Hama’s Alpenpod tripod functions as a hiking staff, a monopod and a tripod. It has a 2D head and three-section legs, and when used as a tripod, its height can be adjusted from 67cm to 141cm. The Hama Alpenpod weighs only 360g and comes with a detachable cover complete with an integrated compass. When used as a hiking staff, the anti-shock spring cushioning helps to take some of the pressure off the hiker’s legs. The recommended retail price is €29.99.

A Beta version of the upcoming Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 is now available. Lightroom 3 beta delivers a preview of new tools that will be in Lightroom 3, including more intuitive importing, unparalleled noise reduction and sharpening tools and enhanced slideshow capabilities. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 beta is available as a free download to anyone on both Macintosh and Windows platforms.

The Hoodman 3” Hoodloupe fits exactly over the 3” screen of most recent LiveView and video-enabled DSLR cameras, and provides glare-free viewing outdoors. It attaches to the camera via the Hoodman Cinema Strap, which keeps it securely in place. The Hoodloupe has a +/-3 dioptre compensation and focusses just like a binocular eyepiece - the eyepiece turns left or right to adjust for your eyesight. The price is £75.99 for the Hoodloupe and £18.99 for the Cinema Strap. Both are available from Newpro UK.

See the polar regions as never before in a new book by renowned National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen, who dives underwater and travels across the ice to deliver unique, close-up documentation of wildlife in the Arctic and Antarctic. Polar Obsession breaks new ground as Nicklen presents important insights into animal behaviour, the fragile polar environment and climate change that threatens the ice and its inhabitants. The hardcover book includes 150 of Nicklen’s most spectacular images from the polar reaches.In essays introducing each chapter, Nicklen details life amid the ice fields, floes and frozen seas — at times braving temperatures as low as minus 55 °F (minus 45 °C) — as well as his passion for the Arctic and Antarctic and the stories behind his images.Also included in the book is a gear list detailing the enormous amount of equipment that accompanies Nicklen on his assignments. Polar Obsession, published by National Geographic Focal Point, goes on sale on 10 November priced at $50.

A new firmware update is released for Panasonic’s premium manual compact camera DMC-LX3. Version 2.1, which is the corrected version of the firmware previously released as version 2.0, supports several new functions and improves various aspects of performance. The adoption of a new algorithm makes it possible to speed up the AF by reducing focus times approximately 20% to 0.5 second at the wide end. The 1:1 aspect ratio (square format) is added as a shooting option in addition to the conventional 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9. . Other additions include white balance bracketing, a new scene mode for high-contrast scenes, expanded exposure compensation and bracketing ranges, movable compositional guidelines and more.

Website: Panasonic Firmware Update

Jessops have announced the launch of two new digital photo frames to add to their current range. They come in 8” and 10.4” sizes and sport 2GB internal memory plus a new copy and resize function, allowing the storage of hundreds of photos. For ease of use the frames both have a file sorting menu, so you can easily find and show the pictures you want. Other features include an MP3 function, for playing your favourite MP3 to your slideshow, video playback and a clock, calendar and alarm function. Both frames have multi card slots – for SDHC, SD, MMC, CF, MS, XD and USB. The Jessops 8” and the 10.4 “ LCD frames are priced at £99 and £139 and are available now.

The Fujifilm Student Awards 2010 is now open for entries. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the competition, and Fujifilm Professional has again tied-in with Penguin Books, so that the winner will see their image on the cover of the next edition of Flann O’Brien’s novel, At Swim-Two-Birds. The brief is to take a photograph that captures the spirit of the novel which, in the words of Anthony Burgess, ‘assaults your brain with words, style, magic, madness, and unlimited invention’. All images must be taken on Fujifilm Professional film and submitted via www.fujifilmstudentawards.co.uk – entry is free and students can enter as many photographs as they wish. The closing date for entries is 28 February 2010.

The European photobook market is on track for continued healthy growth, with demand projected to reach nearly 14.5m units this year, up from 10.7m in 2008, according to a new Photobook Market Report from Futuresource Consulting. Online continues to drive the bulk of European purchases, accounting for almost 90% of orders in 2008. However, retail volumes will grow as we move forward, the company says. Western Europe in in the middle of a transition from a fragmented market to a consolidated one, with more than sixty photobook manufacturers still in business, but with the top six taking more than 50% market share. Projections from Futuresource show that more than 23 million photobooks will be shipped in 2012.

Mamiya has put a price tag on the recently announced 22-megapixel Mamiya DM22 medium-format digital SLR camera, which features true 16-bit analogue-to-digital conversion and a claimed 12-stop dynamic range. As befits a medium-format camera, the sensor is larger than 35mm full frame, measuring 48x36mm. The price of the Mamiya DM22 is $9,995 including a Mamiya 80mm f/2.8 D Series lens. Mamiya has also announced the pricing of the DM22’s sibling the DM28 ($14,990 including lens), which only differs in its sensor (which is a bit smaller at 44x33mm, but has 28 megapixels and offers a higher maximum ISO speed). Both cameras are fully compatible with any Mamiya AF focal plane series lens but, unlike their bigger brothers the DM33 and the DM56, apparently cannot take advantage of the 1/1600-second top shutter speed of the three new leaf-shutter lenses developed in close collaboration with Schneider Kreuznach.

To celebrate the launch of the new, 12.1-megapixel Sony Ericsson Satio handset on Vodafone, photographer Jillian Edelstein has been commissioned to capture the beauty and individuality of 121 eyes in only 12.1 hours. While Julian Edelstein has become famous for her portraits of celebrities, the Eyes Wide Open project “takes her gaze from the world of famous faces, and looks to delve into the realm of visual communication through the exploration of eyes”, the organisers say. Sony Ericsson are searching for people from all over the United Kingdom and all walks of life to be part of Eyes Wide Open. Jillian will be personally selecting the 61 participants from all applicants and inviting them to an invitation only Satio studio photoshoot. Members of the public can find out more and win the chance to be involved by visiting the website below.

Website: Eyes Wide Open

Actor and photographer Aaron Eckhart, will join Julia Dean, founder of the Julia Dean Photo Workshops, for an exhibit and silent auction of more than 100 iconic images taken by leading photographers from around the world. The auction, which will take place at the Stephen Cohen Gallery in Los Angeles on 20 February 2010, will feature images from such nationally and internationally known photographers as Alex Webb, Art Streiber, Brian Lanker, David Hume Kennerly, Don Barletti, Douglas Kirkland, Gerd Ludwig, Greg Gorman, Mary Ellen Mark, Nevada Wier, Phil Borges, Robert Farber, Ron Haviv and Sam Abell. The auction will benefit Project 5: Photography for Social Change, which supports talented photojournalists and builds documentary photography through grants, exhibits and publications. Photographs will be available for pre-viewing on Friday and Saturday (19 & 20) prior to the auction.

Website: Silent Auction

Lexar have unveiled a new 600x Compact Flash card with a guaranteed minimum write speed of 90MB/s. Available in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB capacities,  the Lexar Professional 600x CF card works with the latest UDMA 6 enabled cameras, including the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 7D and the new 1D Mark IV, and the Nikon D3x, D3s and D300s.

Lexar’s 600x card also offers increased image transfer speeds from card-to-computer with minimum sustained read speeds of 533x (80MB/s), or faster when paired with the new Lexar Professional ExpressCard CompactFlash Reader. This is a portable, high-performance reader that requires no cables and connects directly to a PC or Mac laptop computer’s ExpressCard slot.

The Lexar Professional 600x CF cards will begin shipping on October 22nd in 8GB and 16GB capacities for £149 and £219 respectively. The 32Gb version will be available in November for £399. The Lexar Professional ExpressCard CompactFlash Reader will cost £29.99.

Lexar Image Rescue 4 is a brand new version of Lexar’s popular image recovery software. Image Rescue 4 enables photographers to recover most lost or deleted images and videos from any memory card form factor, from any manufacturer, and is compatible with all mass storage-compliant card readers.

New features include an easy-to-manage one-step recovery interface, automatic updates to ensure the software’s compatibility with new RAW images and operating systems, and expanded language support. The software also allows photographers to perform low-level formatting of their cards, enabling them to restore the card’s factory settings.

Lexar Image Rescue 4 software is included for free with any Lexar Professional CompactFlash and Secure Digital High Capacity memory card, and can also be purchased online.

Lexar today announced an agreement with Adobe to provide special discounts on Photoshop Elements 8, Premiere Elements 8 and Photoshop Lightroom 2. All Lexar Professional CF memory cards will offer $100 off the purchase of Lightroom 2, and $30 off Photoshop / Premiere Elements 8. “Our aim is to provide our customers with complete, end-to-end photography solutions to maximize their digital experience from capture to production, and enhance the photos and videos that matter most to them,” said Jeff Cable, director of marketing, Lexar Media, Inc. These new offerings and promotions from Lexar and Adobe will begin in November.

Canon have unveiled the 16-megapixel Canon EOS 1D Mark IV professional digital SLR camera boasting a completely new 45-point autofocus system. No less than 39 of these are cross-hatched AF sensors, sensitive to both horizontal and vertical detail. Moreover, the all-new AI Servo II AF mode gives still photographers the power and performance to track and focus a fast-moving subject at speeds up to 10 frames per second (fps). Canon is also making bold claims as to the high-ISO performance of the camera - the “regular” ISO range stretches from ISO 100/21° to ISO 12,800/42°, but expansion settings push this all the way up to ISO 102,400/51°. The Canon EOS 1D Mark IV is also geared toward videographers, as it offers full manual exposure control and selectable frame rates when shooting 1080p HD video. The EOS 1D Mark IV is equipped with a sixteen-megapixel “APS-H” sized sensor and Dual DIGIC 4 Image Processors with approximately six times the processing power of DIGIC III for full 14-bit A/D conversion at 10 fps. Other new features include a large three-inch solid structure Clear View II LCD screen with 920,000 dot/VGA resolution and a wide 160-degree viewing angle. The new in-camera copyright information feature helps professionals secure control over images by setting copyright data directly into the camera and appending that information to each image file in the EXIF metadata. Additional features include a fluorine coating on the Low Pass Filter to further repel dust and enhance the EOS Integrated Cleaning System. The Canon EOS-1D Mark IV is scheduled to be delivered to U.S. dealers in late December, and will be sold in a body-only configuration at an estimated retail price of $4,999. In the UK and the euro zone, the 1D Mark IV will be priced at £4499 / €5499 respectively, including VAT.

Canon today announced the launch of two new Wireless File Transmitters: the Canon WFT-E2 and the Canon WFT-E4, designed for the newly-launched EOS-1D Mark IV and the award-winning EOS 5D Mark II, respectively. These devices allow photographers to transfer image files securely to a computer or server, control the camera remotely and connect to WiFi enabled devices to view images directly from the camera. Both the WFT-E2 II and WFT-E4 II support high security WPA2-PSK authentication and AES encryption over wireless networks. Also, the new wireless file transmitters allow up to ten slave cameras to be wirelessly connected to a master unit up to 100m away. The master camera will then trigger the slaves, allowing specialists like wildlife and sports photographers to capture a subject from a multitude of different angles. Both units will be available from late December. The WFT-E2 II will be priced at £699 / €849, whilst the WFT-E4 II will cost £649 / €799.

Canon have issued a statement saying that they are currently developing a firmware update to the EOS 5D Mark II to enable the recording of high definition 1080p video at 24 and 25 frames per second (fps). The decision to develop new firmware to support these features has been taken following feedback received from cinematographers and photographers, the company notes. Currently, the frame rate for HD video on the Canon EOS 5D Mark II is 30fps, whereas motion picture cameras tend to shoot at 24fps.

Neon Mesa: Wonders of the Southwest is a new book by celebrated photographer Rob Atkins. The Four Corners is a unique region where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah meet. Rob Atkins’ photos capture the irony and pathos of the place in icons of the American Dreams, be they those of the Nuclear Age, the Frontier, the Cowboy, or the Native American, all caught in the stark majestic images of a present already passing, in rusting road-signs, flickering neon light, and derelict motels, set against some of America’s most awe-inspiring natural scenery, the publisher says. The 144-page hardcover book goes on sale on 25 October 2009 for $39.95 ($33.95 if purchased via the publisher’s website, see below).

Website: Bunker Hill Publishing

Samsung has announced the imminent launch of its first consumer memory cards. According to AVING, the Korean electronics giant will debut a range of cards in Taiwan later this month, in Compact Flash (CF), Secure Digital (SD) and microSD formats. The cards range in capacity from 4GB to 16GB. The SD versions are Class 6, whereas the Compact Flash varieties are 233x speed models.

Via AVING

Kingston has announced the MobileLiteG2, a second-generation mobile card reader for microSD SD and SDHC memory cards. MobileLiteG2 has retractable covers on each side to make it compact and protect the USB connector and the Flash memory cards from damage. It includes a dongle, a USB extension that allows you to plug the MobileLiteG2 into USB slots that are harder to reach. When in use, MobileLiteG2 appears as two drive letters (i.e. E:\, F:\) and data transfer is as simple as drag and drop. MobileLiteG2 is available separately or with a 4GB or 8GB Class 4 SDHC card. The Kingston MobileLiteG2 card reader will become available in late November starting at $11.

Website: Kingston MobileLiteG2