A new, free Web-based service called Picfull is offering users an opportunity to apply high-quality photo filters to their images and monitor the changes in real time. Currently, there are eighteen filters to choose from, including Vintage, Pen Outline, Sepia, Old Photo, Pencil Strokes and more. Most of the effects can be fine-tuned using a set of sliders. You can apply one or several filters to your photo, and save the resulting image on your hard disk. (As with any service, it’s worth checking out the Terms and Conditions before trying out the effects on your photos.)

Website: Picfull

Canon has offered a donation of 50 million yen to support flood relief efforts in Thailand. Beginning in late July and described by a Thai official as “the worst flooding yet in terms of the amount of water and people affected,” the disaster has claimed more than three hundred lives and inundated many industrial areas (including camera factories and printer manufacturing plants owned by Canon and its competitors). “We at Canon extend our heartfelt condolences to all those affected by this disaster and our thoughts go out to the victims and their families,” Canon said in a statement. “The Canon Group is providing aid for victims of the floods and support for recovery efforts in the affected regions with a donation of 50 million yen.”

X-Rite has announced the November theme for its Colour Perfectionists Unite photo contest. The theme is “Landscapes” and the deadline for entries is 15th November. The winner will be featured on the X-Rite Photo blog and will receive one of X-Rite’s new display solutions – either a ColourMunki Display or an i1Display Pro – and a ColourChecker Passport (pictured). The top 20 finalists each month will be featured in a monthly gallery at X-Rite Photo on Facebook and Color Perfectionists Group on Flickr. Click through / read on to learn how to participate in the competition.

British photographer Martin Parr will be signing copies of his new publication, “The Protest Box”, tonight at the Magnum Print Room in London. “The Protest Box” (£338) is a set of reprints which brings together five diverse books that deal with the subject of protest in quite different ways. The box set is accompanied by a booklet which includes an introduction by Martin Parr, an essay discussing the wider context of these books by Gerry Badger, and English translations of all the texts in the books. The book signing and launch will take place tonight from 6-8pm at the Magnum Print Room, located at 63 Gee Street, London. This event is free but space is limited. RSVP to [email protected] or telephone 020 7490 1771.

GoPro has just released its new wearable and gear-mountable HD HERO2 camera, which is capable of capturing 11-megapixel stills and 1080p Full HD.videos. Featuring a totally redesigned wide-angle lens, an innovative mounting system and a new processor that delivers twice the processing power of its predecessor, the GoPro HD HERO2 can capture full-resolution still photographs at 10fps. Additionally, with the arrival of GoPro’s new Wi-Fi BacPac and Wi-Fi Remote products slated for release this winter, the HD HERO2 will enable video remote control via the Wi-Fi Remote, smartphones, tablets and computers as well as enabling live video broadcast from anywhere there is Wi-Fi or a mobile hotspot. The GoPro HD HERO2 is available now for $299.99.

Adobe today announced the winners of its 11th annual Adobe Design Achievement Awards (ADAA). The awards honour the most talented and promising student graphic designers, photographers, illustrators, animators, digital filmmakers, developers and computer artists from higher education institutions worldwide who have created individual or group projects with Adobe software. The winner of the photography category is Ryan LeCluyse from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Winning entries can be viewed at the ADAA Gallery, along with the entries of the finalists from 2011 and prior years.

Curious Critters by Sigma Pro photographer and writer David FitzSimmons is a new children’s picture book featuring macro photographs. The author says the book came about as a result of his experimentation with animal macro photography techniques and his desire to teach children to appreciate nature and photography. “Though ‘Curious Critters’ is geared toward children, adults will be equally as fascinated with David’s incredibly tight photography,” said Mark Amir-Hamzeh, president of Sigma Corporation of America. “David has done a fantastic job with this book – the photography and technique is outstanding, and he’s melded the visuals with fun, entertaining stories and educational information. As a company that strives to empower photographers of all ages and abilities, we couldn’t be more proud of David’s work on ‘Curious Critters.’” Scheduled for a November 7 release, Curious Critters is priced at $19.95.

Kenro, the UK distributor of Reflecta products, has announced that the Reflecta MidFormat Scan MF5000 - a new 3200dpi scanner that handles both 35mm and medium-format film - is now available for purchase. As the first dual-format film scanner to hit the market in years, the Reflecta MidFormat Scan MF5000 is an interesting product for anyone who shoots film, particularly medium format. Mains powered, the scanner is connected via USB 2.0 to a computer, and will scan almost any format on 120 and 220 film, including 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7, 6x8, 6x9 and 6x12cm (but excluding the panoramic 6x17mm format). Featuring a dMax of 3.6, the Reflecta Midformat Scan MF5000 sells for £2,250 and comes complete with power adapter, Cyberview X scan software, Adobe Photoshop Elements 9, holder for four framed slides, holder for 35mm film strips with up to six frames, medium format holder accommodating one or two frames depending on frame size, and full user instructions.

Zaubersee has released a new iOS app called Camera- 1.0. Offering four shooting and five triggering modes, Camera- allows you to take a picture by simply clicking your tongue. The app also offers features like a virtual horizon, camera shake indicator, compositional guidelines, and real-time image editing. Once the picture is saved, it can be uploaded to Facebook, Twitter or Dropbox. Camera- is available now on iTunes.

The Federation of European Professional Photographers (FEP) has announced the category winners of its 2011 competition. The “Golden Camera” winners include René de Brunn (Commercial), Oriol Jolonch (Illustrative), Ondrej Prosicky (Landscape), Igor Sakharov (Portrait), Antonio Gibotta (Reportage) and Javier Avis Barrado (Wedding). The FEP International Photographers’ Golden Camera 2011 award goes to Soh Chee Loon Jericho from Singapore, while the winner of the FEP European Students and Young Photographers’ Golden Camera 2011 award is Luca Leon Fasching from Austria. The overall winner of the FEP European Professional Photographer of the Year 2011 award will be unveiled at a ceremony held on November 26th in the prestigious gallery of the Silken Hotel, Brussels.

Canon U.S.A: has announced an enhancement to the Canon Professional Services (CPS) programme with a new qualification system for membership acceptance. Under the new points system, professional videographers and photographers can now qualify with ownership of a broader range of professional products including DSLR camera bodies, professional camcorders, lenses and accessories (speedlites and wireless transmitters, etc). For details and additional information on the new CPS points system and to see a comprehensive list of all eligible pro DSLR and video equipment, visit the CPS website.

Canon today launched its new flagship PIXMA Pro series model, the Pixma PRO-1, which is the world’s first A3+ printer to feature 12 separate inks. This new technology is claimed to “significantly expand” colour gamut “in most areas”. Five monochrome inks produce professional quality black-and-white prints with smooth tonal gradation and suppressed graininess. Front-opening panels enable easy access to the tanks either side of the main printer body, and for efficiency the rear tray takes up to 20 sheets of photo paper, while the manual feed slot accepts photo paper up to 356mm (14”) wide and heavier fine art papers. The Canon Pixma PRO-1 will be available from November 2011, priced at £799/€899/$999.99.

Nik Software has released Snapseed 1.3 for iOS. This version adds support for a number of languages including English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese; and includes new filters for detail sharpening and miniature effects, Snapseed 1.3 also supports direct image sharing on Twitter and adds compatibility with iOS 5. Priced at €3.99 / $4.99, Snapseed is available now on iTunes.

Getty Images has announced that its Flickr Collection has grown to 250,000 images, “The Flickr collection has proved a massive success for us in our aim to bring a different and a varied range of imagery to the marketplace,” explained Andrew Saunders, Getty Images SVP of Creative.  “For us, the 250,000 image milestone emphasizes how dynamic and engaged our Flickr community of contributors truly is and we continue to be thrilled by the imagery being creating for this real life collection.”

Experience Seminars have launched their 2011 Christmas DVD catalogue containing the full range of our popular training DVDs. As well as training DVDs on all the popular cameras within Canon’s EOS range, there’s an increasing number of technique DVDs applicable to all DSLR users.The Christmas catalogue contains special offers on all the DVDs with free postage and handling up to Christmas. The catalogue can be downloaded from the website below.

Messages From Tahrir is a new book of photographs collected by Karima Khalil, a doctor living in Egypt who witnessed first hand the uprisings in Tahrir Square in Egypt. In a collection of her own photogtraphy as well as the images of 36 other photographers who were found via Twitter, Facebook and Flickr; the book gives a unique, intimate and powerful account of the uprising which led to the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak. Karima Khalil will be in conversation with writer and broadcaster Anthony Sattin on Tuesday 22 November at the Nour Festival at Leighton House.

Blackstone, one of the world’s leading investment and advisory firms, indirectly through a holding company, a 44% minority stake in Leica, to support the latter’s international growth plans. Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Leica commented on the transaction: “With Blackstone we have gained an experienced and internationally established strategic partner, which also understands and appreciates the established brand philosophy and business model of Leica. Following the successful turnaround of the business and record sales last year, we are now focused on the continued development of the brand, its products and our growth plans into new markets such as Asia, South America and the Middle East.”

Intro 2020, the UK distributor and importer of Phottix photo accessories, has announced the availability of a range of new products. The new line-up includes a handheld reflector/diffuser, a radio trigger set and a remote release that features a full-colour LCD screen for displaying the live view feed coming from the camera. The Phottix 5-in-1 collapsible reflector disc includes the five most popular reflectors used in photography: silver, gold, white, black and translucent; the last of which can also be used as a diffuser. The Phottix Strato II Multi Wireless Trigger Kit for Canon and Nikon cameras comprises a 2.4 GHz transmitter and receiver offering ranges of more than 150 metres and sync speeds of up to 1/250 second (extra receivers are available separately), Finally, the Phottix Hero Live View Remote Set (pictured) provides remote live view on its 2.4” screen and doubles as a regular wireless remote release. Interestingly, the set also works with SLRs that do not feature live view functionality as it includes a small camera that attaches to your SLR’s viewfinder eyepiece.

THK Photo Products has announced the US availability of the new Hoya PRO1 Digital ND32 and ND64 neutral density filters. These filters allow you to use long exposures in strong daylight. The ND32 is a 5-stop neutral density filter, while the ND64 is an even darker filter that allows you to set exposure times that are 6 times longer than would otherwise be possible in the given lighting conditions, at the lowest ISO speed of your camera and your choice of f-stop. THK Photo Products is the US distributor for Tokina lenses, Hoya filters, Kenko photo accessories and SLIK camera support systems.