Direct Source Marketing, the sole U.S. distributor of Horseman photo products, has announced the Horseman VCC Pro, a device that offers full bellows function, a variety of technical movements, and gives a DSLR large format view camera functions. The VCC Pro is described as a breakthrough because it does the only thing DSLR’s can’t do—technical movements. Compact and lightweight, the new Horseman camera converter comes in models for Nikon and Canon Digital SLR’s. Both VCC models give the end user control of both the front and rear standard, and allows them to use tilt, swing, shift, fall, rise or any combination of these. The VCC also provides four-frame stitching with a full-frame / FX imager. This makes for extremely high resolution images equivalent to those produced by professional high end digital backs. Inaccuracies between successive pictures are held to an absolute minimum, making post-editing an easy task. The Horseman VCC Pro is manufactured in Japan and will be available at professional photo dealers.

Prestigio has announced the return of its International Photographic Award. The contest is open to amateur and professional photographs from all backgrounds, ages and levels of experience, and will be held from September 15th until November 30th 2009. To be eligible, all pictures must illustrate one of Prestigio’s brand values: Elegance, Performance or Inspiration. All pictures will be evaluated by a panel of professionals, and the most creative work will receive the Prestigio Grand Prix, $1000 cash prize. The Prestigio Corporate team will also decide upon the best picture in each category, and each winner will be awarded with $300 cash prize and a selected Prestigio product.

In the wake of the recent price / availability announcements, Leica now unveiled the full specifications of the Leica S2 and four S-system lenses. The Leica S2 is a new interchangeable-lens DSLR with a sensor that is 56% bigger than a conventional “full-frame” imager. The first prototypes were shown to us at Photokina 2008, and availability is now slated for October 2009. Highlights include a 37.5-megapixel Kodak CCD with a claimed 12 stops of dynamic range, a metal focal-plane shutter with a maximum shutter speed of 1/4000 second, fast auto-focus, a large and high-eye-point TTL optical viewfinder with 0.86x magnification, interchangeable focusing screens, CompactFlash and SDHC compatibility, an HDMI port and a 3-inch rear screen with 460,000 pixels and optional sapphire glass. The Leica S2 will be available at an SRP of £15,996 from selected authorised dealers. The Leica S2-P, which includes the sapphire glass display and comes with a Platinum service package, is priced at £19,092.

Casio have revealed the twelve-megapixel Casio EX-Z90 and Casio EX-Z450 digital compact cameras with Intelligent AF and improved Dynamic Photo functionality. In addition to usual face detection, just by pointing the camera at a desired shot, Intelligent AF automatically detects non-human photo subjects in the whole composition and determines the focus and exposure area. So when taking a picture of a pet or even scenery, Intelligent AF can help minimise the number of photos that have an out-of-focus subject, thanks to the high-speed image processing technology and image analysis technology of the EXILIM Engine 4.0, the company claims. Compact enough to fit into the palm of a hand, the Casio Exilim EX-Z90 (see picture above) has a 3x zoom lens; while the Casio Exilim EX-Z450 boasts a 28-112mm zoom lens plus a 3” rear screen, and throws CCD-shift image stabilisation into the mix. The EX-Z450 will have an MSRP of $199.99 and will be offered in champagne. The EX-Z90 will have an MSRP of $149.99 and will be available in pink and black.

Casio Europe have just announced the twelve-megapixel Casio Exilim EX-Z280 digital compact camera with a 26-104 mm equivalent zoom lens and CCD-shift image stabilisation. The Casio EX-Z280 also offers face detection, complemented by a “make-up” function, an AF tracking function that can remember faces and resume tracking them even if the subject leaves the frame and then reappears, and HD movie recording at 1280x720 pixels. The EX-Z280, available this September 2009, will have an MSRP of $179.99 and will be offered in a silver body color.

To offer a greater selection to suit the diverse needs of different customers, Transcend Information, Inc. recently released a brand new Anti-Shock USB Flash Drive—the JetFlash V70. The drive is made out of a durable eco-friendly rubber that makes it highly resistant to survive shock, splashes and dust. Currently available in 16GB (Red), 8GB (Orange) and 4GB (Purple) capacities, the JetFlash V70 carries Transcend’s lifetime warranty.

Verve Gallery of Photography has announced Reverie & Rhapsody, an exhibition exploring “dreams, memory and time, and the rhythm of contemplation and mystery that is held within all three”. The three-person exhibition includes Verve gallery artists Susan Burnstine, Susan kae Grant and Beth Moon. The Opening Reception is held on Friday, August 28, 2009 from 5-7pm. There will be a Gallery Talk with Photographers Beth Moon and Susan Burnstine on Friday, August 28 from 3-5pm, and with Photographer Susan kae Grant and Composer Sarah Alexander on Saturday, August 29 from 2-4pm. The exhibition is on view through Saturday, November 7, 2009.

Shutterfly’s Picture Perfect Summer microsite provides suggestions for vacationers on everything from the best light for the best pictures to how to complete fun, vacation-themed “picture projects.  In addition, site visitors can earn free prints for taking advantage of Shutterfly’s summer deals, including registering for the Shutterfly Dream Vacation Sweepstakes. The grand prize is airfare and seven nights in the Caribbean at Moon Palace Casino, Golf & Spa Resort, provided by Orbitz.com.

Website: Picture Perfect Summer

The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust is calling all budding photographers to get snapping at their local WWT Wetland Centre before the end of August for the chance to win Nikon equipment worth over £,1000 in the WWT Nikon Photography competition 2009. The competition aims to capture the variety of WWT’s nine centres across three categories: ‘WWT Nikon Photo of the Year’, ‘WWT Nikon Junior Photo of the Year’ and ‘WWT Nikon Digiscoping Photo of the Year’. The main rule of the competition is that all photos submitted must have been taken at one of the nine WWT centres in the UK. WWT is hoping that the competition will encourage people to visit a WWT centre and even help support the charity by joining as a member. Closing date for entries is Monday 7 September 2009.

Photographers have until 1st September 2009 to submit their entries to the 2009 Fujifilm Distinctions Awards. This year, the Awards are open to photographers right across the world. As in previous years the Awards has an open brief and is open to any photographer - professional, enthusiast or student. The only stipulation is that submissions must have been originated on film from Fujifilm’s range of professional or consumer films.

Website: 2009 Distinctions Awards

Twicli - a Twitter-based platform created by Sam Street and Sean Miller, London based co-founders of Picli - has been expanded to include a number of additional service elements. These include support for audio uploaded via the web and via email, tagging of your Twitter friends into your photos, Friend Activity monitoring, a Multimedia tweet box with full control over how your tweet will appear, mixed content sets, optional geotagging, larger file sizes and higher quality video.

Calumet Photographic have released a series of dates across the UK with multi-award winning photographer Uzair Kharawala.  ‘Business & Beyond’ is a full-day seminar and will be held at Calumet stores in Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh, London, Belfast & Birmingham. Uzair will be presenting on how to run your business through these tough times.  A variety of interesting and exciting subjects & topics will be covered to help you grow your business. The price is £45.00 including refreshments & lunch.

AKVIS Software has released version 9.0 of AKVIS Sketch, its application that converts photos to colour and B&W pencil drawings and watercolour paintings, for Windows and Macintosh. Version 9.0 of AKVIS Sketch has a new improved algorithm for photo-to-sketch conversion (the option to use the old algorithm remains). The program has a new parameter field for edge definition. Now it is possible to manipulate the thickness and sharpness of the outlines. The new version also adds the possibility to change the saturation of colour strokes when using colour pencil drawing mode. AKVIS Sketch is available as a stand-alone application, as well as a plugin to a photo editor. AKVIS Sketch Home License (plug-in or standalone) sells for $72 USD or 55 Euro,  downloadable from www.akvis.com. Registered users of the previous versions can ugrade to version 9.0 for $39.

Phottix, a global manufacturer of photo accessories, announced the official opening of its Distributor for UK and Ireland today, Phottix UK Ltd. Phottix professional photo accessories have long been popular in the UK and Ireland, but prior to the establishment of the UK distribution partnership customers had to make their purchases from unofficial overseas websites. The new company, Phottix UK Ltd, will provide an official channel for Phottix quality photo accessories, and will greatly enhance customer service experience and product support, the company says. The Phottix product range includes unique units like the Phottix Hero wireless camera remote control (pictured),which operates over a video link, the Phottix GeoOne GPS camera geotagging unit, the Phottix O-Flash affordable ring light, the Phottix Nikos digital timer remote release and the Phottix Cleon II wireless/wired remote shutter release, as well as comprehensive replacement accessories ranging from camera grips to batteries, flash accessories, filters and complete studio lighting systems.

Website: Phottix UK

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) Young Photographer Awards is stuill open for entries, but the final submission deadline is getting closer and closer. The overall winner of this year’s competition will win £1,000 worth of Olympus vouchers. This is in addition to the range of Olympus cameras on offer to the winners of categories including under 12 years, 12 to 18 years, pet personalities and the Olympus portfolio prize. The overall winner, picked from those who scoop the category titles, will also be given the chance to join the RSPCA’s award-winning chief photographer Andrew Forsyth on an exclusive photoshoot. Previous winners have been able to capture the magic of a seal release with their new cameras, while last year’s overall winner 12-year-old Molly Armiger enjoyed a day out helping release rehabilitated ducks and hedgehogs at the RSPCA’s East Winch Wildlife Centre. The deadline for entries is midnight on 7 September, 2009, for those submitted via www.rspca.org.uk/ypa or 5pm on 24 August, 2009, for postal entries.

Businessman Simon Brown is urging keen photographers to take a different view of London, by joining one of the new CameraTrails tours, starting at the end of this month. Suitable for either beginners or intermediate photographers, Simon says that both tourists and Londoners alike will be both startled and inspired by gaining a different perspective of the city. Three main tours will shortly be available, focusing not only on the main tourist hotspots of London but also on the lesser-travelled routes, exploring aspects of urban decay and regeneration, culture and diversity. The first tour takes place on Sunday 23 August at 12pm, and focuses on the South Bank region, whilst the second is on Friday 28 August at 9.30am, concentrating on a different perspective of London’s greatest monuments.  Prices are £70 per person.

Website: Camera Trails

iPhone app publisher, Unique Apps, has recently released a new iPhone application called PhotoScatter; which allows users to submit photos to most of the top photo sharing sites on the Internet. Version 1 of PhotoScatter supports the following sites: Facebook, Flickr, Shutterfly, PhotoBucket, Picasa, and Twitter (TwitPic). More photo sharing sites will be added to future versions, the company says. Currently retailing at $0.99, PhotoScatter can be purchased in the iTunes App Store.

Home Is Where You Make It, a Walker Arts Center residency project by artists Lauri Lyons and Tish Jones is raising public awareness about the homeless youth population in the Twin Cities. The interactive installations provide an opportunity for homeless youth to develop and display their artwork to a broad audience, and are paired with a three-week long series of artist led workshops where homeless youth will write personal narratives and shoot black and white portraits. The portraits will then be digitally enlarged and mounted onto cardboard and assembled by the teens into 5’ x 7’ ‘houses’ on the street. The resulting structures will challenge common perceptions of the homeless population and literally bring a face to the issues they encounter daily. Home Is Where You Make It runs until 21 August 2009.