Kodak has announced improved versions of its Professional Portra 400NC and 400VC films. “These new 400NC and 400VC films, with their even finer grain, will enable photographers to create stunning images with spectacular skin tones and, in addition, provide improved scanning performance for greater enlargement capability.” said Mary Jane Hellyar, president, Film Products Group and executive vice president, Eastman Kodak Company. The new Kodak Portra films will be available worldwide on a stock-turnover basis from 2008.

The Verbatim CameraMate ExpressCard Reader provides up to 5x faster transfers than other memory card readers. Insert the module into your mobile or desktop system’s ExpressCard slot to start transferring images and data files. The Verbatim CameraMate ExpressCard Reader supports the CF Type I & II, Microdrive memory cards formats and is compatible with Windows XP, 2000 and Vista, and Mac OS 9.x and higher. Available now, priced at under $35.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 for Macintosh is now available. Photomerge combines the best facial expressions and body language from a series of shots to create a single cohesive group shot. Guided Edit mode helps walk users through the steps of improving a photo. Online galleries based on Adobe Flash provide an interactive experience for friends and family. Photoshop Elements 6 is immediately available at an estimated street price of £57.58.

DIWA member LetsGoDigital have published sample images from the Olympus E-420, a compact new entry-level 10 megapixel DSLR camera.

“We have tried out the Olympus E420 in combination with the ZUIKO Digital 25 mm Pancake lens and some other FourThirds lenses and we took some sample shots to get a first impression of this camera. The bad weather in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, forced me to go inside the well-known butterfly garden of the Artis Zoo, to stay dry whilst shooting with the new Olympus combination.”

Website: LetsGoDigital - Olympus E-420 Photos

TrustedReviews have reviewed the Sony DSC-T2, a compact camera with 4GB of internal memory that can store up to 1,000 8 megapixel images.

“The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T2 is an extremely stylish ultra-compact camera with a range of interesting and innovative features. If you can cope with the rather fiddly touch-screen interface and keep your fingers away from the lens, you’ll find it an excellent camera for social snapshots, and the creative playback features are a lot of fun. However it is quite expensive, the the overall image quality doesn’t live up to the price tag.”

Website: TrustedReviews - Sony DSC-T2 Review

PicApp gives bloggers and other online publishers access to copyrighted news and creative images, completely free. Now available in public beta, PicApp features images from Getty Images, Corbis and other prestigious image agencies. Each image is accompanied by a non-intrusive ad to drive royalties to the related content partners, instead of the traditional license fees. “Bloggers are the new journalists and they can now get great images - and use them legally, with no charge whatsoever,” said Eyal Gura, CEO, PicScout. “Through PicApp, we are providing today’s new media with access to the latest images and an easy way to enrich their readers’ experience.”

Casio have released a new firmware update, v1.03, for the Casio EX-V7, the world’s slimmest digital camera with a 7x optical zoom lens.

Improvements Provided by This Update
V1.02-V1.03
- Fixes problems that occurred with certain settings when playing back a movie recorded with a wide screen aspect ratio on a TV connected to the AV output jack (AV OUT).
V1.00-V1.02
- Fixes a problem with year display during leap years.

Website: Casio EX-V7 Firmware Update 1.03

DIWA member LetsGoDigital have published sample images from the new Casio EX-F1 camera, which features the world’s fastest burst shooting performance of 60fps.

“To cut a long story short; let the images speak for themselves. Casio have given the Exilim Pro F1 its very own identity and are placing a remarkable and striking product on the market with this new prosumer digital camera. Casio are showing the entire industry that they are capable of breaking new ground when it concerns high speed movie and picture recording. We thoroughly enjoyed spending an afternoon with the Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1. As soon as we can lay our hands on a test sample we will publish a full review of the Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1.”

Website: LetsGoDigital - Casio EXILIM Pro EX-F1 Photos

Luminous Landscape have reviewed the Ricoh GX100 digital camera, which features a 10.01 megapixel CCD, fast 24-72mm wide zoom lens and a removable electronic view?nder.

“Unlike 98% of digicams the GX100 provides raw mode. And, to make it all the more sweet, it’s DNG. To my knowledge only Panasonic in its LX series, Canon in the G9, and Sigma in the upcoming DP1 also provide digicam photographers with raw. Regrettably the GX100 is slow to write raw files, and while at 5 seconds it’s faster than the almost 15 seconds of previous models, it’s still not good enough. Ricoh simply needs to build in a larger raw buffer or faster write engine. There’s no excuse for this, especially at this price point. “

Website: Luminous Landscape - Ricoh GX100 Review

Website: Read our Ricoh GX100 Review

The new Carl Zeiss C Biogon T* 2,8/35 ZM lens is the perfect addition to your light, mobile photo equipment. Its moderate speed of 1:2.8 permits an exceptionally compact construction. The symmetrical Biogon construction with 7 lens elements in 5 groups allows for practically distortion-free images. The ZM lens series from Carl Zeiss is suitable for cameras with the M-bayonet, and will be available in mid 2008 for € 590.00 (excluding VAT).

Apple have just released the Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 2.0 for Mac OS X 10.4.11 and OS X 10.5.2. This update extends RAW file compatibility for Aperture 2 and iPhoto ’08 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, Sony DSLR-A350

Website: Apple Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 2.0

Geophoto 2 from Ovolab is a major upgrade to its photo-geotagging application. Ovolab Geophoto is an all-in-one application for easily organizing and browsing photos by location, through a three-dimensional representation of the Earth. Ovolab Geophoto 2 adds powerful new features and a revamped user interface. Ovolab Geophoto 2.0 is available immediately at the price of $24.95 (USA/Canada) or €24.95 (rest of the world).

Derrick Story is giving a webcast called “Five Ways to Make Your Photos Look Better than Others” on March 27th. Derrick Story is a digital photographer, blogger, and author of The Digital Photography Companion. The webcast will cover five ways to make your pictures look a cut above those snapshots we typically see. Attendance is limited, so register now at http://oreilly.com/go/webcast-story

Imaging Resource have reviewed the Fujifilm Finepix F50fd compact digicam, which has a 12 megapixel sensor, Dual Image Stabilization, and Face Detection 2.0 technology with a a new Automatic Red-Eye Removal feature.

“The Fujifilm F50fd’s hike in resolution yields sharp images with lots of detail, but it does come at a cost. Unlike previous models in the line, noise permeates images shot at ISO 400 and gets significantly worse as the ISO is pushed to 800 and beyond. Captured images also show evidence of noise suppression and slight edge enhancement throughout the most of the sensitivity range.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Fujifilm Finepix F50fd Review

Website: Read our Fujifilm Finepix F50fd Review

Imaging Resource have reviewed the new Nikon L14 camera which offers 7.1 megapixels and a 3x zoom lens (38-114mm).

“The big feature of the Coolpix L14 is its low price but Nikon didn’t scrimp on performance, delivering above average shutter lag and startup/shutdown times. It’s also an unusually comfortable camera body to hold and pocket. What the lens lacks in sharpness, the sensor captures in color fidelity. Digital zoom is sluggish but the results won’t disappoint and greatly extend the range of the 3x optical zoom. This is not what you want if you’re looking for crisp images that you can enlarge and frame, but it serves well as an inexpensive and fun snapshot camera.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Nikon L14 Review

Nikon UK is offering £60/€80 on the new Nikon D60 DSLR twin lens kit until June 30th. The Nikon D60 cashback promotion will run from the 20th March 2008 until the 30th June 2008. All claims must arrive by 31st July 2008 in order to qualify.

PhotoShelter is introducing new features for the PhotoShelter Personal Archive, a complete e-commerce solution for photographers. They include gallery slideshows, an enhanced shopping cart, larger sized thumbnails and full size images for display, and the ability for clients to crop their own prints. “We are dedicated to empowering photographers by providing the resources they need to easily manage and differentiate their unique businesses online. Personal Archive has been upgraded based on feedback from the photographer community and we’re proud to unveil it at WPPI so that wedding photographers can immediately benefit from our new features.” said Allen Murabayashi, CEO of PhotoShelter. The PhotoShelter Personal Archive is a monthly subscription-based service

PhotoShelter is now accepting submissions for Elevation 2008, the company’s first annual student-to-pro award and competition. Elevation 2008 provides the next generation of professional photographers an opportunity to gain exposure to some of the most influential and discriminating eyes in publishing. Judges will select five winners who best demonstrate their unique perspective as an artist and the ability to produce commercially viable images. Elevation 2008 is open to all students currently enrolled in domestic and international colleges and universities.

Digital Photography from the Ground Up is a new book from Rocky Nook that helps the novice photographer get started. Author Juergen Gulbins explains how to deal with the photographic workflow, from capture to print and storage. Digital Photography from the Ground Up costs $34.95 USD / £21.99 GBP.

Think Camera have reviewed the Canon G9, a 12.1 megapixel update of the G7 compact camera, with a 6x zoom lens, 3 inch LCD screen and the return of RAW mode.

“If you compare it with a good 12 megapixel DSLR, it comes up short, but that’s like criticising a Mini for not being a Mercedes. The point is, it’s good enough to stand scrutiny against the best DSLR. As for the rest of the compact world, it’s bettered by none and matched by only a handful. In other words, this is the one pro camera you can afford.”

Website: Think Camera - Canon G9 Review

Website: Read our Canon G9 Review