Never seen before images of Britain are to be unveiled at an exhibition in London. Renowned climber and photographer Mike Robertson toured the country scaling legendary landmarks, armed with the Sony A700 DSLR camera. “Whilst I am used to embarking on difficult climbs, the unusual building structures and the unpredictable weather conditions made the Sony ? Unseen Britain an amazing challenge” said Mike Robertson.  “Using the ?700 Digital SLR camera and range of lenses allowed me to capture some fantastic and unique shots of Britain.” The Unseen Britain exhibition takes place at La Galleria, Royal Opera Arcade, London between Thursday 27th – Saturday 29th March 2008.

Hasselblad 3FR RAW files are now supported by Apple in Mac OS X 10.5.2 and Aperture 2. The free Leopard update includes support for Hasselblad raw image files in the 3FR, FFF and DNG format, created with any Hasselblad digital camera. Apple’s raw file processing is very fast, and delivers images with a generally high image quality, resulting in a level of image quality sufficient for standard application.  The quality of the images produced, however, will not equal that of those processed via Hasselblad’s proprietary FlexColor or Phocus software.

Ricoh have released a new firmware update, version 2.0, for the GR DIGITAL II compact digital camera. Ricoh’s function-enhancing firmware updates are developed in response to opinions and requests received from a large number of customers. The function-enhancing firmware and instructions for using these functions can be downloaded free of charge from the Ricoh website.

The Kodak M1020, M820 and P720 are new additions to Kodak’s range of digital picture frames. These sleek and stylish frames host a suite of features including the newly announced Quick Touch Border, as well as accessories for enhancing your home. “Kodak’s acclaimed and industry-leading Digital Picture Frames let consumers bring their favorite memories to life, releasing them from a computer and displaying them in brilliant quality in the home or office,” said John Blake, general manager Digital Capture and Devices, Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company. “With the addition of Quick Touch Border, Kodak has made the consumer experience even more intuitive and engaging.”

JP Service Solutions has introduced a new concept to DSLR sensor cleaning. They have launched a sensor cleaning service in the UK which is delivered via a pre-paid fixed price voucher. The vouchers can be purchased from appointed retailers, and the sensor clean is performed by experienced engineers within the JPSS Staffordshire facility. The complete service is provided within a 72-hour window and the price includes the secured courier return of the product. Commenting on this new initiative, David Harper, the JPSS Operations Director, said, “In developing this new service, we believe that we can provide a defined and cost effective response to the needs of the UK DSLR user.  Customers can feel assured that their product will be handled by experienced staff, which removes the inherent risk of product damage if sensor cleaning is undertaken by other means”, he continued.

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.