Texas Instruments have announced the OMAP-DM515 coprocessor, which delivers up to 20-megapixel still imaging capabilities, as well as 720p HD camcorder functionality.  Note that, as with the Silicon Image announcement posted earlier today, it remains to be seen if any sensor manufacturer will ever actually bother to produce such high-resolution sensors for camera phones, and if any optics maker can come up with a lens that can support them, but the announcements indicate that the processing power will be there to handle the amount of data such a sensor would generate.

Canon have released a firmware upgrade to the Canon EOS 1000D / REBEL XS digital SLR camera. Version 1.0.6 incorporates the following changes:

• Some cameras may exhibit a phenomenon in which the LCD monitor does not display, the shutter does not release, and the busy indication remains lit in the viewfinder.
• The message, “Err 99 Shooting is not possible. Turn the power switch to and again or re-install the battery”, appears on the camera’s LCD monitor, and after the above operation is carried out, the LCD monitor displays in a language that is different from the actual language setting.

Website: Canon EOS REBEL XS / 1000D Firmware Update

Silicon Image has introduced the camerIC-18, the newest member of its family of camerIC camera processor IP cores. The camerIC-18 is targeted for integration into digital still camera and video System-on-a-Chip (SoC) application processors for mobile devices such as cell phones.  The camerIC-18 supports resolutions ranging from 5MP to 18MP, all in a single low-cost/low-power design. To effectively deliver resolutions above 12MP, the camerIC-18 IP core now includes sophisticated bad pixel detection/correction and noise reduction techniques to ensure image quality even when combined with the lower cost, high-resolution CMOS sensors commonly found in mobile devices, the company says. The camerIC-18 IP core has the imaging bandwidth to support HD, 3D, 4K and higher resolution video camcorder ISP functions.

LAST CHANCE TO ENTER! This month we are giving away 7 KATA 3N1-30 camera bags (worth £115 each). That’s a total prize value of over £800!

The KATA 3N1-30 was voted Best Camera Bag of the Year at the recent “Gear of the Year Awards 2009”.

On Monday 12th October 2009, seven names will be randomly selected from the list of PhotographyBLOG Newsletter subscribers and will each win one of the KATA 3N1-30 camera bags.

Click here to enter

Kris Dickson has been awarded the title of UK Master Photographer of the Year 2009. The announcement was made at the Master Photography Awards in Newcastle last night. In addition to the main prize of the evening, Dickson was awarded firsts in the following categories: UK Fashion and Beauty, the Mario Acerboni Northern Ireland Award and the overall Mario Acerboni Award. He was also crowned UK Fashion & Press Photographer of the Year. Jingna Zhang, from Singapore, was named Overseas Master Photographer of the Year 2009. Click through / read on for the full list of award-winning photographers.

The Royal Photographic Society Annual Awards ceremony, which recognises those who have made outstanding contributions to the art of science and photography, will take place on 19 November. Annie Leibovitz will be presented with the Centenary Medal and Honorary Fellowship of the RPS, while the society’s Terence Donovan Award goes to Mark Edwards. Bryce E Bayer, best known for the Bayer colour filter array used in digital cameras, will be awarded this year’s Progress Medal with Honorary Fellowship. Honorary Fellowship recipients include Scottish born photojournalist Harry Benson CBE, who has photographed 11 American presidents, including Bill Clinton (see accompanying photo). Click through / read on for the full list of RPS award winners.

onOne Software has launched version 1.2 of DSLR Camera Remote Server, their server-side application that allows you to remotely control your DSLR using an iPhone or iPod Touch. The new version adds support for the Nikon D300s, improves on the permissions detection and warning on Mac OS X, and fixes a number of issues with the Canon EOS 500D and Nikon D300 cameras. Note that DSLR Remote Server is the application that runs on your PC or Mac, to which the camera is connected. It’s not the app that runs on the iPhone or iPod Touch itself. DSLR Remote Server 1.2 is compatible with version 1.1 of the iPhone/iPod app.

Iridient Digital have released RAW Developer 1.8.6, which brings support for nine new camera models. These include the Nikon D300s (review), the Canon 7D, G11 and S90, the Sony DSLR-A850, DSLR-A550 and DSLR-A500, the Panasonic DMC-GF1 (review) and the Leica M9. Improvements to the default ICC camera profiles for the Canon 50D and Nikon D300 have also been made.

Website: Iridient RAW Developer

Fujifilm has announced the release of Wunderbars, billed as “a revolutionary framing system for canvas prints”. Wunderbars gives users a new way to create canvas wraps - quickly, easily, without the need for specialist tools and thanks to Wunderbars’ exclusive stretcher bars each canvas will retain its tension, Fujifilm says. Each frame features a sprung pin mechanism which automatically stretches the canvas and ensures it remains under constant tension. No wedges are needed, making for a cleaner finish on the rear of the frame. Wunderbars frames come in packs of four in a range of sizes from 8inch to 48inch and are priced at £12.90 to £39.98.

Speedlight Pro Kit’s latest innovation, a flash-mounted 46cm beauty dish, is being launched in Europe. Designed for portraiture, the beauty dish consists of two key elements; a large white collar and an inverted silvered cone mounted within.  The dish is fixed to the flash so that its light is bounced back off the cone’s silvered surface onto the white material giving an even and flattering lift to the subject. The opaque central portion of the cone diverts away light from the centre, thus eliminating hotspots and harsh shadows. The beauty dish retails at £52.00 via the website below.

Website: Speedlight Pro Kit

An American Family: Three Decades with the McGarveys, a National Geographic Focal Point publication, is a unique photographic chronicle of the last 30 years of a typical American family. The remarkable collection of images peers into every aspect of the McGarvey family’s life to produce an album that is instantly recognisable to anyone who has ever shared the American experience. If you’re nostalgic for the 70s and all the decades since, or curious about the McGarveys who opened up their personal lives to a photojournalist for 30 years, or about Pam Spaulding, the woman who documented them, this book will likely be of interest to you, the publisher says. The book, An American Family: Three Decades with the McGarveys, is priced at $35 and will become available on 20 October.

Adobe has released the new, free Photoshop.com Mobile for iPhone application. Photoshop.com Mobile provides consumers a convenient way to edit photos, apply effects and share images instantly with friends - all with the flick of a finger. Seamless integration with users’ free Photoshop.com accounts enables photo sharing and data back-up, saving them valuable space on their iPhones. The application is available free of charge at Apple’s App Store. Note that for the time being, the application is available to US and Canadian residents only.

The Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 2/28 ZE is a new wide-angle lens for the Canon EF mount. With a maximum aperture setting of f2, it is among the most light-intense of its kind in its focal length. Following the recent introduction of its two ultra-wide-angle lenses, the Distagon T* 3,5/18 ZE and the T* 2,8/21, the new Distagon T* 2/28 ZE is Carl Zeiss’ first “moderate” wide-angle lens for the EF mount. Thanks to the Carl Zeiss T* anti-reflective coating and meticulously crafted lenses, the new Distagon T* 2/28 ZE is claimed to deal effortlessly with reflections and stray light. The Distagon T* 2/28 ZE will be available starting this autumn for a suggested retail price of €965.55 (excluding VAT).

One of the largest and most prestigious international underwater photography and video competition series celebrates its five year anniversary this year. The unique competition series was founded by professional underwater photographers Jason Heller & Eric Cheng and hosted by popular websites DivePhotoGuide.com and Wetpixel.com. The series is held in association with two leading scuba diving expos on opposite sides of the world, simultaneously - Our World Underwater, now in its 40th year, and one of the largest consumer scuba diving expos in the US, and DEEP Indonesia, the first and only scuba diving and watersports expo in Indonesia, one of the most bio-diverse marine ecosystems in the world. Participants will compete in technical, themed and video categories, to win more than $80,000 in prizes including premium dive travel, underwater photo and video equipment, scuba diving gear and more. For more information, visit the website below.

Website: Underwater Competition

The six category winners of the Energizer Ultimate Photo Contest have been announced. The photographers are now in the running for the “ultimate” grand prize: a trip for two to the Galápagos Islands accompanied by a National Geographic expert and the chance to see their photo grace the pages of National Geographic magazine in an ad for Energizer® Ultimate Lithium batteries. In August, 12 photos were selected as Category Finalists by Jim Richardson, a National Geographic photographer and the judge for the “Energizer Ultimate Photo Contest.”  Then America was asked to go online to nationalgeographic.com/lithium to vote for a favourite in each category.  After four weeks of voting, the following were named Category Winners: Ruston Agte for “Polar Bear Swimming” (Animals/Wildlife), Tracy Hagen for “Light Shaft Shines on Sea” (Nature), Glenn Traver for “Boardwalk and Ocean” (Travel), Frederick Abels for “Sultry Porch and Cloud Reflections” (Weather), Bernardo Medina for “Boy and Boats” (People and Cultures) and “Peddling Bicycle in Wind” (Inspiration/Keep Going). To see the winning photos, head to the website below.

Website: National Geographic / Energizer Ultimate Photo Contest

Jessops has announced the launch of the new and exclusive to Jessops Fujifilm Finepix F72EXR camera. The Fujifilm Finepix F72EXR is a 10 megapixel, 10x optical zoom camera featuring Fuji’s EXR technology, which has been previously featured in the F200EXR, and uses the sensor in three different ways to optimise resolution, dynamic range or low-light performance. The F72EXR appears to have much the same feature set as the F70EXR we recently reviewed, though it comes with a slightly different finish.

The Polish distributor of Samyang lenses, telescopes and filters has announced a delay in the production of the Samyang 14mm f/2.8 IF ED MC Aspherical lens. The news release found on the company’s website states that the delay is due to a partial redesign of the lens, as well as some unspecified “further improvements”. The Samyang 14mm f/2.8 IF ED MC Aspherical lens, which we first wrote about a few weeks ago, is an ultra-wide manual-focus lens whose imaging circle is large enough to cover a full frame on 35mm film or a similarly sized imaging sensor. Samyang originally planned to release the lens this November, in Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Sony/Minolta versions, and the Samyang Poland site even published an MSRP of 999 zloty (about $360). The new release date is the first quarter of 2010.

Website: Samyang Poland

HotPrints is offering one free photo book every month per person to all Facebook users. The HotPrints Facebook application allows users to create 16-page, personalised photo books with drag-and-drop simplicity.  The application features multiple photo book themes including travel, family and more.  Each book is completely customisable and comes in two languages – English and Italian. In addition to the current offer, every new user who downloads the HotPrints application receives their first photo book for free, including shipping and handling. Also, every user who refers 10 friends will receive another HotBook completely free.