The winners of the Syngenta Photography Award 2015 were announced this evening at an awards ceremony at Somerset House, London. German photographer Benedikt Partenheimer was announced as the winner of the Open Competition, and Berlin-based American photographer Mustafah Abdulaziz was selected as the winner of the Professional Commission category. Partenheimer received US$5,000 for his winning image in the Open Competition. Shijiazhuang, AQI 360 is a panoramic shot of the barely visible Shijiazhuang skyline disappearing in its own air pollution. Taken from the series ‘Particulate Matter’, the acronym AQI used in the title of the photographs stands for "Air Quality Index" and indicates the degree of air pollution – in this case 360, which is a ‘hazardous’ level. Mustafah Abdulaziz was selected by an international jury chaired by photography writer and curator, William A. Ewing for his ongoing Water series – a photographic exploration of a natural resource in crisis. Shot in India, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone, the project has received support from United Nations, WaterAid, and VSCO, amongst others. In addition to the US$15,000 cash prize, Abdulaziz will receive a grant worth US$25,000 to complete a new commission in which he will extend his study on the depletion and misuse of water in his home state of California.

The Royal Photographic Society’s International Print Exhibition is now open for entries. Now in its 158th year, the contest has a reputation for showcasing a wide range of genres and styles of photography. Entry is initially online as a submission of up to 4 digital images. The selectors will create a shortlist with the final selection of 100 images being made from prints. The selected images will be shown at the opening exhibition (19–25 October 2015) at London’s Old Truman Brewery as part of PHOTOBLOCK 2015 Festival. The Gold, Silver, Bronze and Under 30s Gold medal winners will receive cash prizes, and the Under-30 winner will also be offered a one-year mentorship courtesy of Metro Imaging. The closing date for submissions is 1 June 2015.

Toshiba has revealed a new 13-megapixel, 1/3.07"-type image sensor for camera phones and tablets. Aside from its unusually low power consumption and ultra-high pixel density, the main selling point of the new imager is its clever Bright Mode, which boosts image brightness up to four times while capturig Full HD movies at 120 frames per second - an important feature given that exposure times tend to be short when recording video at such a high frame rate. Integration of the sensor into smartphones and tablets will allow them to record high quality video at high speed, which extends imaging capabilities into such areas as slo-mo playback.

The Lenovo VIBE Shot is new camera-smartphone crossover device featuring a 16-megapixel imager with an aspect ratio of 16:9 and a 6-element lens with optical IS. The camera's tricolour flash enables photographers to shoot in low-light conditions while matching the colour composition of the light emitted by the flash to that of the ambient light source. Another standout features of the Lenovo VIBE Shot iinclude an infrared AF system which is claimed to be "twice as fast as normal autofocus," a 5" Full HD display and a physical shutter release. The Lenovo VIBE Shot will be available starting in June, starting at $349.

The Apple Watch is a wearable smart device that syncs to the user's iPhone via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The new smart watch features Digital Crown, an innovative way to scroll, zoom and navigate fluidly without obstructing the iPhone's screen. The Retina branded display with Force Touch on the Apple Watch senses the difference between a tap and a press, providing a new way to quickly and easily access relevant controls. The device is available in two different sizes, 38 mm and 42 mm, and in three distinct collections — Apple Watch Sport ($349/$399), Apple Watch ($549-$1,099) and Apple Watch Edition (starting at $10,000). Apple Watch Sport features a lightweight anodised aluminium case in silver and space gray with a Retina display protected by strengthened Ion-X glass and matching high-performance fluoroelastomer Sport Band in five colours. The Apple Watch collection features highly polished stainless steel and space black stainless steel cases with a Retina display protected by sapphire crystal. The Apple Watch collection comes with a choice of three different leather straps, a stainless steel link bracelet and Milanese loop, and a black or white Sport Band. Apple Watch Edition features cases specially crafted from custom rose or yellow 18-karat gold alloys.

Apple today updated the 13-inch MacBook Pro with a new Retina display, 5th-generation Intel Core processors, Intel Iris Graphics 6100, up to two times faster flash storage and longer battery life. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is available today through the Apple Online Store with a 2.7 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.1 GHz, 8GB of memory and 128GB of flash storage starting at $1,299; with a 2.7 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.1 GHz, 8GB of memory and 256GB of flash storage starting at $1,499; and with a 2.9 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 CPU with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.3 GHz, 8GB of memory and 512GB of flash storage starting at $1,799. Apple also today updated the 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air with 5th-generation Intel Core processors, Intel HD Graphics 6000, and Thunderbolt 2, and added up to two 2x flash storage to the 13-inch MacBook Air.

Apple today unveiled a new line of notebooks billed as "the thinnest and lightest Macs ever.". The new MacBook features a 12" Retina display, a full-size keyboard, a USB-C port for data transfer, video out and charging in a single connector, and a new battery design. Measuring just 13.1 mm at its thickest point, the new MacBook is 24 percent thinner than the 11-inch MacBook Air. The display has a 16:10 aspect ratio and a resolution of 2304x1440 pixels. The new MacBook comes with a 1.1 GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.4 GHz, 8GB of memory, 256GB of flash storage and Intel HD Graphics 5300 starting at $1,299; and with a 1.2 GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.6GHz, 8GB of memory, 512GB of flash storage and Intel HD Graphics 5300 starting at $1,599.

Livestream has launched a miniature live streaming encoder called the Livestream Broadcaster mini. At about ⅓ the size of the original Broadcaster, it is small enough to fit in a pocket, and despite its size, it features fast and reliable 5Ghz WiFi, streaming up to 1080p, an internal rechargeable Li-ion battery, full control and setup via the free Livestream app for iOS or Android. The Broadcaster mini is priced at $295.

The Photographers' Gallery has announced an upcoming exhibition by award-winning Hungarian photographer Tamás Dezső. This will be the first UK exhibition of Dezső's work following his much lauded presentation at Unseen, Amsterdam in 2014. Born in Budapest in 1978, he began his career as a photojournalist for various magazines and daily newspapers before deciding to focus on his own work examining Central and Eastern Europe at a time of major political transition. Starting in 2009 with Here, Anywhere in his native Hungary, Dezső turned his attention in 2011 to neighbouring Rumania where totalitarianism and forced industrialisation under the rule of Nicolae Ceaușescu took a more aggressive form. Avoiding a direct documentary approach, Dezső imbues his images with a heavy sense of atmosphere, making use of muted palettes and winter scenery to convey an unsettling stillness. Dilapidated factories symbolise the psychological and physical condition of former workers now yearning for the stability of previous times. Traditional costumes, particularly as seen in his photographs of Rumania, allude to the failure of successive governments in spreading new economic and social policies while also acting as sentimental reminders of a world quickly disappearing. The exhibition features thirteen works in total: three pieces from Here, Anywhere and ten from Notes for an Epilogue. Prices for the prints range from £1200 to £6500 + VAT with prints produced in varying dimensions.

Iridient Digital has released Version 3 of Iridient Developer, an acclaimed raw image file conversion and photo processing software for Mac OS. This major update contains many new features and significant improvements throughout the application. Some of the key new features introduced in Version 3 include multiple new demosaicing algorithms for both Bayer and X-Trans sensors, new Clarity adjustment for enhancing midtone contrast, new options for adjusting overall tonality including an adaptive "Fill Light" style exposure adjustment and pixel neighborhood adaptive highlight/shadow adjustments,several new monochrome mixer conversion methods, a greatly simplified colour management setup, two new monochrome toning methods including Split Toning and Mono Tone, and much more. For those who have purchased a new or upgraded license after 14 April 2013 this update is free, but it's a paid upgrade for users who originally purchased a license prior to this date.

The Lomographic Society has announced the Lomo'Instant Boston Edition Package. 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 features bold colours and strong lines, and comes complete with the Fisheye, Portrait and Close Up lens attachments as well as the brand new Lomo’Instant Splitzer, a must-have slice and dice accessory for shooting multiple exposures. The Lomo'Instant Boston Edition Package is available in the Lomography Online Store for £129/$169..

Elinchrom has announced a new portable, 400Ws outdoor flash unit called the ELB 400. Enhanced with the proven Elinchrom OLED display, the ELB 400 now offers the same special features of the ELC Pro HD series such as stroboscopic, delay and sequence modes. The ELB 400 will be available this spring in 4 set configurations. The one head To Go set includes one ELB 400 with one higher capacity Lithium-Ion battery, one Quadra head and one Skyport Speed Transmitter, while the two head To Go set includes one ELB 400 with two higher capacity Litium-Ion batteries, two Quadra heads and one Skyport Speed Transmitter.

Sigma UK have announced the recommeded retail price and availability of the Sigma dp3 Quattro large-sensor compact camera. Incorporating a newly developed Foveon X3 direct image sensor and a 75mm (eq.) f/2.8 lens, the Sigma dp3 Quattro offers superior handling and highly intuitive operation thanks to its ergonomic design and well thought-out controls. When the dedicated conversion lens FT-1201 (optional) is attached to the camera, it extends the focal length of the lens by a factor of 1.2. The Sigma dp3 Quattro will be available from the end of March at an RRP of £899.99. The FT-1201 1.2x conversion lens will set you back £149.99 .

Leica has announced the new Leica M-P ‘Safari’ special edition set. Containing a Leica M-P digital rangefinder camera in olive green safari-look and a Leica Summicron-M 35 mm f/2 ASPH. lens in silver chrome finish, the kit is limited to just 1,500 sets for the worldwide market. The top and base plates of the Leica M-P are finished in rugged and resilient olive green enamel that offers comfortable grip and lends the camera its distinctive look. The finishing touch to the safari-look of this special version of the Leica M-P is provided by its colour-matched, olive green leather trim. Silver chrome controls set a contrasting counterpoint in the colour scheme of the camera andreflect the finish of the Leica Summicron-M 35 mm f/2 ASPH. and its classic round metal lens hood. As an homage to previous editions in olive green finish, the camera of the Leica M-P ‘Safari’ sets bears the classic Leica script and the engravings ‘Leica Camera AG’ and ‘Wetzlar Germany’ on its top plate. The recommended retail price of the Leica M-P ‘Safari’ special edition set is £7,850.

Showfy is an online media sharing service from Magix which allows users to upload and view pictures and videos from practically anywhere. Media uploaded to showfy are saved to so-called streams (galleries in the cloud). Users can be create and manage streams, and add them to a multitude of devices and operating systems. "Whether on your PC, smartphone, tablet or television, showfy supports more devices and platforms than any other sharing program," the company claims. "The showfy apps are available for iOS, Android and Windows Phone, and showfy supports the latest devices from LG, Philips, Toshiba, Panasonic and Samsung. Users can also easily share vacation and wedding albums with friends and family in their own living rooms via the smart TV app and Google Chromecast." Showfy users can grant access to anyone by sending invitations via email. Magix guarantees that only the people they invite — and no one else — can view their favourite photos and videos. The basic showfy account is free, and offers every user 2GB of storage space for their media. Users that require more space can upgrade to showfy Premium for $1.99/month to increase their cloud storage to 25GB.

Canon UK and Irelad today launched its spring promotion allowing customers to claim up to £100/€120 cashback on selected products. These include three dSLR cameras, seven lenses, two flashes, three compact cameras, two digital camcorders and four printers. Those that purchase two products in Canon’s cashback offer can also claim a free hdbook photo book worth £99/€120. The offer runs from 5th March 2015 to 6th May 2015 for eligible products purchased from UK or Republic of Ireland retailers.

Miniaturesque, a major new exhibition by Slinkachu, will launch at Andipa Gallery on 12 March 2015. Slinkachu is a street artist who photographs his miniature street installations of 1"-high figures in various hidden enclaves of the wild within the city of London. His new body of work draws upon our desire to seek out and recreate the natural world amongst the urban metropolis. Using tropes from art and popular culture, Slinkachu’s new works employ irony, humour and a healthy dose of reality; despite their fantastical situations, the miniature figures we observe are not so dissimilar to ourselves, living in the shadows between the real and artificial. Miniaturesque will feature 17 new images on paper and aluminium as well as new sculptural pieces, one of which is Slinkachu’s biggest yet featuring over 200 miniature figures in a recreation of The River Thames. Prices range from £650 - £7,800 GBP with a special limited edition Exhibition Set available for £150.