WD’s My Passport Essential and Essential SE portable hard drives and My Book Essential external hard drive now feature USB 3.0 connectivity and up to 3 terabytes of storage. Equipped with WD SmartWare visual backup software for automatic, continuous backup, these drives provide users the extra space they need to store or back up their files and, when connected to a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 port, can transfer data at speeds up to 150 MB/s. The smallest of the bunch, the WD My Passport Essential portable drive, is available in a 500GB capacity priced at $99.99, whereas the WD My Passport Essential SE drives comes in 750GB and 1TB capacities at prices ranging from $129.99 to $169.99. The WD My Book Essential external hard drive is available in capacities ranging from 1TB to 3TB, and are priced from $129.99 to $249.99.

The International Press Association (IPA) has announced a unique photo contest to help launch their new Member Support Blog on their website. There are no fees to enter, no contributions to the contests favourite charities, no restrictions on the subject matter, two levels of entry - pro and amateur - and “so many prizes that the chances of winning are quite good”, the Association says. First place winners will receive over $1800 in prizes each, second place winners receive over $500 in prizes and ten Honourable Mention winners will receive over $150 in prizes each. The contest will be using the viewer votes (25%) and the judges’ votes (75%) to determine the final winners. The submission deadline is 30th November.

Manfrotto Distribution and Datacolor are offering a free Advanced Monitor Calibration Webinar. Offering expert tips on controlling color accuracy and highlight the benefits of using the new and advanced features in Datacolor’s Spyder3Elite’s Expert Console for monitor calibration; the free webinar will take place on Wednesday, October 6th from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EDT. Advance registration is required.

Website: Webinar Registration

Fantasea Line has released a new underwater housing specifically designed for the Canon PowerShot A490 and A495 digital compact cameras. Depth rated to 60 metres / 200 feet, the Fantasea Line FA-490/495 housing provides photographers with access to all camera controls and functions. The housing features double O-ring seals on all controls, anti-glare hood over LCD screen, removable flash diffuser and a 46mm threaded lens port, designed to be compatible with a wide range of lens accessories. Available now for $240.95.

Fujifilm North America has announced a new pink digital camera bundle that will benefit the National Breast Cancer Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to spreading knowledge and fostering hope in the fight against breast cancer. The camera package includes a Fujifilm FinePix Z70 digital camera in Berry, a stylish multi-coloured camera pouch, a digital photo frame keychain and a coupon for a free customisable mug from SeeHere.com. The Fujifilm Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Camera bundle will be carried regionally by J&R in New York, and Electronics Expo in New Jersey. It will also be available through Amazon.com and ShopFujifilm.com. The Pink camera bundle will retail for $159.95.

Nokia has produced two different, special Nokia N8 prototypes to show the world what’s possible with these camera phones using a bit of creativity. The prototypes have been produced within the framework of the Nokia Push project, which began in September 2009 when the company called on the hacker and modder community, asking what they could dream to do with the Nokia N900 (the N8 was not available back then). The PushKAPing - KAP stands for Kite Aerial Photography - prototype allows photographers and filmmakers to capture photos and videos with a Nokia N8 suspended from a kite rig by letting them use another N8 on the ground to control exactly what is being shot. The Push Skating prototype takes the world of skate games away from the games console and back to the streets by allowing skaters’ boards to communicate with their N8 to score every single little move they make. Nokia now have four of each prototype to give away to anybody who can inspire them with a creative treatment of how they would show the world what is possible with them.

DeluxGear has announced the new Lens Guard, a padded cover that fits snugly over the end of the lens to protect lenses and filters. Its water-resistant inner core is made of 6mm thick closed-cell neoprene and is encased in a tough 2mm santoprene outer cover. This combination absorbs impact and prevents scrapes, scratches, dents and cracks to lenses. A built-in tether connects the Lens Guard to your lens, camera strap or camera body. The Lens Guard, which can be used with or without filters or lens caps, is priced at $14.99, with a duo-pack available for $24.99.

The winners of the FEP European Professional Photographer of the Year Awards 2010 competition have been announced. The overall winner is André Boto from Portugal, who also finished first in the Commercial and Illustrative categories. Other category winners include Ji?í Stránský (Landscape), Padraic Deasy (Portraits), Carl Lapeirre (Reportage), Clemente Jiménez Santander (Weddings) and Jen Hillenga (International).

Earth’s Beauty Tours have announced the launch of a photography course in Torridon, Scotland. The course will take place from 5th to 10th December 2010 and will be led by Greek born and Scotland-based pro photographer Dimitri Vasiliou. The price is £750 including board and lodging, tuition and all transport during the course.

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

1st Place
The Arrival by nrshapiro

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

Ever wanted to make phone calls from your Panasonic Lumix camera? You’ll soon be able to, as Panasonic Japan are running an online teaser advert for a new Lumix branded smartphone, which will make its official bow at the CEATEC Japan show next week. The as yet un-named Panasonic Lumix Phone will sport a 13.2 megapixel sensor, 3.3 inch LCD screen, weight 146g and measure 116x52x17.7mm, feature the new Mobile VenusEngine processing engine and use micro SDHC cards. No word yet from outside Japan on global availability or otherwise.

Sony Japan have stated that the new A55 and A33 cameras suffer from reduced recording times when using the video mode due to the camera’s sensor overheating. Seemingly exacerbated by switching the image stabilisation on, the A55 can only record up to 9 mins of video at 20 degrees celsius and 6 mins at 30 degrees, while the A33 fares slightly better at 11 mins and 7 mins respectively. Turning the IS system off substantially improves those times, so you’ll have to dispense with it and use faster shutter speeds to maximise the length of a continuous video clip.

Canon UK has announced a cashback promotion on the Canon Powershot SX210 IS compact superzoom camera. Consumers who buy the SX210 IS in the UK or Ireland between now and 3rd November are entitled to a cashback of £30 / €35. Claims must be received by 25th February 2011. The claim form can be downloaded from the website below.

Website: Canon Powershot SX210 IS Cashback Claim Form

‘The Crossing’ is a one-day event that takes a look at the shifting terrain of the contemporary image world and what will be necessary for photographers to embrace to fulfill their creative aspirations and goals. Speakers include Michelle Sank, David Birkitt, Simon Roberts, Christian Payne, David White and Benjamin Chesterton. The seminar takes place on 23rd October at Toynbee Studios, 28 Commercial Street, London E1 6AB. Admission is £40. To book your place, visit the website below.

Website: Rhubarb Rhubarb Seminars

Like the Altek T8680 we wrote about a few months ago, the new Altek Leo is an Android-powered camera phone with a 3x optical zoom lens. The main difference is the sensor, which is a 14-megapixel CCD as opposed to the 12-megapixel imager found in the T8680; and the addition of 720p HD movie capture. The Altek Leo features a separate camera power button that allows its users to quickly switch it to camera mode without having to scroll through a mobile phone menu trying to activate the camera function. A shutter release button, zoom rockers, xenon flash, GPS receiver, blink and smile detection technologies and a suite of photo editing functions are also on board. At the moment, the innovative handset - which also includes a 3.2”, WVGA-resolution, multi-touch capable LCD screen - appears to be targeted at the Chinese and Taiwanese markets only, although some sources suggest that it may become available in Europe early next year.

Olympus has launched a new online photo service and sharing site called [ib on the net]. Initially [ib on the net] offers users two gigabytes of free space to share photos at full resolution, and to shop for digital photo albums, photo prints and other photo gifts. The service, which is currently in beta stage, also provides online photo backup to ensure that photos will be safe from mishap or disaster. Apparently, the service is only available to people residing in the US and Japan.

Website: [ib on the net]

Sigma has released Sigma Photo Pro 4.2 for Macintosh and Windows. The new version of the software adds support for raw files created by the Sigma DP1x large-sensor compact camera, and allows the preferred adjustment mode setting to be selected as default in the preference settings menu. Click through / scroll down for the download links.

InVisage, a Silicon Valley-based startup, has today announced QuantumShutter, a new technology that eliminates the “rolling shutter” effect which has plagued videos captured by CMOS sensors. Also known as “wobble” and “jello”, rolling shutter causes verical lines to bend, slant or skew when panning quickly while recording a movie clip with a digital camera. InVisage’s QuantumShutter solves this problem by using a portion of the silicon to store the image “charge” so the entire image is captured at the exact same moment. Initially targeting camera phone applications InVisage Technologies’ QuantumShutter will be available to manufacturers later this year.