Samyang will be offering three of its manual-focus lenses in NX mount. The Korean optics company has announced that the Samyang 8mm f/3.5 fish-eye, the Samyang 14mm f/2.8 ultra-wide lens and the Samyang 85mm f/1.4 telephoto lens will be available in NX fit in the second half of September. The prices are expected to be the same as the Canon, FourThirds, Nikon, Pentax and Sony versions.

Pictage has recently bought ShootQ, a web-based software company offering a business management solution for photographers. “ShootQ exists to help photographers create purposeful, profitable businesses. As a small, bootstrapped company, it has been difficult to achieve our vision with limited resources. While watching the Pictage management team in action, we discovered kindred spirits who are devoted to making photographers’ lives easier. We are convinced that Pictage and ShootQ will grow together to enable photographers’ success,” says Andrew Niesen, CEO and co-founder of ShootQ.

Website: Pictage

Leica has released a new firmware update for the M8 and M8.2 rangefinder cameras. Version 2.005 resolves the error message “Shutter fault”.

When shooting in C-Mode (Continuous) or taking several pictures consecutively in S-Mode (Single), the message “Shutter fault” may appear on the display. The new firmware 2.005 will solve this issue.

Please note:
a. After updating to the new 2.005 firmware the LEICA M8 with quiet 1/4000s shutter and LEICA M8.2 can not be „downgraded“ to the previous firmware.
b. User profiles will be deleted during the update process and will need to be recreated after the firmware upgrade process.

Leica M8 Firmware Update 2.005

My Favorite Things is a new photo contest from Lowepro and Polar Bears International. Open to professional and amateur photographers, the contest is designed to promote awareness of the effects of climate change on our environment. The Grand Prize winner will receive a Frontiers North’s Tundra Buggy Adventure for two to observe polar bears in their natural habitat in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada in November of 2010. The “My Favorite Things” photo contest takes place from July 1, 2010 through August 31, 2010.

M-ROCK is introducing the fifth generation of its premium camera, camcorder and lens bags, camera laptop & roller bags, camera backpacks and slings. M-ROCK designers focused on what they consider to be the two most critical jobs a camera bag is built to do; protect the delicate equipment and be convenient to use. The M-ROCK range separates itself into eight sections with the flagship category being the SLR camera bags.

Get $1,000 off a a new Mamiya RZ33 digital camera kit by trading in a RZ67 or RB67 camera body. The Mamiya RZ33 is a new large-sensor digital camera kit featuring a high performance 33 megapixel CCD sensor. This trade-in program runs in the US from July 2010 until September 30, 2010 with a limit of one trade-in per RZ33 purchased.

Thames Valley Photo Workshops offers photo training for all photographers. The ten week Foundation and Professional courses will be launched at a welcome evening on September 2nd at 6.30pm at the Images By Kevin studio at the Lamb Arcade, Wallingford, Oxfordshire. The Thames Valley Photo Workshops marry a range of digital capture and post-production techniques with contextual studies and professional practice.

The Swann RemoteCam looks like a car remote control and stealthily records and captures both videos and still images. It records full colour AVI video files with a resolution of 720 x 480, or 1280 x 1024 JPEG still images at the push of a button. The 2GB micro SD card included will store up to 40 minutes of recording at 30 frames per second. The new Swann RemoteCam is now available at £49.99 in the UK from PC World.

Photo Productions have launched brand new Pocket Books to complement their existing range of albums. Starting at only £18.00, these miniature albums are the perfect accompaniment to the larger Photobooks. New features have also been added to Photo Productions’ user friendly website, including the ability for Photographers to supply their own Photobook design and get a 10% discount in return.

We’ve been busy doing some work behind the scenes to help speed-up the site and make it more responsive. Hopefully you should find the latest version of Photography Blog a lot quicker to load than the previous incarnation. There may be a few bugs, so if you do experience anything untoward, please report it in the comments section of this post.

Nikon is planning to release a “new concept” SLR camera according to President Makoto Kimura. Available either this year or in 2011, the new Nikon hybrid may use the same mirrorless structure as rival cameras from Panasonic, Olympus, Samsung and Sony. According to the interview by Bloomberg, Nikon’s entry into the hybrid market will also possibly “have an enhanced function for video recording”.

The Sony Cyber-shot WX5, TX9 and T99 compact digital cameras have been unveiled today. The WX5 and TX9 are the first Cyber-shots to offer 3D Sweep Panorama. The WX5 and TX9 also feature a 12.2 megapixel Exmor R CMOS Sensor for low noise performance, 1080i Full HD movie recording, Superior Auto mode and Background defocus mode. The 14.1 megapixel Cyber-shot T99 offers Sweep Panorama and 720p HD movie recording. The Sony Cyber-shot WX5, TX9 and T99 digital cameras will be available from mid-September 2010.

Color Confidence has launched two powerful product bundles for the photographic market, which deliver a complete, accurate capture-to-monitor-to-print solution. The Color Confidence Profiler Photo consists of the Color Confidence Profiler and the X-Rite ColorChecker Passport. “Both ensure that photographers can capture their shots, view their digital images and print them with absolute peace of mind when it comes to colour accuracy and is a further example of our striving to be a true one-stop-shop for all things photographic.” said Geoffrey Clements, Managing Director of Color Confidence. Both packages are in stock and available now.

Nikon has published new images from Space, some of which were captured with the Nikon D3S digital SLR camera. In 2009, NASA ordered eleven D3S cameras and seven AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED lenses for use in recording activities aboard the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. The D3S cameras were the same products available to consumers with no special modifications, and they were delivered to the ISS via the Space Shuttle Discovery launched on April 5, 2010. To date, NASA has captured more than 700,000 images with Nikon equipment carried into space.

AKVIS LightShop 3 lets you create an infinite number of amazing light effects. Version 3.0 has improved compatibility with Windows 7 and Mac OS X 10.6. 64-bit, and now works with Adobe Photoshop CS4/CS5 64-bit. AKVIS LightShop costs $97 USD.

Explore the highlights and hidden delights of the languid and exotic state of Kerala on a new Better Travel Photography photo tour. The tour includes custom tuition from Steve Davey, which takes the form of illustrated talks, group practical sessions and work critiques. The tour departs from Cochin, India on the 24 November for 14 days, and costs £1395 excluding flights.

Lexar have just launched the “Take the Next Shot” sweepstakes on Facebook. One random winner will receive their choice of a Nikon D300s with 16-85mm VR lens kit or a Canon EOS 7D with EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens kit, as well as two 16GB Professional 600x CF cards and the choice of a Professional UDMA Dual-Slot Card Reader of a UDMA FireWire 800 Reader. Ten other winners will be chosen at random and review the choice of a Professional 300x 16GB CF card or a Professional 133x 16GB SDHC card.

To enter, you only need to become a fan of the Lexar Facebook page (www.facebook.com/lexarmedia), enter through the sweepstakes tab, and send your best picture to [email protected]. The sweepstakes runs from July 1 through July 31.

Exposure: England is a photographic exploration of the Yorkshire Dales in England. From September 11-18, roughly a dozen photographers of a wide variety of backgrounds and skills will live together in a small village in Arkengarthdale in order to develop a collective impression of the Dales. Any parties interested in participating as an Exposure: England photographer are invited to complete an application online by 21 July 2010.

GearGuard is a new a series of camera and equipment security devices that provide photographers with a theft prevention system for their gear. The flagship products in this new line include the GearGuard Camera Body Lock and the GearGuard Bag Lock, both of which are designed to safeguard a camera from the constant snatch-and-grab threat faced by photographers. Both the GearGuard Camera Body Lock and the Bag Lock (which is sold as a set of two units) are available for $9.95.