Panasonic Canada has unveiled the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1R, billed as an official product of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. As seen from the product shot above, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1R bears the Olympic logo on its front plate - otherwise it is the same thing as the regular Lumix DMC-ZR1 (a 2009 model known as the ZX1 outside North America).

Swiss company Seitz Phototechnik AG has launched a new automated panorama head that allegedly sets a new standard in high-speed, consistent 360° photography. The new Roundshot VR Drive “s” works in a simple, two step process. Firstly, it rotates, completing a revolution in eight seconds, while capturing up to 5 images per second. Secondly, the resulting images are assembled with high-powered stitching software. The panoramas can be rendered either as cylindrical or spherical images. The VR Drive is compatible with many SLR cameras and with all lenses, from fisheye to telephoto. Weighing in at 1.65 kg, the VR Drive “s” is priced at CHF 2,800 (€1,870).

Samsung has issued a firmware update for its NX series lenses, which are compatible with the Samsung NX10 interchangeable-lens system camera. Version 1.1 improves AF accuracy when using the Samsung NX 30mm f/2, 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS (pictured) and 55-200mm f/4-5.6 ED OIS lenses.

Website: Samsung Support

Boinx Software has released a free update to FotoMagico 3, its storytelling software for digital photographers. Version 3.1 provides refinements to the user interface and offers new features to fine-tune the visual aspects of the slideshow. The new Chapters support makes it easier to structure the presentation. The dedicated FotoMagico Remote for iPhone & iPod touch has been updated with support for Chapters, swipe navigation and master volume control. FotoMagico 3.1 is available immediately for download from boinx.com/download. The update to FotoMagico 3.1 is free of charge to current FotoMagico 3.x license owners at their current license levels. A built-in assistant will guide users through the process of acquiring the proper license. FotoMagico 3.1 Home is available for $29 and FotoMagico 3.1 Pro (including PhotoPresenter 4) is available for $149. Requires Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and QuickTime 7.1 or newer, a Mac with G5 or Intel processor, with 1GB RAM or more. A free update to FotoMagico Remote for iPhone & iPod touch is available in the iTunes App Store.

Boinx Software has released PhotoPresenter 4, a major update to its quick presentation tool for digital photographers. Rewritten from scratch, PhotoPresenter 4 sports a revamped user interface, and integrates with all of the iApps on the Mac as iTunes, iDVD, iWeb or iPhoto but also with Photo Booth and Aperture – including the new Aperture 3. Flickr Users now can access their photos from their photo stream as well as the images of their friends. Available immediately for download priced at $29, Photo Presenter 4 requires Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard or later and a supported Core Image graphics card.

Website: Boinx Software Kagi Store

The Cosina Voigtländer APO-LANTHAR 90mm F3.5 SL II is a manual-focus lens for Canon, Nikon and Pentax SLR cameras. It comes with a lens hood and an add-on close-up lens, which allows the photographer to focus down to 32cm, and achieve a magnification of 1:1.8. (Without the close-up adapter, the lens can focus down to 50cm only.) Constructed of 6 lens elements arranged in 5 groups, the Cosina APO-LANTHAR 90mm F3.5 SL II has 9 diaphragm blades, and comes in Canon EF, Nikon F Ai-S and Pentax KA versions. The lens has only been released for Japan; there is no word on international pricing or availability at the moment.

Via 1001 Noisy Cameras

Digimarc has announced three new editions of its popular Digimarc for Images product, all of which feature advanced “Chroma” technology that provides an easy, reliable means for image professionals and small businesses to communicate their ownership and usage rights wherever their valuable photos and other image assets are found across the internet. Imperceptible digital watermarks are easily embedded and read using Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, and a free browser plug-in is also available for Windows XP, Windows 7, and Vista users, which automatically detects watermarked images while surfing the web. Additionally, Digimarc introduced three new product editions: Basic, Professional and Small Business.  Previously online image search was only available at a $499 price point, but due to sizeable customer demand, Digimarc is now making its Search Service more broadly available to the Professional Edition customers for $99.

David Noton is reminding interested photographers that his Chasing the Light Road Show is taking place on 25 February in Sheffield. The show will explore the making of David’s most iconic and inspirational photographs, including landscape, travel portrait and wildlife images. The Sheffield show will also showcase David’s brand new images and video clips taken on recent trips to Bolivia, Umbria and Canada. The photo above, for example, was taken this month in Umbria, Italy. Tickets for the Sheffield event are priced at just £16.50 and can be purchased online at www.davidnoton.com.

Panasonic has provided some more clues about its 2010 plans for the Lumix G camera system. In a presentation at the Panasonic Convention 2010 in snowy Munich, Germany, Pansonic’s main aims for Lumix G, which currently incorporates the Four Thirds (L10) and Micro Four Thirds (GF1, G1, GH1) models, were briefly outlined as follows:

- Expand Lineup
- Pursue Easy Operation
- Expand Lens Lineup

Magix has released Magix Website Maker 4, a program that could be of interest to photographers looking to build a Flash website to display their pictures. The new version can be used on Windows and on Macintosh OS X alike. Magix Website Maker 4 requires no installation and has a multi-project mode for pros. Beginners will appreciate the context-sensitive video tutorials, the included 64-page e-booklet “Website tutorial: How to easily create your own website“, and the Website Maker wizard. Magix Website Maker 4 is available now for £39.99 including VAT from Amazon and PC World.

OmniVision has announced a new 1/4-inch, 5-megapixel RAW CMOS image sensor based on its 1.4-micron OmniBSI backside illumination (BSI) technology. OmniVision’s 1.4-micron OmniBSI pixel allegedly delivers best-in-class low light sensitivity (680-mV/lux-sec) and a small footprint, making it ideal for the ultra-compact camera modules used in mobile phones and notebooks. The sensor provides 10-bit images in RAW RGB format with complete user control over formatting and output data transfer. It is also capable of recording 720p HD video at 60 frames per second (fps) and 1080p HD video at 30 fps. The 720p/60 HD video is captured in full field of view with 2 x 2 binning, which doubles the sensitivity and improves the signal-to-noise ratio.

Photobucket has announced that its newest application for Android provides the first-ever full imaging suite for camera phones, complete with automatic upload, content management, and image search capabilities. “By adding the ability to upload all camera phone photos automatically, the time consuming and confusing process of getting pictures off your phone has been rendered a thing of the past,” said Tom Munro, President of Photobucket. “Coupling the simplicity of automatic upload with the full functionality of the Photobucket Mobile application is a game changer when it comes to managing personal photos. Best of all, the service is available to anyone with an Android phone, absolutely free of charge.” This automatic backup solution will make it easier for users to share their memories with the more than 2 million websites that host Photobucket images, including Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter.

Fodor’s Travel has announced the latest in its series of travel photography contests, “Show Us Your France,” where North American visitors to Fodors.com will have the opportunity to upload their favorite photos of France, and the chance to win Fodor’s guides. One grand prize winner will have his/her photograph featured on fodors.com. Photo submissions will be accepted at www.fodors.com/contest/france from February 15th to March 7th, 2010. As always, we suggest that you read the rules before entering your work.

PicStop has teamed up with SanDisk to give one lucky visitor to their website the chance to drive a supercar for the day. The day includes the delivery & collection of either a Aston Martin DB9, Ferrari F430 or a Lamborghini Gallardo with insurance for 2 named drivers. For your chance to enter this prize draw simply click enter and submit your name & email details. Make sure to read their terms and conditions though, as only people with a valid British full driving licence are allowed to drive the car. The draw will be held on 19 March 2010.

Website: PicStop

Sigma Japan has unveiled the release date for the Pentax and Sony versions of the Sigma 17-70mm f2.8-4 DC MACRO OS HSM lens. The lens, which was announced on 4 December 2009, will be launched on 27 February for Sony and 19 March for Pentax. The estimated retail price is 56,200 yen plus taxes - this includes the lens itself and a LH780-04 lens hood.

Looks like it’s large-format day today - Fujifilm has just added some new products to its range of LF papers. The first is a competitively priced, water-resistant 255gsm paper, available with either a satin or gloss finish. Available in 30.5 metre rolls, either 24” or 44” widths; this paper enables prints with vibrant colours with a broad tonal range. The company has also released the new Premium Lustre large format paper, which has similar qualities to the acclaimed Pearl range and is available in 30 metre rolls, in either 24”, 44” or 60” widths.

Kodak has just announced the upcoming launch of Kodak Ektar 100 - the world’s finest-grained colour negative film emulsion available today - in 4x5” and 8x10” sheet formats. Since its introduction in September 2008, the Ektar 100 family of films has won numerous industry awards, including the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) award (2009), Professional Photographers’ Hot One Award (2009, 2010) and American Photo Editor’s Choice Award (2009). “Large-format photographers, such as landscape and fine-art photographers, will love the impact and flexibility that Ekatr 100 brings.  It’s the ideal choice for creating high magnification enlargements for commercial display, while preserving even the finest detail,” said Lars Fiedler, Marketing Manager Film Capture. “Introducing EKTAR 100 Film in 4x5 and 8x10 further continues our commitment to providing photographers with high quality, relevant films that support a broad segment of the market.” The new Kodak Ektar Film in 4x5 and 8x10 sheets formats will be available worldwide beginning in April 2010.

Related post: SilverFast NegaFix Profile for Kodak Ektar 100 Now Available

SoftColor Toolbox is a tiny command line tool for colour correction, image processing and colour management.All processing uses SoftColor’s layer based colour correction and image processing engine. SoftColor Toolbox reads multiple image formats including raw data, and also handles ICC profiles. A major benefit of SoftColor Toolbox 2 is that it can save output image in Photoshop document format (.psd). With this feature, the original and the improved images are stored in same output file as different layers. A 15-day trial is available through the website below.

Website: SoftColor Toolbox 2