During the NAB Show in Las Vegas from April 9-14, 2011, Carl Zeiss will introduce an attractive bundled lens set for its SLR lenses. The set contains the following lenses with F (ZF.2) or EF bayonet (ZE): Distagon T* 2,8/21, Distagon T* 2/28, Distagon T* 2/35, Planar T* 1,4/50 and Planar T* 1,4/85. The five lenses come in a special waterproof case (IP67), custom-made for this set. A special inlay ensures that each lens fits perfectly inside the suitcase and protects the lenses from shock and vibration. The new SLR lens set will be offered at a recommended retail price of €4562 excluding VAT, and will be available starting May.

The Seagate GoFlex Slim drive, billed as the world’s slimmest portable external hard drive, is now available through the manufacturer’s website and at retail. Equipped with a 7200RPM drive and a USB3.0 interface, this 9mm thin, 2.5” drive has a storage capacity of 320GB, and allows for use on both Windows and Mac computers, interchangeably, without formatting or performance loss. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price is $99.99.

TLPro’s “Stage Zero” is an affordable time-lapse photography solution that combines a motion rail of up to 2 metres in length with a controller for precision movement and triggering your camera. The rail system can be mounted on any standard tripod, while the controller supports “all popular makes and models of camera”, the company says. Moreover, the controller is fully user upgradeable via USB with built-in support for a secondary axis motion system due for release as an upgrade later this year. The “Stage Zero” system has a complete series of training videos featuring how to setup, operate, and finally produce time-lapse videos and is priced at £699.

HolgaDirect has launched an updated version of its popular Holga Lens for Canon and Nikon DSLR cameras. This is a low-cost plastic 60mm f/8 lens which, once mounted to a Canon or Nikon digital SLR camera, enables digital photographers to closely reproduce the characteristic Holga look associated with Holga medium-format film cameras. The updated version has soft-focus properties and produces more Holga-like vignetting. Several conversion lenses including the Holga Wide Angle Lens, Holga Telephoto Lens, Holga Close-Up Lenses and Holga Macro Lenses can be added for more creative effects. The Holga Lens for digital SLR cameras is available in Canon and Nikon fit at a price of $24.99. Pricing for the add-on conversion lenses ranges from $13.99 to $16.99.

Adore Noir is a new fine art photography magazine available exclusively in digital format. The first, 97-page issue features high-quality black-and-white photography by “six photographers with six very unique styles”, says editor Chris Kovács. The six photographers include Dominic Rouse, Scott Speck, Richard Vanek, Patrick Gonzales, Steve Gosling and Carolyn Hampton. The photographs are accompanied by a variety of articles, essays and interviews. Adore Noir can be downloaded as a PDF for $2.95 from the website below.

Website: Adore Noir

Lowepro today announced the launch of a new shoulder bag series, the ILC Classic; purpose-built to address the growing number of photographers with compact system cameras. The ILC Classic 50 fits a camera with its attached kit lens and a spare memory card. The ILC Classic 100 (pictured) fits the camera with lens, plus an additional lens and flash and two extra memory cards. Both shoulder bags are available in black.

White Knight Press has announced a new guidebook with the title, “Photographer’s Guide to the Canon PowerShot S95”. It explains all operations, features, menus, and controls of the camera in clear language, providing guidance not only about how to accomplish things with the camera, but when and why to use certain features.The book’s more than 170 colour photographs provide illustrations of the camera’s controls and menus, and also include examples of the various types of photographs that can be taken using the many creative settings available. Available now as a PDF e-book for $9.95, the “Photographer’s Guide to the Canon PowerShot S95” will also be sold as a 256-page paperback for $24.95.

Flip Video has announced an update to its FlipShare software, and launched a suite of FlipShare Mobile apps for Android, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The FlipShare software, which comes with every Flip video camera, now has enhanced video sharing capabilities - including FlipShare Groups, a new and social way for consumers to share video more securely. The mobile apps allow users to share up to five mobile videos and/or photos at once to Facebook, YouTube or Twitter, post a comment with the click of a button, and include a set of built-in filters let users quickly navigate and organise their video library.

The winners of the March 2011 Photography Blog Competition have been announced. The theme for March was “Weddings” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 5 winners:

1st Place
Happy Bride by Isabelle Bouvier-Whittaker

Prize: X-Rite ColourChecker Passport
Kindly donated by X-Rite
http://www.xritephoto.com/

It’s 1 April today, and some companies are issuing mock press releases in celebration of April Fool’s Day - here are some we have found entertaining. Lomography has announced that they are launching their first-ever official iPhone app - there’s even a ‘Buy Now in Apps Store’ button on the app’s home page that actually works (well, in a way…). Then we got word of a cartridge with a flexible sensor that can be inserted in any old 35mm film camera to give it a new life in the digital age - we actually wish this one was for real! Our favourite was perhaps 1001NoisyCamera’s announcement that it had just been bought by AOL and subsequently renamed The Noisyngton Post…

X-Rite has announced three free webinars that have been developed to address specific colour management topics. On 7th April, photographers can learn how to reduce their image processing time and improve quality control in their raw workflow by attending the RAW COLOUR POWER webinar at 1pm or 3p EDT. Wednesday, 13th April will see wildlife and nature photographer Juan Pons deliver a lecture on wildlife photography in colour (at 1pm EDT). The third webinar, Beyond Monitor Calibration, will take place on 21st April at 1pm and 3pm. Advance registration is required through the website below.

Snappix has been updated to Version 1.1. This iPhone app allows you to take four shots with the camera in quick succession, combine them into a single frame, and e-mail them to friends or send them to Facebook, Twitter or img.ly directly without leaving the app. The update brings about faster image capture, location tagging of images for display on a map, a different display and selection of thumbnails, and more. Snappix is available through the iTunes App Store for $0.99.

Iridient Digital has released a major update to Iridient Raw Developer. Version 1.9.1 includes support for several new camera models including the Fujifilm Finepix X100 (read review), F550EXR and HS20EXR (HS22EXR). It also brings about faster scrolling through thumbnails of Pentax PEF files, and adds several new keyboard shortcuts for zooming and navigating around the image preview.

Galerie Huit Open Salon 2011 is an open international photography competition designed to promote new work by talented artists, enabling them to exhibit during the ‘Les Rencontres d’Arles’ festival. The closing date for submissions is 1 May 2011; the festival will take place from 4th July until 18th September. The theme of the competition and exhibition is Transience. Note that entry fees apply, as outlined in the announcement below.

British music producer Bibio has partnered up with Lomography for a project that celebrates the release of his new album, ‘Mind Bokeh’. The idea of bokeh is infused throughout the kaleidoscopic new album – particularly in the sound and artwork. In Bibio’s own words; “I’m a lover of photography so I discovered the word bokeh through a photographer friend. The word sounded unusual in itself which attracted me, but I liked the idea of applying its context to something other than photography.” His Lomography collaboration starts with a series of his shots using Lomography’s Diana F+ camera and equipment, and a guide to achieving the bokeh effect on film. For more information on the project, follow the link below.

According to Sony’s Japanese website, the Sony SLT-A33 digital camera has been discontinued. Given that the A33 was announced in August 2010, it’s had a rather short lifespan of only seven months. The eagle-eyed Arturo Fukuda of FotoActualidad, who spotted the notice, speculates that a replacement might be imminent.

Source: Sony Japan via FotoActualidad

Special thanks to Mr Arturo Fukuda for calling our attention to this piece of news.

Tamron USA has just launched MyPhotoExhibits, an innovative way for photographers looking to showcase their favourite images in a unique, free online venue. Photographers simply set up a user avatar and bio, upload their favourite high-resolution images, and create a personalised exhibit space with a three-dimensional effect. After organising the exhibit and captioning the photographs, users can put the finishing touches on their exhibit space, choosing from a variety of gallery spaces (wall and floor textures and colours), photo frames, furniture, and lighting options.