Eyewitness: Hungarian Photography in the 20th Century  is a major photography exhibition hosted by the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Featuring works by both internationally acclaimed photography icons such as Brassaï, Capa, Kertész, Moholy-Nagy and Munkácsi - all of whom became world famous after leaving their homeland to seek their fortune abroad - and masters such as Rudolf Balogh, Károly Escher and József Pécsi, who stayed at home to pursue careers in Hungary; the exhibition showcases over 200 black-and-white prints that “show how these world renowned photographers were at the forefront of stylistic developments and reveal their achievements in the context of the rich photographic tradition” of their country. Tickets cost £9 and are available daily at the Royal Academy. Advance bookings (phone nr. 0844 209 0051). The exhibition runs until 2 October 2011, and is open to the public every day from 10am to 6pm

UK-based JFDP Labs have released Paper Camera 1.0, their new photography-based application for iOS. Paper Camera transforms static and moving images on the fly using complex filters and effects. Eight cartoon/comic filters are included with the app, with over 20 more promised to come with future upgrades. A simple, unique and stylish user interface lets you adjust, always in real time, filters / effects settings. Paper Camera is available now on iTunes for $0.99.

East Pleasant Pictures, a global collective specialising in multiple forms of moving-image media, has shot a series of commercials for a major cruise ship line using Canon EOS 5D Mark II and 1D Mark IV HDSLR cameras. Directed by Emmy-winning producer/director Xander Strohm, the commercials featured candid scenes of cruise ship passengers playing dodgeball and engaging in other recreational activities. Co-director Damien Drake explained: “We did a lot of documentary work for high-profile people and needed to be as inconspicuous as possible. We couldn’t use a crew, and we had to be our own technicians. The DSLR cameras stood out because they provide super high-quality HD and are very unobtrusive. In fact, a lot of the time people didn’t even realise that we were shooting video.” Both the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and 1D Mark IV digital SLR cameras provide full 1920x1080-pixel HD video recording at user-selectable frame rates of 30 (29.97), 24 (23.976), and 25 fps.

International Garden Photographer of the Year (IGPOTY) has announced the winners of the Spring edition of its 4Seasons competition, whose theme was ‘New Mornings’. Nick Shepherd was awarded first place for his stunning photograph of a large field of dandelion seed heads taken at dawn, as the sun emerges through the clouds, highlighting the sea of white seed heads against the awakening landscape (above). Second place was awarded to Gerard Leeuw and third prize to Jennifer Spencer for their captivating misty morning shots. The winning entries can be viewed online at the website below. The theme for the ongoing Summer competition is ‘Weather Eye’, and the deadline for entries is 31st August.

The winners of the June 2011 Photography Blog Competition have been announced. The theme for June was “Clouds” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 5 winners:

1st Place
The English Channel by Kurt

Prize: X-Rite ColourChecker Passport
Kindly donated by X-Rite
http://www.xritephoto.com/

East London printing lab theprintspace has launched a photo contest on Facebook. Competition II has no theme, so photographers can enter their best work regardless of genre or subject. The winner will receive a day at professional photo studio the Slaughterhouse, worth £220 and a one-day photo course of his/her choice at Photography Course London worth up to £129. The finalists get their image printed on an Earth Positive organic t-shirt from icon printing. Entering the II competition is easy. Everyone, who wants to participate, just needs to go to theprintspace’s Photography Competition Facebook group, become a member and upload 1 image. The entries are judged by a panel of 4 professional photographers including Calum Macdiarmid, Laura Pannack, Linda Brownlee and Niko Mitrunen. The competition runs until the end of this month.

Canon today announced the launch of a new EOS training promotion - ‘Your EOS Adventure Starts Here’. Canon will be giving away a free training DVD and up to £150 worth of training vouchers when photographers purchase a Canon EOS 1100D, EOS 600D or EOS 60D. Customers will be sent their welcome pack, which includes their choice of DVD and their training voucher which can be redeemed against an Experience Seminars training course. Photographers have until 31st October 2012 to use their training voucher and the value of the voucher is dependent on the EOS camera that is purchased: Note that this promotion is only available to customers in the United Kingdom.

Plustek has announced its partnership with Luxipics that allows Plustek OpticFilm 7600i SE and OpticFilm 7600i Ai scanner customers to create and personalise a fully-hosted portfolio website for £49.99 for a whole year (normally £79.99). Those who purchase a Plustek OpticFilm 7600i SE or OpticFilm 7600i Ai 35mm film scanner will find a voucher inside the product box entitling them to the £30 discount. The offer is valid on purchases made in the UK only and ends June 2012, although the voucher codes will expire in June 2013. To create a website, users simply have to enter the Plustek voucher code during the Luxipics’ sign-up process.

Travelshooters have just announced their new Goa, Kerala & the Deccan Photography Tour. The tour “takes in some of the most iconic visual opportunities of Southern India: from the famous Portuguese colonial influences of Goa all the way to the balmy backwaters of Kerala,” says Bruce Stidston of Travelshooters.com. “Along the way, clients get to experience and shoot the lost civilisations of the Deccan plateau, the British colonial resorts of the Nilgiri hills (including one of the most remarkable steam-train journeys in the world) and even a short wildlife exploration.” The photo holiday runs for 15 days from 19 November 2011, the prime time of year to visit the region. The cost is €3,650 per person, excluding international flights. For more information, visit the website below.

Website: Travelshooters - Goa, Kerala & the Deccan 2011

Kenigart has released Camera PRO+ for iPad 2, an app which allows users to improve pictures taken with the iPad 2’s camera. Claiming that its app uses “special photo improving math algorithms”, the Kaliningrad-based company has packed ten photo effects into the program, which also comes with a simple and easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI) that’s fully optimised for the iPad 2. Camera PRO+ sells for $5.99 and is available now on iTunes.

A hands-on preview of the new Olympus PEN E-P3 compact system camera, accompanied by a gallery of images.

A gallery of 15 hands-on photos of the new Olympus E-PM1 PEN Mini compact system camera.

A gallery of 12 hands-on photographs of the new Olympus E-PL3 compact system camera and Olympus FL-300R wireless flash.

Ventizz Capital Fund IV L.P. has agreed to acquire 100 percent of the shares of Hasselblad from Hong Kong-based Shriro Group. Founded in 1941 in Gothenburg, Sweden, Hasselblad has become the world market leader in the field of high-end medium format cameras. The extraordinary quality of the company’s products became famous in 1962 when Hasselblad cameras were selected for NASA space missions, which resulted only a few years later in the first world-renowned images taken on the moon. Shriro, a long-standing Hasselblad distributor in the Asia-Pacific region, has held ownership of the company since 2003.

The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

Ricoh has bought Pentax Imaging Systems for $124.2 million / 85 million Euros. The transfer of Pentax Imaging Systems, essentially Pentax digital cameras, will be made by October 1st 2011. Pentax’s other businesses (digital camera modules, DVD pickup lenses, endoscopes, artificial bones, and voice synthesis) will continue to be devloped by Hoya.

Jonathan Martin, General Manager, Pentax Imaging Systems UK said: “Ricoh is globally renowned within the digital camera industry, having successfully brought a range of products to market since its inception in 1939. We are extremely pleased with today’s announcement and see this as the natural next step in the evolution and continued development of the Pentax brand in the UK and abroad. With Ricoh’s involvement we can continue to grow the Pentax business in the UK and ensure we maintain our commitment to provide our customers with innovative, cutting edge, high quality products to suit all camera users.”

Panasonic has unveiled a range of special and limited edition collectables to celebrate London 2012. Custom designed versions of the Lumix G3 compact system camera and DMC-S3 compact camera are amongst the products on offer. Panasonic has manufactured just 2,012 of each model, and each comes with a commemorative one-year-to-go £5 coin from the Royal Mint and new London 2012 packaging.

The Rollei Bullet HD is a new all-action camera weighing less than 100 grams and offering 720p video. Protected by a robust aluminium body, the camcorder is guaranteed dust-proof, impact-resistant and unsusceptible to vibrations. The Rollei Bullet HD will be available from late July 2011 for € 249.95.