Acronis today launched Acronis True Image Home 2010 Plus Pack, the latest addition to the Acronis family of backup and recovery products. It is available as an add-on solution to Acronis True Image Home 2010. It includes three components traditionally reserved for Acronis’ corporate line, making them available for advanced home users. The solution includes Acronis Universal Restore, which ensures that if a machine is lost or stolen or if a user wants to use a new, or replacement machine, their data and applications can easily be exactly replicated to a physical or virtual machine. In addition, the new product provides support for dynamic disks and WinPE. Acronis True Image Home 2010 Plus Pack is available now to download at the website below. Remember that it requires Acronis True Image Home 2010 standard edition to be installed. It is available at £23.95.

Website: Acronis True Image Home 2010 Plus Pack

Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2010, the Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) announces today that registration is now open for WPPI 2010, billed as the largest annual expo and conference in the world for professional photographers. All WPPI 2010 classes, events and trade show will take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV, from March 4-11, 2010. Registrations are accepted via the website below.

Website: WPPI 2010

The Idea Generation Gallery will host a retrospective of photojournalist Nat Finkelstein from 20 January - 14 February 2010. This retrospective brings together Finkelstein’s diverse portfolio of work achieved across five decades: from the Factory scenes, to the civil rights and anti-war protests of mid-60s America, to his continuing exploration of the subcultures of 80s and 90s New York; Nat’s photographs not only depict their subjects and scenes, but also provide a visual record of the life and times of the photographer himself, the organisers say. The exhibition will be open 12-6pm Monday to Friday, and 12-5pm Saturday and Sunday. Entry is free. The Idea Generation Gallery is located at 11 Chance Street, London.

FPS Fest is a film screening event that explores the transition from still photography to motion. Presented by Dripbook, Resource Magazine, and ROOT Capture, FPS Fest will take place pn 17 November in Root Brooklyn, 131 North 14th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211. As the organisers put it, the event “provides information and stimulation about technology, techniques, and strategies to take on the future of a changing industry”. The entry fee is $5.

Website: FPS Fest

Fujifilm has announced new colour options for the Fujifilm F70EXR digital compact camera. According to 1001 Noisy Cameras, the F70EXR will be available in pink and brown in Japan from mid-November, priced at around 40,000 yen. There is no information on international availability or pricing of these versions.

Via 1001 Noisy Cameras

Review: Read our in-depth review of the Fujifilm F70EXR camera

In conjunction with his upcoming exhibition at Gagosian Gallery, photographer Roger Ballen will present a free public lecture at the School of Visual Arts on Monday, November 9 at 7pm. Ballen’s black and white series Boarding House, up at Gagosian November 5 - December 23, explores a three-story warehouse hidden among the gold mines in Johannesburg, South Africa and inhabited by disenfranchised, impoverished families and fugitives. Ballen will speak with editor and publisher Darius Himes, who has contributed to Aperture, Blind Spot, Bookforum, BOMB, PDN and American Photo. Click through / read on for the details of this event.

Buffalo Technology has announced the first-to-market SuperSpeed USB 3.0 External Hard Disk Drive and supporting two-port USB 3.0 PCI Express Interface Card. The DriveStation HD-HXU3 offers transfer speeds of up to 130MB/s – three times faster than an ordinary USB 2.0 connection. To support the new SuperSpeed DriveStation, Buffalo has released a new two-port USB 3.0 PCI Express Interface Card. The USB 3.0 PCI Express Interface Card allows users to upgrade their PC, notebook or Mac to take advantage of the next generation of external hard drives. The DriveStation HD-HXU3 is backwards-compatible and will work with all USB 2.0 enabled computers, notebooks and Macs, as well as forthcoming USB 3.0 models.  It is also compatible with Windows 7, Vista, XP and Mac OS X 10.4 or later. Available from November 2009, the Buffalo DriveStation HD-HXU3 comes in capacities of 1TB, 1.5TB and 2TB priced at £109.99, £149.99 and £229.99 respectively.

Website: Buffalo Technology

LaCie today announced the LaCie Network Space 2, design by Neil Poulton – a Network Attached Storage (NAS) and media server. LaCie Network Space 2 makes it easy to stream photos, music and videos to computers on the local network or to any UPnP/DLNA compliant devices like PlayStation3 or Xbox 360. It also includes iTunes server software and Download Machine that allows multiple torrent downloads, even when your computer is turned off. The LaCie Network Space 2 is available in 1 TB capacity, through the LaCie Online Store, LaCie Corner, LaCie Reseller+, and through authorised resellers and retailers, at the suggested retail price of £139 (Incl VAT)

WnSoft has released PicturesToExe Deluxe 6.0, a photo slideshow software for Windows. Version 6.0 of the Deluxe edition brings new enhancements to the program, including 3D effects and the capability to create executables for Mac. Other highlights include multi-monitor support, Windows 7 compatibility, and the ability to add your own soundtrack, sound effects and text comments to each slide.The Deluxe edition is available for $75.

DxO Labs today announced the imminent release of DxO Optics Pro version 6, which is claimed to provide “the best-ever images from extreme ISO shots”. The company is making the bold claim that photographers can push their cameras to the ISO limits and even beyond — as much as one to two stops above their usual ISO settings — and still get great photos without any noticeable loss in image quality. As a side benefit, DxO Labs’ new de-noising technology significantly extends the effective dynamic range in the shadows. Additionally, the new version of DxO Optics Pro further extends optical fault correction, and now provides controls to manually adjust distortion, vignetting, chromatic aberrations, and sharpness for any lens. DxO Optics Pro 6 for Windows Standard and Elite editions are scheduled for release in early November 2009 from both DxO Labs’ e-store and selected resellers, and will be available at an exceptional 33 % discount until December 31, 2009:

Fodor’s Travel has partnered with Princess Cruises to announce the co-sponsorship of travel photography contest, “Show Us Your Italy.” Until 30 November, North American visitors to Fodors.com can upload and share their favourite photos and experiences of Italy with other travellers. The winning photographer will receive a suite of Fodor’s full-colour guidebooks as well as the chance to have their photo published in the upcoming Fodor’s Italy 2011. Ten runner-up winners will have their photographs featured in a slideshow on Fodors.com. As always, we suggest that you read the rules before entering your work.

RED’s founder, Jim Jannard, has announced the specifications, pricing and launch schedule of their Epic-X modular digital stills and motion picture camera. According to information shared by Jannard himself via the REDuser forum, the Epic-X will be at the heart of a completely modular system, where each module can be upgraded individually. Featuring a new MYSTERIUM-X 5K sensor, the Epic-X will offer various movie resolutions and frame rates, a sensitivity range of ISO 200/24° to ISO 8000/40°, independent stills and motion modes, a 5-axis adjustable sensor plate, multiple recording options, wireless REDMOTE control, touchscreen LCD control option, interchangealbe lens mounts supporting RED, Canon and Nikon lenses with full electronic aperture and focus control, touch focus tracking and more. As you can expect, all this functionality and features galore doesn’t come cheap: the first working prototypes of the Epic-X, dubbed “Tattoo”, will be priced at $28,000 each. Availability of the first “Tattoos” is slated for late 2009.

Website: REDuser

Kata invites you to design your dream photo bag, and submit it to their Dream Bag Challenge. Each bag will be reviewed by a professional panel of judges. The best design will be selected as the winner, and built exclusively for the designer and packed full of high-end photo equipment, including a Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR camera body, an EF 24-105mm f/4L USM and an EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens, a Gitzo Traveler Kit and a Litepanels Micro Pro lighting kit. For more information, visit the website below.

Website: Kata Dream Bag Challenge

Focal Press has released a new title, Pet Photography 101: Tips for taking better photos of your dog or cat by Andrew Darlow. “Pet Photography 101 is packed with beautiful photos with helpful and entertaining tips on everything you need to take better photos of your furry friends, as well as the people with whom they share their lives,” the publisher says. “Everything from choosing a camera to photo organisation to post-production is explained in easy-to-understand language.” The 190-page paperback carries a list price of $14.95, but can currently be had for $10.17 on Amazon.

Via Imaging-Resource

Kodak has introduced the KODAK Pic Flick App, a new, free Apple iPhone and iPod touch Device that enables consumers to upload pictures to a Kodak W1020 Wireless Digital Frame or print them wirelessly on the Kodak ESP 5250 All-in-One WiFi-enabled Printer. The app is free and available now on the App Store, the Wi-Fi enabled Kodak ESP 5250 printer retails for $159.99, while the ten-inch Kodak W1020 Wireless Digital Frame can be had for $229.95.

Arca-Swiss has announced the p0 knobless tripod head featuring the patented Monoball Planetary P system. There are currently two P system tripod heads: the p0 designed for use by photographers looking for precision equipment at an affordable price; and the p1, a tripod head with a wider diameter that is capable of handling the greater demands of heavy telephoto lenses or even 8x10” large-format cameras. The p0 is available from €175+VAT.

Update: The maximum payload of the p0 is 20kg according to photoscala.

Think Tank Photo has just announced a huge shoulder bag for photographers. Allegedly, the new Urban Disguise 70 Pro can carry up to a 70-200 f2.8 lens attached to any camera body.  This is a briefcase style gear bag for traveling in style and protecting camera equipment without attracting attention as an obvious camera bag.  The interior accommodates a host of camera configurations that enable photographers to keep all their gear secure in one bag. Think Tank Photo’s Urban Disguise 70 Pro is available for $189.

The Pentax K-m DSLR, which is barely more than one year old, is now marked as “discontinued” on the Pentax Japan website. The entry-level DSLR camera apparently shares this fate with the DA 50-200mmF4-5.6ED telezoom lens. At press time, Pentax have not yet issued an official release regarding the discontinuation of these products.

Via Rice High

The winners of the October 2009 Photography Blog Competition have been selected by a panel of judges. The theme for October was “Eyes” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 5 winners:

1st Place
Blink by purple_fringing

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