PrintedArt, an online fine art photography gallery and printing service, today announced the launch of its Studio Accounts programme. Photographers operating their own studios can now use PrintedArt for their fulfilment needs, utilizing the same gallery-grade material PrintedArt offers their customers. Aside from the standard materials offered, photographers have access to special order items with unusual formats, special hanging materials, or other options not commercially available to the general customers.

Etre has launched its new collection of Fivepoint gloves. Billed as a stylish way of keeping your hands warm and dry while using a touch-screen device outdoors, these gloves feature specially-designed conductive fingertips. Manufactured in the United Kingdom from lambs wool and are available in three different sizes – small, medium and large -, these gloves could be of interest to owners of any touch-screen camera, be it an ultra-compact model like the Nikon S4000 or something as complex as the new Panasonic Lumix GH2. Etre’s Fivepoint gloves are availabl for £24.99 from the website below.

Website: Etre’s Fivepoint Gloves

Manfrotto School of Xcellence has announced “Great Portraits Don’t Just Happen,” a free webinar taking place 2nd December from 2 to 3pm EDT. The host, Sports Illustrated Staff Photographer Bill Frakes, will discuss the planning, preparation and good communication which goes into an alluring portrait. “Each portrait requires the same kind of thought process,” explains Frakes. “Photographers need to know the kind of person that is being photographed and what they want the outcome to be. Once that is decided, photographers can go about planning lighting schemes and preparing or researching backgrounds.” To register for the webinar, visit the website below.

JP Distribution has announced the imminent availability of two new Black Rapid products in the UK market. The Black Rapid RS DR-2 is a slim version of the DR-1 double strap, while the RS-W1B is a camera strap designed specifically for women. The new products are available from December for £130 and £65, respectively.

DxO Labs have launched DxOMark 2011, the latest version of its online service for image quality data. DxOMark 2011 includes a new ranking system that compiles data in an intuitive and comprehensive overall score, and easier navigation and image quality data access. With this update to DxOMark, DxO Labs have revised their Peak Score – now called the “DxOMark Score” –, taking into account more difficult lighting conditions, corresponding to low-light indoor scenes. Under such conditions, high scores are earned by lenses featuring high f numbers so long as their optical performance stays high at the widest apertures, the company says.

A new subscription service for amateur, enthusiast and semi-pro photographers has launched at PhotographyCourses.biz. Presented by by professional photographer Mike Browne, the site offers a range of easy-to-understand photography videos. Subscription costs £9.75 per month, and subscribers can tell the site owners about what topics they would like to be covered in upcoming videos.The service has launched with a library of around 30 photography clips, and a minimum of five new videos will be added each month, the company says.

According to multiple online sources, it is now illegal for amateur photographers to use their DSLR cameras in public in Kuwait. The curious regulation appears not to concern any other type of camera - so while you can’t use, say, an entry-level Digital Rebel or D3100 on the streets of the emirate; it is perfectly legal to shoot an EOS 1V or a Nikon F6, not to mention any Leica, analog or digital. Compacts and cell phones are also exempt from the ban. (Accredited journalists may carry on using their DSLRs too.)

Source: The Kuwait Times via 1001 Noisy Cameras

Update: Kuwaiti Paper Retracts Report on DSLR Ban

iClone4 from Reallusion is an affordable, real-time 3D animation tool with stereoscopic output capabilities, which allows any Photoshop project to be turned into 3D stereo prints. Adobe Photoshop users can now import image layers into iClone4 to create 3D Stereo prints in a matter of minutes, the company says. iClone4 is available at a list price of $149.90. Reallusion has also created a specially designed landing page for Photoshop users to visit, and learn all about the benefits and tools with several step-by-step tutorials made exclusively for graphic artists. To see more, just visit the website below.

The new gps4cam application allows iPhone users to geotag pictures taken with any digital camera. Photographers wishing to use it will need to install both the iPhone and the Mac/PC versions. The app doesn’t need to connect to a network to be used, and doesn’t require the user to manually synchronise the time and date between his iPhone and his camera, thanks to the use of a QR-Code generated by the app itself. gps4cam for iPhone is for sale in Apple’s App Store for $1.99, whereas the desktop (Mac/PC) version is free.

Swiftspin360 is a unique membership scheme giving complete access to professional 360 product spin techniques and advice. Building on the increasing popularity of 360-degree product photography, Swiftspin360 offers members access to manuals and guides for setting up a profitable 360 product spin service, discounts on turntables and other photographic equipment, personal e-mail support, and more. The company has now released a free 50-page guidebook, available as a PDF. You can download it from the website below.

Hamrick Software has released a public Beta of its upcoming VueScan 9 software. The current version, VueScan 9.0.b2, was posted yesterday with developer Ed Hamrick saying that “most things are now working well, and the final version will be released in the next few days”. VueScan 9 adds support for 64-bit versions of Linux, Mac OS X and Windows, boasts an easier-to-use user interface, starts up and shuts down much faster than previous versions, plus it is easier to install and generally faster and more responsive than it used to be. You can download the Beta from the website below.

Website: Hamrick Software

Ambarella has announced the availability of a complete 3D camera solution that includes the company’s new 3D video pre-processor. The S3D pre-processor works with Ambarella’s A5s and A7 camera systems on chip (SoCs) to enable full HD 1080p 3D video recording and high-resolution 3D photography. It connects to two standard CMOS image sensors and processes the image data to create a single video stream for the A5s or A7 camera SoCs. It also supports the display of 3D video and still images on the camera’s 3D LCD display. The S3D and full 3D camera reference design kit with A7 or A5s SDK are available to camera manufacturers immediately

Transcend has announced the addition of 64GB models to its Ultra Speed series USB flash drives. Taking full advantage of the dual-channel technology, Transcend’s Ultra Speed series USB flash drives deliver read speeds of up to 32MB/s and write speeds of up to 18 MB/s. The new Transcend JetFlash 600 (black) and Transcend JetFlash 620 (white) flash drives are are now offered in 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities, and carry Transcend’s Limited Lifetime Warranty. The JetFlash 620 also comes bundled with Transcend’s JetFlash SecureDrive software, which helps safeguard users’ confidential data by creating a private, password-protected area on their JetFlash drive.

National Geographic has launched a brand new luxury range of stylish camera bags called the ‘Africa Collection’. This is an extensive collection that comprises pouches, shoulder bags, backpacks, wheeled cases and duffle bags. “The luxury Africa has urban style at its heart, made from tough yet stylish materials, and with fashionable and chic leather detailing,” the company says. Prices start at £10.99 and the entire range can now be bought online at National Geographic’s new UK site.

Rollei has introduced a new range of digital compact cameras. The Powerflex series currently comprises two models, the Rollei Powerflex 440 and the Rollei Powerflex 450, both of which feature 14-megapixel sensors and 720p HD video capture. The Powerflex 450 is equipped with an Apogon branded 5x zoom lens spanning a focal length range of 4.7-23.5mm, which is equivalent to 26-130mm on a 35mm camera. Optical image stabilisation, a close focus point of 2cm, and automatic panorama stitching round off the features list. The Powerflex 440 comes with a 4x optical zoom whose focal range is equivalent to 26-104mm in old money. The cameras will be available in stores from January 2011, at the recommended retail prices of €99.95 and €79.95, respectively.

Unified Color Technologies today announced the third cycle winners of its “Unified Color True Vision HDR Photo Contest”. Ryan Gardner finished first in the Architecture category, while Alex Benison has been announced winner in Landscape / Nature and Freestyle. Both of them received photography kits including Nikon D90 Kit with 18-105mm VR lens, a Lowepro Slingshot 202 AW case, a Gitzo carbon fiber tripod and a Lexar Professional Class 10 8GB memory card.

DxO Labs have just released DxO Optics Pro 6.5 for Mac and Windows. Featuring Single Shot HDR technology for optimised rendering of contrasty scenes, improved raw conversion, Lightroom 3 support and more, DxO Optics Pro 6.5 is available at a 30% holiday season discount until Christmas. The Standard edition is now $99, while the Elite edition costs $199 with the discount applied. All customers who purchased DxO Optics Pro since 1 June 2009 are entitled to a free upgrade to version 6.5.