Panasonic has released a new firmware update for the FZ100, FX700 and FX75 compact cameras. Image quality of Motion Deblur in iA Mode has been improved for all three models, while the performance of autofocus in taking pictures while recording Motion Pictures has been improved on the FX700 and FZ100.

Website: Download the FZ100, FX700 and FX75 Firmware Updates

Ricoh have released a new firmware update for the CX4 compact digital camera. Version 1.5 fixes the following issue:

- In the Night Landscape Multi-shot, when pressing the shutter release button half way, the camera shake warning symbol camera shake warning will not be displayed in the screen.

Website: Download the Ricoh CX4 Firmware Update 1.05

Fujifilm have released a new firmware update for the FinePix HS10 / HS11 compact camera. Version 1.04 incorporates the following items:

- Custom white balance can be set correctly when an external flash is mounted.
- On slide show mode, sound of movie recording data can be performed on the HDTV which is connected with the camera via HDMI interface.

Website: Download the Fujifilm FinePix HS10 / HS11 Firmware Update 1.04

Photography Blog received over 1 million visitors* in November 2010, cementing its position as one of the most popular camera review websites worldwide.

Founder and editor Mark Goldstein commented, “Our clear focus on providing detailed, real-life reviews of the newest cameras, complete with full-size sample photos and videos, has resulted in significant year-on-year growth, in spite of the current global economic climate”.

There were a total of 6,057,177 page views from 222 countries, with over half of visitors coming from the USA and UK.

Due to consistent top 10 rankings, 65% of visitors find Photography Blog via a search engine. 75% of all visitors were actively searching for advice about a specific camera, reading in-depth reviews of the latest models. The most popular review has been read more than 1.7 million times.

Photography Blog also reports all the latest photography news from around the world, and has nearly 14,000 registered members in its popular photo gallery and forums.

The winners of the November 2010 Photography Blog Competition have been announced. The theme for November was “Friendship” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 5 winners:

1st Place
The Conversation by Audah

Prize: X-Rite ColourChecker Passport
Kindly donated by X-Rite
http://www.xritephoto.com/

On 2nd December, award-winning 29-year-old photojournalist Anastasia Taylor-Lind will be in conversation with writer and gallerist Laura Noble, where she will discussing her experiences on becoming a photojournalist and best practice within the field. Rapidly becoming one of Britain’s most promising talents, Anastasia is now based in the Middle East, where she works for clients such as GEO, Marie Claire, and The Sunday Times magazine. The lecture/conversation is organised by PhotoVoice, and will take place from 7.30pm at the Conway Hall, South Place Ethical Society, 25 Red Lion Square, London. Tickets are £10 in advance, £12 on the door. Group discounts are available for parties of over ten people - contact Claire Watts on 0207 033 3878.

Manfrotto School of Xcellence has announced a webinar titled, “Shooting the Forests Series”. Held from 2pm to 3pm EDT on Monday, 6th December, the webinar will be hosted by Drew Gardner, a renowned London-based photographer, who will take participants behind the scenes of his acclaimed series, “The Forest”. Topics for discussion include dealing with difficult terrain, managing without power, working with smoke machines, and more. To register for the webinar, visit the website below.

Those UK and RoI residents who buy the new Nikon D3100, body or lens kit, are now able to claim £40/€50 in a new Christmas cashback promotion from Nikon. Simon Iddon, Product Manager for Enthusiast products, says: “The D3100 is the ideal gift for people wanting to capture festive memories this Christmas and learn how to improve their photography skills. I am delighted that we’re able to introduce this cashback offer on our award-winning model and hope that it will make it even more accessible this season.” The D3100 cashback offer will run from today through 31st January 2011, and claims must be received by 28th February 2011.

PhotographyBB has released the 34th edition of the free PhotographyBB Online Magazine. In this issue, PhotographyBB Magazine examines sell sites, techniques involving high speed flash photography and the process of creating a web gallery. Their “Around the World” feature looks at the interesting history and true elegance of the Moscow Metro subway system, including a very interesting story on how the design of the system was believed to have come about. The usual Photoshop tutorial is also there, this time aimed at readers who will be making their own Christmas cards this holiday season. PhotographyBB Online Magazine is available as a free download at the website below (after registration).

The Kuwait Times, whose online edition broke the news that the emirate had put a ban on using digital SLR cameras in public, has retracted the story, saying it “regrets failing to verify the information”. The newspaper had originally stated that the “Ministry of Information, Ministry of Social Affairs and Ministry of Finance recently came to the conclusion that photography should be used for journalism purposes only. This has resulted in the ban of Digital Single Lens Reflex Cameras (DSLRs) in public, on the streets and in malls”.

Website: The Kuwait Times

Voies Off has issued a call for entriesfor the 2011 Voies Off Prize. For the past 16 years, the Voies Off Prize has been awarded by a jury of renowned professionals to an artist for the clarity of his vision and the high quality of his work. Voies Off night projections during the opening week of the Rencontres d’Arles festival (first full week in July) have become an international reference for the discovery of emerging authors and the alternative venue that it creates for international photographic creation. You have until 15 January to enter the 2011 contest, whose overall winner will receive €2,500.

Nikon, Sandisk and Sony have announced the joint development of a set of specifications that address the future requirements of professional photography and video markets. The proposed specifications achieve data transfer rates of up to 500 megabytes per second (theoretical maximum interface speed). The increased speeds will enable imaging and video applications that could not be accomplished using the current CompactFlash specification’s PATA interface. For comparison CF6.0, released in November 2010, offers maximum performance of up to 167MB/sec. The new specifications’ faster speeds enable continuous burst shooting of massive RAW images. The enhanced performance also allows users to quickly transfer storage-intensive high-resolution photos and videos from the card to a computer.

Kubota Image Tools have released the new Kubota Creative Tools – The Lensbaby Pak, specially designed to enhance the artistic effects created with Lensbaby optics. “Lensbaby optics open up a distinctive set of creative options for photographers, and you want to preserve all of that great effect when editing,” said Kevin Kubota of Kubota Image Tools. “These new enhancement tools work with the captured image to add drama and feel without masking the impact of the optics’ effects.” The Kubota Lensbaby image enhancement tools are currently available for instant download for $39, through the website below.

PSKiss has announced a new package of Pixel Bender professional image editing filters named Pixel Gear Suite. The first set of Pixel Gear filters include Skin Gear - a unique skin retouching filter - and S/H Tone Gear for tone and contrast manipulations. “The algorithms of those filters would have taken ages to run on the CPU”, says Max Penson, Co-owner of PSKiss and chief of product development. “Thanks to Pixel Bender Technology, we are able to run our original cutting edge algorithms, straight on the GPU, shortening processing time to a blink on an eye”. Pixel Gear Filters are now offered with a limited time special discount of 25% at the website below.

Hasselblad has announced the production of a limited run of 100 Hasselblad H4D-40 Stainless Steel cameras. The H4D-40 is a 40-megapixel medium-format digital SLR camera featuring Hasselblad’s True Focus and Absolute Position Lock technologies. Now, for a limited time, photographers can purchase the H4D-40 Stainless Steel for €13,990 (body only) or €14,990 (with HC 2.8/80mm lens).

The Hasselblad H4D Ferrari Edition, which was announced at Photokina, has now been officially launched and priced. Finished in a new Ferrari colour called rosso fuoco, or fire red, the Hasselblad H4D Ferrari Edition has been created in celebration of two of the most iconic European brands, both of which started their career in the 1950s. Limited to just 499 cameras worldwide, this special edition camera can be yours for €21,499.

Cosina has ceased manufacturing of Carl Zeiss and Voigtländer branded manual focus lenses for the Pentax K mount. The Japanese website of the company has a short note saying that the Carl Zeiss ZK line has been discontinued, and these lenses can only be bought until stocks last. Photoscala reports that Carl Zeiss wants to concentrate on the more lucrative ZE and ZF.2 lines instead.