Bowens has announced the spring launch of two new easy-to-use Limelite Mosaic lighting products – Tungsten and Bicolour LED panels. The rugged new panels are set to be showcased alongside a new HD Field Monitor, a range of DSLR camera rigs and a new Studiolite DMX fluorescent lighting range at four upcoming UK and international shows, including BVE (Broadcast Video Expo) at London’s Excel Convention Centre and Focus at the NEC, Birmingham.

PNY Technologies will showcase its latest products using Flash technology on its stand at the upcoming ‘Focus on Imaging’ trade show. Among these products is the Pro-Elite Plus High-Speed Class 10 Series. These cards boast read speeds of 95 MB/s, write speeds of 90 MB/s and are designed for the most demanding photographers. Ideal for sports and action photography, the cards’ speed and flexibility takes full advantage of a camera’s burst mode. Certified Class 10 and UHS-1 (Ultra High Speed), they are also ideal for full-HD video. PNY’s Flash expertise will also be on display through the company’s internal and external SSDs. The XLR8 Pro SSD offers functionality and capacities designed for amateurs and enthusiasts that rely on intensive applications, such as photo and video editing software, and work with high-resolution and full HD images and video.

An Austrian research team has developed an entirely new way of capturing images based on a flat, flexible, transparent, and potentially disposable polymer sheet. The new imager, which resembles a flexible plastic film, uses fluorescent particles to capture incoming light and channel a portion of it to an array of sensors framing the sheet. “To our knowledge, we are the first to present an image sensor that is fully transparent – no integrated microstructures, such as circuits – and is flexible and scalable at the same time,” says Oliver Bimber of the Johannes Kepler University Linz in Austria, “Our system works in the same way [as a computer tomograph], but where CT uses X-rays, our technique uses visible light.” The researchers are now considering attaching their new imager in front of a regular, high-resolution CCD sensor. This would allow recording of two images at the same time at two different exposures. Combining both would yield a high-resolution image with less overexposed or underexposed regions if capturing a high-contrast range.

In April, the Lee Miller Archives will be revealing over three thousand photographs of Elizabeth “Lee” Miller, internationally renowned war photographer, Vogue cover model and surrealist artist. Converted from the original negatives or vintage prints into digital format over half of the uploaded images will be available to view for the first time ever. Previously there have only been approximately just under 800 Lee Miller photographs in circulation in addition to her lifetime published work. These consisted of 150 images officially shown on the Lee Miller website, alongside other images published in books and exhibition catalogues about Miller or contributed to biographies and other publications that relate to the themes she photographed throughout her life. The public launch of the new online picture library on 23rd April will coincide with Miller’s 106th birthday.

London Camera Exchange (LCE) has announced the opening of a new store in Manchester.  Having acquired the large centrally located premises, previously part of the Jacobs chain of camera stores, the new LCE store will be opening on 26th February. The new address is: London Camera Exchange, 16 Cross Street, Manchester, M2 7AE.

Topaz Labs have just released Topaz B&W Effects 2, a major upgrade to their popular black-and-white image enhancement plug-in. Specifically designed to help photographers master the art of black and white photography, B&W Effects 2 offers adaptive exposure for HDR effects, a five-in-one edge-aware selective brush, an advanced grain engine, quad toning and over 200 presets for quick 1-click workflows. Topaz B&W Effects 2 is a plug-in that works with Topaz photoFXlab, Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Aperture, iPhoto, Lightroom and PaintShop Pro. It is compatible with Windows XP or later (32-bit and 64-bit) and Intel-based Macs running OS X 10.6 or later (64-bit only). The plug-in retails for $59.99. Version 2 is a free upgrade for all current users of Topaz B&W Effects

Fotodiox has released the Aputure V-Control for Canon DSLR cameras, a handheld USB host device offering comprehensive image and follow-focus control. “Perfect for dramatic rack focus shots, and for correcting focus when the camera is out of reach on a dolly or a crane, V-Control is the only device of its kind that enables photographers to easily switch between still and video modes, offering full hands-on remote control of the camera’s aperture, shutter speed, ISO and exposure compensation,” the company claims. Currently supported camera models include the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, 5D Mark III, 5D Mark II, 7D, 60D, 600D/T3i/Kiss X5, 550D/T2i/Kiss X4, 500D/T1i/Kiss X3 and the 1100D/T3/Kiss X50. The V-Controller is priced at $179.95 and is available for order now at fotodioxpro.com and other online retailers including Amazon.

Hasselblad has launched a new trade-in offer for photographers interested in purchasing a high-end professional film scanner. Between now and 31st May, you can get €4500 off the price of a Hasselblad Flextight X5 scanner and €3000 off a Hasselblad Flextight X1 when you trade in your old scanner, regardless of make or model. These two models represent the pinnacle of CCD scanners, offering extremely high resolution and dMax as well as fast scanning speeds and multi-format scanning. “A vertical optical system allows the CCD to face downwards creating a glass-free optical path between the original and the lens,” the company says. “The patented virtual drum solution produces optimal focusing across the whole of the original and the flexible holder guarantees easy mounting combined with a safe and cautious handling of your originals.”

Calumet has reserved space for two stands at the 2013 Focus on Imaging trade show, and has spent months planning for the four-day event. Dozens of trained staff will showcase latest imaging products on Stands N1 and M10 and for the first time ever the company is also running all day seminar programmes throughout the show. Sian Hamer, Calumet marketing executive said: “M10 will be our product stand packed with all the latest state-of-the-art merchandise and offers from leading brands like Nikon, Canon, Fujifilm and Lowepro. We will also have product experts from top brands like Sony, Drobo and Hahnel on hand too. N1 will be our stand for demonstrations from companies such as Certon, Datacolor, Cambo and Epson.”

The recently launched Plustek OpticFilm 120 multi-format film scanner will be on display at the Focus on Imaging trade show held in Birmingham from 3rd - 6th March. Capable of scanning both 35mm and 120 format negatives and slides, the Plustek OpticFilm 120 boasts a custom-designed 8-element glass lens and a high-resolution CCD sensor; and comes complete with adjustable-pitch film holders that feature unique sliding inter-frame dividers to ensure optimal film flatness. The scanner’s hardware resolution - based on the specification of its stepper motor and the number of pixels on its CCD - is 10,600dpi, with the optical resolution (which also takes into account the resolving power of the optical system) specified at 5,300dpi. Other highlights include automated IT8 calibration and a motorised film transport for batch scanning.

Want to see exactly what the new Sony A58 DSLR camera looks like in the flesh?

Check out our hands-on gallery of photos of the Sony A58 DSLR camera, including a side-by-side comparison with the previous A57 model.

Want to see exactly what the new Sony NEX-3N compact system camera looks like in the flesh?

Check out our hands-on gallery of photos of the Sony NEX-3N compact system camera, including a side-by-side comparison with the previous NEX-F3 model and the more expensive NEX-5R camera.

Want to see exactly what the new Sony 70-400mm F4-5.6 lens looks like in the flesh?

Check out our hands-on gallery of photos of the Sony 70-400mm F4-5.6 lens.

The Sony A58 is a new Digital SLT camera with Translucent Mirror Technology. The A58 has a new 20.1 effective megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor, ISO 100 to 16000, speedy 8fps shooting, 15-point AF system with Lock-on Autofocus, an OLED Tru-Finder, and Auto Object Framing. The new Sony A58 interchangeable lens camera will be available in the UK from mid-April, priced at around £450 with the 18-55mm kit lens or £600 in a twin-lens kit.

The Sony NEX-3N is the world’s smallest, lightest interchangeable lens camera (with an APS-C sensor and built-in flash), weighing just 210g. The NEX-3N has a 16.1 megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor, 180° tiltable 3-inch LCD screen, pop-up flash, and a zoom lever. The new light, compact NEX-3N interchangeable lens camera from Sony is available in the UK from mid-March 2013, priced at £400 with the 16-50mm power zoom lens and £600 with the 16-50mm power zoom and 55-210mm lenses.

Sony introduces three new A-mount lenses plus A-mount and E-mount accessories. They include 70-400mm F4-5.6 G SSM II telephoto zoom, Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm F1.4 ZA SSM and DT 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 SAM II standard zoom lenses, compact HVL-F20M flash and RM-VPR1 wired remote. The new Sony lenses and accessories will start to become available in the UK from March 2013.

The Sony Cyber-shot HX300, WX300, TX30 are three new power-packed compact cameras. The slim and super-stylish Sony WX300 is the world’s smallest and lightest camera with a 20x optical zoom, enhanced image stabilisation and speedy autofocus. The Sony HX300 has an ultra-powerful 50x optical zoom with DSLR-style handling and manual controls. The Sony TX30 is the world’s slimmest digital compact camera that’s waterproof up to 10m and freeze- and shock-proof.

The new Sony Cyber-shot HX300 will be available in the UK from March, and the WX300 and TX30 from April 2013, pricing to be announced.

Olympus have teamed up with multi-award-winning photographer Damian “Big Dog” McGillicuddy for a mix of photographic demonstrations and “Random Acts of Photography” around Focus on Imaging. Attendees will have the chance to see the results achieved and to shoot a model wearing a one-of-a-kind OM-D dress as well as the opportunity to win a limited edition McGillicuddy print every day. Focus on Imaging will be held at the Birmingham NEC from 3 - 6 March 2013.  10am - 6pm Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. 10am - 5pm Wednesday The Olympus events will be taking place at Stand F51.

Photography education and entertainment site PhoozL has announced its first paid-entry photo contest: ‘Show the Song: Spirit of the ‘60s.’ The competition challenges entrants to interpret 1960s classic rock song titles through their photography.  The contest is open for submissions now until 24 March 2013 to all logged-in members of Phoozl.com, amateur to pro, 18+, worldwide. The entry fee is $5 and you may submit up to five photographs. Entries will be judged by Elliott Landy, the official photographer of the 1969 Woodstock Festival. For more information, visit the website below.