Music photographer Dean Chalkley will unveil his latest exhibition, The New Faces, in London on 4 March. The New Faces is the study of eight young ‘Modernists’, young men and women bound together by their shared passion for smart dressing and great dancing and R’n’B. Chalkley has acquired the help of East London-based photographic print studio theprintspace to produce the photographs on high quality Hahnemühle Photorag paper. theprintspace’s Max Munton said, “Chalkley has set milestones in photographing Music, Fashion and Subcultures . The New Faces is no different, perfectly capturing a familiar, but at the same time very hip and evolving ‘scene’ rooted in the past but growing and evolving in this modern age.“ The New Faces opens at The Book Club with a private view on 4 March.

The team of expert landscape photographers at Light & Land has announced a new tour to the Isles of Scilly. A unique island paradise located just a short hop off the Cornish coast, the beautiful archipelago of Scilly lies low in the crystal clear water and provides a feast of photographic opportunities – from tranquil white sandy beaches to exposed granite shores with crashing waves. The tour is based in St Mary’s, the main island of Scilly. For more information on these workshops contact the Light & Land office on 01432 839111.

Website: Light & Land

Those who buy a Mamiya DM40, DM33 or DM56 DSLR kit from an authorised Mamiya Digital Dealer in the USA between now and 30 April 2010 can choose one of two zoom lenses for free. These inclide the Mamiya AF 55-110mm f/4.5 and the AF 105-210mm f/4.5, each of which represents a $2371 value according to Mamiya. Consumers who purchase either a Mamiya DM28 or DM22 DSLR kit can in turn receive a free Mamiya AF 55mm f/2.8 wide-angle prime lens.

Mamiya has announced the price of the new, 40-megapixel Mamiya DM40 medium-format DSLR camera. The Mamiya DM40, which features two user-selectable shutter systems, a peak capture rate of 0.8 seconds per frame and a sustained capture rate of 60 frames per minute, can be yours for $21,990 in a bundle with the 80mm f/2.8D lens and Capture One / Leaf Capture software. While this might seem extremely steep to us mere mortals, the Mamiya DM40’s nearest competitor - the 37.5-megapixel Leica S2 - actually costs more without a lens. The Mamiya DM40 digital SLR camera will be shipped to retailers later this month.

Via 1001 Noisy Cameras

The much-anticipated firmware upgrade for the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, which enables 24 and 25fps movie recording with this DSLR camera, has been announced. Additionally, a new histogram display for shooting movies in manual exposure, shutter-priority (Tv) and aperture-priority (Av) has been added, and exposure modes will also be available in movie mode. Improved audio functionality will allow users to set sound record levels manually using a sound-level meter displayed on the LCD screen. The audio sampling frequency has also been increased from 44.1KHz to 48KHz, providing the optimum audio signal typically required for professional or broadcast material. The firmware (v2.0.3) will be available as a free download from mid-March from the Canon website.

PhotographyBB announced today the release of the 25th edition of the PhotographyBB Online Magazine. This two-year anniversary edition examines the role of amateur photographers looking to break into the professional realm, along with the impact on the photography industry. Additionally, portraiture and flash lighting techniques are featured, along with a guide on what to look for when purchasing a new lens. They also continue their detailed look at some of the new features in the Lightroom 3 beta release, including the Watermarking Tools and the new Identity Plate. Finally, in their Photography Around the World feature, they take readers to Canada for a trip through the Canadian Rockies. From the wildlife to the icefields, you’ll get a great look at the spectacular scenery which British Columbia and Alberta have to offer. PhotographyBB Magazine is a free download from the website below.

Website: PhotographyBB Magazine

Kata has unveiled its camera bag collections for 2010. In the course of the year, Kata will be introducing three new innovative collections which pledge to be the lightest and most protective photo/video bags. The three collections include state-of-the-art ultra-light pro bags that “embody the ultimate essences of Lightweight Protection without compromises”, pro-light bags that “cater to the smallest detail of a professional photographer and videographer needs”, and the so-called D-light bags designed for hobbyists.

FocalPoint Daily, a website offering a free new service for all those interested in photography and digital imaging launches this week. Posting the most important photography-related stories from across the web in the categories of News, Ideas, Reviews and Tools, Tips and Technology, FocalPoint Daily is run by photographers for photographers. Within the next two months an iPhone App will be launched that will allow photographers access to the latest, high quality news in their area ‘on the go’.

Website: FocalPoint Daily

Inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, the new Giotto’s Vitruvian VGR tripods are designed to offer photographers not only a truly lightweight and compact tripod, but a fully functioning monopod and ball head too. The Vitruvian tripods have been designed with “reverse technology” legs so that when collapsed they fold through 180 degrees to “surround” the tripod centre column and head – folding down into a unit that measures only 40cm long. There are two VGR models available, both with a maximum operating height of 157cm and a load capacity of up to 4kg. The VGR9255 is manufactured using aluminium tubing and weighs 1.5kg while the VGR 8255 uses 6 layer carbon tubing and weighs just 1.28kg.

Website: Giottos

Topaz Labs have released a major upgrade of the Topaz Adjust Photoshop plug-in, which features new presets, a completely redesigned user interface, and upgraded image processing algorithms. “Topaz Adjust 4 uses unique technology that automatically adapts to different image conditions like light, detail, and color,” said Albert Yang, president of Topaz Labs and original designer of Topaz Adjust. “This has important implications. Other tools make the same standard adjustments to every single photo they’re applied to. In contrast, Topaz Adjust 4 tailors the adjustments specifically to the photo in question. This gives it the flexibility to ditch the cookie cutter enhancements and create some truly fantastic and unique photo effects.” Topaz Adjust 4, a free upgrade for existing customers, otherwise retails for $49.99.

The winners of the February 2010 Photography Blog Competition have been announced. The theme for February was “Your Best Ever Photo” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 5 winners:

1st Place
Stillness by vab

Prize: X-Rite ColourChecker Passport
Kindly donated by X-Rite
http://www.xritephoto.com/

Fujifilm Professional has announced the winners of the latest Fujifilm Distinctions Awards. The overall winner is Ukraine based photojournalist, Ikuru Kuwajima who collects a cash prize of £1,000 for his image, ‘Cossack Children with a Foal’, captured on Fujicolor Superia 400 film. The Awards were judged by Camilla Brown from The Photographers’ Gallery, Aidan Sullivan from Getty Images, Photographer, Simon Roberts, and Jerry Deeney from Fujifilm Professional. Simon was impressed by the winner: “Ikuru’s entry has an awkward beauty about the pose, with the hand gestures of the children mirroring the foal’s head. It’s a really intriguing, atmospheric image that is reminiscent of a classic painting.”

WD has just introduced its new My Passport Studio portable drives featuring the super-fast FireWire 800 interface and a customizable e-label that’s always visible, even when the drive is unplugged. The new high-performance My Passport Studio drives are formatted for Mac computers, compatible with Apple TimeMachine software, and feature automatic and continuous backup with WD SmartWare software, and 256-bit hardware-based encryption. Available now at select retailers and shopwd.com, the new My Passport Studio drives are offered in capacities of 320 GB, 500 GB and 640 GB, priced from $149.99 to $199.99.

Arctic explorer and photographer, Martin Hartley, left the UK last week equipped with a specially-tested LEICA MP camera with LEICA ELMARIT-M 24mm f/2.8 ASPH. lens as part of his expedition equipment. Martin Hartley commented, “Despite 19 polar photographic assignments over the last 12 years, there are still ‘impossible’ images to capture.  At the start of every expedition on the Arctic Ocean in late February/March, it is difficult to survive let alone operate a camera due to the severe conditions.  Below minus 40 degrees Celsius, electronic circuits slow down and become unreliable. The mechanical LEICA MP will give me the best chance of capturing those elusive, extremely cold photographs this time, which may be our last opportunity to do so.” During his trip, Martin will regularly send back film for developing, and images from the expedition will be posted regularly on his website.

Website: Martin Hartley

Sixty-nine endangered North American animal and plant species are poignantly profiled in a new book from National Geographic, RARE: Portraits of America’s Endangered Species, photographed by Joel Sartore. His arresting photographs tell a sad tale of a harsh reality: For many species, it’s already too late. One of the featured animals, the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit (see photo above), actually went extinct while the book was being made. An exhibition of 40 images from the book will be held March 18-Oct. 11 at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C. At a National Geographic Live event at headquarters on April 20 at 7:30 p.m., Sartore will share stories about living things that may soon disappear from the world.

Canon has been voted as Europe’s top camera brand for the tenth consecutive year in the Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Brands Survey 2010. Reader’s Digest asked its readers in 14 languages across 16 European countries to nominate the brand they trusted most in a range of consumer categories, including cameras.  Respondents were drawn from the Reader’s Digest customer database of 4.5 million homes in Europe, and more than 32,000 responses were analysed. Canon came out on top in 14 of the 16 countries, including Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

The Noktor HyperPrime 50mm f0.95 portrait lens for Micro Four Thirds, which we wrote about last week, has officially been announced and priced. Constructed of eight elements in seven groups, the Noktor HyperPrime 50mm f0.95 offers the same angle of view (23°) and depth of field as a theoretical 100mm f1.9 lens would when mounted to a 35mm film camera. Weighing in at 480 grams, the Noktor HyperPrime 50mm f0.95 takes 62mm filters and focuses down to 0.6m / 2ft. This manual-focus lens for Micro Four Thirds ships from 15 April priced at $750, and is available now for pre-order.

Website: Noktor

The German subsidiary of Sigma has unveiled the prices of the Sigma DP2s large-sensor compact and the Sigma SD15 digital SLR camera. The cameras, which share the same almost-APS-sized Foveon sensor, were on display at PMA in Anaheim but at that time, the prices were not revealed. According to the official German website of the company, the Sigma DP2 carries an RRP of €799, while the Sigma SD15 is expected to retail for €899.

Source: Sigma-Foto via 1001 Noisy Cameras