Tiwani Contemporary will host an exhibition by South African photographer Gideon Mendel entitled, Drowning World. The selection includes 15 images taken in Nigeria that have never been exhibited before, and  5  photographs  documenting  flooding  in  various  parts  of  the  globe  including  England,  India,  Haiti  and Australia. The exhibition also presents a two-part video of people living amidst floodwaters in Bangkok, as well as video portraits of Nigerian inhabitants returning to their flooded homes. Drowning World will run from 7 June – 27 July 2013.

Canon has released a firmware update for its EOS-1D Mark IV digital SLR camera. Version 1.1.3 incorporates the following improvement and fix:

1. Enables the central AF point to autofocus when the camera is used with the EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x lens and a teleconverter whose combined maximum aperture is f/8.
    
2. Fixes a phenomenon in which abnormal images may result when continuous shooting mode is enabled and the image size is set to "RAW" or "RAW+JPEG".

Website: Canon EOS-1D Mark IV Support

PearlMountain has released the newest version of Picture Collage Maker for Mac. The application is a powerful yet easy-to-use collage maker that enables users to "make gorgeous collages in seconds," the company says. This update adds support for a range of new photo and text effects, rounded corners; improves the cropping feature, and adds more sharing options. Picture Collage Maker for Mac 2.0.0 supports Mac OS X 10.6 or later and is fully compatible with Mac OS X 10.8. A single-user licence costs $19.90.

Canon has posted a firmware update for its EOS-1Ds Mark III full-frame digital SLR camera. Version 1.2.2 enables focusing with the central AF sensor when the camera is used with the EF 200-400mm F4L USM Extender 1.4X lens and teleconverter whose combined maximum aperture is f/8. You can download the firmware upgrade from the website below.

Website: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III Support

Canon has issued a firmware update for its EOS-1D Mark III digital SLR camera. Version 1.3.1 enables focusing with the central AF sensor when the camera is used with the EF 200-400mm F4L USM Extender 1.4X lens and an Extender whose combined maximum aperture is f/8. You can download the firmware upgrade from the website below.

Website: Canon EOS-1D Mark III Support

Think Tank Photo today launched “About A Photograph,” a free video series that features some of the world’s leading photographers recounting the stories behind their most famous photos. The series is being produced by Kurt Rogers and Deanne Fitzmaurice, Think Tank Photo’s co-founders and award-winning photojournalists. “When we photojournalists go out on assignment we never know what awaits us,” said Rogers.  “It is through our training as experts in sensing when and where events will unfold that we are able to capture images that best convey the story.” The series can be found at the website below.

Via its Facebook fan page, Samyang Asia has announced the upcoming launch of a 24mm equivalent rectilinear lens for dSLRs and CSCs with APS-C sized sensors. The new Samyang 16mm f/2.0 ED AS UMC CS is a manual-focus lens featuring 13 elements arranged in 11 groups and a 77mm filter thread. Weighing in at 571g, the Samyang 16mm f/2 ED AS UMC CS will be available in Canon EF, Canon EF-M, Four Thirds, Micro Four Thirds, Fuji X, Nikon F, Pentax, Samsung NX, Sony A and Sony E mounts. Note that on Canon and - especially - Four Thirds and Micro Four Thirds bodies, the lens will have a tighter field of view (~26mm equivalent on Canon and 32mm on [M]FT). Pricing has yet to be communicated.

Fuji has released a new firmware update for the Fujifilm X100S large-sensor compact camera. Version 1.03 fixes a rare bug that sometimes caused, as the company puts it, "a grainy image like TV fuzz" to appear on the rear screen while the live view feed was displayed. You can download the firmware update from the website below.

Website: Fujifilm X100S X100S Firmware Update Ver.1.03

Nikon UK today launched its summer cashback promotion offering up to £80 cashback on certain CSC models. The offer is valid from 30th May 2013 – 4th September 2013 and includes the Nikon 1 S1, J3 and V2 cameras. All claims must be received by 4th October 2013 in order to qualify. Click through / scroll down for the details.

Calumet UK has launched a brand new website completely dedicated to its rental customers. Simon Browitt, head of Calumet Rental in London said: “Now, it’s never been easier to rent equipment from us. We have an extensive inventory of photographic equipment; cameras; digital equipment; lighting and studio products. It could be a Canon 600 mm lens – which costs upwards of £10,500 to buy – but we’ll rent it for £90 a day plus damage waiver insurance. Or, at the other end of the scale, we could hire out a remote timer from about £10 a day.”

Lifeloggers is a new documentary released by Memoto, the startup behind the stamp-sized lifelogging camera. The Swedish firm sent out two film students into the world to explore and document how "lifelogging" is going to change how we remember our lives, track and monitor our health and find out any possible risks of documenting our lives. The two students, Amanda Alm and Ville Boom, traveled around the world for six weeks interviewing pioneers in the field, entrepreneurs, and lifeloggers. The documentary can now be viewed at the website below.

Canon today announced the achievement of a new lens manufacturing milestone - the company’s 90-millionth EF-series interchangeable lens. The manufacture of Canon’s EF lenses first began in March 1987 alongside the introduction of Canon’s first EOS SLR camera system at the company’s Utsunomiya plant. The range now comprises 80 different models including the new EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x (pictured). In addition to a range of EF and EF-S lenses designed for DSLRs, the line-up now includes an expanding selection of 4K-resolution EF Cinema Lenses. In July 2012, Canon also announced a new line of EF-M lenses developed specifically for the company’s EOS M compact system camera.

Nikon has released a firmware update for its Coolpix P7700 digital compact camera. According to the company, Version 1.02 fixes the following bugs:

"When shooting with shooting mode set to M (manual), ISO sensitivity set to Auto, ISO 80-200, ISO 80-400, or ISO 80-800 and the flash used, ISO sensitivity was sometimes not locked at ISO 80 and a different ISO sensitivity was sometimes applied."

Website: Nikon COOLPIX P7700 Firmware Update 1.2

Samsung has released the source codes for its NX2000 (pictured) and NX300 compact system cameras. Available as free downloads, the codes are provided "without representation or warranty of any kind," under the GNU General Public License and GNU Lesser General Public License. The legal agreement that you must accept when downloading the source codes allows you to specify your intentions, which may include reasons like "Enhance my product," "Apply it to another product or project" and "Study the source code."

Website: Samsung Open Source Release Centre

Fujifilm has issued a firmware update for the Fujifilm X-Pro1 compact system camera. Version 2.04 improves auto focus speed with the XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS lens. You can download the firmware upgrade from the website below.

Website: Fuji X-Pro1 Firmware Update Ver.2.04

Fuji has posted a firmware update for the Fujifilm X-E1 compact system camera. Version 1.05 improves auto focus speed with the XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS lens. You can download the firmware upgrade from the website below.

Website: Fuji X-E1 Firmware Update Ver.1.05