Large format photographer David Ward explores the creative process of taking a photograph.

The Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) has published digital camera production and shipments data for May 2009. In terms of volume, total digital camera production fell by 26.2% compared to the same period of last year. In terms of value, the drop was an even more severe 32.3%. Interchangeable-lens cameras suffered much less than compacts, with the number of units manufactured being only 3% less than in May 2008. Their market value, however, dropped nearly 15%, which alludes to sinking average unit prices. North America is still the biggest market, but this applies to compacts only. As far as DSLRs are concerned, Europe is a much bigger market (and still growing, at least in terms of volume).

Website: CIPA Statistical Data for May 2009

Olympus have created a fascinating stop-motion movie to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Olympus PEN series. For this project, they took over 50,000 still photographs and combined them into a three-minute clip. They also developed nearly 10,000 prints. We think the result is quite spectacular - check it out at the website below.

Website: The PEN Story at YouTube

MyPhotoAlbum Inc. has announced a new way to save and share photos on the Internet. The MyPhotoAlbum App for Facebook is a seamless complement to Facebook, working with Facebook’s existing photo albums. MyPhotoAlbum allows users to save original full-size images and the ability to share photos with the huge Facebook network. The App copies photos directly to Facebook photo albums, not an obscure tab or a “new” type of album. Copied photos also appear in the “news feed,” and profile tab just as they would if the user uploaded to Facebook directly.

A Japanese company called Factron has released a metal iPhone case complete with a mount for conversion lenses. The Quattro for iPhone case is currently only compatible with the iPhone 3G - a modified version for the iPhone 3Gs is currently in the making. The conversion lenses on offer include two close-up optics, a superwide converter and even a circular fisheye. The case itself costs a whopping 19,600 yen, but the lenses themselves are available for 1,700 to 5,300 yen.

Website: Quattro for iPhone (in Japanese)

The Samsung WB500 (also known as the Samsung HZ10W) is a compact pocketable camera with a 24mm ultra wide-angle, 10x optical zoom lens. The 10 megapixel WB500 has some impressive features, including a 720p HD movie mode, 2.7 inch LCD screen, manual shooting, and not forgetting that 24-240mm lens. Priced at $299.99 / £229, Mark Goldstein finds out if the Samsung WB500 / HZ10W is worth considering.

Mystical Tint Tone and Color 2.0 is a suite of 60 production oriented filters that enhance the look and feel of a photo. Mystical Tint Tone and Color 2.0 includes unique Portrait Filters that improve skin colour, eliminate wrinkles and skin blemishes, enhance eyes, lips and hair and reshape facial features to accentuate natural attributes. New lens filters simulate graduated filters and polarisers. Mystical Tint Tone and Color 2.0 is available for Mac OS and Windows from autofx.com. The downloadable version costs $249, while the complete retail version is $269.

Fujifilm UK have announced their first underwater photo festival, ScubaSnap Weekend 2009. The festival will take place in Looe, Cornwall on the 12th and 13th September. In association with local dive operators Looe Divers, the weekend will include shore diving, photographic tuition and seminars from industry experts such as Mat Trim of Fujifilm and Maria Munn of Ocean Visions, photo competitions and a dinner dive and BBQ in the evening. ScubaSnap Weekend 2009 is open to divers of all levels, but if diving doesn’t appeal then snorkellers can take part, too. The only rule is that all photos taken and entered in the competitions must be taken on a compact camera.

Now’s your chance to test drive an Olympus Pen E-P1 for a week, free of charge. Olympus Europe has announced that any EU resident aged 18 or older can request a test unit by explaining their motives for wanting to try the new camera out. Allegedly, “the more creative the idea, the better the chances” that you will actually get one. Simply apply via the website below.

Website: Test-a-PEN

Franke & Heidecke, manufacturer of Rolleiflex TLR accessories and 6x6 bodies for Leaf and Sinar, is to lay off all of its employees and terminate all operations by September. Last week, photoscala.de reported that the company’s 131 employees had received notice of the impanding layoffs, and the news of the closure has since been confirmed by the British Journal of Photography too. Franke & Heidecke is a company whose roots can be traced back to 1920, when Paul Franke and Reinhold Heidecke founded a workshop in Braunschweig, Germany, called Werkstatt für Feinmechanik und Optik, Franke & Heidecke. The company became famous for its Rolleiflex TLRs, whose production started exactly 80 years ago. The fall of Franke & Heidecke is expected to bring about a massive restructuring of the medium format camera market.

Iridient Digital have released RAW Developer 1.8.4, which adds support for new digital cameras including the Olympus E-P1 and the Pentax K-7. Other newly supported models include the Canon EOS 500D, the Kodak Z980, the Nikon D5000, the Olympus E-450, the Sony A230, A330 and A380, the Panasonic GH1 and the Phase One 40+. Furthermore, the program can now handle DNG files generated by scanners. The new release also boasts a number of improvements over the previous version, plus a couple of bug fixes related to Hasselblad and Leaf images. Note that RAW Developer is a Mac only application.

Website: Iridient RAW Developer Release Notes

Hasselblad have introduced the Hasselblad CFV-39, a 39-megapixel digital back for their classic V system cameras. “Quickly and easily, the Hasselblad CFV-39 can transform a V System film camera into a high-performance digital camera,” says product manager Peter Stig. All V System cameras operate cable-free. The 202 FA, 203 FE, and 205 FCC are fully supported. Other 200 and 2000 series models can be used with C-type lenses only. There are two selectable image formats: square (29 megapixel, 5412x5412) and rectangular (39 megapixel, 5412x7212 pixels). The sensor has double the area of a full-frame 35mm DSLR imager, and ISO speeds range from 50 to 800.

Website: Hasselblad CFV-39

The Canon Pixma MP980 is an all-in-one photo printer and scanner complete with a 3.5-inch LCD screen and built-in film adapter unit. The MP980 features the same ChromaLife100 inks that Canon's dedicated pro-level printers use, utilizing a 6-color ink system that includes a unique grey ink. Retailing for $299.99 / £279.00 / €362.10, Jon Canfield found out if the print quality from the Canon Pixma MP980 can meet a photographer's needs.

The 5 lucky winners of our fantastic June 2009 Newsletter contest have been randomly selected from the PhotographyBLOG Newsletter subscriber list.

Craig Shave, Phil Sproston, Bill Durr, Will Daniel and Nicky Cockburn each win a copy of the book “Garden Photographer of the Year Collection 01”, kindly provided by International Garden Photographer of the Year.

BenVista have announced the new version of their specialised digital image enlargement software: PhotoZoom Pro 3. Over the past ten years, the BenVista PhotoZoom series has competed at the highest level of image enlarging, thanks to its patentend S-Spline technology. With PhotoZoom Pro 3, BenVista introduces the latest generation of their technology, called S-Spline Max. Furthermore, multi-processor support is added to increase speed, and PhotoZoom Pro 3 can be used not only as a standalone application, but also as an Adobe Photoshop compatible Automation plug-in and Export plug-in. Designed for both Mac and Windows platforms, PhotoZoom Pro 3 is available as of today. Free demo versions of PhotoZoom Pro 3, for both Mac and Windows platforms, can be downloaded directly from the BenVista website.

Website: BenVista

LaserSoft Imaging has announced the new SilverFast 6.6.1, billed as “the first software in the world to perfectly capture raw data from photographs and slides”. To effectively, quickly and thoroughly protect valuable memories against decay and destruction, the Kiel-based software company has developed a format that contains not only all image information, but also the dust and scratch information derived from the scanner’s infrared channel (provided it has one): the 64-bit HDRi format. The new 64-bit HDRi format by LaserSoft Imaging registers all the information of the original in its entirety while simultaneously embedding all the correction information in the image file. Instead of directly guiding the scanner, SilverFast HDRi enables the user to read the raw data at maximum speed and process it as though he had direct access to scanner images, LaserSoft claims. Note that because the HDRi feature needs information from the infrared channel of the scanner, it is necessary to make sure that iSRD is available and supported for your scanner model.

Website: SilverFast

Brushed Pixel Software has released Catapult, a plugin for Apple’s Aperture photo management software that allows Aperture users to integrate Adobe Camera Raw or Nikon Capture into their RAW workflows. Catapult automates the process of exporting RAW files for editing and importing converted JPEG or TIFF files, while stacking the versions together to keep projects organised. To support non-destructive editing, when importing Catapult can archive the associated XMP sidecar file produced by Adobe Camera Raw, or a settings file exported from Nikon Capture. Catapult is now available for $49 CAD, and a trial version can be downloaded from Brushed Pixel’s website.

Website: Brushed Pixel

Picmeta Systems have released version 5.2 of their Picture Information Extractor, which includes numerous new features such as batch editing of IPTC metadata. The new PIE 5.2 is allegedly the smallest photo browser and viewer available that integrates an editor for IPTC data with batch editing capabilities. Editing of metadata now works with all RAW formats. Many formats allow EXIF and IPTC metadata to be written directly into the file, thus no external database or sidecar file is required. The EXIFcare technology ensures that all information contained in the file is maintained. A free evaluation version of PIE 5.2 can be downloaded from the Picmeta Website. The software runs on Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, XP and Vista. The full version costs US$ 35. Licensed users are entitled to lifetime free updates.

Website Picture Information Extractor

Bogen Imaging has just announced a free webinar titled “Adventure Sports Photography: Round Table with Adventure Photographer Michael Clark.” This webinar will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EDT, on Friday, July 17th. Topics for discussion include adventure photography fundamentals, artificial lighting, photo equipment, outdoor gear and how to shoot rock climbing, mountain biking and whitewater kayaking. Webinar participants will have access to a number of exclusive benefits, including one‑on‑one interaction with the guest speaker, and will be automatically entered in a chance to win one of three Gitzo Traveler Series 2 Carbon Fibre 6X Monopods. To register for the free Bogen Café webinar and for additional information, please visit http://www.bogenimaging.us/webinar/

California Sunbounce has announced the Sun-Mover pop-up reflector, which uses their Perma-Tense technology for etra permanent tension. The original design, created by John Russell Ritson in 1977, has been “dramatically improved” by the California Sunbounce design team. „Perma-Tense“ is the new name for the synergy effect of the California Sunbounce frames and the elastic material, which keeps the reflective screen under permanent tension when in use. The Sunbounce oval Perma-Tense design has a screen just small enough to hinder the frame form reverting to this relaxed and comfortable position, keeping it alert and extremely tense. The Sun-Mover is available at California Sunbounce and its dealers. Suggested retail price for the original Sunbounce silver/white screen is €79. The zebra/white screen (pictured) costs €89.

Website: California Sunbounce