Tamron has announced a photo contest for scrapbookers called “An Emotional Appeal.” The contest winner will receive the new Tamron AF18-250mm lens. The overall winner and 20 favorites will be featured in Tamron’s online gallery. The Tamron “An Emotional Appeal” Photo Contest 2007 deadline is 11/30/07.

News has reached us that Hoya have finally bought Pentax, bringing to an end the seemingly interminable rounds of takeover, no-takeover talks. According to a report on the Daily Yomiuri, Pentax will become a subsidiary of Hoya in June.

Daily Yomiuri - Management must heed market, shareholders

Update 1st June: Hoya and Pentax have now issued a press release with full details about the takeover.

According to a report by the Daily Yomiuri Online, Pentax has sold its headquarters in Tokyo and will cut unprofitable divisions including manufacturing printers and measurement equipment. This move follows Hoya’s recent unsuccessful attempt to merge with and then buy-out Pentax, who are now attempting to go it alone. Pentax will focus on camera, medical equipment and optical component businesses, which is great news for all the loyal Pentax camera users out there. No staff lay-offs will take place, and despite all the upheaval, Pentax is still aiming to increase its operating to 10 billion yen (from 6 billion currently) during the next 3 years.

Website: Daily Yomiuri Online - Pentax to sell land, facility HQ in Tokyo

Nikon has once again teamed up with the London Wetland Centre to offer a special wildlife photography weekend at the London Wetland Centre on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th May. As part of the weekend’s activities, wildlife photographer Chris Packham will be hosting a talk each day and leading a number of special wildlife walks around the reserve. John McDonald, Nikon’s Solutions Manager, will give a lecture on photography technique on both days to enable you to develop your wildlife photography and learn some useful hits and tips. Throughout the weekend Nikon specialists will be on hand to answer questions and there will also be the opportunity to try out the latest photography and sport optics equipment.

runningsports is running a photography competition from now until July, with the focus on the behind-the-scenes volunteers at sporting events. As well as the chance to have your photography featured in runningsports’ next advertising campaigns, you could win £250 worth of photography equipment.  Ten runners up will each receive a £15 Jessops vouchers. Closing date is Sunday 8th July 2007.

The Swiss company SINAR AG is now a 100 percent subsidiary of Jenoptik. After failing to sell its shares to Leica in 2006, the Jenoptik Group has now purchased the remaining 49% of shares in SINAR AG. SINAR will continue to market professional cameras and camera modules, and volume delivery of the new SINAR Hy6 medium format camera will start in June.

It seems that the Pentax and Hoya merger that was first announced just before Christmas 2006 has hit rocky ground. Plans to merge and rename the company HOYA PENTAX HD Corporation were cancelled on April 4th, according to a report on Bloomberg.com. Now Hoya are attempting a cash takeover of Pentax, offering about 770 yen a share to Pentax shareholders. Hoya’s offer values Pentax at 98.5 billion yen ($830 million), 17% more than the value placed on the company in the original merger. Pentax’s board members are meeting today to discuss the takeover bid from Hoya.

HARMAN technology has announced a UK photo contest to help promote its new HARMAN PHOTO MATT FB Mp inkjet paper. Entrants are asked to submit their images on the new HARMAN PHOTO paper. The winner will receive a comprehensive digital photography course with Les McLean and £150 worth of HARMAN PHOTO digital inkjet products. Deadline for entries is August 31 and the winners will be announced on Friday September 28.

The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust has launched a photography competition in colloboration with Nikon. The competition has three categories: ‘WWT Nikon Photo of the Year’, ‘WWT Nikon Junior Photo of the Year’ and ‘WWT Nikon Digiscoping Photo of the Year’. The main rule is that all photos submitted must have been taken at one of the nine WWT centres in the UK. The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust competition is now open and the closing date for entries is Monday 27th August 2007.

Popular Photography & Imaging Magazine is challenging photographers to take as many pictures as they can for one day. The first ever International Shooting-All-The-Time Day is January 21. Photographers are challenged to take at least one photo every five minutes during the day, for a minimum of 225 photos. The subjects of the photos, along with the type of camera used are completely up to the photographer. This exercise will hopefully force photographers to grow and sharpen their skills by finding pictures where there seemingly aren’t any.Participants are encouraged to email their five best shots along with their name, address and phone number to [email protected]. The images will be posted on PopPhoto.com and one lucky person will be selected to win a Pentax K100D digital camera with two lens and a 4GB SanDisk Ultra II SD card (an $1,100 value).

For more information, go to http://www.popphoto.com/photocontests/3575

Apple has posted record revenues of $7.1 billion and record net quarterly profits of $1.0 billion for the quarter ended December 30, 2006. Over 21 million iPods and 1.6 million Macintosh computers were sold in the run-up to Christmas.

The US magazine Professional Photographer has just announced its Hot One Awards for 2007. For the 2007 Hot One Awards, a team of 15 judges were asked to vote only on categories that fit within their areas of expertise. Among the winners were Think Tank Photo’s rotation360° backpack (pictured), Digital Foci’s “Image Moments” digital frame, and REALVIZ Stitcher Unlimited.

The Royal Photographic Society’s International Print Competition has reached its 150th year, no mean feat given the relative youth of photography. Over 120 prints will be selected and one Gold, two Silver and three Bronze medals will be awarded. This year all entrants will receive a special anniversary edition of the Print Exhibition catalogue. The deadline for the call for entries is Friday 23rd March 2007.

Epson has won five prestigious iF Design Awards for the P-5000 Multimedia Storage Viewer, V10 scanner, PictureMate PM 240 printer, EMP-6100 projector and TM-88IV PoS printer. The iF design award has existed since 1953. This year the iF jury panel reviewed 2,293 products from 35 different countries.

Canon has extended its rebate program until February 19th. Rebates of up to $300 are available on a wide range of products, including the EOS 5D DSLR (pictured), PowerShot G7, wide range of lenses, camcroders, printers and Canon’s range of binoculars. If you purchase two or more products, the rebate is doubled. The more patient amongst you may wish to wait until PMA 2007 and the usual flood of new products, but this could be a chance to snap up a genuine bargain.

LiveBooks Press Release

Company Invests Time, Resources, and Website Marketing Tools to Train Young Photojournalists to Build Their Business

San Francisco, CA. – January 2, 2007 – LiveBooks, Inc., the leading provider of editable portfolio websites for professional photographers, continues to support emerging, talented photojournalists with its sponsorship of National Geographic’s “All Roads Photography Project” by providing the winners of this year’s international competition with a hands-on workshop about web marketing best practices and their own liveBooks personalized website. Through the liveBooks participation in this competition winners are able to gain an understanding of how to leverage the web to increase the exposure of their work and how to capitalize on that exposure with professional marketing skills.

An End User’s Champion, Fraser’s Contributions to the Digital Imaging and Desktop Color Industry will be Celebrated in an Upbeat, Inspirational Multimedia Event on January 10

SAN FRANCISCO—Jan 03, 2007—Visual arts connoisseur, proud and humorous Scotsman, masterful musician, tireless digital imaging scientist and author, and peaceful Buddhist with more than a passing fancy for astronomy—Bruce Fraser was a renaissance man whose most outstanding characteristic was his humanity. In recognition of Bruce’s profound impact on shaping the development of digital imaging and color management products, and educating the hundreds of thousand of people who depend on these products in their daily work; Macworld Conference and Expo, the digital imaging and color management industry’s leading vendors, and famed publishing house Peachpit Press are pleased to invite all conference attendees, exhibitors and other interested friends, colleagues and fans to a gala tribute honoring the legendary consultant, author and lecturer Fraser, who passed away December 16. The tribute will be held on Wednesday, January 10, 2007, from 6:00pm - 7:30pm at the Moscone Center in room 134 in the North Hall.

Kodak Press Release

Kodak and Sony, Sony Ericsson Enter Into Technology Cross-License Agreements

ROCHESTER, N.Y.—Jan. 3, 2007—Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK) today announced that it has entered into a technology cross-license agreement with Sony Corporation that will allow each company broad access to the other’s patent portfolio. Kodak also announced that it has entered into a technology cross license with Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB that will allow Sony Ericsson access to Kodak technology for Sony Ericsson’s products. Kodak will also have access to Sony Ericsson’s technology. The license agreements are royalty bearing to Kodak. Additional financial terms were not disclosed.

Staples USA Press Release

Staples Launches First Ever “Hometown Views” Photo Contest; Asks Amateur Photographers to Put Their Hometown in Focus - Celebrate Your Hometown with Big Color Posters; Sell Your Winning Photo At Local Staples Stores and Win Great Prizes

FRAMINGHAM, Mass., January 2, 2007 - Staples Copy & Print Centers today launched its first nationwide “Hometown Views” Photo Contest, making it easy for anyone with a digital camera to share what they love most about their hometown.  The world’s largest office products company is offering amateur photographers a chance to have their photos viewed and sold to countless customers in Staples stores throughout the country.

Nikon Europe Press Release

Association of Publishing Agencies awards Nikon Pro International Publication of the Year accolade for third year in row

Amsterdam, December 2006: Nikon Pro, Nikon’s international magazine for professional photographers, has been awarded the prestigious International Publication of the Year award by the Association of Publishing Agencies (APA) for the third year running. In choosing a winner, APA representatives were looking for quality of design and information. The judges were impressed with the Nikon Pro’s ability to combine exceptional work by professional photographers with product detail in an informative and engaging manner.