Sony is reporting a record growth in compact camera sales. According to The NPD Group, overall mirrorless camera revenue has grown 16.5%  over the past 12 months, with DSLR sales declining approximately 15% over the same period.  During this time, Sony has experienced a 66% boost in their company's CSC sales, strengthening their dominant position as the number one overall mirrorless brand, a position they have held for 4 consecutive years. "Growth in the mirrorless segment shows this new technology and form factor are resonating with consumers," said Ben Arnold, executive director, The NPD Group. "Going forward, mirrorless will continue to command a greater share of the interchangeable lens camera category."

The second international Felix Schoeller Photo Award, which kicked off on 1st January, has received 1200 entries from 65 countries around the world. The countries with the highest number of entrants are Germany, Austria, France, USA, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, India, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland. “We are particularly pleased about the high percentage of “repeat customers” from the last competition," says Dr Friederike Texter, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communication with the Felix Schoeller Group. "All the 2013 award winners – with the exception of the winner of the Emerging Photographer prize – submitted entries again this year, as did over 70% of those who were nominated for a prize. That demonstrates that we were able to secure the trust of professional photographers and get a lot of things right first time round. The jury is already looking forward to the thrill of viewing and selecting the entries and the Felix Schoeller Group is looking forward to a superb exhibition!" The jury will have selected the nominated and prize-winning work in the different categories by the end of August. The awards ceremony and exhibition opening will take place on 27 September 2015.

Returning for its sixth consecutive year, the Marwell Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest is now open for entries. The popular competition is open to professional, amateur, and young photographers alike.This year’s top prize is an 8-day photography trip to Estonia worth £1,795 along with an annual subscription to Digital Photographer magazine. The competition has four categoriess including native wildlife (flora and fauna native or resident in the British Isles), cute and funny (Mother Nature at her cutest or most amusing), Marwell Wildlife residents and Marwell Wildlife endangered – specifically classified by IUCN as either endangered or critically endangered. Entry to the competition costs £10 for adults and is free for juniors. This year, photographers can enter twice and up to 10 images. To find out more information and enter visit the website below.

Nikon has issued a firmware update for the Nikon D3200 digital SLR camera. Version C1.04 addresses an issue that caused the memory card access lamp to light longer than normal or the message “This memory card cannot be used. Card may be damaged. Insert another card” to be displayed while the memory card was accessed. You can download the firmware upgrade from the website below.

Website: Nikon

Inspired by Eepy Bird’s film “Extreme Sticky Note Experiments." Sony Japan's team attached the FDR-X1000V 4K ActionCam to a miniature train and sent it on a vibrant journey through a world made entirely of sticky notes. Fifty cleverly designed stunts, using 200,000 sticky notes in eleven different colours, form a journey through green forests and wild rivers whilst exploring waterfalls and rainbows- all captured in stunning detail by the FDR-X1000V. Click through / scroll down to watch the movie "Colour Adventure with Sticky Notes," directed by Kanji Suto.

The new Manfrotto Digital Director is billed as the only Apple Certified interface to help users intuitively manage their photo and video workflow. Consisting of hardware, software and firmware – all of which have gone through the Mfi (Made for iPad) certification, this novel product is designed to make shooting photos and videos much smarter. By simply plugging the USB cable into the camera and turning on the app, photographers and videographers can be sure of a reliable, high performance connection between their Canon or Nikon DSLR and their iPad Air. The dedicated CPU embedded into the Digital Director provides an interface between the two devices allowing the camera protocols to be fully understood and controlled by the iPad Air, and the use of Digital Director enables the user to place the camera in the most awkward or difficult to reach positions by controlling it remotely. The dynamic histogram and audio level display allows greater control, whilst focus control is guaranteed thanks to the Interactive Focus, which can be used to select the focus point anywhere on the screen. Additionally, Digital Director allows users to immediately share their images via FTP, by email on social networks. Digital Director is available to pre order now for £399.95, and will be available from 15th June.

Hasselblad are set to launch their new A5D aerial camera range with no internal moving parts. This solution is designed to prevent any unintentional movement that may occur due to aircraft vibration. The result is unrivalled airborne stability; total reliability; a lighter body and ultimate image quality, the company claims. The series takes off with three sensor options: the CCD-based A5D-40 and A5D-60 (40 and 60 megapixels, respectively) and the CMOS-based, 50-megapixel A5D-50c. The A5D Aerial includes a feature that allows up to 8 cameras to be synchronised within 20 μs. A simple bus-type cable connection is required between all cameras in the set-up. This feature completely eliminates any problems in post production caused by unsynchronised exposures.

Sidelight Books today announced the upcoming release of Photographing National Parks: A Guide for Scouting and Shooting America’s Most Cherished Lands, the second book by photographer Chris Nicholson. Relevant for photographers of all levels, Photographing National Parks also guides the reader through the best ways to research a park shoot, including where to find information about both iconic and obscure locations, along with seasonal and up-to-the-minute tips about various destinations. The book details best practices for safely and effectively conducting photography work in the different environments found in the national parks, including desert, mountain, coastline and forest. Nicholson also walks the reader through photography techniques that are useful in many park locations, such as photographing night skies, working in fog, or using stacking techniques to optimize image-making. The 232-page paperback will be available from 1st August, priced at $27.95.

Foto Promos, a collective of photographic professionals offering time limited deals and photographic giveaways, has announced The Big Deal bundle for photographers. Brought to you by B&H Photo, SmugMug and Spider Camera Holster; The Big Deal bundle includes $4,000 worth of photography resources, available for $99 only, from 14-25 June 2015. “In all my years in the photography industry working for Vertus, Nik Software, Google, Macphun and now Think-Eleven and Foto Promos I have never been part of a bundle of this magnitude,” said Mornee Sherry, CEO of Think-Eleven and Foto Promos. “The Big Deal bundle includes the biggest names in photography and we’ve brought them all together.” The Big Deal contributors include Lindsay Adler, Jared Platt, Dave Cross, KelbyOne, Lee Varis, Gavin Gough, Tony Sweet, Rick Sammon, Phlearn, Photoshop Cafe, Mylio and many more. Click through / read on for the full list.

NCTech have launched iris360, their new consumer 360° camera system designed to speed the capture and upload of 360 degree images to Google Maps and Street View. Remote-controlled from a smartphone or tablet, iris360 quickly captures high-resolution 360-degree images courtesy of its four sensors. With zero setup time, iris360 does not require photographic experience to operate and, with one touch, captures and delivers an 8K resolution, HDR panoramic image in less than two minutes. iris360 is small and lightweight, making it easy to transport and deploy, and is designed for use in both indoor and outdoor environments. iris360 is currently available for pre-order for $1,999. The product is expected to start shipping in August 2015.

Living History: Bound Feet Women of China is a new book by photographer Jo Farrell. "There is a general presumption that the bound feet women of China came from privileged backgrounds and wore exquisite silk shoes but I discovered that many of the surviving women came from peasant backgrounds and had lived extraordinary lives working in the fields, despite their bound feet," Jo says. "All the women I have photographed are now between 80 and 100 years old from rural areas in Shandong and Yunnan Provinces. My work is about capturing traditions and cultures that are dying out, and therefore I chose to use black and white film and print silver gelatin prints - in tribute to these resilient, formidable women, some of whom are no longer with us." Jo will discuss her project with Pamela Kember, Head of Arts and Learning at Asia House in London from 6.30pm, 15th June and members of the public are welcome to attend. Copies of the book are available for purchase at £35 including postal charges on the publication's dedicated online website and signed copies will be available for purchase at a special price of £25 after her talk at Asia House.

SLR Magic have announced two new additions to their range of cine products, the 50mm T0.95 HyperPrime CINE Lens (pictured) and the Rangefinder CINE Adapter. The 50mm T0.95 HyperPrime CINE lens is designed exclusively for Micro Four Thirds cameras and features integrated aperture and focus gearing plus a silent, “clickless” aperture ring, making it ideal for videography. The SLR Magic Rangefinder CINE Adapter is an optical device with integrated follow-focus gearing. When attached to a compatible taking lens, it allows users to override the focus control of the lens and provides calibrated focus markings from 3’6 feet too infinity. Both the SLR Magic 50mm T0.95 HyperPrime CINE lens and the Rangefinder CINE Adapter will be available from resellers at the end of Q3 2015 with SRPs of £849 / €1189 and £529 / €739 respectively.

Sergio Gutierrez is the lucky winner of a fantastic i1 Display Pro & ColorChecker Passport bundle! Congratulations!

i1 Display Pro & ColorChecker Passport bundle - Take control of your colour in camera and on screen.

The i1DisplayPro is the ultimate solution for the most demanding photographers looking for on screen colour accuracy. Photographers know that calibrated and profiled display is a critical element in an efficient digital workflow. Nobody wants to spend hours at their monitor perfecting images or video only to find that their display wasn’t accurately representing their digital files. What you see on your monitor (or projector) has to match your digital file or you will never be happy with the result, no matter how much time you devote to perfecting it.

ColorChecker Passport is a powerful 'capture to edit' colour solution for any photographer looking for more accurate, consistent colour and creative flexibility ColorChecker Passport combines three photographic targets into one pocket size protective, self-standing case that adjusts to any scene. Together with the included camera calibration software, it allows you to capture a scene accurately and then creatively edit it.

In addition, to complete the ultimate photographic workflow this bundle also comes with the option to purchase a 1 year Adobe Creative Cloud Photography plan for just £86 (15% discount).

X-Rite have just launched a new photography competition entitled,  ‘Capture The Color.' Each month, X-Rite Photo will select a new PANTONE colour for inspiration and five winners, voted for by the public, will have their choice of an X-Rite i1Display Pro, ColorChecker Passport or ColorMunki Display as their prize. At the end of the year, all winning images will be judged by X-Rite’s Coloratti to determine one overall Grand Prize Winner who will receive a Wacom Cintiq 27HD Touch graphics tablet. Submissions should be entered via X-Rite’s Facebook competition page. June's colour is ‘Pantone 17-5641 Emerald.’

Lensbaby have announced that their Velvet 56, Circular Fisheye, and Composer Pro with Sweet 35 or Sweet 50 are now available in Fuji X and other mirrorless mounts. The Velvet 56 is a 56mm lens with a maximum reproduction ratio of 1:2 and maximum aperture of f/1.6. The Lensbaby Circular Fisheye is an all-manual lens with built-in aperture control ranging from f/3.5-22 and an angle of view of 185°. The Sweet 35 and Sweet 50 are part of the Lensbaby Optic Swap System and attach to your camera via the Lensbaby Composer Pro lens.

Phase One today unveiled the XF Camera System featuring robust, aerial-grade mechanics, advanced electronics, a new autofocus platform, new modularity options and customisable touch controls. The new Honeybee Autofocus Platform (HAP-1) is a patent-pending and fully controlled in-house AF system, while the OneTouch UI is a seamless and highly customisable combination of dials, keys and touch screens, allowing photographers to personalise camera controls for their specific shooting requirements. Using a new modern Phase One Camera OS, the OneTouch UI is user upgradeable and will evolve in accordance with customer needs and feedback. The XF Camera System also introduces a new 90° Prism viewfinder and a new waist-level finder. The full frame solid glass prism viewfinder is the brightest of its kind, and comes standard on all XF cameras. The new waist-level viewfinder can measure exposure thanks to the HAP-1 autofocus platform ability to perform light metering. The XF system also features a new 80-megapixel IQ3 digital back capable of very long exposures, and two new Phase One Schneider Kreuznach Leaf Shutter lenses - a 120mm and a 35mm -, both of which are designed to resolve beyond 100 megapixels.