In a surprise announcement made today, Cisco unveiled that it is closing down its Flip camcorder business as part of a major restructuring project. The news comes only a week after the company announced an update to its FlipShare software and launched a suite of FlipMobile apps for Android and iOS devices. Promising to “support current FlipShare customers and partners with a transition plan”, Cisco says it will “realign the remaining consumer business” in an effort to focus on its five key company priorities.

Swann Security has launched the Swann DVR-460 SportsCam, a small, standard-definition (VGA) camcorder that ships with a proprietary waterproof case and a myriad of mounting accessories. Video is recorded in AVI format to (optional) MicroSD cards, while the camcorder’s proprietary battery can be charged via the supplied USB cable. The SportsCam is available now at SRP £99.99.

Think Tank Photo has announced a camera bag that accommodates one standard size DSLR camera with one to three lenses, or a complete Micro Four Thirds or rangefinder camera system. Scheduled to go on sale in May 2011, the soft, fkexible and lightweight Think Tank Retrospective 5 shoulder bag sports a strap featuring cushioned non-slip pad for long-term comfort, a convenient carrying handle for quick transport and a seam-sealed rain cover. Priced at $129.75, the Think Tank Retrospective 5 measures 25.5x21.5x15cm and weighs in at 1kg.

The Eye-Fi Mobile X2 is an 8GB SDHC memory card that provides instant uploads anywhere by wirelessly connecting the camera to a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet. The card will be available for pre-orders immediately on Amazon.com, and available at Apple and Best Buy stores across the U.S.A. for $79.99 on 17th April. Owners of other Eye-Fi X2 cards will benefit from Eye-Fi’s Direct Mode, scheduled for release later this week, which empowers the cards to establish a direct connection to a mobile device by creating their own Wi-Fi network anywhere. The launch of Direct Mode will be accompanied by new Android and iOS apps that enable smartphones and tablets to receive files sent from an Eye-Fi X2 memory card. Direct Mode and the accompanying apps are offered as free upgrades to every Eye-Fi X2 card.

This year’s judges have chosen Hungarian photographer Tamás Dezs? as the overall winner of The Center Awards. The awards, now in their 16th year, offer support and exposure via a photographic career hallmark, an exhibition at the New Mexico Museum of Art, $5,000 cash award, publication in Fraction magazine, tuition to the Santa Fe Workshops, printing services from Singer Editions and more. Tamás’ project, “Here, Anywhere”, which documents a slowly changing country in the heart of Europe, has convinced the jury with its clear concept and unique style. For more work by the winning photographer, visit his website by following the link below.

Canon is exhibiting a wide range of products at the 2011 NAB Show, booth # C-4325. Included in the booth’s exhibit will be Canon’s new PL-mount lenses, a new portable 20x HD zoom with a built-in extender (pictured), the company’s robotic pan-tilt HD cameras, the new Canon XA10 professional camcorder, XF300-series and XF100-series professional camcorders, EOS DSLR cameras, the REALiS WUX4000 Installation LCOS projector, and large-format imagePROGRAF printers.  Also on display during the show will be the new Technicolor CineStyle for the Canon 5D Mark II, a custom picture style which provides cinematographers with the image latitude for digital intermediate colour-grading and delivery.

Manfrotto School of Xcellence has announced that it has enrolled photographer Michael Freeman and CEO of Kelby Media Group, Scott Kelby to create an inspiring photo educational programme. weekly tutorial by Michael Freeman will present practical photographic expertise in areas like colour management and composition, while a monthly video tutorial by Kelby Media Group will focus on providing easy tips and photography tricks for beginners.

Toshiba has announced two new camcorders with Full HD capability: the Camileo B10 and the Camileo P100. The Toshiba Camileo B10 is a neat, robust yet lightweight and pocket sized camcorder that can be kept close at hand for spontaneous shots, while the Toshiba Camileo P100 is a more advanced model with 5x optical and 8x “advanced” zoom. The B10 features a 5-megapixel CMOS sensor, while the P100 has an 8-megapixel one. Thanks to their high-resolution imagers, both can capture stills in addition to recording Full HD video footage. Furthermore, both devices are SDXC compliant, and each features an Upload Button, which allows easy uploading of videos to social networks.

Getty Images has announced that entries are now open for the 2011 Grants for Editorial Photography programme. First established in 2004, the Grants for Editorial Photography provides five grants of $20,000 each to provide photojournalists with the funding to pursue projects of personal and journalistic significance. Grants will be awarded by independent judges, including Jon Jones, Emanuela Mirabelli, Cyril Drouhet, Tom Stoddart and Jean-Francois Leroy. For further information, visit the website below.

Canadian training developer Infinite Skills has released a comprehensive Photoshop course specialising in photo editing and optimisation. Their Adobe Photoshop CS5 tutorial ($99.95) is a 10.5 hour course for Apple Macintosh users, which is now available on DVD-ROM and as a direct download from the company website. The course includes lessons on skills such as colour correction, how to remove unwanted objects from images, dodging and burning, camera raw, photo restoration, HDR effects, how to create panoramas, whitening teeth, image sharpening and even tips on creating better shots with a digital camera. While the videos feature Adobe Photoshop CS5, the lessons also explain how the same results can be achieved in older versions. There are 138 tutorials in total, 20 of which can also be accessed free of charge at the company’s website.

Lomography has just announced the LomoKorrespondent product family, a new line of photo stationery that includes a variety of photo frames, albums and greeting cards. JourneyFrames come in four different sizes, including 10x10cm, 13x13cm, 9x13cm and 10x15cm. Each JourneyFrame is available in a pack of three, selling at €4.90. PhotoAccordions (€8.90-€12.90) are essentially photo albums that fold and unfold like an accordion, while ChapBooks (€9.90) are more traditional photo albums featuring an embossed soft cover and visible stitching line on the spine. Finally Freundschaftskarten, or “friendship cards”, come in sets for 9x13cm and 10x15cm photos, and retail for €6.90 in The Lomography Store.

The 48th Bièvres International Photographic Fair at will open at 2pm on Saturday, 4th June. As every year, this outstanding event of the photographic world will bring together 300 traders and 15000 visitors from France, Europe and the world at large, in an open space of 5 acres. Traders and artists may register now and book their booth through the fair’s website. The show closes at 6pm on Sunday, 5th June.

Jane Hilton’s book, “Dead Eagle Trail”, which contains a collection of her portraits of 21st-century American cowboys, will be launched in the US at Nailya Alexander Gallery on 25th May. The book launch coincides with the opening of her solo show at the Gallery, which will run until 8th July. The title of her book and exhibition refers to her discovery of a dead Golden Eagle in the middle of the road in Nevada. The experience inspired her to document and explore one of the most iconic, romantic archetypes of American culture and history, the cowboy and his way of life. However, unlike previous expositions of the American West, Hilton’s subjects are photographed within their own personal environments, surrounded by their collections of artifacts and memorabilia. Nailya Alexander Gallery is located at 41E 57th Street, Suite 704, New York. The exhibition opens on 25th May, with a book signing taking place from 6.30 – 9.00 p.m. the next day.

pson Print Academy is offering four new photography, printing and imaging classes for 2011. Hosted at Epson’s headquarters in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire from April 2011, with the potential for additional classes to run at the Epson cartridge manufacturing factory in Telford, the classes will provide real-life practical advice on image capture through to print, with expert guidance from highly-knowledgeable Epson staff and acclaimed photographers, the company says. Click through / read on to learn more about the individual classes, entitled “The Perfect Black and White Print”, “Making Perfect Exhibition Prints”, “Confidence with Colour” and “Fine Art Photography”.

The Panasonic GH2 Guidebook is a new camera training course created by Apple Certified Pro instructor Noah Kadner. Available as a digital download, the Panasonic GH2 Guidebook features original content broken down into learning modules with interactive demonstrations and easy to understand, real-world examples. The course focuses on the use of this DSLR-like compact system camera as a filmmaking tool. It can be purchased directly from the publisher for $34.99 through the website below.

Adobe today announced the new Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 product line. This launch marks a major change to Adobe’s product release strategy for Creative Suite, with the company now planning to have milestone Creative Suite product introductions at 24-month intervals and – starting with Creative Suite 5.5 – significant mid-cycle releases designed to “keep the worldwide creative community ahead of the latest advances in content authoring”. From a photographer’s point of view, the most important news related to the CS 5.5 release is the introduction of a new Adobe Photoshop Touch SDK, which enables developers to build tablet applications that interact with Photoshop from Android, BlackBerry PlayBook and iOS devices. Adobe also announced three new iPad applications that demonstrate the creative possibilities of using tablets to drive common Photoshop workflows – Adobe Color Lava for Photoshop, Adobe Eazel for Photoshop and Adobe Nav for Photoshop.

The Adobe Photoshop Touch Software Development Kit allows software developers worldwide to create mobile and tablet applications that interact with Adobe Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop CS5 Extended. “Our research shows that creatives are adopting tablets faster than any other group and we heard loud and clear that they want to use their devices to interact with Photoshop, the tool they depend on most of all,” said John Loiacono, senior vice president and general manager, Digital Media Solutions, Adobe. Using the software development kit, Adobe has developed three initial Photoshop CS5 companion apps for Apple iPad: Adobe Color Lava for Photoshop, Adobe Eazel for Photoshop and Adobe Nav for Photoshop. The apps are designed to enable users to create custom colour swatches, paint and drive popular Photoshop tools from tablet devices. All three are expected to be available from early May on the iTunes App Store.