The Leica S-system has been chosen by fashion photographer Yves de Contades to create a unique set of photographs of some of the UK’s leading creative directors. Yves de Contades, who is also creative director of luxury brand magazine, International Life, approached forty leading creative gurus from the UK’s advertising and design industry with the question ‘What is your ultimate Fantasy Portrait?’ The results were an intoxicating mix of the quirky, the clever and the downright bizarre, from a digital robot, a spaceman bouncing through Piccadilly Circus to a dragon slaying ninja. Fantasy Portraits will be showcased at an invitation-only event at The Worx Studios in London on Thursday 10 June from 6pm - 9pm. Further venues are under consideration for display, due to popular demand. A selection of images will be available to view online from Tuesday 15 June at the website below.

Website: Fantasy Portraits

The Mamiya RZ33, featuring a high performance 33 megapixel CCD sensor, brings the legendary Mamiya RZ system into the large-sensor digital arena. Featuring cable-free integrated operation, the Mamiya RZ33 is fully compatible with all Mamiya RZ system lenses, viewfinders and most accessories. Of course, the RZ’s trademark Vertical-Horizontal rotation is built-in so there is no need to ever turn the camera. Capturing 16-bit-per-channel raw files, the Mamiya RZ33 incorporates a 48x36mm sensor with a sensitivity range of ISO 50-800, and a large, 6x7cm LCD touchscreen for intuitive operation. The Mamiya RZ33 will be available for $17,990 including Capture One and Leaf Capture software, and will begin shipping in July 2010.

Tamron has just announced the second series of its free learning programme that’s specifically targeted at first-time digital SLR owners. Starting on June 7, 2010, and every Monday for 12 weeks, Tamron will release an entertaining and informative one-minute episode of “DSLR Know-How with Tamron: Series 201” on YouTube that’s designed to bring picture-takers to a higher level of photographic expression. “In just one minute per week you can learn important tips to making excellent pictures at no cost,” notes John VanSteenberg, Tamron’s Senior Education Manager. “Each of these one-minute video demonstrations is designed to take the viewers of the first series and newcomers to a higher comfort level with their equipment and photographic techniques.”

Website: TamronVids

Canon is launching a new advertising campaign for the EOS 550D and Powershot SX210 IS cameras. Created to run throughout Europe, both adverts were shot at the Venice Carnival in Italy earlier this year, and follow three photography enthusiasts as they capture their unique story at the event. Both spots have been shot on an EOS DSLR camera, the 5D Mark II, mixed with stills and films taken on the EOS 550D and PowerShot SX210 IS themselves. The adverts will be broadcast across Germany, UK, France and Pan-European markets until the end of 2010.

Canon has issued a firmware update for the Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR camera. Version 2.0.7 brings about the following changes:

  1. Fixes a phenomenon in which the aperture exhibits abnormal movement when shooting movies in manual exposure mode and Aperture Priority AE (Av mode) using some Canon lenses.
  2. Fixes a phenomenon in which the exposure level shown in the LCD panel differs from what is shown in the viewfinder when shooting still images in manual exposure mode.
  3. Fixes a phenomenon in which the Wireless File Transmitter (WFT-E4 or WFT-E4 II) may not automatically power off when used for FTP transfers.

Website: Canon EOS 5D Mark II Firmware Update

Pentax has posted five full-resolution sample photographs captured with a Pentax 645D medium format digital SLR camera. Taken using four different lenses, all of these sample images have a resolution of 7264×5440 pixels, and were shot at three different ISO settings; ISO 200, 320 and 800. EXIF data is available.

Website: Pentax 645D Samples

Canon has announced that the season finale of House is the first network television prime time drama episode to have been shot entirely on a digital SLR camera. The crew used a Canon EOS 5D Mark II body and a selection of EF lenses for a completely digital workflow that allowed them to complete filming the entire episode in just 10 days. The season finale airs tonight, Monday, May 17 (8:00-9:01 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

Canon announced today that combined production of the company’s EOS-series film and digital SLR cameras passed the 40-million mark. The Canon EOS system was born in 1987 when the company announced the discontinuance of its FD line of manual-focus SLR cameras and lenses, and introduced the EOS 650 autofocus SLR camera along with the first EF lenses. In 1997, the 10th anniversary of the series, production reached 10 million camera units, and in 2003 passed the 20-million mark. After the rapid spread of digital SLR cameras, Canon went on to reach the 30-million mark during the series’ 20-year anniversary in December 2007, followed by the current 40-million-unit production milestone.

Canon UK has announced a new student cashback on the Canon EOs 7D and EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR cameras. UK and Irish photography students, lecturers and technicians purchasing either of these two models through the EOS Professional Network before 31 August 2010 can claum £75 / €85 cashback on the 7D and £150 / €180 on the 5D Mark II. Claims must be received by 1 October.

Nikon UK has announced a new promotion for all UK and Irish customers purchasing its D700 FX- format digital SLR camera. Customers purchasing a Nikon D700, either as a body or part of a kit, will be entitled to claim a free MB-D10 battery grip worth £343.99 RRP. The offer is available from 1 May 2010 to 30 June 2010 (inclusive) and all claims must be received by 31 July 2010.

Website: Nikon D700 Promotion

Nikon UK has just announced a new cashback offer on the Nikon D90 and a price drop on the Nikon D5000. The cashback promotion entitles British and Irish customers to claim £60/ €70 cashback on the Nikon D90 digital SLR camera from 1 May 2010 to 30 June 2010. Claims must be received by 31 July 2010. In addition, Nikon has reduced the recommended retail price of the D5000 to £569.99 /€675.00 (body only) and £639.99/ €758.00 for the kit with the AF-S 18-55mm VR lens.

Website: Nikon Cashback Offers

Bright blue, orange, green and purple are the new colours in which the Pentax K-x will be available in the USA. Until now, the Pentax K-x came in black, white, red and navy blue. The new colours are now available exclusively for pre-order in the Pentax Web Store. Each fresh new colour comes in a kit with a matching 18-55mm lens.

Website: Pentax Web Store

Pentax has released firmware updates for a number of their older DSLR cameras. The new firmware versions address a single issue - they improve operational stability when the cameras are used with certain SDHC memory cards. The updates can be downloaded from the following websites:

Website: Pentax K10D Firmware 1.31
Website: Pentax K20D Firmware 1.04
Website: Pentax K200D Firrmware 1.01
Website: Pentax K-m Firmware 1.11

Leica has issued a firmware update for the Leica S2 digital SLR camera. Version 1.0.0.16 extends the camera’s functionality by providing a new white balance preset, extra viewfinder information, a customisation option for the depth-of-field preview button, selectable OLED screen standby time and extended user-defined button programming. On top of that, the shutter speed and aperture dials can now be locked to prevent inadvertent shifts. The new firmware update also brings improvements to existing functions - click through for a list of these.

Website: Leica Owners’ Area

DxO Labs have posted detailed raw-based sensor data for the Canon EOS 550D digital SLR camera. With a DxOMark Sensor score of 65.5, essentially the same as the Canon EOS 7D and the Sony Alpha A550, the Canon EOS 550D finished on 33rd place. There are no major deviations in the findings versus the pre-production model they tested back in February.

Website: DxOMark Raw Sensor Data for the Canon EOS 550D / Rebel T2i
Review: Read our in-depth review of the Canon EOS 550D

Canon has issued a firmware update for the EOS 7D digital SLR camera. Version 1.2.1 corrects a phenomenon in which vertical magenta-colored banding appears in still images taken in movie-shooting mode, optimises program shift when the ISO setting of the camera is set to AUTO, and fixes a few bugs.

Website: Canon EOS 7D Firmware Update

Canon UK has announced new cashback offers on select Canon EOS digital SLR cameras. The offers expire on 31 May. Those who buy the Canon EOS 500D before this date can claim £30 / €33 back. Those who purchase the Canon EOS 550D are entitled to a cashback of £50 / €55, whilst new Canon EOS 50D owners can get back £65 / €70 from the retail price. The offers are valid in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

Sony has just announced an update to its Image Data Converter SR software, featuring algorithms that significantly reduce image noise at high ISO settings when converting raw data to JPEG files. The new algorithms implemented in Version 3.2 affect photos taken at ISO 800 and higher, allegdly “delivering impressively natural results with minimised colour noise right up to ISO 12800”. Registered Sony Alpha customers can download Image Data Converter SR Version 3.2 free of charge from the Sony Europe support website from the first week of April.

Website: Sony

Canon has released a new firmware update for the EOS 5D Mark II, which fixes a bug in the previous version. Yesterday we wrote that the recently issued firmware version 2.0.3 has caused some issues, and that Canon was working on a new update. Version 2.0.4 is now here, fixing the bug, which turns out to have been related to sound recording in movie modes C1/C2/C3. Those who already have version 2.0.3 on their cameras should update the firmware to version 2.0.4.

Website: Canon EOS 5D Mark II Firmware Update

Canon has acknowledged that the newest firmware update for the Canon EOS 5D Mark II has “issues”. The nature of the problem has not been described in any further detail. “We have learned that some users of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR camera are experiencing issues with Firmware Update Version 2.0.3,” the company said in a statement. “We are working on a new firmware update to address these phenomena, which will be available soon.”

Website: Canon