Sigma UK has announced availability and pricing for its new USB Dock and 120-300mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM lens. The USB Dock (£39.99, pictured) allows users of the company’s new, USB-enabled lenses to update their lenses’ firmware and customise the working of the auto focus. The new Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM telephoto zoom lens (£3599.99) is a dust- and splashproof professional lens with a constant maximum aperture, optical stabilisation, USB docking, hypersonic motor and a focus limiter. Both products will go on sale in the UK at the beginning of May.

Cities at Dawn have issued the call for submissions for its week-long pop-up photography festival called WeLovePhoto! Held at Foyles Bookshop in mid-June this year, WeLovePhoto! aims to inspire and help the amateur photographers of London bring their photography to the next level through a series of workshops, talks, walks and an exhibition space where photographers can come to learn, share and collaborate. The festival will launch with a group exhibition of photographs themed around the area of Charing Cross Road. The organisers are looking for amateur and professional photographers to submit their best photos that are inspired by this iconic street, and the best work will join the exhibition. For submission details, head to the website below.

Akvis AirBrush is a new application which converts photos into “paintings” that look as though they were made with a special airbrush tool. Equipped with 40 ready-to-use presets, Akvis AirBrush works as an artistic filter creating stylish colourful airbrush designs from images using chosen settings of photo-to-painting conversion. The program also lets you save your favourite photo-to-painting settings as a preset, which can be imported and reused at any time. Akvis AirBrush can be used as a standalone program and as a plugin to a photo editor. The plug-in is compatible with Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Corel Paint Shop Pro etc. Akvis AirBrush sells for $49 for Home version (either Plugin or Standalone, all features except colour changing), for $69 for Home Deluxe (Plugin and Standalone, all features included), and for $89 for Business (Plugin and Standalone, all features included, for commercial use).

The Annenberg Space for Photography hasannounced its next installation, Helmut Newton, featuring the work of the revolutionary fashion photographer. Opening on 29th June, this is the first exhibition of Helmut Newton’s work outside of gallery shows in Los Angeles, his long-time winter residence, the organisers say. Images from Newton’s first three books - White Women, Sleepless Nights and Big Nudes - will be on view through 8 September 2013. The Annenberg Space for Photography is located at 2000 Avenue of the Stars, Century City, CA 90067.

Peak Design has set up a so-called Pro Team comprising a number of top-notch professional photographers including some of the most recognizable names in mountaineering, surfing, snow sports, motorsports, wedding and portrait photography. In addition to using Peak Design’s Capture, Leash (pictured) and Cuff products in the field, these professionals will be aiding Peak Design in future product development through their feedback and testing of prototypes. “We want folks from all backgrounds of photography – from beginners and hobbyists all the way up to pros – to know that our products are designed to hold up to any environment and any kind of physical activity,” says Peter Dering, Peak Design founder and head engineer. “We couldn’t be more excited to have this incredible group of photographers on our team, ensuring that we continue to make even better gear.” To mark the “birth” of its Pro Team, Peak Design has launched a giveaway offering members of the public a chance to win high-resolution poster-size prints of original photos taken by the Peak Design Pro Team, as well as the company’s latest products.

InstaScoop is a new digital magazine for the Apple iPad. Giving readers the inside scoop on the best photographers on Instagram, InstaScoop reveals their top tips for better looking images and offers insightful articles, video tutorials, and app reviews to help readers improve their photography skills. “Instascoop Magazine is the magazine to read if you enjoy the art of mobile photography and Instagram,” said Kris Lougoon, Publisher of InstaScoop Magazine. “Each issue features the personal stories of groundbreaking photographers as well as their beautiful images to inspire you.” For a limited time, the magazine is offering specially discounted 1-month subscriptions for $1.99 on iTunes.

Panasonic has released a Full HD sample movie shot with the new Panasonic Lumix GF6 compact system camera. The one-and-a-half-minute Panasonic GF6 sample video is made up of seven sequences shot in a variety of outdoor locations. Click through / scroll down to see the movie.

As part of the company’s Educational Series 2013, Tamron USA announced photography seminars to be conducted throughout the US at 30 select authorised dealers. The how-to seminars cover a wide variety of subject matter including seeing in black & white; close-up and macro; landscape, nature & travel photography; family, friends & kids informal portraiture; kids sports photography and formal portrait photography. Attendees of the event can expect to go behind the lens and learn a multitude of useful photographic tips and insights that will improve their picture-taking abilities with their SLR cameras. The topics discussed during the seminar include understanding light, point of view, composition, and knowing your lens. Attendees can register for the seminars at the website below.

The Society of International Travel and Tourism Photographers (SITTP) has announced the winners of its street photography competition. The successful competition had entries from all corners of the globe from India to Australia, highlighting some of the best street photographers work. The winner is Agnieszka Furtak, with Alveraz Ricardez coming in at second place and Julie Wall being third.

proDAD has announced ProDrenalin, an all-in-one software application for GoPro action/sports camera users to improve their videos by removing fisheye and perspective distortion, stabilising, correcting rolling-shutter distortion, de-noising, colour correction, and adjusting the brightness and contrast of the video. Supporting 2.7K and 4K resolutions, the program is also capable of rotating the video if the camera was accidentally mounted upside-down or at the wrong angle. ProDrenalin will be available in May at £29.85.

Lomography has launched a new 35mm film back for its medium-format Belair X 6-12 camera. With this adapter, users of the Belair X 6-12 camera can make impressive panoramic shots on regular 35mm film. The extensive exposure area of 104x33mm enables them to capture images with a rather extreme aspect ratio of 3.15:1. Available in the Lomography Online Shop, the 35mm back fpr the Belair X 6-12 camera retails for £55.

The Minimalist Photographer by Steve Johnson is a new title from Rocky Nook. In this book, you’ll learn about the equipment and workflow of a minimalist photographer as Johnson discusses the strengths and weaknesses of various types of cameras and explains why the more expensive pieces of equipment are not always the best. He also addresses the importance of lighting and teaches you how to achieve effective lighting without spending a lot of money. The 144-page volume is available for $32.95.

The theme for this month’s Life Framer photo contest, judged by Olivia Bee, is “An instant.” A hugely talented, self-trained photographer, Olivia is a contributor to the New York Times, Zeit, Le Monde and Time Magazine. Open to all amateur and professional photographers aged 18 or older, the Life Framer competition is a platform designed to source creative work and showcase outstanding photography. The monthly winner will receive a cash prize of $400 and the honour of having their winning image printed, framed and displayed in an end-of-year exhibition held in a gallery space in central London. Entrants to the competition retain full copyright of their photographs. For more information and to enter online visit the website below.

The iPhone 5 version of the Tiltpod mini-stand is now available for purchase. Billed as “the world’s smallest always-ready camera stand,” the Tiltpod features a quick-connect ball pivot and a nickel-plated magnetic base, which can be easily attached to and detached from the phone. Measuring 2.0"x1.5"x0.4”, the Tiltpod sells for $29.99 via the website below.

ReaSoft Development has released ReaConverter 6.9, a new version of its batch image conversion and editing software tool. Besides 400+ supported image formats, ReaConverter 6.9 now offers improved conversion of PDF/EPS/AI files, support for raw file formats of the newest cameras, increased conversion speed and more. The program is available in three editions: Lite, Standard and Pro. Pricing for a single-user license starts from $24.95 for ReaConverter Lite.

Sony has released two new PlayMemories Camera Apps for its NEX-5R and NEX-6 compact system cameras - Light Shaft and Motion Shot. Light Shaft transforms ordinary landscape, beach and sky shots with an dramatic ray of light, like sunshine bursting through cloudy skies. Position your light source and choose from Ray, Star, Flare or Beam effects then tweak the angle, intensity, length and number of rays to suit your taste. Your original photo is automatically saved as a copy alongside the amended version. Motion Shot identifies your moving subject in a high-speed burst of frames, capturing each moment of the subject’s motion into a single image. Alongside the composited image, your original frames will be recorded in continuous shooting mode and remain untouched. These apps are priced at $4.99 each. In addition, Sony has launched a new Android app that adds fresh features to PlayMemories Online, the company’s photo and video cloud service.