Casio Europe has just announced a new compact camera, the 12.1-megapixel Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z350. Featuring a 27-112mm equivalent zoom lens and a 2.7in, 230,400-pixel rear screen, the Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z350 comes with 23 scene modes anda YouTube Capture Mode for videos. The EX-Z350 is available now throughout Europe, priced at €149.

Tomorrow Ricoh will release function-enhancing firmware updates for the Ricoh GR Digital III digital compact camera and the Ricoh GXR system. The Ricoh GR Digital III firmware update will allegdly improve the effectiveness of the in-camera noise reduction, change the settings for auto exposure bracketing, introduce an in-camera trimming function, add a second Incandescent white balance setting, and introduce an optional shutter speed shift function, which overrides the user-selected shutter speed in Shutter Priority mode in cases when over- or underexposure cannot otherwise be avoided. These enhancements will also be implemented in the Ricoh GXR via its respective firmware update, which will bring about a range of additional improvements too. The firware updates will be downloadable from the Ricoh website from 19 May.

Self Publish, Be Happy Weekend at The Photographers’ Gallery is a unique showcase of exceptional contemporary DIY photo books selected by curator and founder of Self Publish, Be Happy, Bruno Ceschel. The weekend long event - taking place on 5th & 6th June 2010 - will offer art book lovers the opportunity to discuss, admire and be inspired by publications originating from around the world. A selection of the books will be for sale in The Photographers’ Gallery Bookshop. Visitors will also be able to meet the authors/publishers in The Photographers’ Gallery first floor Café and Bookshop at various book signings throughout the weekend. The Photographers’ Gallery is located at 16 – 18 Ramillies St, London W1F 7LW.

Birmingham Museum of Art Gallery will host the first UK exhibition of legendary Magnum photographer Steve McCurry. The exhibition will include over eighty striking images that span a remarkable twenty-year career, including his world renowned portrait “Afghan Girl”, taken in 1984 with a Nikon FM2 camera and 105mm f/2.5 lens. The now iconic image of the young green-eyed girl appeared for the first time on the cover of National Geographic in June 1985, instantly becoming a symbol both of the Afghan conflict and of the refugee situation worldwide. To accompany the exhibition Steve McCurry will give a presentation about his twenty year career on Friday, 2 July. The talk will start at 6.30 pm in the Waterhall at Birmingham Museum of Art Gallery. Tickets are available priced at £10.

HP is demonstrating its new digital printing solutions at Ipex 2010, the major graphic arts tradeshow of the year. Highlights include the HP T200 Colour Inkjet Web Press (expected to be available in 2011), the HP Indigo 7500 Digital Press, the more affordable HP Indigo 3550 Digital Press, the HP Designjet Z5200 PostScript Printer (pictured), the HP Scitex large-format printers, and more. Ipex 2010, held in the N.E.C., Birmingham, opened today and runs until 25 May.

Imagenomic has released its Portraiture 2 plugin for Adobe Photoshop CS5, CS5 Extended, and Elements 8. This new version adds native 64-bit support for running Portraiture from CS5 on Mac OS X, and complements Imagenomic plugin support for 64-bit Windows Vista and Windows 7. This is a free update for registered users of Portraiture for Photoshop. New users can try the Portraiture Plugin for Photoshop CS5 and Elements 8 on a 15-day free trial basis.

Website: Imagenomic

The Samsung Blu EX1, a new digital compact camera with a 24-72mm equivalent f/1.8-2.4 lens (also known as the Samsung TL500) has officially been launched in South Korea. Featuring a 10-megapixel 1/1.7” CCD imager, the Samsung Blu EX1 also boasts an articulated, 3” AMOLED screen that lets you properly compose your self-portraits. A front control wheel and a control ring around the lens allow users to change settings quickly and efficiently. An anti-shake system, a pop-up flash, a flash hot shoe and raw support round off the features list. The Samsung Blu EX1 is available in Korea in black and silver, priced at 599,000 won. The US price was set at $449.99 when the camera was first announced back in February.

Website: Press Release (in Korean)

Corel UK today announced a two-day Spring sale running from May 19th to May 20th that includes offers on key products across Corel’s digital media, graphics and productivity software range. The offers include 50% off the regular price of Corel Digital Studio 2010, and 25% off Corel WinDVD Pro 2010 as well as Corel Painter 11. The two-day sale extends to other products in its software range for current Corel users such as Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3 Upgrade and Corel VideoStudio Pro X3 Upgrade with 10% off the upgrade price.

Website: Corel UK Store

From June 8 through October 17, 2010, The Metropolitan Museum of Art will present Hipsters, Hustlers, and Handball Players: Leon Levinstein’s New York Photographs, 1950-1980. A master of classic American street photography, Leon Levinstein (American, 1910–1988) is best known for his candid and unsentimental black-and-white figure studies made in New York City neighbourhoods from Times Square and the Lower East Side to Coney Island. Hipsters, Hustlers, and Handball Players: Leon Levinstein’s New York Photographs, 1950-1980 features 45 of his photographs, drawn exclusively from the Metropolitan Museum’s collection.

A new website, Stockphotorights.com, aims to unravel the complexities and expose the potential legal pitfalls of image use online. Set up by Getty Images, the site has been launched in response to a new survey which has identified a lack of understanding among some image users. Almost half of the respondents (48%) said they did not fully understand legal protection or indemnification, for instance. The need for a one-stop online resource for information surrounding licensing issues was identified by many of the image users surveyed. Stockphotorights.com was developed to act as this online resource for image users to better understand the complex issues surrounding image licensing. The content featured on Stockphotorights.com includes frequently asked questions, case studies, an image licensing checklist, a short educational video, a rolling feed of relevant news, informative links and a forum where users can discuss related topics.

Website: StockPhotoRights

The Art of Photography Show, an international photo exhibition which will take place 28 August through 7 November, is now open for entries. Part of the show is a juried competition. Images created via any form of photography will be accepted for consideration, so long as part of the image is photographically created. The total worth of the awards is $10,000. Do note that there is an entry fee, which is $25 for the first entry, and $10 for each additional entry.

Website: The Art of Photography Show Registration Form

X-Rite has announced i1Profiler, the company’s next generation colour profiling software and Pantone Link, a new colour swatch bridging software. Accommodating a broad range of proficiencies and expertise i1Profiler lets pre-press, publishing, digital printing and photo professionals create custom profiles for their RGB and CMYK printers, monitors and digital projectors. i1Profiler  together with PANTONE Link, introduce new UI concepts that offers an unprecedented level of flexibility to address the specific needs of users at all levels, the company claims. i1Profiler will soon be undergoing beta testing and is scheduled for release in Q4 2010.

AKVIS has released ArtWork 3.5, a piece of software that transforms photos into paintings using various techniques. This latest version introduces the ability to save guiding lines to a file , making it easier to continue editing a photo later. When guiding lines are loaded, their size is adjusted automatically to the image. AKVIS ArtWork is available as a stand-alone application, as well as a plug-in to a photo editor. In version 3.5 the plugin version of AKVIS ArtWork is now 64 bit compatible. AKVIS ArtWork Home License (plug-in or standalone) sells for $72 USD. Registered users can upgrade to version 3.5 for free.

Website: AKVIS ArtWork

Canon has announced that the season finale of House is the first network television prime time drama episode to have been shot entirely on a digital SLR camera. The crew used a Canon EOS 5D Mark II body and a selection of EF lenses for a completely digital workflow that allowed them to complete filming the entire episode in just 10 days. The season finale airs tonight, Monday, May 17 (8:00-9:01 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

Canon U.S.A. has announced the fifth annual Photography in the Parks contest. From 17 May to 30 September 2010, contestants will have the opportunity to submit their best “Nature” image – the theme for this year’s competition. The contest invites participants to compete within two divisions; the teen division, for entrants ages 13-17 and the adult division, for entrants ages 18 and older. The winning photographers from each division will be announced in December and will be awarded with some of Canon’s latest photography equipment. Along with receiving Canon products, the Grand Prize winner will also receive a trip to a U.S. National Park of his or her choice, within the lower 48 states. To highlight the creative experience, all winning images and honourable mentions will be displayed on the Canon Digital Learning Center. Note that this contest is open to legal residents of the U.S.A: only.

Website: Canon Photography in the Parks Photo Contest

The new SteadePod is a retractable, compact and lightweight camera-steadying device. “To use, simply attach the SteadePod to your camera, extend the stainless steel cable and anchor the footpad then pull to place a small amount of tension in the cable,” the manufacturer says. A ratchet and locking mechanism allows positioning of the camera for a steady picture nearly anywhere between 6” to 6’. A swivelling camera pad enables seamless transitions from portrait to landscape compositions. SteadePod is available immediately for £29.99.

Leica has announced a new version of the Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH lens for its M series rangefinder cameras. The new Leica Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH. differentiates itself from its predecessor by incorporating a floating element:  the lenses behind the aperture blades are constructed as a floating group that changes its position relative to the front lens group during focusing. According to Leica, this ensures outstanding imaging performance at closer focusing distances (the close-focus point of the new lens is at 0.7m). The Leica Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH will be available in the UK at the end of June 2010 at a suggested retail price of £3,375 including VAT.

Created as an homage to classic photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Frank, Think Tank Photo has created five soft-sided shoulder bags in its new Retrospective series. This new series is made up of two styles: three Retrospective Soft-sided Camera Shoulder Bags and two Retrospective Soft-sided Lens Changer Shoulder Bags. Their soft and supple fabrics conform to the body and feature two color options: Pinestone Cotton Canvas and Black Poly Spun Canvas. Each of the three shoulder bags accommodates a pro-size DSLR camera with a zoom lens attached, and has separate front pockets for back-up bodies. The Lens Changer bags carry two or three lenses plus small accessories in separated compartments for rapid access. Think Tank Photo is dedicating a percentage of sales of the Retrospective line of shoulder bags to Fifty Crows Foundation, which aims to bridge the gap between venues and distribution mediums for documentary photography, and to encourage public dialogue on the issues raised through the photography.

In the UK, the white version of the recently announced Canon IXUS 300 HS is now available exclusively from Jessops. A premium compact featuring a 10-megapixel CMOS sensor, a 28-106mm equivalent f/2.0-5.3 lens with image stabilisation, semi-manual exposure modes and 720p HD movie recording; the new Canon IXUS 300 HS is capable of taking full-resolution stills at up to 3.7 frames per second (fps), and 2.5-megapixel photos at up to 8.4fps. The Canon IXUS 300HS White is available exclusively from Jessops for £379.