The winners of two great SLR camera bags, courtesy of Lovecases.co.uk, have been announced.

Mick Cant wins the Case Logic SLR Camera / Laptop backpack, worth £119.99.
Matt Chadwick wins the Capdase mKeeper 300a SLR Camera and Laptop Backpack, worth £69.99.

Check out Lovecases’ camera bags and DSLR camera bag range.

This contest closed on Thursday 22/03/2012.

Facebook has announced a few enhancements to its photo viewer, including support for high-resolution photos and full-screen viewing. Now the photo viewer will automatically display photos in the highest resolution possible, and you can expand the photo viewer to take up your entire computer screen. Note that this functionality enhancement only applies if you are using the latest version of Firefox or Chrome. Additionally, Facebook will now assign a simplified sRGB profile to every image, including thumbnails. You can read about this update at the website below.

Adobe has released Photoshop CS6 beta, available as a free download from Adobe Labs. New features in Adobe Photoshop CS6 include a refined, modern interface and new additions to the Content-Aware tools: Content-Aware Patch allows greater control by letting users select and duplicate an area of an image to fill in or “patch” another, and Content-Aware Move lets users select and magically move an object to a new place in the image. Additionally, the new Adobe Mercury Graphics Engine enables near-instant results from popular editing tools including Liquify, Puppet Warp, Transform and Lighting Effects. Photoshop CS6 beta offers all the features of Adobe Photoshop CS6 and Adobe Photoshop CS6 Extended, such as new 3D editing features and quantitative imaging analysis capabilities. These features will be included in the shipping version of Photoshop CS6 Extended when it becomes available.

Fujifilm has announced the launch of its exclusive X100 Black Premium Edition box set at London department store Harrods. The sleek black presentation box contains the X100 Black, lens hood, adapter ring and protector filter, as well as a bespoke black and red leather case.The X100 Black Premium Edition is limited to just 10,000 units globally, each camera will have a number to denote its position in the run and once these are sold out, no more will be made. The exclusive Harrods presentation box is limited to just 16 units and contains a letter of authenticity from Fujifilm UK. The box set can be yours for £1,795.

Four artists have been shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize. Pieter Hugo (b.1976, South Africa) is nominated for his publication Permanent Error, published by Prestel (Germany, 2011). Permanent Error centres on a vast dumping ground for technological waste on the outskirts of Ghana’s capital city. Rinko Kawauchi (b.1972, Japan) is nominated for her publication Illuminance, published by Editions Xavier Barral (France, 2011). Illuminance spans fifteen years of her practice and results from both personal projects and commissioned work. John Stezaker (b.1949, UK) is nominated for his exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK (29 January – 18 March 2011), while Christopher Williams (b. 1956, USA) is nominated for his exhibition Kapitalistischer Realismus at Dum umení Ceské Budejovice, Budweis, Czech Republic (5 May - 12 June 2011). The winner will be announced at a special ceremony at The Photographers’ Gallery on 3 September 2012.

Manchester-based Eposure is a new business which has been set up to support professional photographers by promoting its members to photography buyers, and raising the profile of commercial photography. The business will be supported by a website, launching at the end of April. “We are very aware of the challenges that professional photographers face these days, such as competition from amateurs and a general devaluing of the profession,” says co-founder and director Gabrielle O’Haare. “With a senior level background in photography and marketing at blue chip client level, we’ve valuable experience of many clients, and the problem often stems from the fact that many brand/ad agencies and clients, don’t understand photography and therefore don’t get the best out of it.” To tackle this issue the directors will be working with and providing content for the buying community. An example of this approach can be found on their blog.

Barclays has teamed up with renowned street photographer Nick Turpin to find camera keen cyclists who can capture the adventure, inspiration and beauty of cycling in London. Whether you’re a seasoned photographer or simply a cycling enthusiast with an eye for a good shot, the London by Bike competition is your chance to share your skill and passion. The two top snappers will receive a deluxe London cycling weekend prize package including £1,500 of cycling equipment, sumptuous five-star hotel stay and a visit to Dinner by Heston Blumenthal at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London plus their iconic shots will be displayed for fellow Londoners to see in a special exhibition at a London gallery this summer. To enter, all you have to do is visit the Barclays Facebook page, complete the form and simply upload your best photograph..As always, we recommend that you read the Terms and Conditions before entering your work.

Fujfilm has issued a firmware update for the Fujifilm X100 large-sensor compact camera. Version 1.20 turns the RAW button into a second customisable function button, improves AF and autoexposure performance while shooting video, adds more options for ISO selection and the engagement of the built-in neutral density filter, among other improvements. You can download the firmware update from the website below.

Website Fujifilm

Fujifilm has posted a firmware update for the Fujifilm X-S1 digital superzoom camera. Among other improvements, Version 1.01 is claimed to reduce the blooming (white disk) phenomenon which can be observed in EXR Auto mode, adds compatibility with MacOS 10.7, reduces the greenish cast noticeable in specular highlights when shooting macro with the built-in flash, and enhances the face-tracking AF function. You can download the firmware upgrade from the website below.

Website: Fujifilm

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has launched the 2012 RHS Photographic Competition, open to all amateur and professional photographers worldwide. Adult categories range from wildlife and people in the garden, to plant portraits. The overall winner will be crowned RHS Photographer of the Year and win £1,000. Note that entry fees apply (£5 per photograph for RHS members, £6 for non-members). Children and young photographers are also invited to compete for the RHS Young Photographer of the Year title, and prizes include a digital camera and photographic vouchers. There are no entry fees to enter the under 18 categories. Photographs can be submitted online at the website below.

Bron Imaging Group and Hasselblad have announced that Los Angeles will be the host of Shoot LA, a professional photography forum held on 28th April at Smashbox Studios.  Top industry professionals will host workshops and hands-on seminars in an array of subjects, while Broncolor and Hasselblad will demonstrate a range of photographic tools designed for the working pro. Smashbox Studios are located at 1011 N Fuller Ave Los Angeles, CA 90046. For more information, check out the website below.

esDot Development Studio has announced the free “Lite” version of PicShop - Photo Editor, a mobile editing suite for iOS devices. Also available for Android, PicShop - Photo Editor offers a user interface created with Adobe AIR. Some of the more interesting features include the ability to emulate a shallow depth of field effect, replicate some of the results achievable with a tilt lens, remove blemishes from a portrait, change the saturation/brightness/contrast of an image, and more. PicShop Lite - Photo Editor is available from iTunes, with the Android edition being downloadable from the Google Play Store.

Axtremex is set to release a number of new Compact Flash memory cards with a 800x speed rating. The UDMA 7 compliant Axtremex 800x CF cards, available in 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB capacities, support read speeds of up to 120 megabytes per second and write speeds of up to 95MB/s. Additionally, the company has announced an “800x Plus” range of Compact Flash cards, which will support both read and write speeds up to 120MB/s. These cards also offer a Video Performance Guarantee (VPG) at 20 Megabytes per second, which is currently the highest rating. Initially, the new Axtremex memory cards will be available from NanoFlash.net for USA and international customers. For UK customers, the new CF cards are available from CCK Media Technologies and other authorised dealers.

Downloadbuyer.com have a new exclusive bundle deal available for three MacPhun products for Mac. The software bundle includes FX Photo Studio Pro, Colour Splash and Snapheal. The price is €22.68, a 50% saving on the combined SRP of the three programs. To take advantage of this offer, head to the website below.

Focus On Imaging has released official visitor statistics for this year’s show. The total number of attendees was 37,684 which, according to the organisers, made for a very busy show floor across all of the four days. Stars of the show included the Canon EOS 5D Mark III, the Fujifilm X-Pro1 (read review), the Nikon D800 and the Olympus OM-D E-M5. Alongside these exciting new products, many of the exhibitors at this year’s show presented an array of talks, seminars and demonstrations on a wide range of subjects.

Browse our photos from the Focus on Imaging 2012 photography show

Metro Imaging has become one of 159 companies to receive a warrant from HRH Prince of Wales, in recognition of its close relationship as a supplier to the Duchy of Cornwall. This highly prized status is only granted on consistent demonstration of quality and excellence. “We are really proud of this prestigious acknowledgement,” says Steve Macleod, Creative Director at Metro Imaging. “We love our work and always strive to give our best to every customer.”

Developed in collaboration with nodesign, the all-white DIA digital photo frame from Parrot sports a simple design, tactile buttons and a high-resolution 10.4-inch screen. “Dismantled, deconstructed, disconnected from the frame as if there was nothing behind, this screen is transparency; is light,” says Henri Seydoux, founder and CEO of Parrot. “The picture, your photo, appears through this ‘light box’ in a brand-new aesthetic dimension.” DIA Parrot by nodesign offers a comprehensive set of connectivity options, including USB, SD card, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and sells for £459.99 including VAT.

Slideshow tool provider Photodex has announced the latest version of its Adobe Lightroom plug-in for ProShow. Providing a seamless bridge between ProShow’s slideshow output and Adobe Lightroom versions 2, 3 and 4, the free plug-in supports both Mac and PC, and is now compatible with all three versions of Photodex’s ProShow line of HD slideshow tools. Additionally, it provides new and improved show titles and special characters for the ProShow Web application. The ProShow Plug-in for Lightroom can be downloaded directly from the Adobe Lightroom Exchange website.