Photo Productions, a UK company that produces Premium Photobooks for the public and professional photographers, have just launched its January sale and new permanent offers. During the sale, Premium Pocket Books and Parent Books can be ordered at a 50% discount. The permanent offers include a '50/50 Cashback' scheme on trade sample albums, a 'Double Discount' on additional copies of albums and a free Premium Pocket Book with every 12x15" and 12x18 album. To learn more, visit the website below.

The category winners in the latest Outdoor Photographer of the Year (OPOTY) have just been announced. Shaun Walby, from Leeds, scooped the prize in the At the Water’s Edge category with his exquisite capture of a misty morning on the river Wharfe (above). Greg Whitton from Solihull won the Light on the Land prize with his evocative photograph of a fleeting moment of stunning light illuminating Icelandic peaks. Craig Parry from Byron Bay in Australia picked up top prize in the Under Exposed category, for underwater images, with his wonderful half-submerged shot of a humpback whale swishing its giant fin through the blue waters of the South Pacific off the coast of Tonga. Stefan Gerrits from the Netherlands, triumphed in the Wildlife Insight category, Johannes Klapwijk won the Small World prize, while Sandi Bertoncelj captured the essence of what it feels like to be on a high mountain in adverse weather with his gritty black & white image of two ski tourers climbing a Slovenian peak, winning the Live the Adventure category. Ten-year-old Josiah Launstein, from Alberta, Canada, was crowned Young Outdoor Photographer of the Year for his image of bighorn sheep going head to head in battle.

Nikon has unveiled three new digital compact cameras. The 16-megapixel Nikon Coolpix L31 (£79.99) is an easy-to-use and affordable shooter with 5x optical zoom, and one-touch HD movie recording, in-camera special effects and AA batteries. Fitting easily in a pocket, the 20-megapixel Coolpix S2900 comes in a range of colours, and also features a 5x zoom lens, HD movie recording capabilities and a handy Panorama Assist feature. The range-topping Coolpix S3700 (£99.99) also has a 20-megapixel CCD imager, but comes with 8x optical zoom plus Wi-Fi and NFC technology on board.

The winners of the South Downs photo competition have been announced. An ethereal photograph of a dew pond at dusk by Andy Flowerday (above) has been chosen as the overall winner. “I have been past this dew-pond on several occasions and thought there could be potential for a nice image of it,” says Andy. “The sunset wasn’t going to give the glorious colours I had hoped for; however the cloud cover that was increasing led to some lovely soft shades of colour. I used a special filter to blur water and cloud movement. It was a very still evening – I used a four minute exposure and the tree didn’t move at all during that time.” A partly hidden cyclist resting in the shade of a leafy wood, taken by Neil Hulme in Eartham Woods, came close second place; and a surprising shot of a surfer wading into the sea at sunrise has won third place for Ivan Talboys.

Issue 36 of David Noton’s Chasing the Light Online Magazine is now available. In this month's Behind the Lens feature and Video Blog, David relates his adventures in the little known yet beautiful region of eastern France known as the Jura. In Stepping Back, he presents the first of our South American inspired articles in this edition, reminiscing on his productive shoot in the Atacama Desert in 2003. For The Low Down, David continues his new mini series on exposure, this time covering exposure modes – and he also presents his two usual Video Tutorials. In Hoddinott’s Hangout, Ross Hoddinott explores his long-terms relationship with the beautiful wilderness of Dartmoor National Park, providing readers with his top location and technique tips for capturing the moor’s majesty in winter. In The Storyteller, Chris Weston reviews the suitability of the Fuji X-T1 mirrorless camera for his style of wildlife photography. Do note that the full contents of the magazine is available to full f11 subscribers only. Non-members can purchase individual issues of the magazine at a price of £4.20.

Shenyang Zhongyi Optics has released Version II of its M42 -Fuji X Lens turbo adapter. This adapter allows M42 screw mount lenses to be mounted on Fuji X cameras while altering their magnification by a factor of 0.762x and improving their aperture speed by a full stop. The reduced magnification enables users to partially regain the angle of view lost by mounting a full-frame lens on a camera with an APS-C sized sensor. In other words, the M42 -Fuji X Lens turbo adapter (ver II) effectively reduces the crop factor of Fujifilm X series compact system cameras from 1.5x to 1.14x. The optical construction comprises 4 lens elements in 4 groups, including 1 extra-low dispersion element which helps reduce the chromatic aberrations on the image. The adapter is available now for $149, via the website below.

The Samyang 135mm T2.2ED UMC VDSLR Cine Lens is the cinema / video version of the Samyang 135mm f2.0 ED UMC telephoto prime. Featuring a floating type design, one extra-low-dispersion lens element and a clickless diaphragm with nine rounded aperture blades, the Samyang 135mm T2.2ED UMC VDSLR Cine Lens comes with geared aperture and focus rings to accommodate a range of video accessories. The optical construction comprises 11 elements in 7 groups. Initially expected to be released in Canon, Nikon, Sony E and MFT mounts, the new Samyang VDSLR lens can now be preordered for $599. In the United Kingdom, the Samyang 135mm T2.2ED UMC VDSLR Cine Lens will be priced at £429.99.

The Samyang 135mm f/2.0 ED UMC is a new full-frame telephoto lens for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Samsung, Pentax and Olympus/Panasonic cameras. Featuring one extra-low-dispersion (ED) element, ultra-multi-coating, an iris diaphragm with nine rounded aperture blades, and a 77mm filter thread; the Samyang 135mm f/2.0 ED UMC has a close-focus point of 2.6 feet and an angle of view of 18.8 degrees (11.7° on APS-C, 9.4° on Micro Four Thirds). The new lens can be preordered now for $549. In the UK, the Samyang 135mm f/2.0 ED UMC will be available in early February, priced at £419.99 for Nikon AE and£389.99 for Canon, Sony A, Pentax and Sony E fittings.

Samsung has announced a firmware update for the Samsung NX1 compact system camera. The new release incorporates a variety of Movie mode refinements, several interface upgrades and expanded connectivity options. Other updates include Trap Shot, an addition to the Samsung Auto Shot mode. Users can now adjust the settings so that when a moving object hits this line, the camera will automatically take a picture. PC tethering via USB is now a reality for those using Samsung Remote Studio software and developers can take advantage of Samsung’s Software Development Kit for Windows PC, meaning they have remote access and control software for the Samsung NX1. The firmware update will be available later this month. Click through / scroll down for the complete list of feature improvements.

Sony today announced the expansion of its Imaging Ambassadors programme. The six new UK-based photographers given the prestigious honour are Gavin Evans, Joe Cornish, Michael Wayne Plant, Nick Webster, Dominic Fraser and Andrew Scriven. The ambassador programme is rooted in storytelling and the world-leading photographers involved work across the globe documenting fame, fashion, culture, sportsmanship, war, human devastation, celebration and environmental shifts. Running the programme on Sony’s behalf is the World Photography Organisation, an international institution providing various platforms and programmes for photographers of all levels and disciplines.

Inspired by the Hungarian Fortepan project, the University of Northern Iowa has announced the establishment of a new public digital photo archive featuring curated photos made by ordinary Iowans over the 20th century. Taking its name from a panchromatic black-and-white film stock manufactured in Hungary right up to the closure of the Forte plant in 2007, the original Fortepan archive started out as a private project of collectors Ákos Szepessy and Miklós Tamási, borne out of a desire to demonstrate that photos - even "artistically worthless" snapshots - taken by ordinary people can help us better understand the history of the 20th century. Thanks to donations, the collection has grown to include over forty thousand digitised black-and-white and colour photographs, from a pseudo-bucolic idyll dating back to 1900 to a 1990 photograph of a still-standing section of the Berlin wall. Based on this project, the new Fortepan Iowa archive will display thousands of photographs along a sliding interactive timeline and invite visitors to horizontally scroll through highly curated, well-documented photographs digitised at "tremendously high resolution," the university says. The open-source platform will inspire visitors to engage digitally with the high-quality images — a rare opportunity in a heavily copyrighted age. Fortepan Iowa will launch in March 2015 with at least 2,000 photos in the archive.

Hasselblad has announced the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer. The company is now helmed by Perry Oosting, a former CEO of luxury mobile phone manufacturer Vertu. "It is an honour for me to accept this new role at Hasselblad and become an integral part of this iconic brand," Oosting said in a statement. "This company has an incredible history and with its core DNA has a sound foundation for further development. The recent and widely acclaimed launch of our 'back to the future' CFV-50c CMOS back [pictured] is a great example of our ongoing commitment to the total Hasselblad brand experience that enables customers to benefit from our advanced and exclusive digital engineering know-how."

This week we’re revealing our favourite products from last year in our annual awards, looking back at the essential photography kit that helped to define 2014.

Our sixth and final award is for Camera of the Year 2014, which goes to the Fujifilm X-T1.

“The new Fujifilm X-T1 is the best X-series camera to date, and one of the best interchangeable lens cameras, mirrorless or otherwise, that we've ever had the pleasure of reviewing.”

Read the Full Review

Congratulations to Fujifilm and the X-T1!

This week we’re revealing our favourite products from last year in our annual awards, looking back at the essential photography kit that helped to define 2014.

The DSLR Camera of the Year 2014 award goes to the Nikon D750.

“...the new D750 is an excellent addition to Nikon's ever-expanding full-frame line-up. It isn't a true successor to the 6-year-old D700, or just a cheaper, less well-specified version of the D810 - instead, the D750 is a compelling camera in its own right that actually out-performs the D810 in some areas.”

Read the Full Review

Congratulations to Nikon and the D750!

MicroSD cards are the driving force of the worldwide flash memory market, according to the latest research from Futuresource Consulting. The total market is estimated to have increased 2% in 2014, with growth in the microSD card segment reaching 11%. "In a consolidated market, SanDisk is the leading vendor followed by Kingston and Transcend, with the top three brands together accounting for 50% of the worldwide retail market," says Larsson. "16GB capacity took the number one spot in worldwide retail last year, followed by 8GB, which still remains the capacity of choice in many countries across the globe."

The Lomography Online Shop - and some Gallery Stores - now stock Lumi products, which allow you to print your favourite analogue photos on fabric, "It all starts with a special liquid called Inkodye, a photosensitive dye which is activated by light or UV. You can then use negatives of favorite photos and fabric to block light from activating inkodye, leaving you with cool designs," the company says. "The perfect tool for your next creative project or a lovely gift in the upcoming holiday season." Billed as a simple DIY alternative to screen-printing powered by sunlight, Inkodye works on cotton, linen, silk, rayon, canvas, or any other natural and absorbent material. Once finished, your print is soft, permanent and can be machine washed without fading.

Nikon has issued a service advisory to users of the Nikon D750 digital SLR camera. In order to address an issue reported by some users, the company will inspect and repair light-shielding components, and adjust the AF sensor position free of charge. The issue in question is that when photographing scenes in which an extremely bright light source is positioned near the top edge of the frame, flare with an unnatural shape sometimes occurs in images captured with the camera. "We plan to initiate this service at the end of January," the company says. "We will announce further details, including instructions for requesting servicing, as they are determined."