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/

Interflora has launched a photography contest to find the UK’s best rose photos. The submission deadline is 13 November 2009, and all photos must be submitted to [email protected]. Interflora will then add your photo to their blog and leave it up to the readers to vote for the photo they think should win. The competition will close at 2pm on Monday 14th December, all votes will be counted and winners will be announced and notified within 7 days of this deadline. The first prize is an 8GB iPod Nano. Copyright of all images submitted for this competition remains with the respective entrants, but by entering this competition you are giving Interflora the permission to use your image on their blog.

Website: Interflora Blog

Pentax has launched a European-wide cashback promotion valid on the whole range of Pentax products. The amount of the cashback depends on the value of the purchase - it is £50 on purchases of £650; £100 on purchases of £1,000; £150 on purchases of £1,500 and £250 on purchases of £2,000. To download the claim form, head to the website below. N.B.: All claims must be received by 31st January 2010 at the latest.

Website: Pentax Cashback

Canon UK today launched the free “Easy-PhotoPrint for iPhone” application (Canon iEPP) that prints photos from the iPhone or iPod touch wirelessly to Canon PIXMA MP990, PIXMA MP640 and PIXMA MP560 printers. The application is compatible with iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPod touch (OS 2.2.1 or later) devices and produces prints in three steps: from opening the application, to image selection and printing. Furthermore the Canon iEPP application incorporates the ‘camera’ button so new shots can be seamlessly captured and printed. The Canon iEPP application, which has already been available to US citizens from the App Store, will be available to UK citizens from early November.

Canon has announced instant rebates on a range of Canon EOS DSLR kits. According to Photography Bay, you can save $100 on the Canon Rebel XS double-lens kit including the 18-55mm IS and 75-300mm III lenses. Those buying either the Canon 50D with the 28-135mm IS USM + 70-300mm IS USM lenses, or the Canon Rebel T1i with the 18-55mm IS + EF-S 55-250mm IS, or the Canon Rebel XSi with the 18-55mm IS + EF-S 55-250mm IS are entitled to an instant rebate of $200. These offers are valid through 21 November 2009.

Via Photography Bay

Carl Zeiss today announced the Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 2/35 ZE manual-focus wide-angle lens for the Canon EF mount.  The high-speed, moderate wide-angle Distagon T* 2/35 ZE fits all analogue and digital EOS cameras. On full-frame digital and film SLRs, the lens offers an angle of view of 53 degrees, whereas on DSLRs with APS-H sized sensor - such as the new Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, it works as a fast “normal” prime.  With an initial aperture of 1:2, the Distagon T* 2/35 easily handles low light , making perfect pictures possible even under difficult lighting conditions. The relatively short angle of rotation of the precision focusing mechanism enables fast but precise focusing when required. The Distagon T* 2/35 ZE will be available from October 2009 at a recommended retail price of € 755.50 (excluding VAT).

The Brtish Heart Foundation has just launched its first annual digital photography competition. “The theme is Red for Heart and the winning images will be showcased as part of our annual campaign, National Heart Month, in February,” says National Campaigns Executive Julia Scodie. “The competition is open to all ages and there are some fantastic prizes to be won, including the opportunity to shadow a Getty Photographer for the winner of the Student category.” There will also be an exhibition of the finalists as part of the National Heart Month launch outside the London Eye, and a selection of the winners also be published in the Independent on Sunday Newspaper. To find out more head to the website below.

Website: Red for Heart Photography Competition

Moblog and The Leeds Guide have announced a photography competition,and are inviting people to submit their favourite images of Leeds to their blog. The competition is running until December the 2nd and The Leeds Guide will be printing selected images over the next few weeks until then. An overall winner will be chosen in December who will win a Polaroid PoGo (pictured), a 6-month subscription to the magazine and a Moblog T-shirt. To learn more, and to enter your images in the competition, visit the website below.

Website: The Leeds Guide

Akvis Software has released Noise Buster 7.0 for Windows and Macintosh. Akvis Noise Buster reduces both luminance and colour noise in digital images without blurring the edges of objects. Soe of the improvements in the newest version of the program include a redesigned interface, support for 64-bit files, compatiblity with Adobe Photoshop Elements 8, Windows 7 and Mac OS X 10.6, more intuitive working with the Preview Window and the Before/After tabs, and more. Akvis Noise Buster sells for $49. Registered users can upgrade the software for free.

As we wrote earlier this week, Jessops.com is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a series of special offers - here are their weekend deals. Today, you can make a saving of £75 off the Camlink Spotting Scope, or a more modest £20 off the Nikon Coolpix P90 digital superzoom camera, plus you can design your very own mug with your favourite image for half price. On Saturday you can pick up the Camlink TPPRO24A Pro Tripod for just £40, down from £70 when you order yours online, or buy a Nikon D3000 kit at a £30 discount. On Sunday, Jessops.com visitors can get the Fuji J30 for £99 instead of £129, or the Jessops 8-inch digital photo frame for £49 instead of £99. Finally you can upload your favourite image onto a professionally finished canvas for half the price when you order yours online this Sunday.