UK based charity Sightsavers has just launched a new photo competition. The Sightsavers competition encourages people to submit a photo that they feel captures the essence of Diwali through family, fun, colour or light. The closing date for entries is 31st August and participants can submit as many entries as they like.

The Lowepro Optics Series is a new series of purpose-built bags for wildlife watchers. The Field Station, Scope Travel 200AW, Scope PhotoTravel 350AW and Scope Porter 200AW have been designed to provide wildlife watchers with long-wearing comfort, hands-free support and the freedom to move with ease while out in the field. The Lowepro Optics Series products include a beltpack; a smaller-scaled backpack; a larger-scaled photo backpack with a dedicated laptop compartment; and a unique spotting scope-tripod backpack.

The Plugin Site has announced the MacOS X version of NoiseControl. NoiseControl is a Photoshop plugin, which effectively removes image noise while preserving essential details and the photographic quality of the image. NoiseControl costs $50, and a demo version is available.

The Unseen Eye: Photographs from the W.M. Hunt Collection is a new exhibition at the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film. More than 500 photographs by the masters of the medium will be on view Oct. 1, 2011 through Feb. 19, 2012. W.M. Hunt is a renowned curator and dealer who has been collecting photographs for 40 years.

The Epson Stylus Pro 3880 Signature Worthy Edition combines the 17-inch Epson Stylus Pro 3880 printer with six Epson Signature Worthy papers. The Epson Stylus Pro 3880 Signature Worthy Edition includes full letter-sized packages of Exhibition Fiber, Cold Press Bright, Cold Press Natural, Hot Press Bright, and Hot Press Natural papers, as well as a Signature Worthy Sample Pack featuring additional photo and fine art papers. The Epson Stylus Pro 3880 Signature Worthy Edition is currently available through select photo specialty resellers for $1,495.

Gary Fong has released two new Gearguard Security bundles of photography equipment security products. The GearGuard Basic Kit ($49.95) includes the GearGuard Camera Body Lock, the Large GearGuard Camera Bag Lock (set of two) and the GearGuard 36” Cable & TSA-Approved Combination Lock. The GearGuard Pro Kit ($89.95) starts with the Basic Kit and adds an additional 36” Cable &TSA-Approved Combo Lock as well as the GearGuard Lens Lock. The Pro Kit comes in configurations for either Canon or Nikon users.

The EISA awards for 2011/2012 have just been unveiled. Among the 15 winners in the Photo Awards section was the Canon EOS 600D (pictured) as Best European Camera, Fujifilm FinePix X100 for European Advanced Compact Camera, and Panasonic LUMIX DMC-G3 for European Compact System Camera.

Website: EISA Awards 2011/12

The Samyang 24mm f/1.4 ED AS UMC is a new wide-angle lens. Available for the Canon, Four Thirds, Nikon AE, Pentax, Samsung NX and Sony Alpha mounts, the Samyang 24mm lens is constructed of 13 lenses arranged in 12 groups, with multi-layered and anti-reflexive UMC coatings. The Samyang 24mm f/1.4 ED AS UMC will be available for sale by the end of the year or at the beginning of 2012, priced at 599 EUR for Canon, Four-thirds, Pentax, Samsung NX, Sony, and 625 EUR for Nikon.

The Kingston Wi-Drive is a a wireless portable storage device for the Apple iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. The Wi-Drive allows users to play videos, access music or share files with other Apple device owners. Kingston offers the Wi-Drive in both 16GB and 32GB sizes priced at £89 and £119 respectively.

PhotoGuide is a new guide to photography for your iPhone or Android device. PhotoGuide by Self Study Apps allows you to find out the correct F-Stop for portraits, best angles and framing for each shot, and composition tips on all types of photograph settings.

David Noton will be giving two talks at the Royal Geographical Society in London on Sunday 2nd October. Held as part of the Travel Photographer of the Year Festival of Photography and World Travel, David’s talks will cover in the right place at the right time for travel photography, and the high and lows of a roving photographic life. Tickets are priced at £55 per day or £140 for all three days of the festival.

The innovative Affordable Photography Emporium, The APE, will be exhibiting at the East London gallery, theprintspace. The APE was set up by photographers for photographers to sell beautiful limited edition prints at an affordable price. The show runs for two weeks at the beginning of September with a private view on the evening of Thursday 1st September.

Blurb has announced a new range of personalised notebooks. The high quality, high street look notebook is simple to create, easy to buy,with the delivery taking up to 7 days, it will be on your doorstep in no time. The creation software is free to download and notebooks start from £5.00.

The Lowepro Compact Courier and Streamline 100 are new shoulder bags for compact system cameras. The Compact Courier 80 offers 2-bags-in-1, while the Compact Courier 70 has been designed to fit a selection of CSCs with an 18-55mm lens attached. The StreamLine 100 fits CSC models with an 18-55mm attached lens, an extra lens and a few small personal items. The Compact Courier 80 and 70 are available in Black with Red piping and Grey with Arctic Blue piping priced at £34.95 and £29.95 respectively. The StreamLine 100 is available in Black/Grey and Red/Black priced at £29.99.

Benro has introduced a new video tripod kit for digital video cameras, HDSLRs and still cameras. This unique combination of the Benro Dual Stage AD71F tripod, Fluid Motion K5 head and Heavy Duty tripod bag with strap provide exceptional value. The suggested retail price for the new Benro AD71FK5 Video Tripod Kit is $195.

Induro’s new BHS-Series Ballheads provide quick and precise camera positioning and dual locking security. They offer a lightweight, well-balanced adjustable support for a wide range of cameras and lenses and are compatible with most compact and professional tripods. The Induro BHS Ballheads are available in three sizes from retailers throughout the United States at prices ranging from $52 - $76.