The 37th issue of the free PhotographyBB Online Magazine is now available for download. This edition, which marks the 3rd anniversary for the magazine, takes readers to the factory of the Jaguar XJ supercar to show them how to take great photographs with limited lighting gear. Also, their portraiture column continues with their series on shooting weddings. Other topics explored in this issue include creating depth in your photos, post-processing to create beautiful black and white images using Lightroom, and a look at social networking options for photographers. PhotographyBB Online Magazine is available now from the website below.

Website: PhotographyBB Online Magazine

special event at the UK’s National Media Museum will give visitors the chance to meet the leading Swedish photographers behind one of the Museum’s current exhibitions – From Back Home. “In Conversation with Anders Petersen and JH Engström” takes place in the Museum’s Cubby Broccoli Cinema between 1pm and 3pm on Tuesday 22 March. Tickets are available for £5. Tutors are eligible for a free ticket when accompanying a group of students.

Lowepro has recently unveiled the CompuDay Photo series, consisting of the CompuDay Photo 250 backpack and CompuDay Photo 150 messenger bag.Dedicated space in both the backpack and messenger bag provide protective storage for a compact DSLR with attached kit lens, up to a 15.6? laptop, plus accessories. The CompuDay Photo 250 backpack features a SlipLock loop on each shoulder strap to expand carrying capacity with any Lowepro SlipLock compatible case or pouch; and a rain-flap lid to provide extra protection from moisture. The CompuDay Photo 150 messenger bag offers distinctive features such as its under-the-flap rain gussets to help protect the main compartment from moisture when fully closed and quick-release buckles for fast access. Both bags are available in black starting 15 March 2011.

The LomoLab is a new film processing lab housed in the basement at the Lomography Gallery Store East London. Offering on-site processing of colour and black-and-white 35mm and 120 format film, including cross processing, push and pull processing, the LomoLab will also provide a scanning service with an option to send scans directly to your LomoHome or email address. Launching on 11th March and open Monday through Friday, the LomoLab is located at 117 Commercial Street, London.

Camtrol is a new stabilising platform for cameras and camcorders, allowing almost endless ways to position your rig. Its patented ergonomic grip, known as the Action Control Grip, has an accessory attachment post which accepts a variety of accessories, while the cushioned platform takes shock away from the camera and reduces vibration. Camtrol comes in a variety of kits and configurations priced from $399.99 to $489.95. Various additional accessories are available for $19.95-$99.00.

On 8th March, Peachpit Photo Club will host a lecture by renowned wildlife photographer Moose Peterson. Taking the form of a free webcast, the lecture will air at 8pm EST (advance registration is required). During the one-hour lesson, Moose Peterson will share some of his wildlife photography secrets and tell the stories behind his iconic images.

The Sony Microvault Style is a new ultra-compact USB flash drive. Available from March in capacities of 4GB, 8GB and 16GB, the Sony Microvault Style comes in a choice of white, pink and lime green. The smart new ‘capless’ design slides straight into your PC’s USB port and ensures a perfect fit for reliable storage and data transfer, the company says. Registered Microvault Style owners are entitled to free software downloads including File Rescue - a program that recovers accidentally damaged or deleted files - and x-Pict Story, an application for creating slideshows.

Sony has announced a new 1/2.3 type imaging chip that can capture 12-megapixel still images at up to 42 frames per second. The Sony IMX078CQK imager is a 12.40-megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor developed for consumer digital still cameras. “The IMX078CQK achieves still imaging with both high sensitivity and high resolution as well as full HD video imaging,” Sony says. Furthermore, it will expand the possibilities for expressive imaging provided by digital still cameras.” Given the small, 1.55 ?m pixel pitch we are a bit doubtful about the sensor’s performance in the noise department, but we’ll reserve judgment until the chip appears in an actual product.

Source: Sony.NET via 1001NoisyCameras

Calling all photography fans! Have you heard about the Samsung Wave II?  It’s a sleek new smartphone with an AMAZING camera. And we have 3 to give away to you lucky people!*

The Samsung Wave II camera comes with a cool creative editing suite so you can turn any standard snap into a masterpiece, or make your photos even brighter by using its colour boost function.

To celebrate the launch of the Wave II, Samsung is inviting you to share a photo of your ‘now’ by visiting its Now Project Facebook page. You can try the editing suite out for yourself to beautify a pic of a moment that signifies your present, and upload it to an online gallery hosted on the site. The likes of [influencer] have already uploaded their favourite snaps and we want to see yours up there too!

If it’s really good, there’s a chance it might even be one of the best 50 photos displayed at an exclusive exhibition Samsung is hosting at the London Design Museum on 24th March. You need to be quick though - entries must be submitted by 28th February.

To be in with a chance of winning a Samsung Wave II phone, all you need to do is answer this simple question.
Click here to get some help with the answer.
You must also enter your name and email address.

For more details visit www.facebook.com/SamsungUK

The contest closes at 12 midday GMT on Monday 28th February 2011 - good luck!

*This contest is only open to UK residents.

Stealth Gear is launching a range of gloves for professional outdoor photographers in the UK. “During our market research we found that very few outlets both online and on the high-street offered photographers gloves which have been designed by the professionals,” says Craig Derbyshire, managing director of Stealth Gear. “We have worked closely with a range of photographers and we have taken on board their feedback, so we are expecting them to be extremely popular.” Priced at £39.95, the Stealth Gear photographers’ gloves are claimed to give photographers the right balance between warmth and camera control.

Pixolution GmbH has released visolu 1.2.1 for the Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. The app offers unique photo searching, sorting and finding technology that gives users an easy way to very quickly locate specific photos in their albums. Users are, with the mere tap of a button, able to view thousands of photos simultaneously in a wrapped map, grid or columned list view. Visolu 1.2.1 costs $0.99 and is available now on the App Store.

Building on the Ten Golden Rules of Lomography, the Lomographic Society has announced its Ten Prophecies for the Analogue Future. In line with the Society’s slogan, “The Future is Analogue”, the ten “prophecies” - some of which sound more like light-hearted advices to new and old Lomography fans - form the basis of a new Lomography competition / promotion.

Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) and the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) have announced a new five-year partnership. Under the agreement, the Society will host major annual exhibitions of the awards’ travel photography supported by an ongoing programme of workshops and events. The first free exhibition will run from May 6th to June 10th, 2011. Held in the Society’s modern glassfronted Pavilion at the heart of London’s cultural quarter in Kensington, it will feature winning shots from the 2010 International Travel Photographer of the Year awards.

At an annual convention held in Zaragoza, Spain, Sony unveiled its plans to put semitransparent mirrors in all future Sony Alpha camera models. In our understanding this means that there will be no more conventional SLR cameras to feature the Sony badge, and every Sony Alpha model - be it entry level, mid-range or high end - will be an “SLT” like the current A33 and A55.

Source: Quesabesde

Review: Read our in-depth review of the Sony Alpha A33 SLT camera
Review: Read our in-depth review of the Sony Alpha A55 SLT camera

Nikon has posted an update to its View NX software. Version 2.1.1 fixes a bug that prevented display of images scanned in NEF format with the Nikon Coolscan V film scanner (pictured), and resolves a couple of further issues with the Windows and Mac versions of the software. View NX 2.1.1 can be downloaded from the website below.

Website: Nikon View NX

MacPhun has released a free update to its FX Photo Studio HD iPad app. The update adds 53 new photo processing effects and a completely customisable interface that allows users to label their most often used effects as favourites, save combinations of effects into presets, and share images and presets via social networking sites and e-mail.  Individual effects themselves can also be adjusted for deeper customisation. The update is free to existing users, while the app itself is $2.99 on the App Store.

Canon UK has issued a notice to Canon users regarding AF operation with certain camera-lens combinations. Specifically, those using the Canon EOS 7D, 40D, 50D or 60D camera with one of the lenses below may find that the peripheral AF points work as line sensors rather than cross sensors, and are therefore sensitive to vertical OR horizontal detail only, but not both at the same time. Normally, if you use any EF or EF-S lens with a maximum aperture of f/5.6 or faster, all AF points on these cameras should work as cross-type AF points, but this does not apply to the lenses listed below. These are quite old lenses - all of them were released between 1990 and 1995.

The new “Little Big Disk” from LaCie is the first in a range of storage and peripherals solutions from LaCie that feature the all-new Thunderbolt technology, developed by Intel and brought to market in collaboration with Apple. Promising ultra-fast data transfer speeds and “workstation-class” power and functionality in compact devices, Thunderbolt technology allows faster content editing than ever before, and facilitates complete system backups in minutes. Available by summer 2011 from the LaCie Online Store, the LaCie Little Big Disk takes advantage of this technology to store and back up large video files and entire photo galleries.