The entire range of GE digital cameras is now available through Amazon.com. Amazon has already been selling some GE-branded cameras, but will now expand its offerings to include all the 2008 models. “We’re delighted to offer our products through Amazon.com,” said Hiroshi “Hugh” Komiya, Chairman and CEO of General Imaging. “Amazon has continued its amazing growth through 2007 and now into 2008, and we’re happy to be a part of it.”

Practical Artistry: Light & Exposure for Digital Photographers combines stunning images in a beautifully designed book with no-nonsense insights. Author Harold Davis aims to show photographers how to measure light in order to capture their intended images. Davis commented “As a photographer, I’ve always learned by looking at photographs, particularly when the data about how the photo was made accompanies the image. So I created a book that allows people to learn about photography and to think about how to make photographs by simply looking at photos taken in specific conditions.” Practical Artistry: Light & Exposure for Digital Photographers costs $29.99, £18.50, 24 €.

General Imaging has joined forces with JP Service Solutions in the UK to offer unrivalled after sales care for its GE camera range. Trained JPSS technicians will also handle all customer service enquiries, including responding to product questions, retail outlet information as well as dealing with any technical problems with the camera. Gary Sutton, UK Country Manager, General Imaging, commented “We know it is disappointing when a product fails but with JPSS’s support we are able to resolve the problem quickly and efficiently. We believe we will be offering the quickest turnaround time in the industry.”

We’ve published a selection of JPEG and RAW images taken with the new Canon EOS 450D / Digital Rebel XSi. The EOS 450D is a 12 megapixel DSLR camera with large 3 inch LCD screen, Live View and 3.5 fps continuous shooting. Our full review of the Canon EOS 450D will be coming soon…

Website: Canon EOS 450D Sample Images

The Canon Digital IXUS 80 IS (also known as the PowerShot SD1100 IS ELPH) is a new 8 megapixel digital camera aimed squarely at the style-cosncious consumer. Featuring Canon’s “perpetual curve design” and available in Classic Silver, Caramel, Chocolate, and Candy Pink, the Digital IXUS 80 IS doesn’t forget to include the latest photographic technologies. There’s a 3x zoom lens complete with optical image stabilizer and motion detection for shake-free photos, 2.5” PureColor LCD screen, DIGIC III image processor, enhanced face detection and red-eye correction when shooting a picture. Priced at £219.00 / €319.00 / $249.99, the Canon Digital IXUS 80 IS isn’t particularly cheap, so does it offer enough to justify the high price-tag? Gavin Stoker found out if the Canon Digital IXUS 80 IS is just a case of style over substance…

Website: Canon Digital IXUS 80 IS Review

Microsoft Pro Photo Tools is a free program that makes geotagging available for all photographers. Microsoft have also released Expression Media 2, a new version of its digital asset management software. The Pro Photo Tools and Expression Media 2 are designed to work together to help photographers better manage their digital image collections with new comprehensive digital asset management functionality including geotagging. “These two products really simplify the process of geotagging and organizing digital photos by location, even without a GPS device,” said Josh Weisberg, director of the Rich Media Group at Microsoft. “We’ll continue to look for ways to simplify features like geotagging that help keep photographers organized.”

Nikon has increased its spring cashback offer on the D60 DSLR camera by 50%. Valid for purchases made between 1st - 7th May 2008, you can now save up to £90 on the D60 (twin lens kit). Customers should look out for the promotional voucher which will be available in selected national newspapers over the bank holiday.

Movie Edit Pro 14 now ships with a free copy of Reallusion Crazy Talk 4 worth £29.99. Movie Edit Pro 14 is an all-round video solution for users with high demands. Crazy Talk 4 allows you to create a virtual cast of live talking characters from just a single photograph. Movie Edit Pro 14 with Crazy Talk 4 is available in the UK from 1st May for £59.99.

Colour Confidence has expanded its selection of viewing booths and controlled lighting solutions, offering accurate colour assessment for photographers. Products range from the desktop Colour Confidence GrafiLite – a natural lighting solution for just £60/€99 inc. VAT – to full-size specialist proofing stations.  “The benefits of monitor calibration and printer profiling are well known, but if you are viewing prints or proofs in harsh artificial lighting, colours can become distorted and the benefits lost. Standardised lighting not only allows colour professionals to accurately assess their work, but also provides clients viewing proofs with a quantifiable reference point”. commented Simon Prais, Technical Director at Colour Confidence.

Scott Kelby’s The Digital Photography Book is the best-selling digital photography book ever. With over 250,000 copies currently in print, The Digital Photography Book includes nearly 200 of the most closely guarded photographic “tricks of the trade”. “Scott Kelby’s book continues to resonate with readers and photographers of different skill levels,” said Nancy Aldrich-Ruenzel, Publisher and Vice President of Peachpit and the Pearson Technology Group. “With his approachable style, Scott’s hard-earned practical advice on digital photography has his readers constantly clamoring for more from their beloved author.”

Ricoh have released a new firmware update, version 2.02, for the GR Digital II compact digital camera. Version 2.02 fixes the following bug:

- After taking a picture with a long exposure time (1 second or slower) in the M mode (manual exposure mode), and then even if you take a picture in the Auto shooting mode, the image processing for the long exposure time will be performed.

Website: Ricoh GR Digital II Firmware Update 2.02

TrustedReviews have reviewed the Canon Digital IXUS 85 IS, a 10 megapixel cameras with 3x zoom lens and optical image stabilizer.

“As one might expect from a premium-priced camera like this, image quality is generally very good, but it is not without one or two annoying problems. The lens is very sharp and detailed over most of the frame, but the corners are soft and blurry, and barrel distortion at wide angle is much more pronounced than I would expect from the usually excellent Canon optics. Likewise image processing, normally another Canon strong-point, also has a couple of notable problems. Colour rendition is superb, with good detail even in saturated bright colours, but high-ISO noise control is surprisingly poor, with visible noise effects from as low as 200 ISO.”

Website: TrustedReviews - Canon Digital IXUS 85 IS Review

The 6 lucky winners of our fantastic April 2008 Newsletter contest have been randomly selected from the PhotographyBLOG Newsletter subscriber list.

Helen Williams wins a Lowepro Fastpack 250 bag

Neil Hall, Ian Pullinger, chihung lau, mort friedman and Ann Gould each win a signed copy of The Digital Photography Companion

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

1st Place
manhattan mirror by leeroboo22

Prize: Photobird.com one-year subscription with 500Mb of storage space
Kindly donated by Photobird.com.
http://www.photobird.com

Purchase a Ricoh R8 camera in the UK between 1st May and 12th June 2008 and get £50 cash back. The R8 features 10 megapixels, a slim body and 7.1x optical wide-angle zoom lens. All claims must be received no later than 3rd July 2008.

Canson Infinity is a brand new range of inkjet fine art paper, available in 14 different medias. The Canson Infinity range with its unique coating properties has been engineered to allow optimum color gamut, an incomparable D-Max and ensure maximum resistance to aging. Cut sheets and rolls up to 60” width will be available for shipment in July. “Our range, tested by the Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc., has been developed with a new process that has enabled us to get an un-rivalled whiteness without using Optical Brightening Agents on many of our papers.” commented Heidi Vincent, International Product Manager for Digital fine Art and Photo.

The first-ever Photodex ProShow Conference is being held in Austin, Texas from August 16-18. This conference and training event will focus on the popular ProShow slide show product line. “The idea for the ProShow Conference grew from an overwhelmingly positive response from our ProShow training seminars over the past year. This three-day conference is a chance for us to meet our users’ requests and provide them with an annual forum to meet, share ideas and explore new ways of creating slide shows together,” said Paul Schmidt, President of Photodex Corporation. Early registration discounts are available until July 16th, 2008 and offer $100 off the price of attending.

Canon will sponsor the Getty Images Gallery in London, UK from 2008 to 2010. Getty Images Gallery is London’s largest independent photographic gallery and was founded in 1996. Louise Garczewska, Director, Getty Images Gallery, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Canon as the headline sponsor of the Gallery. Canon’s professionalism, commitment and dedication to imagery makes them an ideal partner and we look forward to working with them to continue showcasing further iconic exhibitions.”

FotoRetina is a new “editable interactive website” for creative professionals. FotoRetina has features that allow photographers to showcase their work online with tools to create galleries. You can add and sort images, create clients, assign galleries to clients, add and edit content pages and style the homepage with different styling options. Website users can also play slideshows with the ability to manage the slide playback time and download images.

Website: http://www.fotoretina.com

DigiCamReview have reviewed the Ricoh R8, a new 10 megapixel digital camera with a 7.1 wide-angle zoom lens.

“The Ricoh R8 looks and feels great, and is capable of taking some great photos. The camera has a sharp wide angle 7.1x optical zoom lens, and is almost ultra compact, similar in size to other ultra compact cameras such as the IXUS 90 IS. Ricoh appear to have moved this camera upmarket with a newly designed body, and improved hand grip and control dial. The camera features built in anti-shake which helps keep pictures sharp, and has one of the sharpest screens I’ve ever seen. The camera still suffers from a poorly positioned flash, and noticable noise levels at all ISO settings. However, if you can look past the noise and can work with the camera - then it is capable of producing some excellent results.”

Website: DigiCamReview - Ricoh R8 Review

Website: Read our Ricoh R8 Review