The AF-S NIKKOR 28mm f/1.8G is a new wide-angle lens for Nikon full-frame DSLRs. The fast aperture wide-angle prime lens has a new optical design with two aspherical lens elements, large (f/1.8) aperture for smooth bokeh, a weather-sealed mount and weighs just 330g. The AF-S NIKKOR 28mm F/1.8G will be available in May for £619.99 / €739.00 / $699.95.

The winners of International Garden Photographer of the Year’s first Photo Projects category, Monochrome, have been announced. “Annemarie Farley was awarded first place for her beautiful and captivating photograph of a rose, titled ‘Lilac Rose’ [above],”.the organisers say. “Annemarie focused on the petals of the flower, concentrating on its unique shape and structure. The image was then softened post capture to emphasise the romantic and delicate essence of the rose.” The sixth International Garden Photographer of the Year competition is now calling for entries for its ‘Macro Art’ themed Photo Projects category. The deadline for entries is 31 May 2012.

Throughout May Lomography will be celebrating the first anniversary of its first LomoLab in the United Kingdom. The Lomography Lab month will see each Lomography Gallery Store (Soho, East London and Manchester) run a series of promotions, workshops and in-store competitions. Click through / read on for more information on the promotions as well as the LomoLab itself.

Think Tank Photo has announced that in May it will release its new Retrospective 7 shoulder camera bag in three colour options (black, slate blue and Pinestone canvas). Designed for standard DSLR systems, the Retrospective 7 shoulder bag comes with a rear pocket for a laptop or tablet PC, a cushioned/padded non-slip shoulder strap, a removable divider set for custom layouts, a number of pockets for storing a range of accessories, and a sealed rain cover. “Working pros to vacationers all will find the Retrospective 7 to be the most useful and functional bag for a day’s outing,” said Doug Murdoch, Think Tank Photo’s co-founder and lead designer.  “It combines the broad appeal of the Retrospective design with the perfect size for carrying camera gear and your laptop or iPad.”

Hasselblad has launched version 2.6.6 of its Phocus software, plus version 2.0 of Phocus Mobile for iOS. “Photographers can be wirelessly linked to a computer running Phocus, and now with the new 2.6.6 version, any number of Phocus Mobile clients can connect to the Phocus server simultaneously,” said Peter Stig-Nielsen, Hasselblad Product Management Director. Features provided include Hasselblad Natural Colour Selection (HNCS), sophisticated lens corrections for H and V System lenses, extensive customisation options for individual workflow scenarios, live video, scene calibration and reproduction tools and highlight recovery, shadow fill, clarity and dust removal tools. Click through / scroll down for a short video released by Hasselblad.

Eleven of the best photography campaigns were recognised with In-Book awards and Nominations at the Fiftieth Annual D&AD Awards. Work included in the D&AD Annual came from around the world, with entries from Germany, Australia, the Netherlands, the US and the UK capturing the jury’s attention. David Stewart, Foreman of the Photography Jury at D&AD 2012 said, “The thing that makes D&AD interesting – and at the same time challenging – to judge, is seeing photography in the context of a finished piece of advertising or design work. The entries I’ve been particularly pleased by this year have been those images that add a new or different dimension to the piece of work they sit in the context of, demonstrating photography’s continued power to take a creative insight or thought and make it manifest.”

Revolve has successfully raised funds for a new versatile, portable, and affordable camera dolly system on the crowd funding website Kickstarter. The Revolve Camera Dolly allows anyone with a video camera to achieve smooth, dynamic, cinematic video easily. The system can be used to create a wide variety of tracking shots and rotational dolly shots as well as dynamic time lapse and stop motion photography. It is compatible with virtually any camera, and is suitable for use on all surfaces and at any location. The Revolve dolly will go into production after the funding period ends on 6 May 2012.

Photofest Ireland, the country’s largest photography show, is taking place on Sunday, 29 April 2012. Held in the Conference Centre in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Santry, Photofest Ireland will feature all the major brands, product demonstrations, free seminars with new lecturers, and special offers on cameras, lenses, studio equipment, photographic papers and inks, and other accessories. For further details, visit the website below.

Sharp has announced the upcoming release of a twenty-megapixel, 1/2.3-type CCD imager, developed for use in digital compact cameras. The Sharp RJ23G3BA0LT sensor features a pixel pitch of 1.20?m but offers the same sensitivity as current 16-megapixel CCDs of the same size, which have larger, 1.34?m pixels. The new imager also supports 720p/30fps HD video output. Sampling will commence at the end of this month, with mass production scheduled to start in August. Sharp plans to manufacture 200,000 RJ23G3BA0LT sensors per month.

Source: Sharp Japan

Manfrotto has launched Sympla, a video rig system for HDSLRs and the latest camcorders. According to the company, any compatible camera can be set up and adjusted on the rig in a matter of seconds, giving videographers the ability to shoot from almost any angle and react quickly to changing conditions. The Sympla range features a range of individual components for building custom rigs and accessories, with three main ready-to-go kits - a Flexible Matte Box system, a Long Lens Support system and a Shoulder Support system. The Manfrotto Sympla product line-up, available in May, has already won a Red Dot Design Award.

Bob Books have announced the return of Photobook Month this June. Hosted at Hasselblad Studio in Shoreditch, London, the series of four evening events will feature expert speakers who will be sharing their own take on photobooks – from what makes a beautifully designed book, to a run-down of the best photobooks of all time. The guest speakers include Martin Parr, Marianne Taylor, Mike Trow and Jeremy Leslie. Bob Books’ General Manager Ibolya Németh said:  “We’re delighted to have pulled together some of the biggest names in our industry to create four not-to-be-missed events. We want to celebrate photobooks in all their forms and the best way to do this is to invite photographers, designers and photobook lovers to join us over four fantastic evenings in June.” The lectures will be taking place on 6th, 12th, 20th and 26th June. Tickets are £30 each plus booking fee and will be on sale from 1st of May through the website below.

Prix Pictet today announced that they have received 643 nominations for work by photographers in 76 countries. Speaking today, Michael Benson, Director of the Prix Pictet, said: “We have been hugely impressed by the quality and scale of interest in this year’s theme of Power, with its potential to uncover images and issues that are both awe-inspiring and disturbing.” This year, a major exhibition of the shortlisted works will go on show at the Saatchi Gallery in London, coinciding with the announcement on 9 October of the winner who will receive an award of 100,000 Swiss francs. The exhibition will run until 28 October 2012.

Corel has issued an update for its AfterShot Pro software. Version 1.0.1 adds support for 20 new camera raw formats and incorporates improved highlight recovery processing, two new plug-ins, an improved plug-in SDK and support for 40-megapixel images. Available for Linux, MacOS and Windows, the update can be downloaded from the website below.

Website: Corel Patches & Updates

Olympus has posted a firmware update for the Olympus OM-D E-M5. Version 1.1 improves the performance of the body-integral image stabiliser when the camera is used in conjunction with the following regular Four Thirds lenses (mountable via an adapter): Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye, Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 18-180mm f/3.5-6.3 and Leica D Vario-Elmar 14-150mm XS. OM-D owners can upgrade their camera’s firmware via the Olympus Digital Camera Updater application.

In addition to the Compact Zoom CZ.2 70-200/T2.9, Carl Zeiss has also announced three CP.2 Compact Prime lenses with a maximum aperture of T1.5. Available in focal lengths of 35mm (€3,700 / $4,900), 50mm (€3,300 / $4,500) and 85mm (also €3,300 / $4,500), the new Compact Prime CP.2 Super Speed lenses offer filmmakers new opportunities for shooting in low-light conditions. As with the rest of the CP.2 family, the Compact Prime CP.2 Super Speed lenses feature a 14-bladed iris diaphragm for a pleasing rendering of the out-of-focus areas. The standard cine-style housing with gearing allows the attachment of any standard follow-focus system. By using the interchangeable mounts for PL, EF, F, MFT and E, the Compact Prime CP.2 Super Speed lenses can be easily adapted to numerous camera systems. The lenses will be available from August.

Two of Ilford’s latest products, GALERIE Prestige Smooth Pearl 310gsm and Smooth Gloss 310gsm, have been honoured with a TIPA 2012 award for Best Fine Art Inkjet Paper. The GALERIE Prestige Smooth Gloss 310gsm and Smooth Pearl 310gsm papers were launched in Europe in March 2012 and have been developed in direct response to the growing demand for heavier weight media from professional inkjet printmakers. Jane Dixon, Director of Global Marketing at ILFORD says “The TIPA Awards are the most prestigious photo awards in the industry, so we are delighted to receive the Best Fine Art Inkjet Paper award for our latest GALERIE offerings. We have a loyal customer base with Fine Art photographers all over the world and the new 310gsm papers have been developed with them in mind. We’re very pleased to offer them enhanced aesthetic gravitas that can be achieved through using heavier weight papers.”

Samsung has won four TIPA awards this year. The ‘Best General Compact Camera’ award went to the Samsung MultiView MV800, while the ‘Best Mobile Imaging Device’ title was awarded to the Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone. Samsung also won the Best Photo Monitor Award for the Samsung SyncMaster S24/27A850, with its “new Samsung LED PLS (Plane to Line Switching) technology” and “more accurate colour and a much wider viewing angle than competing monitors.” The company was recognised by a fourth honour with the Samsung OLED TV, which won the Best Photo TV Display Award.

Review: Read our in-depth review of the Samsung MV800 camera

GoPro and Technicolor announced today at the NAB 2012 Show that they have worked to embed Technicolor’s CineStyle color profile for the debut of the new GoPro Protune (a free firmware upgrade available for the HD HERO2 camera, available this summer). Certified by Technicolor, and developed by GoPro, the Protune mode firmware is claimed to “allow professional filmmakers a vastly improved and flexible workflow for seamless integration with other source material and post-production platforms”. Highlights of the firmware update include a 24fps frame rate, 35Mbps data rate, log curve encoding for better highlight/shadow detail retention and a neutral colour profile that, in combination with reduced sharpening and noise reduction, promises improved flexibility in professional post-production and colour design workflows.

The Fujifilm X-Pro1 (pictured) has been named “Best Professional Compact System Camera” of the year by the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA). The camera has won the award in recognition of its Hybrid Multi Viewfinder, which allows users to freely switch between the OVF and the EVF, and automatically selects the OVF magnification and frame size according to the focal length of the attached lens. Additionally, the Fujifilm X-S1 has been selected for the Best Superzoom Camera Award in recognition of its capability to “achieve premium image quality throughout its focal range from wide at 24mm to super-telephoto at 624mm [in 35mm terms]”.