Phanfare for the iPad lets you edit, organize and display your Phanfare photos and videos on the Apple iPad. Slideshows take advantage of the increased screen real estate available on the iPad relative to the iPhone, bringing down higher resolution versions. You can create albums, import photos and videos, edit captions, crop photos and perform basic edits all from within the app. Any changes made are synched back to the online service of Phanfare. Phanfare for the iPad is available immediately in the Apple App store for free.

Fujifilm has organised a scavenger hunt on 25th July in New York City to celebrate the resurgence of instant film photography on the declaration of its first annual Instax Day. Instax Day will bring 50 instant film enthusiasts together to use instant film to capture New York City landmarks and hot spots during a summer fun scavenger hunt that will take place between Rockefeller Center and Union Square Park. Contestants will be given a map to help plot their course, and compete for a chance to win first ($500), second ($250) and third ($100) prize gift certificates to B&H Photo Video. Check-in for the scavenger hunt will begin at the B&H Event Space at 10am and the scavenger hunt will officially kick off at 11am sharp.  The date of 7/25 reflects the model numbers of the two currently available Instax Mini instant cameras, the Mini 7S and the Mini 25.

Website: Instax on Facebook

FotoWeek DC, the premier photography festival in Washington, DC announces the launch of its third annual International Awards Competition. Images are judged in 12 different categories, with cash prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place for each category. There is also the Spirit of Washington Award, which honors the photograph that best captures the essence of the US capital and includes a top prize of $5,000. The competition is open to all photographers, both amateurs and professionals. Entry fees apply, but there is an early bird discount for work submitted before 31 July. The final deadline for submission is 20 September 2010.

Website: FotoWeek DC 2010 Festival

Focussion is an online photo gallery and feedback site where members earn tokens by giving others feedback on their photos. These tokens are needed to be able to upload further images, so the system encourages photographers to look at and critique others’ pictures. Therefore Focussion is more focussed on quality than quantity, and seeks to become a community of committed photographers who really love to review each other’s work. “Moreover, unlike the type of short comments you’ll find on other photo sites, Focussion members will discuss and elaborate, rather than reply in short sentences,” says Focussion founder Aljan Scholtens.

Website: Focussion

East London photographic gallery theprintspace will play host to a fantastic exhibition of still life and commercial photography from acclaimed photographer Ed James. East London photographic gallery theprintspace will play host to a fantastic exhibition of still life and commercial photography from acclaimed photographer Ed James. Amongst the collection of photography is a series on TV dinners, shooting the dinners under photographic studio light, paying attention to every detail and showing people who usually eat this food by the light of the television set, what it really looks like. Another photograph (above) captures a wooden deer head in a living room, illustrating the irony of hunting. The wallpaper shows the animal in its environment; with the wooden trophy suggesting the hunter cannot quite do the deed of killing the deer. The exhibition is on view from today until 17 August 2010. The gallery, located at 74 Kingsland Road, London E2 8DL, is open from 9am to 7pm, Monday to Friday.

Corel’s Quest for the Best Creativity Challenge is looking to discover and showcase some of the extraordinary and inspiring work made in Corel software every day. “As we celebrate our 25th birthday, it’s the perfect time to shine a spotlight on the talent and skills of our community as we thank them for their loyalty and longstanding support,” said Nick Davies, Senior Vice President, Corporate Marketing at Corel. To enter, design your creation in one of Corel’s products and upload your entry to the website below, or simply visit the website and pick your favourite submissions.  The contest is now open in the US, UK, Canada and Germany. Deadline for participation is 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time on 31st August 2010.

Website: Corel Quest for the Best

Litepanels has introduced the MicroPro Hybrid, billed as the first professional LED light to combine continuous output and a “Flash” feature in a single fixture. The Hybrid’s “Continuous Mode” provides luminous, wrap-around soft output that beautifully complements any motion-enabled DSLR camera’s video capability. The “Flash” feature produces a 400% brighter burst, which is perfect for illuminating a variety of still images. Readers requiring further information should call 01293 583300 or visit the website below.

Website: Litepanels

Canon has issued a firmware update for the Canon EOS 7D digital SLR camera. Version 1.2.2 incorporates the following fixes.

  1. Fixes a phenomenon in which the set aperture moves when shooting movies in manual exposure mode using some Canon lenses (such as macro lenses).
  2. Fixes the AF point-selection behaviour of the C.Fn III-7 (Manual AF pt. selec. pattern) custom function when set to [1].
  3. Fixes the AF point display for the viewfinder electronic level when shooting in the vertical position.
  4. Corrects misspellings in the Spanish and Thai menus for applicable products.

Website: Canon EOS 7D Firmware Downloads

Fujifilm has posted three full-resolution sample photos taken with the new Fujifilm Finepix F300EXR, a compact camera that mates a 24-360mm equivalent zoom lens to Fuji’s new generation EXR sensor. The sample shots were all taken at ISO 100, and include a still life, a portrait and a landscape photograph.

Website: FinePix F300EXR / F305EXR | Sample Images

Serif has released PhotoPlus X4, geared towards photography enthusiasts that demand a powerful yet easy-to-use and inexpensive way to organise, edit, and be creative with photos. Improvements include a contemporary new look, user enhancements to improve workflow and performance, plus new tools to accurately cut out subjects from photographs and make pixel-perfect edits. PhotoPlus X4 now also incorporates AlbumPlus Organiser, an easy-to-use program for viewing, managing and sharing photos, and a bonus copy of PanoramaPlus X4, Serif’s automated photo stitching software for creating stunning panoramic images. PhotoPlus X4 is compatible with Windows 7/Vista/XP and retails at £69.99.

In the fourth edition of The Photographer’s Guide to Marketing and Self-Promotion, veteran photographer’s rep Maria Piscopo reveals how to build a satisfying and lucrative career by increasing clientele and profits. Thoroughly updated for the new millennium, The Photographer’s Guide to Marketing and Self-Promotion provides the best current marketing and promotional practices including online marketing, new portfolio realities; how to sell in both consumer and commercial photography settings; plus 22 in-depth case studies interviewing top photographers in commercial, editorial, wedding, portrait, event, and fine art photography. The book is currently available from Allworth Press priced at $19.95.

Kenro, the official UK distributor for Benro tripods, has recently launched the FlexPod Series. FlexPods are available in four different models, two made from eight-layer carbon fibre and two constructed in high rigidity aluminium alloy with a 1.5mm wall thickness. Each FlexPod tripod features a quick-switch centre column that can easily be moved from vertical to horizontal including any position in between. The angle of this centre column can be locked into place with a single twist of the set-knob. Each model comes complete with an in-built spirit level plus a centre column hook from where an additional weight can be suspended for increased stability.

The Eye-Fi Geo X2 is the world’s first wireless memory card to include geotagging. With a 4GB capacity, the Eye-Fi Geo X2 card integrates with Macintosh environments and applications, such as MobileMe and iPhoto. The card’s unique embedded Wi-Fi technology will upload photos straight to the user’s computer and/or photo sharing accounts, such as Facebook, Flickr and Picasa, without the need for wires and worrying. Geotagging, just one of the features on offer, will then show the pictures on a map and make albums searchable by location. Priced from £49.99 to £119.99, the Eye-Fi X2 range of cards is available from high street stores, including Jessops, and online from sites, such as Amazon.

Canon has added two new CanoScan LiDE Color Image Scanners to its product line-up.  The new Canon CanoScan LiDE 210 and LiDE 110 scanners feature maximum optical resolutions of 4800x4800dpi and 2400x4800dpi, respectively. “When the time comes to archive memorable photos or important documents, consumers need to be confident that the finished product will be of high image quality when compared to that of the original,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, executive vice president and general manager, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon U.S.A. “These two new CanoScan scanner models deliver not only great results but show Canon’s commitment to providing products which are energy efficient.”  The estimated selling price for both of these Energy Star Compliant colour image scanners is $89.99 for the LiDE210 and $59.99 for the LiDE110.

Update: As of 19th August 2010, the CanoScan LiDE 110 and 210 are also announced in Europe. They are priced at £75/€89 and £95/€109, respectively, and available from September 2010.

Travel photographer of the year award winner Lorne Resnick has just announced additional dates for his Art of Travel Photography workshop series. Join Lorne as he guides you in creating compelling and unique travel, landscape, wildlife, nature and people images. This limited selection of intimate workshops will provide you with an exceptional learning experience in some of the most beautiful places on earth, including exotic locations such as Cuba, Kenya, Tanzania, Antarctica and also iconic US National Parks such as Yosemite, Arches and Death Valley. For exact dates and locations, pay a visit to the website below.

Website: Lorne Resnick Workshops

Futuresource has released a report on the Western European market opportunity for interchangeable-lens compact digital cameras, better known as EVILs. “In the short-term, whilst we are expecting significant growth for the Interchangeable Lens Compact market, it will still only reach shipments of 377,000 units across Western Europe in 2010, compared to expectations of 3.3m units for DSLRs,” opines James Wells, consultant with Futuresource. “Panasonic, Olympus, Sony and Samsung (with a 20% combined share of interchangeable lens camera shipments in 2009) are expected to promote this segment heavily in 2010, particularly at the Photokina show in September in the run up to the important fourth quarter period. The long term aim is to try to break Canon’s and Nikon’s stranglehold on the interchangeable lens camera market. Suffice to say this will be an interesting space to watch over the next two to three years.”

InfoTrends has recently conducted a multi-client survey to reveal insights into the needs of current and future owners of SLRs and other interchangeable-lens cameras. Entitled Digital SLRs and Other Interchangeable Lens Cameras: A Multi-Client Study, the report is based in part on a survey of over 6,000 consumers. This research indicates that future buyers of Digital ILCs will include current Digital ILC owners who are looking to purchase additional or replacement cameras, compact camera owners seeking to upgrade the quality and functionality of their cameras, and even a few digital camera non-owners who will purchase a Digital ILC as their very first digital camera. The greatest market potential comes from compact camera owners who are looking to upgrade, as compact camera owners greatly outnumber current Digital ILC owners.

SparkPlug has developed a tiny LED flash that plugs into the dock connector on the iPhone, lighting the scene for photos or video. The flash itself is small enough to be attached to a key-ring and draws minimal power from the phone.  The built-in touch sensor detects a finger press on the back of the module, turning on a 96 lumen beam of light, which can also be used as a flashlight.  The flash is designed to fit through the opening in most iPhone cases for the dock cable, so there is no need to remove your case. The SparkPlug Flash is available through the website below priced at $14.95.

Website: SparkPlug Flash

The Samsung PL200 is a stylish yet competitively priced 14.2-megapixel, 7x zoom point-and-shoot digital camera that also shoots HD video. The lens, whose 35mm equivalent focal length range goes from a relatively wide 31mm to 217mm telephoto, features optical image stabilisation. Other highlights include a three-inch rear screen, Smart Auto scene recognition technology, Beauty Shot and Smile Shot modes, as well as Blink Detection and Face Detection. Available from September, the Samsung PL200 is expected to hit the shelves at a price of about $180 / £149.99.