The AF-S Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 G ED VR is a versatile 5x zoom lens designed for use on both FX and DX digital SLR bodies. Featuring two ED and three aspherical lens elements, Nano Crystal Coat and a fixed maximum aperture throughout its zoom range, the AF-S Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 G ED VR promises to be an improvement over the existing AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED (at nearly twice the price). Constructed of 17 lens elements arranged in 13 groups, the new 24-120mm f/4 G ED VR from Nikon also features an iris diaphragm with 9 blades for improved bokeh, and the manufacturer’s VR II image stabilisation system for shake-free hand-held shooting. Through extensive use of magnesium and Super Engineering Plastic components the lens is built to handle the knocks of everyday use, and rubber sealing around switches and lens mount mean moist or dusty conditions are not a problem. The AF-S Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 G ED VR will be available from mid-September at an estimated selling price of $1049.95 in the US. The recommended UK/EU prices are £1049.99/€1243.00.

The new AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR is Nikon’s first FX lens with a 10.7X zoom range. Its optical formula includes two ED glass elements that effectively minimise chromatic aberration, even at the widest aperture settings, and three Aspherical Lens Elements that virtually eliminate coma and other aberrations at wide aperture settings as well. Being an AF-S lens, the Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR provides fast and quiet autofocus, and also incorporates an M/A Focus Mode Switch that enables quick changes between manual and autofocus operation. A Zoom Lock Switch secures the lens barrel at its minimum focal length preventing the lens from extending during transport. Nikon’s Super Integrated Coating (SIC) enhances light transmission efficiency and offers superior colour consistency and reduced flare, while the 9 rounded diaphragm blades promise a nice natural look to the out-of-focus highlights. The Nikon AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR ultrazoom lens will become available in mid-September, at an estimated selling price of $1299.95 in the US. In the UK and the euro zone, the recommended retail prices are £869.99/€1030.00 respectively.

Canon marks 10 years of its IXUS digital camera series with the launch of the Canon IXUS 1000 HS, a 10-megapixel, 10x zoom model that has the distinction of being the first superzoom in the IXUS range. Its compact but powerful 10x optical zoom lens makes it the slimmest super zoom camera of its kind anywhere in the world, Canon claims. It’s also the second IXUS to feature the HS System, combining a high-sensitivity, 10.0 Megapixel CMOS sensor with Canon’s DIGIC 4 image processing engine. Other highlights include Full HD video capture with stereo sound, optical image stabilisation and a Handheld Night Scene that combines several images taken in rapid succession into one sharp and optimally-exposed picture. Additionally, the Canon IXUS 1000 HS can capture up to 3.7 frames per second at full resolution, or up to 8.8 frames per second at a reduced resolution of 2.5 megapixels. The Canon IXUS 1000 HS (also called the Canon SD4500 IS) is available from September priced at £349/€419/$350.

The Canon Powershot S95 is a newcamera sporting a 10-megapixel CCD, a stabilised, 28-105mm equivalent f/2.0-4.9 zoom lens and 720p/24fps HD video capture with stereo sound. Succeeding last year’s Powershot S90 (read review), the new model offers improved handling and greater levels of manual control. The popular lens Control Ring, introduced with the PowerShot S90, has been improved with greater levels of flexibility, while the image stabilisation system has been upgraded to incorporate Hybrid IS technology, providing improved image stabilisation for macro photography. An in-camera HDR mode has been included to help capture high-contrast scenes as you saw them. Raw file support has been carried over from the previous model. The Canon Powershot S95 is available priced at £399.00/€479.00/$399.99.

The Canon Powershot SX130 IS is the replacement for the SX120 IS, featuring a 12.1-megapixel sensor, 12x optical zoom with optical image stabilisation, and 720p HD video with stereo sound. Spanning a 35mm equivalent focal range of 28-336mm, the new zoom lens has Canon’s integrated optical Image Stabiliser on board for a claimed 3-stop advantage when shooting had held. You can even use the zoom in video mode thanks to a quiet zoom motor. For confident photographers who want more input into how they capture their images, full manual control allows them to individually control shutter speed and aperture to shoot with their chosen settings and create their own effects. Compatible with the new SDXC memory cards, the Canon Powershot SX130 IS is available from late August 2010, priced at £199.00/€229.00/$249.99.

The Canon Selphy CP800 is an ultra-compact photo printer that replaces the existing Canon Selphy CP780. The new Selphy CP800 features a simple user interface alongside a large-button layout and a tilting 6.2cm (2.5”) colour LCD screen. Photos can be selected quickly and easily and lab-quality 4x6” prints are produced in approximately 47 seconds. Prints are dry and ready for handling the second they leave the printer, and a special over-coating provides protection from spills and splashes, so they will remain rich and vivid for up to 100 years when stored in an album. The Canon Selphy CP800 is available from September 2010, priced at £99.00/€119.00/$99.99

Ricoh Japan has announced the Ricoh CX4, a digital compact camera with a 28-300mm equivalent superzoom lens, a 10-megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor, new creative filters and a newly developed subject-tracking AF system. The image stabilisation system has been enhanced to provide an approximately 3.7-stop advantage when shooting hand held and a “night landscape multi-shot mode” - whereby four frames are taken in rapid succession and then combined into one sharp, well-exposed, low-noise image - has been added. The new creative filters include Soft Focus, Cross Process and Toy Camera. The body design has also been altered and now features moulded curves that make it easier to slip the camera into your pocket. Ricoh plans to manufacture 50,000 CX4 cameras each month, with sales starting on 3rd September 2010 in Japan.

Life, Panoramic is a user-submitted photography blog, a city by city view of the world in which locals share their pictures and stories of home… wherever that may be. Photographers upload 12-15 photos of their hometowns along with brief, poetic descriptions of each shot. Rather than sifting through a collection of tourist horror stories or a travel brochure’s propaganda, the public is allowed an intimate view of each city thanks to a subjective, insider’s look. If a city has already been submitted, that’s not an issue. “Part of the fun is actually seeing how two different people view the same place. One thousand New Yorkers would show you New York one thousand different ways,” says Mark Wilson, editor of Life, Panoramic. “And indeed, we’ve already published two vastly different takes on the city.”

Website: Life, Panoramic

Published by Rocky Nook and distributed by O’Reilly, The Wild Side of Photography by Cyrill Harnischmacher is a book geared toward the adventurous photographer. From this book, you will learn build a shift/tilt lens for your DSLR from an old junkyard 120 film camera, try the camera toss, shoot images from a kite, use a peephole door viewer as a fisheye lens, or build your own pinhole camera. Each project is presented with easy to understand instructional text, background information about the author and the project, and beautiful colour images to illustrate what can be accomplished and how you can do it too. The 176-page book is available for $29.95.

PDN PhotoPlus International Conference + Expo has announced its 2010 seminar, keynote and special events schedule at the Jacob Javits Center in New York from 28-30th October. This year’s seminars, special events, and keynote presentations will be conducted by many of the world’s most respected and successful imaging professionals including Chase Jarvis, Mark Power, Jasmine Starr, Joyce Tenneson, Lauren Greenfield, Liz Von Hoene, Mark Seliger, Jim Garner, and Albert Watson. Click through / read on for a list of keynote presentations and special events.

Burrard-Lucas Photography has launched a new Wildlife Photography contest. They are looking for images of wild animals that stand out from the crowd… maybe it will be a striking portrait that catches our eye or perhaps the image will reveal an interesting aspect of an animal’s behaviour. Photographs of animals in captivity are eligible for entry but photos of domestic animals such as pets and livestock are not. The deadline for entry of the Wildlife Photography Contest is 31st October 2010. Entry is free, and prizes to be won include a Canon EOS 7D digital SLR camera, a Lensbaby Composer and a SmugMug Pro account.

Delux Gear announced the Lens Cradle, an accessory that features secure, horizontal lens support providing comfort to the photographer and protection to the gear. Offering a variety of mounting options, the Lens Cradle is fitted with a universal, dual mounting platform for use with any camera and lens with a tripod collar.  Made of a durable, polycarbonate and autograde ABS blend, it supports the heaviest lens, yet remains lightweight and easy-to-use. Retail price for the Lens Cradle is $39.99. A Combo Pack of the Lens Cradle and 4-point Expedition neoprene camera strap is $54.99.

PictoColor has released the Windows version of the iCorrect Portrait 2.0 plug-in for Adobe Photoshop CS5. Based on PictoColor’s point-and-click color correction technology, iCorrect Portrait 2.0 offers professional portrait, wedding, school, sport, and event photographers a fast and easy way to color correct their digital photos. The newest version offers full compatibility with the Adobe Photoshop CS5 in both 32 and 64-bit Windows environments, while remaining compatible with CS2, CS3 and CS4 too. iCorrect Portrait 2.0 may be purchased at PictoColor’s secure on-line store for $124.95 as a software download.

Website: PictoColor

Kubota Image Tools has announced details of the 20th iteration of its Digital Photography Bootcamp and launched an entirely new event to precede Bootcamp, called, SummitUp 2010.  The two events will run consecutively starting on 6th November 6 through 14th November 2010. The Digital Photography Bootcamp helps professional photographers refine their digital photography skill set and marry those key techniques with a core understanding of how to run a successful photography business, while SummitUp is a new, intensive two-day event during which some of the industry’s most business-savvy photographers will lead a curriculum for photographers to investigate technical and creative techniques, and learn new business-driving tactics. The Digital Photography Bootcamp will take place from 7th to 13th November at the Five Pine Lodge in Sisters, Oregon. Tuition, including all meals and lodging, is $3,200 for those that register before 1 September. SummitUp 2010 is scheduled for November 6-7, 2010, immediately preceding the Bootcamp and will also be held in Oregon. Reservations are available for $329.

“A Day in the Life of the Beatles” is a collection of mostly unpublished photographs - a record of one extraordinary day that photographer Don McCullin spent with the Beatles. In September 1968 McCullin, whom the Beatles admired for his war photojournalism, was personally invited to photograph the band in locations ranging from Paul McCartney’s garden to the banks of the Thames. The photos presented in this collection have been culled from twenty rolls of black-and-white film taken over the course of a single afternoon. “A Day in the Life of the Beatles” will be released in December priced at $24.95.

Previously unseen photographs from Nadav Kander’s journeys along the course of China’s Yangtze River will go on display at Flowers from 14 October 2010 to coincide with the publication of a monograph comprising the complete series. “The river is embedded in the consciousness of the Chinese, even those separated from it by thousands of miles,” the organisers say. “It plays a pivotal role in both the spiritual and physical life of the nation.” The exhibition coincides with the publication of a comprehensive monograph introduced by Kofi A. Annan and published by Hatje Cantz. Kofi A. Annan presented Kander with the 2009 Prix Pictet photographic award in sustainability for a selection of photographs from ‘Yangtze – The Long River’.

Epson today launched the Stylus Photo PX820FWD wireless All-In-One (AIO) device. The PX820FWD has a 19.8cm smart-navigation touch-panel with integrated touch-screen that puts all its functionality at the user’s fingertips and enables photos to be printed quickly and directly from memory cards and PictBridge-enabled cameras. Offering integrated wireless and Ethernet connectivity for shared printing, scanning and faxing, the Epson Stylus Photo PX820FWD can print a 10x15cm photo in ten seconds. Available from September, the PX820FWD is priced at £299.99.

ShutterSnitch is an app allows users of Eye-Fi cards to transfer photos from their Eye-Fi compatible cameras to an iPad. Apart from the app,, card, compatible camera and iPad, the solution also requires a mobile wireless router to create an ad-hoc network between the WiFi-enabled Eye-Fi card and the iPad. This allows photographers to pass the iPad to models, the crew, art directors etc. to discuss the photos and make any necessary changes to set up on the spot. Once all parties are happy, photos can also be emailed using the iPad’s mail app, exported to Flickr, an FTP server, or edited by exporting to other photography apps. ShutterSnitch is available in the AppStore priced at £4.99.

The Olympus FE-4050 is a 12-megapixel digital camera with a 27-108mm equivalent zoom lens and six Magic Filters. These include Drawing, Fisheye, Pinhole, Pop, Punk and Soft Focus. Other highlights include Face Detection AF, iAUTO scene recognition system, USB battery charging, AF Tracking, SD/SDHC card support and a range of scene modes. In Japan, the Olympus FE-4050 will go on sale before the end of this month, whereas in Europe it will be available from September.