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)

Canon have pulled out of the Focus on Imaging show with less than two weeks to go. A Canon UK spokesperson confirmed this morning that the company will not be exhibiting at the UK photography show due to a reassessment of its European marketing plans for 2011. They did confirm that retailers at the show will still have stock of Canon’s products for interested buyers to try out and purchase. Canon usually have the largest stand at Focus, so it will be interesting to see who takes their place. Photography Blog will be there as usual with a show report.

The World Photography Festival 2011 runs from the 26th of April to the 1st of May at Somerset House, London. The Festival is set to be an exciting week of workshops, seminars, photo shoots and talks led by the international photography industry such as Bruce Davidson, Francis Hodgson, Tom Stoddart, Yasima Reggad, Foto 8, Panos Pictures, Blurb and iStock. Somerset House will be a hub of photographers sharing their work, learning from the experts and being critiqued. In addition the Sony World Photography Awards Gala Ceremony will take place at the Odeon cinema on Leicester Square in London on Wednesday 27th of April.

The World Photography Festival are offering Photography Blog readers a 10% discount on the price of the festival tickets. To benefit from the discount, please enter the following promotional code MAG10 in the box ‘Gift Voucher’ under the following link: http://bit.ly/h2gavQ

FORMAT 2011, the UK’s leading international festival of contemporary photography and related media, has announced its full programme for its 5th edition. Taking place at various venues in and around Derby, from 4th March until 3rd April, FORMAT 2011 is curated around the resurgence of street photography. The Festival is organised in two strands, FOCUS and EXPOSURE. FOCUS will show curated exhibitions and new commissions by leading international artists, whereas EXPOSURE will feature work by some 50 of the most exciting new photographers from around the world. You can read the programme announcement in its entirety below.

AKVIS has launched ArtWork 5.0, a program that transforms photos into paintings using various techniques. Version 5.0 introduces the Watercolour style, which allows you to convert any image in a watercolour painting.Also new to Version 5.0 are the Post Processing Tools (Smudge and Blur), which are available under the Business and Deluxe licenses. These tools help users improve the results obtained in the Oil and Watercolour styles. Additionally, photos are processed into oil paintings more quicky, and the resulting images are even closer to oil painting than in previous versions.

PSKiss has released a set of cross-camera colour DNG profiles that allows ACR and Lightroom users to apply a colour profile developed for one camera to raw files produced by a different one. For example, you can take a raw file from a Nikon D300 and apply a Leica M8 DNG profile to it for a ‘Leica look’. “Camera makers invest quite a lot of effort to produce pleasing colours for their cameras”, says Max Penson, Co-owner of PSKiss and chief of product development. “For instance, when you buy a Nikon camera you receive a number of colour ‘schemes’ (or colour profiles). Each colour profile is a result of their in interpretation for how colour should appear. With PSKiss Cross Camera Colour DNG Profiles, photographers can apply other camera brand ‘look’ to their RAW images”. Cross Camera Colour DNG Profiles are offered for 9.90$ per camera.

McRoy Digital has chosen Jarcom to distribute its MDRP360 programmable wireless remote pan/tilt 360° camera head to Europe, Middle East, Australia, Asia, & Africa. The MDRP360 is available now and has a number of unique features not found on any other motorised power panner: 433MHz radio controlled 300’ operational range using the remote wireless handset, 2.4GHz wireless monitor so users can see what the camera sees, full 360° rotation with tilt, focus lock and fire buttons, programmable (angle, bracket and time) tour mode for automatic interval shooting through a set number of degrees and McRoy Digital’s unique Express Pan, which allows simple set up to ensure the correct number of shots are automatically taken for panoramic scenes. Priced at £699.95 + VAT, the MDRP360 will be available from Jarcom’s website.

Website: Jarcom

The winners of our fantastic Manfrotto Tripod competition have been announced.

Steve James and Eric Lloyd have each won a Manfrotto 190XPROB Tripod worth £139.95.

Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to everyone who took part.
Stay tuned, as we’ll have another great contest starting on Monday…

Samsung are set to release 5 new lenses for the NX system in 2011. In a presentation attended by a Korean blogger, Samsung also revealed plans for three new NX bodies, a 700mm lens and a GPS module. The full lineup is as follows:

Bodies
NX Classic+ - new model
NX Classic - NX10, NX11, new model
NX Style - NX100, new model

Lenses
18-200mm f/3.5-6.3, designed for movies
16mm f/2.4 pancake
60mm f/2.8 macro
85mm f/1.4
16-80mm f/3.5-4.5, designed for movies

700mm prototype NX lens
GPS module

Website: cleanday82

Mark Wallace has released a new 2-DVD set, Studio Lighting Essentials for Portrait Photography. The DVDs feature more than two hours of step-by-step instructions and more than 20 specific lighting set-ups, all using different types of lights and light modifiers, with clear instruction on what each is and how to use it. Lighting set-ups are shown for simple headshots, fashion, beauty and glamour portraits as well as for high contrast black-and-white images, one-light set-ups for small spaces and even advanced set-ups for large studios. The DVD set is available now for $150 at the website below.

Online video creation service Animoto announced today the “Are you Animoto’s Next Top Photographer?” promotion. On Monday, February 21st – the first day of the Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) 2011 trade show -, the first 100 WPPI attendees to visit the Animoto booth (#1504) and get behind the video camera to talk about what Animoto Pro has meant for their business and for their customers will get a free T-shirt, and one lucky winner will be featured in their own full-page Animoto ad in Rangefinder Magazine. Photographers need not attend WPPI 2011 in order to participate. The first 50 people to send a video discussing the success they’ve had with Animoto Pro will also be in the running for the magazine ad prize. Videos must be uploaded by February 28th to: [email protected].