major new body of work in 2010. His current film project has been developed over five years with Producer Jacqui Davies. Working with cinematographer Daniel Landin (Under The Skin), Richard Billingham returns to the striking series of photographs that he captured of his family during Thatcher-era Britain to tell a universal story of everyday conflicts, loneliness, love and loss. Filming commenced on the three-week shoot on 30 January 2017, with a variety of Black Country locations in and around Cradley Heath and Dudley.

The new Sony HVL-F45RM is a radio-controlled flash unit with a guide number of 45 (in metres at ISO 100/21°). The radio capabilities of the HVL-F45RM allow it to be used as a transmitter or a receiver at up to 30m (approximately 98 feet). Additionally, unlike optical flash systems, radio-control flashes do not require a direct line-of-sight between components to function properly, while also minimising any impact that bright sunlight has on signal transmission and control. The Sony HVL-F45RM flash has a battery life of up to 210 bursts, and can tilt up to 150° vertically, a complete 360° horizontally and up to 8° downward. A new large, bright and highly visible LCD display, an LED light, dust and moisture resistant design; and a revamped menu system round off the list of features. Available from March, the Sony HVL-F45RM flash unit will be priced at approximately £420.

The Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 is a new mid-telephoto prime lens for full-frame Sony cameras. The lens features a 9-bladed circular aperture mechanism that ensures smooth, natural looking bokeh, and a double linear motor system to allow for fast, precise and quiet focusing. It also has a focus hold button that can be customised and assigned together with functions in the camera body like the popular Eye-AF feature. There is a smooth, responsive focus ring and AF/MF switch and the lens is also dust and moisture resistant. The Sony FE 85mm F1.8 will be priced at approximately £550. Availability is slated for March 2017.

The Sony FE 100mm f/2.8 STF GM OSS is a new mid- telephoto prime lens with a unique STF (Smooth Trans Focus) design. Built to produce a truly unique and beautiful bokeh while maintaining the high standard of resolution that is showcased throughout Sony’s line-up of flagship G Master series lenses, the FE 100mm f/2.8 STF GM OSS features a newly designed 11-bladed aperture and a unique optical apodization lens element. Similar to a neutral density filter that increases in density towards the edges, the apodization element creates beautiful transitions of in-focus to out-of-focus areas within an image, making for exceptionally soft, smooth bokeh that adds depth and dimensionality. This allows the subjects to stand out against beautifully defocused elements in both the foreground and background, producing an image that is naturally pleasing to the eye, the company says. Additionally, the new 100mm lens supports both contrast AF and focal-plane phase detection AF, and has a high-precision, quiet direct drive SSM (Super Sonic Motor) system that ensures fast and accurate auto focus performance. Priced at approximately £1700, the lens also offers up to 0.25x magnification with a built-in macro switching ring, built-in Optical SteadyShot image stabilisation, a customisable focus hold button, AF/MF switch and aperture ring.

This year, Magnum Photos will celebrate 70 years of contribution to photography with the launch of a global public events, exhibition and new content programme. Centred on the three themes of community, witnessing history and Magnum Photos Now, the special anniversary programme will explore the institution and photographer personalities of then and now, central to past and current visual culture. Throughout the year, the website will feature defining images and visual stories from the past seven decades of Magnum including founding member Robert Capa’s iconic documentation of the D.Day landings in Omaha Beach, 1944, Henri Cartier-Bresson’s 1947 record of the independence of India and Stuart Franklin’s first-hand account of the Tiananmen Square uprising in 1989. Magnum photographers will also take on an ambitious new visual project, Magnum Retold, to mark the occasion. This will see Magnum’s contemporary photographers reshoot some of the agency’s most seminal stories, reworked to reflect the changing world we live in today.

Click through / scroll down for a list of key events.

Epson America today announced Epson Print Layout, a software application designed to simplify the highly complex print and colour management workflow for photographers. Compatible with Epson SureColor P-Series printers, Epson Print Layout provides an intuitive linear workflow specifically designed to provide easy printer selection, layout, and colour management settings, in addition to providing a live Advanced Black-and-White Mode output preview. Available as an Adobe Photoshop  plug-in or standalone application for Windows and Mac, Epson Print Layout makes printing easier with a step-by-step selection of frequently used printing options, such as printer selection, layout, and colour settings. The program offers full ICC profile support or users can select automatic colour modes through the Epson print driver. Enhanced features include customised frame and border options for gallery-wrap printing and automatic paper sizing for panoramas. Epson Print Layout software is currently available for free download.

The Tamron 10-24mm F/3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD is a new ultra-wide-angle zoom lens for APS-C DSLR cameras. In 2008, Tamron launched the SP AF10-24mm F/3.5-4.5 Di II LD Aspherical [IF] UWA zoom. Building on that lens’s popularity, this new lens has improved optical performance and new features. It offers Vibration Compensation, Moisture-Resistant Construction and Fluorine Coating, and the first implementation of Tamron’s new HLD (High/Low Torque Modulated Drive Motor). When shooting in AF mode, the Full-time Manual Focus override allows you to instantly make fine focusing adjustments manually, without having to switch between modes. The optical formula comprises 16 elements in 11 groups. Special lens elements include one LD (Low Dispersion) element, one XLD glass element, one molded glass aspherical element, and one hybrid aspherical lens. Availability is slated for late March, with pricing to be confirmed.

The Tamron SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di VC USD G2 is a new full-frame telephoto zoom lens with an all-new optical design and "dramatically faster" AF speed. New features include eBAND Coating, a moisture-proof and dust-resistant construction, fluorine coating and compatibility with teleconverters. The optical design of the new lens consists of 23 elements in 17 groups. The deployment of XLD (eXtra Low Dispersion) and LD (Low Dispersion) glass elements thoroughly eliminate chromatic aberrations, while ensuring uniform image quality even on the periphery of the image frame. Bokeh has been enhanced to deliver outstanding background effects across the entire zoom range. The improved Vibration Correction system provides a 5-stop advantage over non-stabilised lenses. Availablity is slated for late February, with pricing to be confirmed.

Panasonic have announced a delay in the launch of the Panasonic GH5 compact system camera. Citing an unexpectedly large amount of preorders, the company says the camera is now scheduled to be released on 23 March 2017. Adorama and B&H both expect the Panasonic GH5 to be available on 30th March.

Via PR

Fantasea and AOI have just released the UWL-09F wide-angle conversion lens for compact, mirrorless and SLR underwater housings. According to the manufacturer, the UWL-09F offers unmatched quality with 5 multi-layered precision optic elements. The combination of a super wide field of view (130 degrees) and zero minimal focus distance provide unlimited opportunities for image framing and creative compositions, including close-focus wide-angle images. The lens barrel is made from durable aluminium alloy with black coating. The dome is covered with hard coating as well, protecting it from easily getting scratched or damaged. The lens features a 67mm thread mount, compatible with most housings available in the market today. The base of the mount is covered with a rubber ring, providing a firm grip of the lens during installation and removal. Non-corrosive front and rear lens caps are included in the box. A quality padded carrying case allows safe storage and transportation. Weighing in at 1033g/36.4oz, the Fantasea UWL-09F wide-angle conversion lens is depth rated to 60m / 200ft. Available now, the lens carries a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $799.95.