As the hour of twilight moved across the globe, a series of seven games of football were played in seven of the world’s most breathtaking locations. The games took place in the UK, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Argentina and Australia with the Twilight Football finale taking place in South Africa, home of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The Twilight Football campaign from Sony celebrated the beauty and passion of football and was designed to showcase the capability of the recently unveiled Exmor CMOS sensor. For further information on Twilight Football, visit the website below.

Website: Sony Twilight Football

PhotographyBB has announced the release of the 20th edition of the PhotographyBB Magazine Online. The September 2009 edition features a theme of image processing related articles. Readers also have their questions answered in the continuing FAQ series. What’s the best time of day to take photos? How to I get the best exposure in tough lighting conditions?  Furthermore, in their “Portraiture Photography 101? series, we examine methods for reconstructing the main elements of a portrait shoot, from analysing an existing portraiture photo. PhotographyBB Online Magazine is available for free download through the PhotographyBB Website

Website: PhotographyBB

Red River Paper, a Dallas based specialty paper company, has announced the release of the Cordovan Textured Glossy inkjet photo and note card paper. Cordovan Gloss features a unique textured surface similar to a fine leather finish. The texture adds a unique look to any image and perfectly balances the need to see the texture but not distract from image details. Cordovan’s ability to reproduce beautiful saturated color and sharp detail is thanks to a professional quality microporous emulsion compatible with any inkjet printer, the manufacturer claims. The new Cordovan Textured Gloss comes in a number of popular pre-scored printable note card sizes as well as 8.5x11, 13x19, 4x6, and 5x7 sheets. Interested photographers can purchase the new paper in packages of 20, 50 or 100 at the website below.

Website: Cordovan Gloss

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has revealed frozen water hiding just below the surface of mid-latitude Mars, captured by the unit’s HiRISE camera after meteorites excavated fresh craters on the Red Planet. HiRISE is an acronym for “High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment”, which involves the use of a special on-board camera to survey the surface of the planet. The finds indicate water ice occurs beneath Mars’ surface halfway between the north pole and the equator, a lower latitude than expected in the Martian climate. To view images of the craters and learn more about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, visit the website below.

Website: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Pearl Mountain Software has released Standard and Pro editions of Picture Collage Maker v. 2.0, a simple-to-use Windows program that turns ordinary photos into collages, scrapbooks, invitations, calendars or greeting cards. Version 2.0 introduces the new Pro version, with the ability to make multi-page collages. The Pro version also includes dozens of additional greeting card, calendar, and all-purpose templates, more than 50 new fonts, and nearly 500 additional collage resources such as frames, masks, and clipart. Other new features in version 2.0 include adding a layer thumb-view bar to make it easier to adjust layers, the ability to add a calender to any photo collage, and a new grid collage wizard for quickly making, say, a 4x4 (or any number) image collage. Picture Collage Maker v. 2.0 runs under Windows 98/Me/NT4/2000/XP/2003-Server/Vista, costs $29.90 for a personal license, and may be purchased online at the website below.

Website:  Picture Collage Software

Wacom has announced the introduction of Multi-Touch in its new family of Bamboo tablets. Bamboo tablets are USB peripherals that deliver natural and intuitive input to desktop or laptop computer users.  Wacom combines Multi-Touch (finger-based input) with pen input to deliver an “entirely new standard” in human-computer interaction. Bamboo goes beyond current mouse and other input solutions by adding the power of Multi-Touch gestures such as zoom, scroll, pan and rotate. The new Bamboo family is comprised of three core products: Bamboo Touch ($69); Bamboo Pen ($69); and Bamboo Pen and Touch ($99). Two additional tablets, Bamboo Craft ($129) and Bamboo Fun ($199) form the rest of the lineup, each having its own features and benefits to satisfy different consumer tastes and needs.

Think Tank Photo has announced the release of a “new standard” in rolling camera backpacks, the Airport TakeOff. It is designed as a solution that combines the portability of a backpack with the ease of a rolling suitcase. Designed to comply with international airline carry-on requirements, the Airport TakeOff accommodates pro-sized photography gear, including two pro or regular size DSLR bodies with or without lenses attached. The Think Tank Photo Airport TakeOff rolling camera backpack is available for $299.

The brand new Diana F+ lens adapters let photographers attach Diana F+ lenses to their Canon EOS or Nikon SLRs. According to the manufacturer, they bring “the world of Diana to your SLR cameras, yielding creative possibilities that were once limited to Diana F+ cameras”. The adapters themselves are priced €12, while adding a Diana F+ lens may cost you anywhere between €35 and €50.

Website: Diana F+ Adapters - Lomography Shop

Via photoscala

Shutterstock, the world’s largest subscription-based stock photo agency, announced that it has acquired BigStockPhoto, a leading credit-based stock photo agency, headquartered in Davis, California. This move signals Shutterstock’s expansion into the credit-based stock photo market, the company remarks. According to the deal, BigStockPhoto will remain a separate entity, and Shutterstock plans to grow the company’s global presence by investing heavily in marketing, infrastructure and user experience.

Olympus has released a firmware upgrade for the Olympus FE-4000 digital compact camera. Version 1.1 is supposed to improve the quality of the live-view display when shooting in low light. Remember you have to install either the Olympus Master or the Olympus Studio program on your PC, and update the firmware from within the software, with the Olympus FE-4000 hooked up to the computer via USB.

Website: Firmware Update Instructions

Blurb seeks entries for the first-ever Best Blurb Books Contest. Submissions will be accepted through October 22, 2009. Beginning October 23, the public can cast their votes for their favorite books submitted. One vote per person per category will be accepted through November 9. Once public voting is closed, one judge in each category will select a grand prize winner and a runner-up from among the Blurb books that received the most votes. There is no cost to enter the Best Blurb Books Contest other than the cost to purchase one copy of the book you design and submit.
Photo books can be entered at the website below in one of three categories - family, pets, or travel - for a shot at one of three $3,000 grand prizes or one of three $1,000 runner-up prizes. As always, we recommend that you read the rules before entering your photography book.

Website: Blurb Books Photography Book Contest

World-renowned photographer and director Chase Jarvis has announced the availability of his newest book, The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You: iPhone Photography by Chase Jarvis, together with an iPhone app called Best Camera and an online community, thebestcamera.com. The book, which is a collection of his iPhone photography, reveals what is possible with an iPhone camera. Available now from Peachpit, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders and other retailers worldwide, The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You: iPhone Photography by Chase Jarvis is priced at $19.99. The Best Camera App, which allows users to creatively edit and share iPhone images via a unique set of filters and effects, is available for $2.99 from the App Store.

Website: The Best Camera

The multimedia specialist MAGIX presents its new ‘Video easy’ software as “probably the world’s easiest video editing program.” During development it was important to help users overcome their fears and clear obstacles out of the way. Without any detours or distractions, the software achieves your required goal. However Video easy still inludes elegant user navigation and the latest technologies: MAGIX Video easy accepts AVCHD camcorder videos without a glitch, the company claims. This program comes not only with eye-catching menu templates for DVDs, but also with the function for publishing directly on YouTube. MAGIX is currently offering a deal on its Video easy and PC Check & Tuning 2010 programs, which can now be purchased in a bundle for £39.99 + shipping.

Website: Video easy

Building on the popularity of their beginner trainings, Nik Software has decided to offer advanced users a number of pro webinar specials. These are presented by internationally known photographers and digital artist that give you their personal tips ‘n’ tricks live and direct. On November 3rd, for example, the successful photographer and popular speaker Robin Preston will show you advanced techniques for increasing the quality of your pictures, e.g. by changing the whole look into the 40s Pin-Up style or the current look of commercial photography, and much more. If interested, you can sign up at the website below.

Website: Nik Software

KelbyTraining LIVE has announced the addition of a brand new seminar tour for the Adobe Creative Suite – Adobe Creative Suite 4 Unleashed! – to its line up of live, one-day, regional photography and Adobe Photoshop seminar tours. Featuring National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) and Adobe Certified Instructors Dave Cross and Rafael “RC” Concepcion, the first Adobe Creative Suite 4 Unleashed! seminar debuts in Miami on Oct. 7 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Attendees will learn how to streamline their workflow with the powerful integration features of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash, and Acrobat. The entire full day of training is $49, or $39 for NAPP members, and includes a free Adobe CS4 Suite Integration DVD by Dave Cross. Registrations are taken online at KelbyTraining LIVE, or calling 800-201-7323, Monday-Friday, 8:30am to 7:00pm.

Cognitec Systems Corporation, a company which develops, markets and deploys well-established and market-leading face recognition software to global customers and government agencies, today announced it will deploy its face recognition technology in Adobe’s consumer digital imaging and digital video editing software. The collaborative effort will focus on the Adobe Photoshop Elements and Adobe Premiere Elements products. Cognitec and Adobe believe that the pairing of their combined technologies in a consumer product environment should greatly enhance the functionality of Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements software and address the growing consumer demand for improved face-matching or finding capabilities within the market.

FUJIFILM U.S.A. has announced the availability of the Instax Mini 7S Instant Camera and Instax Mini Instant Colour Film to the U.S. market. The Instax Mini 7S is a compact and lightweight instant film solution for the on-the-go photographer or photo enthusiast. Fujifilm’s line-up of Instax instant cameras have been enjoying success in Asia and Europe for years, which has allegedly helped generate a loyal following in the United States, particularly over the last year. The new Instax Mini 7S has an electronically controlled shutter and sports a built-in flash for low-light shooting. The Instax Mini Instant Film has a sensitivity rating of ISO 800/30° and an image area of 1.8"x2.4”. Camera and film will be available at retail locations beginning in September, 2009. MSRP for the Instax Mini 7S Instant Film Camera is $95.99 while MSRP for a 10-Pack of Instax Mini Instant Film is $19.99.

DxO Labs have posted detailed raw-based image quality data on the Olympus E-P1 mirrorless interchangeable-lens system camera and the Phase One P40+ medium-format digital back / camera system. The findings are available on the DxOMark website, a free online resource that delivers key objective sensor performance metrics measured directly on the raw image for a variety of cameras.

Website: DxOMark

Sony UK celebrated a hard-fought victory over Sony Italy in the 6th of 7 twilight football games by graciously signing the match ball for a local fan (see picture). At a picturesque setting in the Pinnacle Desert, Western Australia, the final score was 17-14 to the UK, as more than 100 spectators looked on and used Sony’s latest low-light cameras to record the action. The UK team, who battled their way through a London-based football competition to earn their ticket to Oz, outbattled and outpassed the skillful Italians to edge a tightly-fought encounter.

We’ve already published sample images from both the WX1 and TX1 compact cameras earlier this week, with both coping well at ISO speeds that are beyond most pocket cameras thanks to the new Sony Exmor R sensor technology. The new Alpha A550 was also in evidence at this showcase Sony event, with its 7fps continuous shooting speed and maximum ISO of 12800 proving useful for the ever darkening conditions - Mark Goldstein took the main picture at the fastest ISO speed in virtual darkness.

We’ll be bringing you full reviews of the TX1, WX1 and Alpha A550 in the next few weeks…