Pentax are releasing a limited edition “Korejanai” version of the K-r DSLR in Japan. Just 100 sets of the special Korejanai K-r and a matching 35mm lens will be available in time for Christmas. It’s certainly a little more eye-catching than the usual sombre black…

Website: Pentax Japan Press Release

A new Polaroid camera will be unveiled at the CES show in January. According to Engadget, they’ve receieved a press invite from Polaroid for the 6th of January which shows a new camera tantalisingly shrouded in darkness. Some simple Photoshop trickery reveals a slot in the bottom of the new Polaroid, hinting at a new instant camera.

Website: Engadget

Nikon is about to release a new firmware upgrade for the D7000 DSLR to fix “noticeable bright spots with movie recording under certain conditions”. Owners have reported that the spots are particularly noticeable when recording movies of especially dark scenes or subjects. No date has yet been given for the release of what will be the first D7000 firmware upgrade.

onOne Software has released Perfect Photo Suite 5.5 for Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Apple Aperture. With support for Photoshop CS5, CS4 and CS3, the Perfect Photo Suite 5.5 includes the company’s FocalPoint 2, PhotoTune 3, PhotoFrame 4.6, PhotoTools 2.6, MaskPro 4.1 and Perfect Resize 7 plug-ins (the last of which is the next generation of Genuine Fractals). Additionally, the new version allows photographers to use FocalPoint 2, PhotoTune 3, PhotoFrame 4.6 and Perfect Resize 7 directly within Lightroom and Aperture without the need for a separate host application. The new Perfect Photo Suite 5.5 is available immediately to owners of Plug-In Suite 5 as a free upgrade at the website below. New users may purchase Perfect Photo Suite 5.5 for $499.95.

Arca-Swiss has announced the Rm2d, a precision medium-format camera, which is smaller and lighter than the critically acclaimed Rm3d. Marketed as the camera for high-resolution hand-held photography, the Arca-Swiss Rm2d can take film magazines as well as digital backs, and is compatible with Arca-Swiss R-mount lenses ranging from 23mm to 250mm. The precision of the focusing device allows for repeatable settings with 15 micron accuracy (when mounted on a tripod, of course), and the camera also boasts a shift functionality that makes it well suited to architectural photography. Weighing in at a mera 700 grams without a lens or a film magazine / digital back, the Arca-Swiss Rm2d is available at a price of €3,090 + VAT.

Accroding to net-security.org, ElcomSoft has discovered vulnerability in Canon’s Original Data Security System. The system, which is aimed at guaranteeing authenticity of photos captured with supported Canon cameras, uses secret keys to calculate authentication data. Researchers from ElcomSoft are now claiming they have been able to extract these secret keys and use them “for adding authenticity signatures to a set of manipulated digital images”, Net Security reports. ElcomSoft has alerted Canon to the problem.

Source: Net Security

The New-York Historical Society is soliciting digital photographs of contemporary Times Square from West 42nd to 47th Streets at Broadway or Seventh Avenue. Anyone from tourists to “serious amateurs” can send in their pictures that may include exterior architecture, outdoor portraits, group snapshots, billboards and advertisements and interior images of notable area buildings. Images should be at least 1,200 X 1,500 pixels, submitted in either GIF, JPG, or PNG format. Minor colour correction and/or cropping is acceptable as long as the original subject matter of the photograph remains intact. You have until 31 March 2011 to enter.

PictoColor Software has released iCorrect EditLab Pro 6.0 for Windows, an upgrade to its Photoshop plug-in for precise selective colour correction and colour editing. Product highlights include the ability to make both selective and global colour and exposure adjustments, advanced temperature based controls for colour balance correction, new 64-bit support on Windows, asvanced sharpeing and noise removal, shadow and highlight revovery on a global or hue-selective basis, and more. iCorrect EditLab Pro 6.0 may be purchased at PictoColor Software’s secure on-line store for $124.95 as a software download.  Upgrades are $79.95.

First Rodeo Software has released Face2Face 3D 1.0, billed as the first 3D face swapping and blending app available on iPhone and iPod touch. The app lets you swap and blend faces within your photos by manipulating 3D models of the faces using the touch interface of the iPhone.Unlike traditional 2D methods, which often make it look like a cutout head has been pasted onto a body, Face2Face’s 3D algorithms automatically determine and compensate for the orientation and shapes of the heads. “This allows for faces to be rotated away from the camera, and provides very convincing blends with the user required to position only a few points within the images,” the company said.Face2Face 3D 1.0 is $1.99 and available through the App Store in the Photography category.

A new version of TrueHDR is now available on the App Store. TrueHDR enables you to take two pictures at different exposures, and then takes the best features of each and merges them into one picture that has vivid colours and details in both the shadows and highlights. Version 2.1 offers a new “Natural” mode for taking HDR photos with realistic colours, fast processing, and low image noise. TrueHDR 2.1 is available at a price of $1.99.

Colorado-based Occipital has just introduced 360 Panorama 3.0 for iPhone and iPod touch devices. Using 360 Panorama, users simply pan their camera and see the application “paint” the panoramic scene in front of them from live video. Moments later the panorama is ready to be saved, emailed or uploaded via Twitter. 360 Panorama 3.0 requires iOS 4.0 or later, and is temporarily on sale for $0.99 USD (normally $2.99) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Photography category.

Manfrotto Distribution and Datacolor are offering a free webinar titled “Color Management in the Professional Photographer’s Workflow with Stacy and Datacolor”. Taking place on Wednesday, 8th December from 2pm to 3pm EDT, the webinar will feature Datacolor Education Manager Joshua Fischer and Manfrotto Distribution Product Manager Will Holowka, who will talk with accomplished photographer Stacy Pearsall. Webinar participants will have access to a number of exclusive advantages, including one?on?one interaction with the guest speakers, and automatic entry in a raffle to win one of the three exclusive prize giveaways. The prizes include a Datacolor Spyder3 Elite (pictured) valued at $249 and two Spyder Cubes valued at $59 each. To register for the webinar, visit the website below.

The iFlash is a self-powered flash module that plugs directly into your Apple iPhone to provide some extra illumination for your subject. This LED flash emits light with a colour temperature of 5,000K and uses the docking port on the bottom of the iPhone. When not in use, the iFlash can be attached to the phone through a plastic 3.5mm jack and left dangling from the iPhone “like a phone charm”, the manufacturer says. Available now for $39.95 from Gadgets and Gear, the iFlash comes in a choice of black or white.

Cameras Underwater has announced that it will now be distributing the Subal range online and in store. Manufactured to exacting standards using state of the art technology, Subal products are used by some of the world’s best known and well respected underwater photographers including Alex Mustard and Howard Hall. The full Subal range is available now at the website below.

Topaz InFocus is a new Photoshop plug-in used for image sharpening and blur reduction. Auto-blur estimation and advanced deconvolution technology that helps reverse the effects of image blur completely changes the way detail refinement is done, by recovering true details, restoring image clarity and offering natural sharp-looking enhancements. InFocus works with a variety of host programs including Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Aperture, iPhoto and Lightroom, and is compatible with Windows and Intel-based Macs. Topaz InFocus retails for $69.99, but is being offered at a one-time introductory price of $29.99 until December 3, 2010.

Capture One 6 is a new version of Phase One’s professional raw conversion and image editing software. Supporting more than 170 different digital camera models, Capture One Pro 6 now allows you to edit selected areas of images non-destructively, precisely adjust color channels to create split toning effects when converting to grayscale, and reduce or eliminate perspective distortion while maintaining dimension integrity. The basic version of Capture One is now called Capture One Express. Capture One 6 for Mac and for Windows is commercially available in two versions: Capture One Express 6, priced at 129 USD and 99 EUR, and Capture One Pro 6, costing 399 USD and 299 EUR.

In addition Phase One have revealed details about an upcoming iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch application called Capture Pilot that will allow you to wirelessly view, zoom in on, and pan high resolution RAW, JPEG and TIFF images from leading DSLR and medium format camera systems.

Sony have released a major firmware upgrade for the A900 and A850 DSLR cameras. The upgrade includes quicker and more responsive autofocus, an increase in exposure compensation to to ±5EV and exposure bracketing to 6.0EV, and a new menu option that allows the shutter release to be enabled even when the camera body doesn’t detect an attached lens. The latest firmware upgrade for the A900 and A850 is available free of charge.

Try a Pentax camera before you buy around the UK this December. Five demo days are taking place throughout this month in Dursley, Barnstable, Carmarthen, Norwich and Exeter, giving you the opportunity to try out the new K-series DSLRs, lenses, accessories and RS1000 or RZ10 compacts.

A locking mode dial modification for the Canon EOS 5D MarkII and EOS 7D DSLR cameras is now available in the USA. This modification is available for $100 per body to owners of these cameras who would prefer a Mode Dial which locks in place and can’t be accidentally moved during normal camera operation.

DxO Optics Pro v6.5.1 adds support for the Nikon D7000 and Sony A390 and 120 new DxO Optics modules. All customers who purchased DxO Optics Pro since June 1st, 2009 are entitled to a free upgrade to version 6.5. DxO Optics Pro v6.5.1 for Windows and Mac, Standard and Elite editions, is now available at a significant 30 percent holiday season discount until December 25, 2010.