MOO, an online printing company, is showcasing its products for photographers at WPPI in Las Vegas. These include business cards, postcards, greeting cards, MiniCards, StickerBooks and more. Using the company’s Printfinity technology, photographers can quickly and easily import their digital images to MOO to create printed materials, each customised with a different image, that marry style with high-impact content. During WPPI, the company is also unveiling deals on a variety of products and services, to include an all-inclusive product discount, free shipping on print products and a free gift with a select purchase. All who would like to learn more about MOO and take advantage of the company’s limited-time offers are encouraged to visit MOO at booth #1246.

Raising over £325,000, last week’s Charity Auction for The Photographers’ Gallery was a great success, the Gallery said in a statement. Held on Thursday, 17 February 2011, at Christie’s South Kensington, the fundraising event consisted of a Live and Silent Auction comprising 70 lots in total, including works by Helmut Newton, Tracey Emin, Mario Testino and Sebastiao Salgado. All proceeds from the Auction go towards the Gallery’s ongoing capital campaign to build a new photography gallery at Ramillies Street, just off Oxford Street, in the heart of London’s West End.

Self-Portrait Photography: The Ultimate in Personal Expression is a new book authored by Natalie Dybisz, also known as “Miss Aniela”. Published by Pixiq, this 176-page book offers valuable tips and advice for aspiring photographers on how to go about photographing themselves, detailed tutorials that answer the technical and practical challenges of self-portrait photography, advice on how to choose the proper equipment and different processing techniques to help create different looks. Available next month, the book sells for $29.95 in the USA and $35.95 in Canada.

Sony Japan have listed the NEX-3 compact system cameras as discontinued. The eagle-eyed website Foto Actualidad have spotted the update on the Japanese NEX-3 product page. The NEX-3 was launched in May 2010. In related news, Bloomberg are reporting that Sony are planning the “introduction of new models” as they seek 15% market share for cameras with interchangeable lenses, an aggressive increase of 5%.

Hasselblad introduces the Phocus family of software products - Phocus 2.6, Phocus Quick and Phocus Mobile. Phocus 2.6 is Hasselblad’s powerful, easy-to-use imaging software. Phocus Quick offers a semi-automated solution to importing and processing raw files. Phocus Mobile is a free imaging app for iPads and iPhones.

The Overboard SLR Camera Bag is a 100% waterproof bag for an SLR camera. This tough and durable bag is 100 per cent waterproof and protects an SLR camera against dust, knocks or even a quick submersion. The OverBoard SLR Camera Bag has a roll-top fastening system, fully welded seamsan internal lining to further protect the camera, and a useful elasticated mesh accessories pocket. The OverBoard SLR Camera Bag costs £21.49.

Phase One has announced its first two Digital Artist Series workshops for 2011. These workshops feature high quality, low student-to-instructor ratios, all-inclusive accommodations, and the personal use of a 60.5 megapixel P65+ medium format digital camera, plus access to a range of lenses. The first Phase One Digital Artist Series workshop will be held April 3-8 in Death Valley. Instructors are Guy Mancuso, Tim Wolcott, and Jeff Schewe. Class is limited to 25 participants. Cost is $5,200.00.

Juicy Bits today Halftone 1.0, their new vintage effects app for iOS devices. The new application aged halftone-style printing effect to photos to give them a unique, vintage look. With nine paper styles, nine built-in layouts, two caption styles, and the ability to choose a font, photos can be customised, then saved to the photo album, sent via e-mail, and shared with friends on Facebook. Halftone is available on the App Store for $0.99.

Danish photographer Jonas Krøyer took the lens, shutter, rail and bellows from a vintage Zeiss Ikon Ikonette folding camera (manufactured from 1929 to 1931) and turned it into a DSLR lens. After detaching the bellows from the camera body, Krøyer made an adapter that allows the lens to be mounted on any Nikon SLR. The original shutter is kept open continuously with the help of a spring from a ballpoint pen, so it’s the camera’s own shutter that controls exposure time. The lens offers three aperture settings, f/9, f/16 and f/32. Focusing is done by sliding the lens back and forth on the rail, as typical of a bellows lens. For more information and a selection of sample images, head to the photographer’s website.

Samyang has announced on its Facebook page that the new Samyang 35mm f/1.4 AS UMC manual-focus lens will start shipping next month. Replying to a question raised by a fan, Samyang said that copies of the lens from a limited production run “will be available at the beginning of March”, and added that mass-produced copies “will be on sale at the end of March”. The Samyang 35mm f/1.4 AS UMC will be available in Canon EF, Four Thirds, Nikon F, Pentax, Samsung NX and Sony fit.

Via PR

Jacobs Digital have released details about their special show offers for Focus 2011. Highlights include discounts on the Panasonic GH2 and GF2, Sony A55 and NEX5, and the debut of the Canon EOS 600D. Jacobs are also the only official Pentax partner at Focus on Imaging.

Casio are releasing a new firmware update for the EX-H20G camera on February 24th. Originally logging GPS data for 7 days, the new firmware has extended this to 14 days, meaning that it will now be possible to keep a record of a longer duration of trip. The firmware also fixes minor issues found in some GPS functions.

Ricoh have released a new firmware update for the G700SE camera. Version 1.6 includes the following changes:

1. Added Folder naming options
2. Added the option for Show Folder at startup
3. Added Folder playback option
4. Corrected the phenomenon that the camera may not recognize the GP-1 (optional GPS unit) properly.

Website: Ricoh

Burrard-Lucas Photography has launched a new pet photo contest. This competition is open to participants worldwide and the submission deadline is 11 May 2011.There is no entry fee, and each entrant can submit a maximum of three images. Entrants will retain copyright of their entries at all times and will always be credited alongside their pictures. Prizes to win include a Canon EOS 60D, a Lensbaby Composer portrait kit and one of two Lensbaby Muses.

Website: Pet Portraits Competition

The shortlist for the 2011 Sony World Photography Awards Student Focus contest has been announced. Open to universities worldwide that hold a photography programme, Student Focus has attracted entries from over 200 institutions in 2011. Ten burgeoning photographers from each of the shortlisted institutions have now been chosen to take part in the final competition. They include Linda Varoma, Juliette Martin, Louis Boulet, Nicol Vizioli, Nady Gorodetskaya, Rory Gardiner, Jonno Rattman, Frank Marshall, Tushikur Rahman and Juan Troncoso (whose picture you can see above). The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony in London on 27 April 2011.

Kodak has just announced the new Kodak Professional Portra 160 film. Offering “a significantly finer grain structure in a 160-speed colour negative film”, the new Kodak Professional Portra 160 incorporates the manufacturer’s Advanced Cubic Emulsions, Kodak Vision Film Technology and Antenna Dye Sensitisation in the magenta emulsion layers. Distinguished by a wide latitude and a very natural rendering of skin tones, the new film is also claimed to scan extremely well for digital postprocessing. Replacing the current Portra 160NC and VC offerings, the new Kodak Professional Portra 160 film will be available in 35mm, 120/220, 4x5 and 8x10 sheet format, beginning next month.

Corel has just released Corel VideoStudio Pro X4. This latest version offers new time-lapse tools and new capabilities that make it easy to create a 3D look from your 2D videos. In addition, VideoStudio Pro X4 is optimised for second-genration Intel Core and AMD Fusion processors, while offering the unique Smart Proxy feature for users who may not have the latest hardware as well as support for CUDA, GPU acceleration to provide quick and responsive editing. Corel VideoStudio Pro X4 is available now in English, German, French, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Polish and Russian at the SRP of £79.99 including VAT.

NIX has launched a range of Motion-Sensing Digital Picture Frames that automatically turn on when you’re there, and off when you’re not. Available in 8” and 12” sizes, these Hu-Motion (Human Motion) frames require no operation beyond the set up. Both versions feature 800x600-pixel LED backlit LCD screens and 2BG of internal storage plus slots for SD and xD memory cards and Memory Sticks. The 8” model additionally comes with a rechargeable battery that provides enough power for 3 hours of continuous use. The Hu-Motion frames are available from the websites below.

Samsung have officially unveiled 5 new NX lenses for 2011. They include a 18-200mm multi-purpose telephoto zoom, 16mm ultra wide pancake, 60mm macro, 85mm ultra bright portrait and 16-80mm standard zoom. All of the lenses are compatible with Samsung’s unique i-Function system. Here is the full list:

18-200mm F3.5-6.3 ED OIS (May)
16mm F2.4 (July)
60mm F2.8 Macro ED OIS SSA (August)
85mm F1.4 ED SSA (October)
16-80mm F3.5-4.5 OIS (December)