Photo Recovery Software v3.0 from Stellar Phoenix recovers digital photos from all external storage devices. Images lost due to accidental deletion or formatting of the media can be recovered using Photo Recovery Software v3.0, which supports a wide variety of RAW file formats as well as Jpeg, Tiff, BMP, GIF and PNG files. Photo Recovery Software 3 is available now for MAC and Windows and costs $39 / €31 + VAT.

Photoshop CS3 Accelerated can help you navigate Photoshop, whether you’re a beginner or a pro. With easy-to-follow exercises, Photoshop CS3 Accelerated gives you a visual walk-through of meaningful hands-on functions and design projects. Full color, crisp screenshots on every page give readers a clear picture of what’s possible, and the CD included with the book contains all of the source files needed to complete the exercises. Photoshop CS3 Accelerated costs $24.99 USD, £14.99 GBP and is available now.

The Official Photodex Guide to ProShow is a new comprehensive guide to creating slide shows using ProShow software. The book covers the basics of design, the fundamentals of ProShow production techniques, and advanced tools to achieve professional results. Written by James Karney, The Official Photodex Guide to ProShow contains over 300 pages, a bonus CD and a helpful index. The Official Photodex Guide to ProShow costs $34.95 and is available now.

Bogen is running a free, introductory lighting webinar titled “How to Overcome 5 Common Problems When Shooting Outdoors.” This introductory online course on the basics of lighting will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EDT on June 6, 2008. Participants will have the ability to ask questions and interact one-on-one with each speaker, and can also be selected to win one of three prizes, totaling over $400.

TrustedReviews have reviewed the Olympus FE-340, a new entry-level digital compact camera offering 8 megapixels and a 4x zoom lens (28-112mm).

“The Olympus FE-340 may be very cheap, but it lacks a number of features that would be considered standard on most other cameras, such as continuous shooting, colour adjustment and image stabilisation. The build quality is good, and the LCD monitor is outstanding, but the styling is awkward and ungainly and the handling could be better. Low-light performance is below average, but the camera is redeemed somewhat by good image quality. Still, there are much better and more capable cameras available for not much more money.”

Website: TrustedReviews - Olympus FE-340 Review

The 16 lucky winners of our fantastic May 2008 Newsletter contest have been randomly selected from the PhotographyBLOG Newsletter subscriber list.

Carol Macvicar wins a Big Yophoto Photobook

S A, Robert Neish, Mark Brincat, Philip Jon, Helena Watson, Debbie Carpenter, Gaye McBroom, Maurizio Sindoni, Richard Pullan, Nancy Messier, Girard Ceferino Dulay, Andjelko Vrbanic, Robert Longford, Tomasz Majewski and David Brown each win a copy of Blubox 4

The winners of the May 2008 PhotographyBLOG Competition have been selected. The theme for May was “Birds” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 5 winners:

1st Place
Tail wind by desertpea

Prize: 1 copy of Powerretouche Full Pro Pack
Kindly donated by Powerretouche.
http://powerretouche.com

Today we bring you the World’s first online review of the Samsung NV24HD, a new digital compact camera that certainly has a lot to offer. Samsung’s first High Definition (HD) camera can record 720p resolution video at 30fps and can connect to a HDTV via HDMI. The 10 megapixel NV24HD has an ultra-wide, 24-86.5mm lens and an innovative 2.5” OLED screen. Priced at £249 / $350, can the Samsung NV24HD replace your current digital still and video cameras? Gavin Stoker took a closer look…

Website: Samsung NV24HD Review

The new Epson Stylus Pro 9900 and Stylus Pro 7900 large-format printers feature a brand new 10 colour, UltraChrome HDR (High Dynamic Range) pigment ink system. The Epson 9900 (44 inch) and Epson 7900 (24 inch) printers incorporate orange and green ink cartrdiges to considerably expand the colour gamut. Matte black is also included on-board and can be auto-switched with photo black. Also on offer is an optional integrated spectrophotometer with mounting device using the latest X-rite technology, putting the Epson 9900 and 7900 in direct competition with HP’s Z-series printers. The Epson Stylus Pro 7900 and Stylus Pro 9900 will be available in Australia from late spring and the UK in November, prices to be announced.

Phocus 1.0 from Hasselblad is a new generation of raw processor and camera control software. The aim of Phocus is to achieve absolute image perfection from the world’s largest raw image files. Phocus 1.0 for Mac is available now for download for registered users. A Phocus version for Windows is expected in Q3 of 2008.

Colour Confidence are offering the complete i1 XT bundle for only £995/€1495, a saving of 45%. With i1 XT, you can do RGB & CMYK printer profiling, monitor, digital projector profiling, scanner and digital camera profiling, edit profiles, make spot colour readings and measure ambient lighting. There’s also up to 30% off the i1 Photo, Photo SG and Proof.

The theme for the 8th Ricoh Photo Contest is “Precious Things, Precious Moment”. Running from May 30th 2008 to August 29th 2008, the Ricoh contest is open to any photos taken with a Ricoh compact digital camera. A total of 50 photos will be chosen as winners from among the photos submitted, including a grand prize winner. In addition, this year a “2009 Ricoh Photo Calendar” will also be created using 13 photographs selected from among the winners.

The new SanDisk Extreme III Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo card offers read and write speeds of 30MB per second. Available worldwide in June in 4GB and 8GB capacities, the Sandisk Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo is aimed at professional photographers and advanced amateurs who use Sony DSLR cameras. “The SanDisk Extreme III Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo continues our tradition of delivering best-in-class performance in the SanDisk Extreme product line,” said Susan Park, director of consumer product marketing for SanDisk’s performance cards. “Our customers know SanDisk Extreme cards not only deliver cutting-edge read and write speeds, but are designed for durability – even under harsh conditions.”

Get a free travel book when you buy a Samsung NV camera, plus the chance to win a holiday. That’s what Samsung are offering UK residents (excluding Northern Ireleand) until 30th August 2008. As well as being able to claim 1 of 20 free travel guide books, you can also win one of four holidays to New York, Barcelona, Paris, or Rome. Proof of purchase must be submitted by 30th September 2008.

Picaholic offers photographers a cutting edge website that marries design, web standards, and usability. The newly re-designed service offers full screen video backgrounds, streaming audio and large images, all without compromising speed. For a low monthly fee, Picaholic members gain unlimited access to their CMS (content management system) and have full control over their site. Founder Avishai Ungar said, “A good flash website requires a graphic designer, a flash action-scripter and a backend developer. We have built a modular application, which enables us to add new features and technology on a daily basis. This means our clients sites are always using the latest and best of breed technology.”

Kodak has updated its Easyshare Software to version 7, which now offers tagging and star-ratings. Kodak EasyShare Software v7.0 allows you to give your pictures tags, star ratings and captions, transfer all your tags to sites like Flickr, or Microsoft and Adobe programs, and keep track of all your photos quickly and easily. Kodak EasyShare Software v7.0 is available now as a free download.

Website: Kodak EasyShare Software v7.0

Ilford is re-introducing its Galerie pre-mounted boards in Smooth Pearl and Gloss surfaces. Images up to 20” x 24” (50cm x 61cm) can be produced, printing directly onto a rigid substrate in one easy operation. With pre-mounted boards, images can be created off the printer and placed straight into a frame. “The market for pre-mounted boards is growing and ILFORD is one of the few companies in the photographic market to offer such a product line,“ said Andrew Stewart, Sales and Marketing Director, ILFORD Imaging Switzerland GmbH.

Image Keyworder now includes a customized ‘Alamy Mode’ for users submitting images to the UK-based photo agency Alamy. Contributors can work on batches of images, speeding up the workflow for getting their images online. Image Keyworder comes bundled with a thesaurus comprising over 40,000 terms, including synonyms, alternate forms, spelling variations and singulars and plurals. An Image Keyworder license for two computers costs just US$79.99 including a 12-month thesaurus subscription valued at US$39.99.

CameraTown have reviewed RocketLife.com, which allows users to create professional quality photo books in just a few minutes.

“Rocketlife.com offers free software that makes it incredibly fun, fast, and easy to create one-of-a-kind photo books or gifts. While there are plenty of photo sharing sites already on the market that allow you to upload photos and create photo gifts, there are very few, if any, that make it as simple and quick as Rocketlife.  If you have ever tried to create your own photo book, you know how labor intensive it can be.  Thanks to Rocketlife’s new software, that has all changed – no more waiting to upload, dragging and dropping each and every photo, and having to remember yet another username and password. In this video review / demonstration I will take you along as I create a complete 28 page photo book in under 5 minutes.”

Website: CameraTown - RocketLife Review

The Mac OS X 10.5.3 update released yesterday has added RAW file support for the following cameras:

Hasselblad CFV-16, Hasselblad H3D-31, Hasselblad H3D-31II, Leaf Aptus 54S, Leaf Aptus 65S, Nikon D60, Olympus E-3, Pentax *ist DL2, Pentax *ist DS2, Pentax K100D Super, Sony DSLR-A200 and the Sony DSLR-A350

Mac OS X 10.5.3 also addresses compatibility issues with Aperture 2 and the Time Machine backup feature.

Website: Mac OS X 10.5.3 Update