Just a couple of days after roumors have leaked Panasonic announced a couple of new Micro Four Thirds cameras:  Lumix DMC-G2 and Lumix DMC-G10. While the G2 is rich on features, including a touchscreen movable display, the G10 is lighter. In fact it's currently the lightest dSLR camera with a viewfinder.

The Canadian housings manufacturer Aquatica announced the compatibility of the existing EOS 1Ds MkIII housing with Canon's new flagship model EOS 1Ds MkIV.

No modifications are required and no function or access buttons are sacrificed when using the newer Canon body. Access to the video mode of the Mk IV model is not a problem.
Easy access to the FEL button used to activate video capture is already in place in the EOS Ds MkIII housing, as well as other important buttons such as exposure compensation, ISO and the illuminator button. Reassignment of these functions through the DSLR's custom  menu setting is not necessary.

The US National Wildlife Federation is calling for participation in the Federation's 40th annual photo competition! For $20 submission fee the participants have a chance to win over $30,000 in cash prizes!
The National Wildlife Photo Contest (NWPC) is open to ALL photographers worldwide who are at least 13 years of age. Photographers must enter their images in one of the following divisions:

• Pro — Full or part-time professional photographers who receive all or a major part of their income from nature photography.
• Amateur — Beginning or amateur photographers at least 18 years of age, and experienced photographers who do not receive a major part of their income from nature photography.
• Youth — Young photographers ages 13 to 17.

Pentax has announced the Optio W90 - the eleventh generation rugged compact replacing the quite successful W80.
The major feature of the new Optio is the increased depth. W90 can now 'dive' to 20 feet, which makes it suitable for relaxed snorkelling.
The design of the new Optio has been changed and now the camera has quite a sturdy look. The LCD screen size has also been increased to 2.7. We like a lot the camera's Digital Microscope mode, supported by Macro LEDs positioned around the lens. Pentax improved the stabilization features too by adding the Advanced Pixel Track Shake Reduction system. Other features include HD video shooting, 12-megapixel sensor and 5x optical zoom

The Optio W90 will be available in April 2010 at a price of some US$ 330.

Sigma announced the 8-16mm F4.5-5.6 DC HSM lens.

This is the first ultra wide zoom lens with a minimum focal length of 8mm, which should attract great interest by all underwater photographers.
The lens is designed specifically for APS-C (crop) size image sensors and has an equivalent angle of view of a 12-24mm lens when used on digital cameras with a crop sensor . It offers angle of view from 121.2 degrees. The lens' construction features four FLD (“F” Low Dispersion) glass elements, which have the performance equal to fluorite glass, compensate for color aberration. One hybrid aspherical lens and two glass mold elements provide correction for distortion and astigmatism.

Olympus announced its first underwater fousing for the Micro Four Thrids PEN series.

The PT-EP01 has been especially customised for the E-PL1 camera. The housing is very light - (~1100g) which is about the half of the weight of the rest of the company's housings for dSLR cameras. The housing is depth rated to 40 metres. It makes possible the use of the Live View function, but the attachment of the electronic Viewfinder to the E-PL1is also possible. The housing's back is semi-transparent and has a monitoring window just below the LCD window, which allows early detection of eventual leakage.
However, we cannot support the decision of Olympus to provide the fousing with fixed port supporting the only of M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6 and M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 9-18mm 1:4.0-5.6 lenses.
If you plan using the housing for macro you have the possibility of attaching the macro lens adapter (PMLA-EP01) and the proprietary Oly macro lens (PTMC-01).

Nikon Corporation has announced the release of a new wide-angle fixed focal length lens: AF-S NIKKOR 24mm f/1.4G ED lens.

The lens is advertised as a high-performance one and is compatible with the FX format D3-series and D700 digital-SLR cameras. The maximum aperture of f/1.4 makes it a desirable choice for the underwater photogs.
Nikon promises superior optical performance of this new lens due to the Nano Crystal Coat and ED and aspherical lens elements. Nikon's intention is to further expand the high-performance lenses compatible with the FX format.