Fujifilm announces its third compact, light and stylish lens for X Series - the FUJINON XF 50mmF2 R WR. The lens features a focal length equivalent to 76mm (in the 35mm film format) and a maximum aperture of F2.0 for beautiful bokeh. The compact and stylish optic also offers high speed AF and weighs just 200g. The Fujifilm FUJINON XF 50mm F2 R WR will be available in black and silver from 23rd February 2017 with an RRP of £449.00.

Fujifilm has announced a new camera service dedicated to the needs of professional photographers, called ‘Fujifilm Professional Service’. This will commence on March 1st 2017 in the biggest markets, like the UK and Germany, and will be gradually expanded during 2017 to service all major markets in Europe, including Turkey and Russia. The new service will cost €300 (£260) per year, but will be offered free to those who qualify, for the first two years. Qualification is offered to all working photographers and also to those who own a GFX system or at least 2 professional camera bodies and three XF lenses.

The new Leica M10 is the slimmest digital M-system rangefinder camera to date. With a top plate depth of only 33.75 millimeters, a whole four millimeters less than that of its close relative, the Leica M (Typ 240), the Leica M10 is comparable in size to the classic M4 film camera. The new model offers an improved viewfinder with a magnification factor of 0.73 and a 50% higher eye-point; a bespoke 24-megapixel full-frame sensor with a unique pixel and microlens architecture and an expanded sensitivity range of ISO 100-50,000; a top-mounted ISO setting dial; a sequential shooting speed of 5fps; integrated WLAN connectivity and a freely-configurable Favourites Menu. Available tomorrow, the Leica M10 will be priced at £5,600/€6,500/$6,595.

Currently seeking funding on Kickstarter, the brand new Udee backpack combines the functionality of a photo bag with that of a standard daypack. Boasting a total of 19 features, the Udee backpack offers a dedicated photo gear compartment, a notebook pocket, a LED safety light (in the Pro version), a USB charging port, a separate power bank pocket, an earphone port, and more. Udee also has an anti-theft feature, so you can rest assured knowing your belongings are safe. The backpack improves weight distribution with clever design features, including an S-shaped belt, X-shaped back support structure, and PE material. Interested readers are encouraged to pay a visit to the project's Kickstarter page.

Akvis have announced an update of the four programs thatmake up the Photo Correction Bundle: Enhancer, Noise Buster, Refocus and HDRFactory. Each program has its unique algorithm to help users optimise their photos without having to spend hours of their precious time. The new versions offer a redesigned interface with support for Ultra HD displays, provide full compatibility with Photoshop CC 2017, and provide a number of new tools and options. The programs run on Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10; and Mac OS X 10.7-10.12. All of them are available as Photoshop compatible plug-ins and as standalone applications.

Joel Meyerowitz will be honoured for his lifework with the Leica Hall of Fame Award and a major exhibition at ‘A Celebration of Photography’ – an event to be held by Leica on 18 January 2017. Karin Rehn-Kaufmann, art director and director general of Leica Galerien International, said, “Joel Meyerowitz is one of the most important protagonists and co-founders of street and colour photography. His eye for the situation, dynamic and driven by curiosity, his unmistakeable style, his instinct for capturing the magic of everyday life and its special moments led to the creation of some of the most exceptional images in the history of photography. With the Leica Hall of Fame Award, we would like to honour his outstanding work as a photographer and his unique photographic signature. At the same time, we would like to express our particular appreciation of a rather special and sensitive person.” The exhibition in his honour can be seen at the Leica Galerie Wetzlar from 19 January to 31 March 2017. The gallery is open Monday to Friday from 10.00 to 20.00 and at weekends from 10.00 to 18.00.

The World Photography Organisation today announced British documentary photographer Martin Parr as the recipient of its Outstanding Contribution to Photography title. Born in 1952 in Epsom, Surrey, Martin Parr was inspired to take up photography as a teenager by his grandfather. Black-and-white photography characterised his early work, and his move to the strong use of colour photography in the 1980’s, for which he has become synonymous, was prompted by photographers such as Stephan Shore, William Eggleston, Peter Fraser and Joel Meyerowitz. The photographer will collect his title at the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards ceremony held in London on Thursday, 20th April. To coincide with the awards, a specially curated exhibition of rarely seen black-and-white images from Martin Parr’s early career will be presented at Somerset House, London alongside some of his most talked about work, books and films. As part of the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards exhibition, Parr’s work will be on show for a limited run from April 21 - May 7, 2017.

Corel today introduced a new version of their ParticleShop plugin, which gives professional photo editors and compositors the ability to create images that were previously too time consuming or even impossible to achieve - right within Photoshop and Lightroom. ParticleShop uses the power of the Corel Painter Particle brush technology to create specific, photo-realistic effects. Whether users want to add hair, fabric, fire, smoke, fur, dust or lighting to their photos, ParticleShop brushes can create these life-like effects with a simple brushstroke. Built to perform with a pressure-sensitive tablet, touchscreen or mouse, ParticleShop brushes enable users to add their unique artistic enhancements to any image. The updated version adds support for Dynamic Speckles and F-X Effects, as well as more than 100 new brushes allowing users to create looks that are more realistic than ever. ParticleShop is available for $49.99 or as a free update for all registered owners.

The category winners of the Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition have just been announced. The winning photographers come from around the globe, and this year the competition received over 17,000 images entered by professional and amateur photographers from over 50 countries. Pete Hyde from the UK has won the At the Water’s Edge:category, Alice van Kempen from the Netherlands won Wildlife Insight, the Live the adventure category was topped by Kirsten Quist from Canada, Stian Nesoy from Norway has been named winner of "Light on the land," Johan Sundelin from Sweden has won "Under exposed," while Justin Garner and Christopher Roche, both from the UK, have won the "Small world" and "Spirit of travel" categories, respectively. The Young OPOTY award went to David Rosenzweig (USA).

Issue 60 of David Noton’s Chasing the Light Online Photography Magazine is now available. In this month’s Photo Essentials series, David takes readers on an in-depth technical exploration of depth of field. Meanwhile in the next instalment of How It’s Done – Being There, he takes a mid-December photo trip to a local Jurassic location he’s never shot before. Then in a new mini-series within the The Bizz column, David examines at the challenges and rewards of going pro in today’s world of photography. He also presents two of his popular Fundamentals of Post-Production Videos. In Hoddinott’s Hangout Ross Hoddinott gives readers an essential New Year’s composition refresher, while in the Art of Landscapes Bas Meelker reveals the wonderful photo opportunities presented by winter in the Netherlands. In The Pipeline, Ben Pipe reaches a landmark in his career: ten years as a professional photographer. Then Richard Fox provides a Location Report on the beautiful Azores. Do note that the full contents of Chasing the Light Online Photography Magazine is available to full f11 subscribers only. However non-members can purchase individual issues of the magazine at a price of £4.20.

Daniel Castro Garcia has won the British Journal of Photography’s International Photography Award (IPA), with a series depicting migrants caught up in the European refugee crisis. He began documenting the crisis without a commission in 2015, spending weeks getting to know his subjects and interviewing nearly everyone he photographed. Working with his friend, graphic designer Thomas Saxby, and producer Jade Morris, Castro Garcia then self-published a book of the images called Foreigner: Migration into Europe 2015-2016. The limited edition of 1000 copies has now sold out. Castro Garcia's work will be exhibited at London’s TJ Boulting Gallery from 16th March - 1st April 2017, in a solo show which will also be his first major exhibition. As part of the IPA, Castro Garcia will receive a £5,000 grant from Metro Imaging to produce the show. “I think it's really important for a show like this to have zero gimmicks," he says. "Everyone has seen the life jacket installations now. I don't want to trick anyone - that's the most important thing here: this subject needs sobriety. It can't always be about emotions. The same way it can't be about facts and figures."

Over the past week we've been revealing our favourite products from last year in our annual awards, looking back at the essential photography kit that helped to define 2016.

We've now announced all of our 2016 Award winners - here's the full list:

Camera of the Year 2016

DSLR Camera of the Year 2016

Compact System Camera of the Year  2016

Compact Camera of the Year 2016

Lens of the Year 2016

Printer of the Year 2016

Software of the Year 2016

We're revealing our favourite products from last year in our annual awards, looking back at the essential photography kit that helped to define 2016.

The Camera of the Year 2016 award goes to the Nikon D500.

"If you are an enthusiast photographer looking for something which offers a heck of a lot of features, then the D500 is the ultimate camera for you."

Read our Nikon D500 Review

Congratulations to Nikon!

We're revealing our favourite products from last year in our annual awards, looking back at the essential photography kit that helped to define 2016.

The DSLR Camera of the Year 2016 award goes to the Pentax K-1.

"Pentax have delivered an amazing first-generation full-format DSLR that undercuts its main competition in terms of price whilst out-performing them in terms of innovation, features and even image quality."

Read our Pentax K-1 Review

Congratulations to Pentax!

This coming March, the Super Stage at The Photography Show (taking place at the NEC in Birmingham) will host some of the greatest international photographers of our time. Albert Watson, Nadav Kander, Frans Lanting, Jill Furmanovsky, Clive Arrowsmith, David Alan Harvey, Julia Fullerton-Batten, Alex Webb and Louis Cole have all been confirmed and will offer insights into the images they’ve captured, their careers and the challenges they’ve faced along the way. The 2017 Super Stage speakers follow in the footsteps of fellow photographers David Bailey, Rankin, the late Mary Ellen Mark, Don McCullin and Steve McCurry, all of whom have taken centre stage in previous years. Tickets to The Photography Show are now on sale and visitors will have the option to add Super Stage sessions to their package, priced at £10 each.

The Lomographic Society has announced the Lomo'Instant Murano instant film camera. This funky little instant film camera features a built-in wide-angle lens plus fisheye and portrait lens attachments, and works with the widely available Fujifilm Instax Mini film. The latest addition to the Lomo’Instant family is inspired by romantic gondola rides past colourful houses on the Venetian islands of Murano. With a quirky design made up of red, blue, yellow, grey and green blocks, this vibrant little instant camera is available now from the Lomography Online Shop and Gallery Stores worldwide, priced at £105.00.

The HTC U Play is a 5.2" smartphone with a 16-megapixel camera, PDAF and a 28mm (eq.) f/2 lens. Other notable features include optical image stabilisation, a dual-tone LED flash, HDR and raw image capture, and Full HD (1080p) video recording at 30fps. The front-facing camera module has a similar set of specifications and offers UltraPixel technology (a form of pixel binning). Powered by an octa-core Mediatek Hello P10 CPU, the HTC U Play comes with either 3GB or 4GB of RAM and 32GB or 64GB of internal storage (expandable via a microSD memory card). The HTC U Play will be available next month through Dixons Carphone in a range of colours.. Pricing to be confirmed.

We're revealing our favourite products from last year in our annual awards, looking back at the essential photography kit that helped to define 2016.

The Compact System Camera of the Year 2016 award goes to the Fujifilm X-T2.

“It may look outwardly very similar to its 2-year-old predecessor, but the X-T2 takes several steps forward in some important areas...it's clear that the new Fujifilm X-T2 offers a lot more improvements than a cursory glance might suggest.”

Read our Fujifilm X-T2 Review

Congratulations to Fujifilm!