There’s still time to enter the MyShot08 photo contest, which closes on March 31st. To date there have been almost 180 entries submitted by college students, with the overall winner to be mentored and work side by side with professional photographer George Kamper on a Miami photo shoot and receive a Fujifilm infrared camera valued at $3,000. Entries will be accepted until March 31 in three digital printing application categories – personalized photo books, greeting cards and calendars.

Lastolite have unveiled a heavy duty 5 piece stand for their 5’ x 6’  and 6’ x 7’ collapsible backgrounds. The new 5 piece stand from Lastolite is suitable to support not only the 5’ x 6’ collapsible backgrounds but also the 6’ x 7’ versions. The stand is available to order immediately for £54.99 (inc VAT).

Panasonic has renewed its support of the World Heritage photographic project, Our Place. The Our Place project is committed to presenting to a wide global audience, the wonder and significance of our planet’s most important cultural and natural locations. “Panasonic is proud to continue its support to help promote and protect the important UNESCO World Heritage sites. Through the Our Place project, we would like to change peoples’ minds, both about the value of World Heritage, and about Panasonic’s strong commitment to photographic culture. Our vision for Lumix is to create a new photo culture in the digital era,” said Mr. Tokikazu Matsumoto, Managing Director of the DSC Business Unit at Panasonic AVC Networks Company.

Adobe Photoshop Express is a free online application that allows you to store, sort and show off digital photos with eye-catching effects. You can store up to 2 gigabytes of images online for free, make edits to your photos, and share them online in creative ways. “Photoshop is trusted technology that has changed the visual landscape of our world.  Now, Photoshop Express allows anyone who snaps a digital photo to easily achieve the high-impact results for which Adobe is known,” said Doug Mack, vice president of Consumer and Hosted Solutions at Adobe. Photoshop Express beta is available now for free via any Web browser at http://www.photoshop.com/express . In its early phases, Photoshop Express is available to US residents-only in English.

Nik Software and Vertus have teamed up to offer 20% off the cost of Color Efex Pro 3.0 and Fluid Mask 3. This new software bundle offers photographers an all-in-one solution for image extractions and creative enhancements. Color Efex Pro 3.0 and Fluid Mask 3 are being offered together at $429.95, representing a savings of $110. The bundle offer will run until June 1st 2008. In addition, current Color Efex Pro 3.0 owners can get Fluid Mask 3 directly from Nik Software at a 15% discount.

The file compression software BluBox will ship with Samsung memory cards in Europe on a free trial basis from April onwards. BluBox V4 promises to compress photo file sizes by up to 95%, plus it encrypts and protects pictures using Government-standard encryption. “We are very pleased to have concluded this deal with Samsung for our BluBox technology as it will enable millions of Samsung memory card and USB memory users across Europe to benefit from the massive compression of digital images which BluBox brings.” commented Tim Capps, VP Business Development at BluBox.

Pentax has organised a global photoshoot, dubbed Pentax World Day, to be held on Saturday, April 5, 2008. Forum members at www.pentaxforums.com plan to shoot locally on that day and submit images to a central website. The event is being organized just for the satisfaction of shooting and sharing images with other forum members. Images must be captured with a Pentax camera on Pentax World Day (April 5, 2008) between midnight and midnight.

CyberLink MediaShow 4 combines photo and video management, enhancement, authoring, burning and sharing in one convenient application. MediaShow 4 features a next-generation 3D “liquid” interface that ensures ease-of-use and fun for users. “CyberLink MediaShow 4 is the ideal software to manage visual media libraries in a fun and easy way, allowing users to enhance their own videos and photos quickly, helping them to share their stories creatively, through slideshows, online posting and preserving their best memories onto DVDs.” said Alice H. Chang, CEO of CyberLink. CyberLink MediaShow 4 is now available online and the retail version will be available in UK and German stores beginning May 2008. MediaShow 4 costs USD 49.95 and Euro 44.99.

The new Kroll Ontrack photo recovery service saves your photos from a single media or computer hard drive. Digital photos are second only to Microsoft Office files as the most requested files for recovery. Instead of overexposure or a damaged roll of film, individuals have to deal with corrupted files and media damage. “Because digital media can suffer from damage or corruption like computers, losing precious, irreplaceable photos is a very plausible experience for families,” said Todd Johnson, vice president of operations for Kroll Ontrack. “Fortunately, recovery is often feasible and Kroll Ontrack has both the expertise and experience to help.”

Imaging Resource have reviewed the Nikon S700, a 12.1 megapixel camera with a 3x zoom lens and a metal body.

“Overall, the Nikon Coolpix S700 is a good bet. It captures good-looking images under a variety of conditions, performing well indoors and out. The camera’s exposure system was a bit limited in low lighting in its normal Auto exposure mode, but the night photography options and adjustable ISO should help in darker situations. Granted, higher ISOs do translate into higher noise levels, something the Nikon S700 struggles with at sensitivities higher than ISO 400, but that’s a common trade-off among consumer pocket digital cameras with automatic-only exposure control.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Nikon S700 Review

Olympus UK will increase the price of lenses and accessories by around 15% from April 1st. According to the report by Amateur Photographer, a letter has been sent to all UK dealers warning of the price increase.

“‘Whilst we are working hard at minimising the impact on mainline product, adverse currency movement will affect all imaging and audio accessories including DSLR lenses and flashguns which are expected to rise by around 15%.’ “

Website: Amateur Photographer - Olympus warns of UK price rises

Photoshop Elements 6 for Mac: The Missing Manual puts every new feature in Elements into a clear, easy-to-understand context. “It’s been a long time since Adobe released a Mac version of Elements. That means there are lots of new features in Elements 6, so even if you’re pretty handy with the older versions of Elements for Mac, you’re going to have some new stuff to learn. This Missing Manual is the most complete reference book available.” commented author Barbara Brundage. Photoshop Elements 6 for Mac: The Missing Manual is available now for $44.99 USD / £32.99 GBP.

Harman technology will distribute the Paterson Photographic range of products worldwide. These products, which include everything from tongs to spiral tanks and enlargers, have built up a significant following both in the UK and US. Harman will also take over the distribution of Paterson’s three speciality liquid film developers which are noted for their excellent performance, especially excellent image sharpness. “Paterson Photographic and HARMAN have built up a good relationship over the years through our work serving the same customer base. Considering this, and our mutual passion for analogue photography, it makes sense for us to join forces.” commented Richard Perry, Managing Director of Paterson Photographic.

ImageTitler 3.0 provides a simple and effective way to add descriptive titles to any image. It’s ideal for adding a title or caption to any photo before posting to social networking or photo sharing sites. “ImageTitler is an extremely easy-to-use Windows XP and Vista program that really simplifies adding a title or text to a digital photo. It does not require any other digital photo editor. Now you don’t need a complicated image editing program to simply add a title to a digital photo,” said Craig Huelskoetter, president. ImageTitler is bundled free with PictoColor’s CorrectPhoto 3.0 Digital Photo Editor, or it may be purchased separately for $19.95.

My Passport Elite Portable USB Drives from WD are perfect for the digital photographer needing to back-up in the field or transport large amounts of files to clients. Weighing in at less than 5 ounces and available in capacities of 320 and 250 GB, the new My Passport Elite drives are small enough to fit in a pocket. The WD My Passport Elite Drives are USB-bus powered, which eliminates the need for an external power adapter. The My Passport Elite USB Drive with 250 GB capacity is $169.99 USD and the My Passport Elite 320 GB is $199.99 USD.

PhotoReview have reviewed the Sigma DP1 compact camera, which packs the full specification of a DSLR into the body of a compact camera.

“As a pioneer in a technically challenging arena, Sigma has done a great job with this camera by packing so much into such a small body. In the DP-1 it has produced a fascinating imaging tool that has potential to develop a cult following. Although it’s not the ideal solution to a serious photographer’s compact camera requirements, the DP-1 is a great start - and a credit to its manufacturer.”

Website: PhotoReview - Sigma DP1 Review

Website: Read our Sigma DP1 Review

Trusted Reviews have reviewed the Canon Digital IXUS 960 IS, which features a 12.1 megapixel sensor and 3.7x image stabilized zoom lens.

“Canon’s IXUS range of high-spec compacts continues to set the standard for the rest of the industry. The 960 IS has pretty much everything you need except a wide-angle lens. It is relatively expensive, but with superb design and bomb-proof build quality, exceptional performance and class-leading image quality you really do get what you pay for. The 960 IS is easily the best 12MP compact on the market, and a sound investment for anyone who can afford it.”

Website: Trusted Reviews - Canon Digital IXUS 960 IS Review

DPReview have reviewed the new Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T300 digital camera, which features a 3.5 inch touch-screen LCD and 5x optical zoom lens.

“In pure image quality terms, the T300 is a little bit disappointing and looks ominously like the herald of a season of disappointing cameras. 6.2 x 4.6 mm expanses of silicon do not appear to like being divided into 10 million segments - which is unfortunate, as that exact combination appears in a lot of recently announced models from a lot of manufacturers.”

Website: DPReview - Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T300 Review

The Photoshop Elements 6 Book for Digital Photographers is the definitive book on using Photoshop Elements 6. Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski show readers how to work with their images like a professional, from importing to organization to correction to output. The Photoshop Elements 6 Book for Digital Photographers is now available at Peachpit.com, Amazon.com, and other retailers nationwide.

Kyocera today announced that it has developed the world’s fastest high-resolution inkjet printhead. The KJ4 Series offers full-color print speeds of up to 200 meters per minute at 600 x 480 dpi, or 150 meters per minute at 600 x 600 dpi. “The superior performance and reliability of Kyocera’s KJ4 Series printhead represents a breakthrough that will open new markets for inkjet printing technology,” stated Hitoshi Takao, general manager of Kyocera Corporation’s Thin Film Components Group. “We believe this product will finally make it possible for the inkjet printer to compete successfully in the mainstream market for commercial printing.” Kyocera will commence global sales of the new KJ4 Series printhead in April 2008.