In 2010, the global digital camera market grew by a healthy 14.7% after contracting by 11.6% in 2009 due to the world economic crisis. Shipments of compact digicams increased by 13.2% versus the previous year, easily exceeding CIPA’s modest forecast of 3%. System camera shipments - including DSLRs, CSCs and interchangeable-unit cameras - grew by a whopping 30.0% (again exceeding the CIPA forecast of 11.1%). The market of photographic lenses expanded by 34.8% in terms of volume. For 2011, CIPA forecasts a total market growth of 7.8%.

Canon has issued a statement in which the Japanese giant congratulates Jodi Bieber for winning the World Press Photo of the Year award with her portrait of Bibi Aisha, a brutally mutilated Afghan girl. For her winning image, Jodi Bieber will receive a cash prize of €10,000 and a Canon EOS body and lens kit. Ms. Bieber’s photo also took the first place in the Portraits category, while the first prize in the Spot News category went to Hungary’s Péter Lakatos for his entry, “Suicide Jump”.

Earth’s Beauty Tourshas announced a new photographic workshop in the areas of Inverpolly & Assynt,Scotland. The Inverpolly National Nature Reserve is a vast area of heather and grass moorland dotted with lochs and rocky peaks in the north-west of Scotland. The workshop costs £850, including six nights full board accommodation on a non sharing basis and with no single supplement (those willing to share get a £70 discount). The course starts on 6 February 2012.

International Garden Photographer of the Year (IGPOTY) has announced a photographic partnership with the National Trust. In conjunction with this, the 2011 competition sees the introduction of a new category, called ‘Breathing Spaces’ - intended to be a “celebration of the natural world as a place for people to relax, have fun and find inspiration”. Chris Lacey, the National Trust’s Photographic Manager, said. “International Garden Photographer of the Year is a great success story and the National Trust is delighted to be working together with the organisers. We are always trying to encourage our visitors to enjoy what our gardens and landscapes can offer and photography can be a huge part of that for most people. I hope that everyone who takes part has a truly inspired experience and I very much look forward to seeing the resulting imagery!” The 2011 competition launches on 1st March.

RangeFinderImages.com is a free online gallery for sharing photos captured with rangefinder cameras. Founded by rangefinderforum creator Jorge Torralba, the new website - just like its sister sites, LeicaImages.com and ZeissImages.com - lets visitors search for photos taken with a specific model lens, camera, focal length or any other combination. For photographers, the RangeFinderImages website provides a batch editing function that allows them to select many photos from their gallery and edit them all together. “We believe that RangeFinderImages.com can serve as a premiere website for sharing your photos taken with a rangefinder,” Torralba says. “As far as forums go, Rangefinderimages.com can provide a community for interaction where the photo is the starting point of a discussion.”

Website: RangeFinder Images

Futuresource Consulting recently carried out consumer research into photo-sharing habits in the UK, Germany and France. According to the results, the vast majority - around 90% - of camera / cameraphone owners across the three countries share at least some of their images with friends and family. Respondents use a wide variety of methods to share their images, with females more likely to be sharing than males. The main method of sharing for French and German respondents was via laptop or desktop PC, while UK respondents mainly shared using websites and e-mail.

Ricoh has released firmware updates for its GXR camera body and interchangeable modules. Version 1.13 includes the following updates and bug fixes:

• In [A] mode, with configured AE lock and AE bracket; the shutter speed recorded in the captured image may be different from the actual shutter speed.
• Corrects the phenomenon when an Eye-Fi card is inserted in the camera and it turns on the power, it will take time to start up, or the camera will not start.
• Only with Simplified Chinese (language setting in the camera): When you adjust exposure, a number shown in the right side of the exposure compensation slider in the screen may not show a proper number.
• When using the GXR camera unit with the GR LENS A12 28mm F2.5 module, pressing down the Macro button causes the focus ring movement to become faster.

Website: Ricoh GXR Firmware

DxO Optics Pro v6.5.4 adds support for the Olympus E-PL2, Panasonic LX5 and Sony A580, and 69 new DxO Optics modules. DxO Optics Pro Standard edition costs $169 / 149 € / £ 99, and the Elite edition $299 / 299 € / £ 199. All customers who purchased DxO Optics Pro since June 1st, 2009 are entitled to a free upgrade to version 6.5.4.

Cinematographer and Canon Explorer of Light, Gale Tattersall, has announced a new series of HD DSLR masterclasses. Tattersall’s earlier workshops have been touted as “the most hands on HD DSLR Workshops around,” and are regarded as having the highest student to instructor ratio, roughly three students to each instructor. Each of the three days included in the HD DSLR Workshops, students get hands-on time with the Canon 5D Mark II, as well as the chance to test and play with several different rigs from their sponsors Red-rock Micro, Glidecam, and Libec. Workshop dates include 13th, 20th and 27th February, 13th, 20th 27th March and 10th, 17th and 24th April. The location is 11517 1/2 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, California; and the course fee is $1,200.

Website: HD DSLR Workshops

Landscape photographer Charlie Waite will be giving an exclusive evening seminar at Calumet’s Drummond Street store on Tuesday, 22nd February. Starting at 5pm, the seminar will cover two main topics - ‘Influences’, and ‘Small on Landscape’, a fully illustrated talk on photography using a compact camera. Tickets for the Calumet seminar are £20 and are now on sale at the website below.

Website: Light & Land

Pentax has announced it will be showcasing its latest array of products at this year’s Focus on Imaging show at the NEC in Birmingham. Products on display at stand D9 wil include the medium-format Pentax 645D camera (pictured) and lenses, a range of Pentax DSLRs and accessories as well as the company’s current line-up of digital compact cameras. The show will kick off on 6th March.

Leica has announced its Akademie workshop and training programme for Spring 2011. New to the Akademie, starting on 1 March 2011, is an Introduction to Digital Photography, a one-day workshop designed to provide budding photography enthusiasts with an understanding of the basics of digital photography. In addition, Leica has introduced Let’s Talk Leica, a series of individual one-hour advice sessions with a Leica M photographer and expert, while the Leica M9 Experience allows attendees to see the company’s full-frame digital rangefinder camera in the flesh. In addition, Leica Akademie offers a dozen other workshops on a variety of topics. The workshops will be held in the company’s London-based training facility at 34 Bruton Place.

PhotoEQ is a new program that provides tools for automatic color correction, image editing and color management. With PhotoEQ it is possible to edit single image files or batch process multiple image files and folders automatically. The editor uses non-destructive laye- based processing for colour and image adjustments. PhotoEQ 1.0 is available immediately for $33.

Animoto has launched a significantly enhanced version of its online video creation service for photographers. The new Animoto utilises a brand new render engine allowing for the creation of 720p HD videos and 10x faster video rendering. The new 720p HD-quality video represents a substantial improvement over a previous highest quality output of 480p (DVD-quality). Pro account users can create unlimited HD and DVD-quality videos at no extra cost. In addition, Animoto’s website has been completely redesigned.

Serial Photography: Using Themed Images to Improve Your Photographic Skills is a new title from Rocky Nook. Written by Professor Harald Mante, this 160-page book explains how to focus your photographic work on themes, objects, shapes, colours, and moods. After putting Mante’s methods into practice, “you will soon notice that you are able to train yourself to look at things in new and exciting ways, rather than randomly searching for that one great shot,” the publisher says. “And by continuously adding new images to your collections, you will improve the quality of your photographic work.” The book is available now in the United States and Canada, priced at $39.95 and $45.95, respectively.

The Art and Business of Photography is a new title from Allworth Press. Written by seasoned professional photographer Susan Carr, the 256-page paperback offers both a detailed history of the photography business and of-the-moment advice about the profession today. Illustrated with 30 black-and-white photographs, this comprehensive guide provides “essential information about the photographer’s legal and business concerns, and explains the difficult balance between maintaining a successful business and pursuing creative, non-commercial photography work”. The book is available for pre-order at $19.95 via the website below.

Fujifilm has posted 27 full-resolution sample photos taken with the Fujifilm X100 large-sensor digital compact camera. Most of them were taken at ISO 200/24°, with one shot captured at ISO 400/27°. The collection includes colour, black-and-white and sepia toned images. You can download the X100 samples from the website below.

Website: Fujifilm X100 Samples