Olympus are releasing a lime green version of the mju 790 SW camera, limited to just 5,000 models in Europe. The mju 790 SW is a 7.1 megapixel shockproof, waterproof and freezeproof digital compact camera. The Olympus mju 790 SW Lime Green edition arrives in shops in mid October 2007.

The popular Nokia N95 camera phone has been upgraded to 8GB internal memory. Other improvements include a has a sleek black cover, 2.8 inch QVGA display and superior speakers. Dedicated media keys allow users to control video on their mobile just as they would on DVD. The new Nokia N95 8GB ships with the movie Spider-Man 3 in Europe and selected countries in Middle East and Africa region.

John Davies, Jacob Holdt, Esko Männikkö and Fazal Sheikh have been selected for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2008. This annual prize rewards a living photographer, of any nationality, who has made the most significant contribution to the medium of photography in Europe between 1 October 2006 – 30 September 2007. The prize is presented by The Photographers’ Gallery, London, which is also the opening venue for the exhibition.

The “Pricey Ink Stinks” contest is a Brickfish campaign from Kodak that invites entrants to put an end to the pain of expensive ink cartridges by submitting clever ideas for repurposing old printers.  The most creative entry will earn the winner their choice of $1000 cash or a $1000 scholarship. The inspiration for the campaign came from the cost of Kodak’s EASYSHARE AiO replacement ink cartridges, priced at less than half of most competitors at $14.99 MSRP for color and $9.99 MSRP for black.  Entrants in the “Pricey Ink Stinks” campaign are asked to submit a photo, drawing, video or blog of how they would creatively repurpose their old printers if they won the Kodak EASYSHARE 5300 AiO.  The grand prize winner will be selected by Kodak staff from the top 20 highest scoring entries.  The best video, best image, best blog and most viral entries will each win a Kodak EASYSHARE 5300 AiO. Anyone can visit http://www.brickfish.com/Lifestyles/KodakPrinter to check out the contest and enter, or just vote for their favorites.

The Royal Photographic Society is offering a range of different bursary schemes to support and encourage young photographers. This follows the RPS 150th International Print Exhibition (launched during the summer), where a print was chosen to be included that was taken by a nine year old - the youngest in the Society’s history. The UK-based Royal Photographic Society was founded in 1853 ‘to promote the Art and Science of Photography’.

The Apogee Photo Online Campus is adding 2 new instructors and 5 new classes coming in November 2007 and January 2008. Professional nature and wildlife photographers Noella Ballenger and Andy Long will teach 5 online photography classes, which aim to make learning this photography easy, interactive and fun. Apogee Photo is an online magazine designed to entertain and inform active photographers of all ages, both amateur and professional, from around the world.

The Travel and Landscape Workflow Action Pack from website That’s My Monkey is a new set of Photoshop actions aimed at photographers who work in the outdoors. The Action Pack includes tools for improving skies, mimicking the effects of traditional filters like polarizers and graduated neutral density filters, and offers several options for monochromatic and toned conversions. The Travel and Landscape Workflow Action Pack is available for $89.95.

“301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques” is a comprehensive, how-to guide to high-quality digital printing. It includes detailed instructions and hundreds of full-color examples from more than 20 professional photographers and other artists. “After using a variety of inkjet printers for more than ten years, I’m very happy to be able to share many of the tips and techniques I’ve been using to make exhibition, portfolio, and personal prints with others who share my passion for photography.” said author Andrew Darlow. “301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques: An Essential Printing Resource for Photographers” is available now for US $49.99 / CAN $62.95.

“Life: A Journey Through Time” by Frans Lanting has been printed using the latest Epson Stylus Pro printing technology. This photographic exhibition, which will tour Europe, depicts a journey of photographic discovery that parallels new scientific insights about the story of life on Earth. “We used Epson’s state-of-the-art Stylus Pro printers and UltraChrome K3 Ink with Vivid Magenta to help us achieve prints that will do these natural wonders justice.  I can say that we have more than fulfilled this aim.” commented Lanting.

DIWA member LetsGoDigital have reviewed the Panasonic DMC-TZ3 camera, which fits a 10x optical zoom, 7.2 megapixels and 3 inch LCD screen into a compact, stylish body.

“The Leica optical zoom lens is proof of an incredibly well carried out development technique that enabled fitting it into a compact housing like the Panasonic Lumix TZ3 camera. An innovative design enabled keeping the zoom lens this compact. Often the quality suffers from this but not in the case of the Leica lens that really keeps up and offers great performance. Only slight distortion is visible in wide angle and in telephoto range we find some soft sharpness. The sharpness and colour rendering in general are great and we can ascertain the fact that the Leica lens and the Panasonic TZ3 are an excellent combination.”

Website: LetsGoDigital - Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 Review

Website: Read our Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 Review

Megapixel.net have reviewed the Panasonic DMC-FZ18 digital camera, which features a 18x optical zoom lens, equivalent to 28-504mm on a 35mm film camera.

“Left to its default settings for JPEG images, there is a chance that the DMC-FZ18 could disappoint its purchaser when the images are inspected closely. However, a bit of experimentation with the Picture Adjustment option of the REC. menu — regrettably only available when the camera is set to one of the advanced modes and the Program mode — should remedy that situation permanently. The DMC-FZ18 offers a lot of capability for the money, and those looking to a bridge camera would be well-advised to check it out.”

Website: Megapixel.net - Panasonic DMC-FZ18 Review

Website: Read our Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 Review

PCMag have just reviewed the HP Photosmart A626 compact printer, which features the world’s first 4.8-inch color touchscreen LCD, built-in handle, foldup tray and, optional battery.

“In most ways, the HP Photosmart A626 Compact Photo Printer ($179.99 direct) is only a small step up from last year’s crop of dedicated photo printers from HP. But give HP credit for trying new things, because the A626 offers something new and different: a 4.8-inch touch screen that turns the A626 into a kind of mini-photo kiosk and makes it unique among small-format, portable, dedicated photo printers.”

Website: PCMag - HP Photosmart A626 Review

Prototypes of the new Canon 200mm f/2L IS USM and Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS USM lenses will be shown PhotoPlus Expo this week. The Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS USM delivers telephoto performance surpassing the current top-of-the-line EF 600mm f/4L IS USM super telephoto lens. The Canon EF 200mm f/2L IS USM is targeting users seeking a brighter lens for portraiture and indoor sports photography. “These new lenses demonstrate that Canon is continuing to respond actively and flexibly to the wide-ranging needs of professional and advanced amateur users, with the aim of contributing to the expansion of photographic possibilities for SLR cameras,”  said Yuichi Ishizuka, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon U.S.A. As these new lenses are currently under development, pricing and availability information is not yet available.

The Jobo GIGA One Ultra is an affordable portable storage device featuring ultra quick download speeds. The GIGA One Ultra can transfer 1 GB of data in about three minutes, reaching speeds of up to up to 5.47 MB per second. Available in four hard disc capacities (40, 80, 120 and 200 GB), the new GIGA one ultra is USB 2.0 compatible, features a large 2” LCD screen, a sturdy aluminium casing, and covered media card slots for protection against dust and dirt. The Jobo GIGA One Ultra is available at the end of October 2007 for €149, €199, €229, and €329 respectively.

Canon has launched a second cash back promotion to run across the Christmas selling period. You have the chance to save over £1,000/€1,500 across 24 products, including the EOS 400D (£50/€70), the EOS 40D (£50/€70) and the EOS 5D (£135/€200) DSLR cameras. The promotion also includes aselection of lenses and accessories. The cash back offer also applies across all of Canon’s Photo Kits. A full breakdown of all the various offers is available by clicking the link below.

Harman Technology has bought Kentmere Photographic Limited, best known for its extensive range of black and white papers. Following the buy-out, HARMAN is keen to stress that the Kentmere brand will remain relatively unchanged.  “HARMAN has an acquisitive growth policy and is keen to be seen as the natural home for high-quality imaging products. We have bought Kentmere recognising it is a strong brand with a massive amount of potential and knowing we can add what’s required to help bring that potential to fruition.” commented Chairman and Managing Director, Phil Harris.

Canon USA is providing free custom online profiles for its imagePROGRAF iPF6100 and imagePROGRAF iPF5000 printers. Covering the company’s most popular fine art and photographic media, the paper profiles are free and available on the Professional Printer section of Canon’s Digital Learning Center. There are currently 40 profiles available for download for 10 different media types, with more to come in the future.

The Angkor Photography Festival 2007 sees the temples of Angkor become a hub for both famous and passionate photographers from across the world. The Festival covers two genres, “concerned” documentary photography and fine art photography, organizes free workshops for emerging Asian photographers, and runs workshops for street children, amongst other endeavours. The Angkor Photography Festival is held from November 17th - 28th, at Siem Reap in Cambodia.

The World Firefighters Games 2008 photo contest is open to keen photographers of all ages. The competition challenges photographers to create images they think will amuse, inspire and enlighten. There are four different categories - Operational Incidents, Vehicles and Equipment, Previous World Firefighters Games and Heat. There are two age categories (under 16s and over 16s), and submissions are now being accepted, with an entrance fee of £10. The closing date is 12pm on June 1, 2008, with the winners being announced on August 24, 2008.

DCResource have reviewed the Panasonic DMC-FZ18 digital camera, which features a 18x optical zoom lens, equivalent to 28-504mm on a 35mm film camera.

“The FZ18 is only the second mega zoom camera I’ve tested (the other being the Olympus SP-550UZ) and it’s definitely the better of the two. That may change when I get my hands on the SP-560UZ or the Fuji FinePix S8000fd, but for now, the DMC-FZ18 is the best camera for those of you who can’t get enough zoom.”

Website: DCResource - Panasonic DMC-FZ18 Review

Website: Read our Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 Review