The Photography.Book.Now competition, presented by Blurb, today opened voting for the People’s Choice Award. Anyone may visit the Photography.Book.Now Bookstore and vote for their favourite photography book through 20th August. There will be one People’s Choice Award winner in each category – Editorial, Fine Art, and Photography Portfolio.

Website: Photography.Book.Now

The district court in Utrecht/Netherlands rendered a drastic verdict against H.P. Ruitenberg and 4 respective entities of the so-called Crown group in favour of Tamron Europe. Tamron`s lawyers succeeded in providing evidence that Ruitenberg and several of his respective Crown companies violated the trademark rights of Tamron by dealing with illegally imported merchandise, which was not imported into the EU by or on behalf of Tamron. The verdict includes a penalty of €2,000,000 for non-compliance with an earlier verdict that Tamron had obtained in its favour.

The Sinar p-slr adapter lets DSLR users attach their camera bodies to Sinar view cameras, and use them as digital backs. This allows superior perspective control, selective focus and focal plane tilting and gives DSLR users an opportunity to use high-resolution digital Rodenstock lenses. The Sinar p-slr can be used with all Canon and Nikon single lens reflex cameras currently on the market. Thanks to the quick locking adapter supplied with the Sinar p-slr, the format can be changed from vertical to horizontal with only a few motions and within seconds. A positioning- and centering aid serves for the exact positioning of the camera on the optical axis. This upgrading set will be available as of August 2010 and it can be ordered right now at the price of 1980 Swiss Francs (not including the Value Added Tax).

Website: Sinar p-slr

Color Confidence has announced the launch of its inaugural ‘Push Your Creativity’ Awards. The Color Confidence ‘Push Your Creativity’ Awards are open to all creative professionals, including designers, illustrators and photographers of all levels, from student to professional, and invites submissions in any medium with the only proviso being that the work is creative and original. The winning entrants will be published as part of Color Confidence’s 2011 Graphic Supplies catalogue in the form of the cover and the section divider pages. The deadline for submissions is 5pm on Friday 22nd October 2010.

Website: Color Confidence Awards

Tiffen has updated Photo fx Ultra, its photo enhancement software application for the Apple iPad. Version 2 adds a Paint filter to the Image group with the following brushes: Color, Clone, Blur, Black and White, Mosaic, Red Eye, Repair, Scatter and Eraser. Also new is the opacity control feature of the Mask brush, along with crop and rotation enhancements and a correction to the Tint feature. Photo fx Ultra v2 is available at the Apple iTunes store for $5.99 and comes as a free update to current Photo fx Ultra users.

Panasonic has released firmware updates for the Panasonic Lumix LX3 and TZ7 (ZS3) digital compact cameras. Version 2.2 for the LX3 and version 1.3 for the TZ7 both optimise software processing without affecting camera performance.

Website: Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 Firmware Update Service
Website: Panasonic Lumix TZ7 / ZS3 Firmware Update Service

TNT Magazine’s annual travel writing photography competition is back. The awards are judged by TNT’s specialist panel, including Lonely Planet’s Tom Hall, and are highly regarded within the independent travel market. Readers Choice Awards are also given for both the writing and photography categories with online voting. You have until 16 August 2010 to submit your work. Winners of the photography categories; People and Places, The Natural World, Your London and Readers Choice will each receive an Olympus E-PL1 mirrorless system camera (pictured) with retro camera bag.

Website: TNT Travel Writing & Photography Awards

A Panasonic TZ10 is up for grabs at PicStop - all you need to do is submit a winning image to their current photography contest. You have until 30th September to enter your work. The winner will be picked at random by PicStop and notified by telephone or email. Do note that this competition is open to 18+ legal residents of the United Kingdom and Ireland only. Terms & conditions apply.

Website: PicStop Competition

Skyclock Lite is a free app for the Apple iPhone that shows, on an analogue clock face, twilight times, in addition to the sunrise, sunset for any location on any day - a useful resource for landscapists and other “magic hour” photographers. “Skyclock helps you plan your activity by letting you know (easily) when sunrise/sunset is, but more importantly, how much light is available before sunrise, and after sunset,” says Skyclock developer Rob Baxtresser. Skyclock Lite can be downloaded free of charge from the App Store.

Epson will be launching three additions to its professional printing range on Stand B13 in Hall 2.2 at Photokina this year. The printers will join Epson’s existing professional printer line-up that will be showcased through a variety of demonstrations during the exhibition. Epson will draw from its relationships with high profile nature photography initiatives; ‘Red Sea 2010: World of Underwater Images’ and ‘Wild Wonders of Europe’, by printing selected photos using Epson large format and professional photo printers. Epson will also support the Photo Industry Association in its world record attempt to construct the world’s largest globe created from photographic images, which will take place during the show.

Idan Shechter of DigitalPhotographyWriter has just posted two concept images of what Canon’s EVIL camera might look like, should the Japanese giant decide on launching one in the first place. “I have decided to become a concept design artist for one day, in order to try my photo editing software skills, and see what I can come up with,” Idan says. “I have tried to come up with a unique concept design that is based on current Canon DSLR models.” While we have no idea if / when Canon plans to enter the compact interchangeable-lens camera market, we have enjoyed reading about Idan’s efforts and seeing the results.

Website: DigitalPhotographyWriter

Innova Art promises to offer “truly astounding adventures in image making” at this year’s Photokina. Highlights on the Innova Art stand (C31, Hall 6.1) include an exhibition of Josh Cole’s ‘Physical Graffiti’ portfolio, demonstrations of the company’s Jetmaster Display System as well as its Décor Art ES papers and IFA-36 Photo Canvas Ultra Gloss media, and more. Innova Art will also feature in the “See me, feel me, print me”exhibition in Hall 2.2, which will be showcasing various inkjet paper manufacturers papers. This special exhibition encourages visitors to compare and contrast image output on a range of digital fine art papers, including papers from Innova Art where visitors will be encouraged to scrutinise the products of nine specialist paper manufacturers and even to try them out via the on-site printshop.

SnagFilms is now featuring for free, instant online streaming, “Shooting Robert King”, a film about a Tennesse-based war photographer that has previously only been available to select film festival audiences. King has spent the last fifteen years of his life in conflict zones such as Bosnia, Chechnya and Iraq, and the makers of the documentary say that he is “a uniquely fascinating figure to study as he grows and evolves in so many ways over the course of his journeys”. Recommended for photography and war buffs alike, “Shooting Robert King” can be viewed online at the website below.

Website: Shooting Robert King

Ten years ago Rick Norsigian, a painter for the Fresno school district, bought a set of 65 large-format glass negatives at a garage sale for $45. Experts now say the collection is worth $200 million, as the photographs turned out to have been taken by none else than Ansel Adams himself. A team of art and forensic experts conducted an exhaustive examination to determine the origin of the photographs and concluded that the negatives are early works of the virtuoso landscape photographer, most probably taken between 1919 and the early 1930s. The final report for the investigation was released at a press conference held yesterday in a Beverly Hills gallery. However, the dispute is far from being settled, as a recently published AOL News article quotes Adams’ grandson as saying, “I think it’s irresponsible to claim that they’re Ansel’s… We think it’s a very significant claim and we think it’s not accurate”.

The Samsung ST80 is a new Wi-Fi enabled, 14.2 megapixel point and shoot camera. The ST80 supports Wi-Fi and Samsung’s AllShare (DNLA) connectivity, as well as offering a 3 inch wide touch-screen LCD, 3x optical zoom, and 720p HD video recording. The Samsung ST80 will be available in September for $249.99 / £199.99.

The Samsung HMX-E10 is a new point-and-shoot camcorder offering full-HD resolution, 8 megapixel still images and a 270-degree swiveling lens. The HMX-E10’s swiveling lens also brings a new sense of fun to recording video, and gives users the ability to step out from behind the camcorder and put themselves in the frame with their friends and family. The built-in USB port connects the HMX E10 directly to any computer, and can also be used to charge the battery. The Samsung HMX-E10 will be available in September for $199.99.

Timed to coincide with the announcement of the world’s first 3D consumer camcorder, Panasonic has also unveiled its plans to release an interchangeable 3D lens for the Micro Four Thirds system. This compact twin lens features two optical systems installed within the diameter of the lens mount, creating stereo images from the left and right lenses that are then processed with a 3D image processing system. Panasonic plans to release this new lens for sale before the end of the year.

Panasonic has announced the world’s first 3D consumer camcorder. The Panasonic HDC-SDT750 includes a 3D conversion lens that enables the camcorder to shoot true-to-life 3D video content. In addition to shooting 3D, the SDT750 can record full 1080p High Definition in AVCHD, when the 3D conversion lens is not attached, and boasts features such as a 3MOS system, a Leica Dicomar lens and 12x optical zoom. Note that in order to properly view 3D content produced by the camera, you will also need a TV that is capable of side-by-side method 3D playback, 3D Eyewear, and HDMI cable connection. The Panasonic HDC-SDT750 will be available in October 2010 with a suggested retail price of $1,399.95.

Update: We’ve added some real-life close-up shots of the HDC-SDT750 to the image gallery - click through to see them…

Panasonic has introduced the Panasonic HM-TA1, a new Full HD mobile video camera with pocket-sized dimensions. The Panasonic TA1 features an integrated USB terminal and software that allows for easy PC connection and uploading videos to online sharing sites such as YouTube and Facebook. Beyond its HD video-capturing capabilities, the TA1 can also double as a Web camera and microphone, working with IP-based video chat programs such as Skype, by simply connecting the video camera to a computer. Finally, the TA1 also supports the Apple iFrame video format (960x540/30p), which is quick to import and easy to edit on a Mac. The Panasonic HM-TA1 will be available in August with a suggested retail price of $169.95.

Update: We’ve added some real-life close-up shots of the HM-TA1 to the image gallery - click through to see them…