Corel have announced that Corel Digital Studio 2010 is available at Best Buy for $59.99 – a savings of 40% off the regular suggested retail price – until December 19, 2009. Corel Digital Studio 2010 makes it fast and fun to enjoy and share your favorite photos and videos. ” Whether making quick fixes to Thanksgiving family photos, creating a photo book of baby’s first holiday, or making a slide show or HD home video for loved ones, Corel Digital Studio offers fun and easy ways to create memorable and meaningful keepsakes,” the company says. Corel has also launched a new contest in time for the holidays. Users who download a free 30-day trial of Corel Digital Studio 2010 from www.cnet.com, www.download.com or www.corel.com/cdstrial will be entered to win a $5000 shopping spree at Best Buy. For full contest details, please visit the website below.

Website: Contest Details

Erin Fong, an industrial design student at California College of the Arts has devised a completely new type of DSLR camera. The Nova DSLR breaks with the conventional SLR form factor that is rooted in film camera design, and takes a new approach to camera ergonomics. “The Nova DSLR Camera takes different forms with the mobility of the camera arms, giving comfort to left-handed and right-handed users. In addition, the buttons are located at the fingertips allowing users to simultaneously take pictures and easily locate the features they need,” Fong explains. As you might have guessed already, the Nova DSLR is a concept only, but it surely is a novel one that deserves attention in our view.

Website: Erin Fong’s Nova DSLR Camera

Lifephoto.com, an online digital photo gift store and photo sharing site, has announced that its photo sharing book previewer can now be posted and shared on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites. The Previewer is Lifephoto’s sharing tool that displays a user’s photo book in a “turning-page format” during the book-building process. The user can e-mail the Previewer to another person who can then also view the book. Now Lifephoto has added additional sharing options by adapting the Previewer for use on social media. Friends can view the complete photo book in the afore-mention “turning page” format and add their comments on the post.

Website: Lifephoto

Harman Technology has announced the winning entries to its Harman Photo Crystaljet RC Student Competition. Open to photography students across the UK, the competition asked entrants to deliver their creation – from two key themes, ‘Interaction’ or ‘Today’ – with submissions made on the new Harman Crystaljet RC inkjet paper. The overall winner is Jonathan Lewis from Southport College for his entry, ‘Donalda in bath’ (see above). All of the winning entries will be exhibited on the Harman photo stand at Focus on Imaging 2010 and can be found on the Harman website.

Website: Harman Photo Crystaljet RC Student Competition

PhotoBin has announced David Lenhert of Escondido, California, as the winner of its 2009 Summer Photo Contest. As the first-place winner, Lenhert received $250, with the second and third-place winners receiving $100 and $50, respectively. To see all photo contest winners, visit the website below.

Website: PhotoBin 2009 Photo Contest Winners

Photoinduced.com has launched “Let’s Do Lunch”, a photo contest that asks you to take pictures of your midday meal and help feed the hungry. Participants are invited to log on to letdolunchcontest.com and submit their photos for any of four categories: Friends and Family- meals on a more personal level; Down to Business - lunch with a purpose; Street - delicacies only available on the boulevard; and Solo - meals on your own. The contest is now accepting paid online submissions from photographers. A grand prize winner and winners in each of the four categories will be selected by a panel of photography and food professionals. One Grand Prize winner and first place winners in each of the categories will receive a selection of prizes from HP, ThinkTank Photo, Adobe, NAPP, Nikon, Blurb.com. and more. Additionally, there will be a special Student Prize and a Peoples Choice winner.

Website: Let’s Do Lunch

Sigma Corporation of America has highlighted the work of four elite photographers - Chip Forelli, Paula Lerner, Stephen Mallon and Sean Perry - in its online photo gallery, “Our World: Awe-Inspiring Images.” All four photographers were given a Sigma DP2, with which they were not familiar and were encouraged to produce images that pay tribute to the camera’s image quality. The results are currently available on the company’s Web site for public viewing.

Website: Our World

Swiss Data Group has announced the launch of SnapHaven, an online photo storage site that guarantees the safety and security of members’ photographs for life. Users can import photos quickly through the SnapHaven Easy Photo Uploader desktop application, access them online at any time, and easily share them with family and friends. SnapHaven has no minimum purchase requirements and no recurring subscription fees. It costs three cents per picture for lifetime storage, and the first 100 photos uploaded are free. For more information on SnapHaven, visit the website below.

Website: SnapHaven

Joby, makers of the famed Gorillapod line of innovative tripods, have launched an iPhone app called Gorillacam. The application, which was actually created for Joby by a company called AppTight, endows the Apple iPhone with a range of standard camera functions such as a self-timer, an unlimited continuous shooting mode at up to 1.6 frames per second, and auto-saving of your photos in the background; but also adds a few advanced features such as a shooting grid overlay, a time-lapse function and a two-way electronic bubble level. Those wishing to take a photograph of themselves will appreciate the option of turning the whole iPhone screen into a shutter release, while anyone whose portraits have ever been ruined by the subject’s blinking will applaud the 3-shot burst feature that allows the iPhone camera to take three photos in rapid succession, at a single tap. The Gorillacam app is a free download from the Apple iPhone App Store.

Website: GorillaCam

Samsung has introduced the Samsung 800P, a new 8” digital photo frame with an 800x480-pixel backlit LCD panel. Other highlights include Bluetooth 2.0 support, 2 gigabytes of internal memory, microSD compatiblity and a remote controller. For now, the Samsung 800P is launched in the Korean market only, at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of 199,000 KRW. Currently there is no information on international pricing and availability.

Via Engadget

The Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) has announced the launch of a new trade show, called CP+.  The first exhibition of CP+ is scheduled to be held in “Pacifico Yokohama” of Yokohama-city, Kanagawa, between March 11th and 14th, 2010. The goal of CP+ is to create a new international photographic industry exhibition, something comparable to Photokina in Germany or PMA in the USA, which proves to be an ideal platform for camera equipment manufacturers, component/device suppliers and software developers alike to present their products/technologies on a global scale and to search for untapped business opportunities.  There will also be numerous lectures, seminars, galleries, panel discussions and speeches to facilitate and nurture further development of the photographic society at large.

Website: CP+

Olympus Europe has announced a limited-time offer on the Olympus E-P1, whereby every new buyer of the camera receives an FL-14 flash for free. The promotion starts on 12 December in the UK and on 15 December in continental Europe, and runs until the end of January 2010. This is strictly a European offer, and applies in each country to locally purchased stock only. The flash will be sent out direct to your home address, once you have registered online and sent in your receipt and barcode, which you need to do before 28 February 2010.

Website: Olympus E-P1 Promotion

Nikon Europe today announced a new super telephoto lens to replace the AF-S VR NIKKOR 300mm f/2.8G IF-ED. The new VR II version features the new generation of Vibration Reduction technology, providing the ability to shoot hand-held at shutter speeds up to four stops slower than normal, and a new A/M focus mode. The latter is an addition to the existing M/A and M modes that enables autofocus priority even if the focus ring is being handled during shooting. The optical system of the new AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/2.8G ED VR II is unchanged from its predecessor. Measuring 124mm x 267.5mm and weighing in at 2.9kg, this lens is comparatively compact for its class. The lens construction features eleven elements in eight groups, including three ED glass elements and Nano Crystal Coat. The recommended retail price is £5099.99 / €6050. The AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/2.8G ED VR II is expected to hit the shelves on 29 January 2010.

Nikon has introduced a new 2x teleconverter, the AF-S TC-20E III, claiming it to be the world’s first teleconverter with an aspherical lens element. The new AF-S Teleconverter TC-20E III is designed to provide a seamless fit with the NIKKOR range of compatible telephoto lenses, and features rubber seals for body mount, tough release mechanism for intensive use and an oversized button for fast removal with gloved hands. It comes with newly designed caps and a practical storage pouch to protect it when not in use. The teleconverter, which goes between the body and the lens, causes a 2-stop light loss but maintains the closest focusing distance of the lens while doubling its maximum reproduction ratio. Optically, it is quite a complex design with seven elements (including an aspherical one) arranged in five groups. Going on sale on 29 January, the new AF-S Teleconverter TC-20E III has a recommended retail price of £449.99 / €533.

Pentax has just announced the smc Pentax-D FA Macro 100mm F2.8 WR, a weather-resistant tele-macro lens for use on Pentax digital and film SLRs. This macro lens features a high-grade aluminium barrel, and its exterior design has been greatly refined from that of the existing Pentax D FA-series lenses. As the WR designation suggests, the lens features a simplified weather-resistant construction, protecting the lens barrel from moisture.  By mounting the lens on a Pentax weather-resistant digital SLR camera body, it offers greater durability and reliability when shooting in conditions such as rain or mist. Also, the Pentax-D FA MACRO 100mm F2.8 WR is the first Pentax interchangeable macro lens featuring a completely rounded diaphragm blade. A working distance of 13cm facilitates the shooting of timid or dangerous creatures, such as insects. The smc Pentax-D FA Macro 100mm F2.8 WR features 1:1 (life-size) magnification, Pentax-developed Quick Shift Focus system and an image circle accommodating the image size of 35mm film-format cameras. The new Pentax lens is expected to go on sale in December 2009 or January 2010, at a recommended retail price of £679.99.

Selected items from the Olympus E-System DSLR range are now available for hire at competitive rates via the Olympus UK E-System User Group, an online community and resource founded by Digital Photography Now editor Ian Burley. The hire stock of E-System lenses, camera bodies, and accessories, is being provided by Olympus UK, enabling the e-group to offer very competitive rates. “Probably the greatest attraction of the Olympus E-System is the range of Zuiko Digital lenses,” Ian explains, “and even if you could never justify the cost of owning one of the amazing Top Pro lenses, they are now accessible to many more E-System photographers.” For more detailed information on the e-group equipment hire service, visit the group’s website.

Website: Olympus UK E-System User Group

Shutterfly today announced Wink, a new service that combines real-time sharing with photo printing. Wink enables consumers to create and share printed photostrips using pictures from iPhones and social network sites like Facebook and Flickr. Creating and sending a photostrip in Wink takes just seconds: choose a template, add and adjust a few photos, and send to yourself and friends. Photostrips can be delivered anywhere in the world for $2.50 including tax and shipping, the company says. For more information, download the app from iTunes or visit the Wink website.

Website: Wink

Cooliris has announced Cooliris Express, a free tool that lets non-technical users showcase their photo and video content in a compelling way. With Cooliris Express users can easily build and share fully customisable, cohesive, and immersive “walls” of photos and videos – not just a single photo or album – to websites, social networks, and blogs. With Cooliris Express users of all skill sets can pull any number of videos and photos from Flickr, Picasa, YouTube, or any media RSS feed; easily build a customised Cooliris Wall gallery for a supported social media site, their personal web site, or a business website and share it within seconds, the company claims.

Website: Cooliris Express

Sigma has issued a statement on the compatibility of its cameras and software with Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows 7. The company notes that the Sigma SD14, DP1, DP1s (pictured) and DP2 are recognised as a mass storage device by Windows 7, but the Sigma SD9 and SD10 are not. Users of these cameras can transfer their photos to a computer running Widows 7 via a Compact Flash card reader. Version 3.5.2 of the Sigma Photo Pro software can be used on computers with 32-bit Windows 7 installed, albeit with limitations that are to be solved by an upcoming software update. 64-bit operating systems are not supported.