With a DxOMark Sensor score of 89 points, the 60-megapixel Phase One P65+ has taken the lead in the overall DxOMark Sensor rankings. DxO Labs claim that up until now, shooting in low light has been challenging for medium-format cameras when compared to other digital cameras, but thanks to a newly-revised binning implementation, the P65+’s low-light performance has helped close the gap. Its higher Low-Light ISO score, combined with excellent scores for both Colour Depth and Dynamic Range, has propelled it to the first-place slot among all cameras in the dxomark database, regardless of format.

Website: Phase One P65+ at DxOMark.com

Vassilis Spyrou presents his third solo exhibition “In.dust.rial” at Hoxton bar-gallery in Athens. The opening of the exhibition will take place on May 20th, 2009. In this project, Vassilis Spyrou focused on interior industrial scenes. The photographs were shot on location at the Ladopoulos Papermill, which used to be the greatest papermill of the Balkans in the past, employing over 1200 people for decades, but is now completely deserted.

Website: Vassilis Spyrou

Panasonic has just unveiled a limited edition of its Lumix DMC-TZ7 model, which sports an eye-catching red finish. Red was a favoured choice for a compact camera according to Panasonic’s recent international research. In line with this, the limited edition TZ7 boasts a vivid, vibrant red. Panasonic’s new DMC-TZ7 red is available now, for a limited period only.

Review: Read our in-depth review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7

The Master Photographers Association is reminding photographers that the first deadline for submissions to the 2009 Kodak Wedding & Portrait Awards is 31 May. The Awards are open to ALL professional photographers and are supported by Photologic. This popular consumer award is a joint initiative between Kodak and the MPA. The subject of each of the winning photographs receives £1,000 and a Kodak digital camera, and the winning photographers will be presented with a trophy and certificate to display in their studios. Publicity is a big part of the Kodak Awards package; the winning photographers will receive free publicity to help them promote their businesses in their local area.

Giotto’s have added two tripod and head kits to their range. The MTL9351B aluminium tripod, which features quick action lever leg locks, foam hand grips and a removable 3-D centre column, is offered in a bundle with the brand new, lightweight MH5011 3-way head, constructed from cast aluminium and featuring easy to use pan and tilt handles for precise camera positioning with spirit levels. This head can support a maximum weight of 4kg. The other kit - comprising an MTL9361B tripod and an MH5001 head - incorporates identical features, except the MTL9361B tripod uses larger diameter tubing for the legs offering improved stability with a maximum height of 185cm. The MH5001 3-Way head also has similar features to the MH5011, but can support a maximum weight of 6kg. The MTL9351 tripod and MH5011 head kit is available from around £135 and the MTL9361B tripod and MH5001 kit is available from around £160.

The Los Angeles Times has posted a number of interactive, 360-degree panoramas of the devastation caused by recent wildfires in California. Our attention has been brought to these panoramas by Hans Nyberg, who had been given permission to reproduce two of them at panoramas.dk. “Interactive panoramas are still not much seen in the large Internet media,” Hans comments. “However Bryan Chan, photo editor at the Los Angeles Times, would like to popularise them, and his first panoramas are from the recent wildfires in California.”

Website: The Los Angeles Times
Website: Panoramas.dk

Sam Street and Sean Miller, creators of Picli.com, have announced the beta launch of Twicli, a free service that allows users to upload both photos and videos through the Twicli platform and display them to their friends on Twitter. Users can upload photos and videos and comment on each, these comments are then broadcast on twitter via the means of @replies. Unlike many other apps, Twicli is built to support OAuth, an authentication platform used by Twitter for all upcoming apps. With OAuth Twitter users never need to provide their password, they simply click ‘Authorize’ which tells Twitter to allow Twicli read/write access to certain account functionality (i.e. posting tweets). Twicli is also ready to support iPhone 3.0.

Gemalto has launched YuuWaa, a new solution for securely storing, backing up and sharing all types of multimedia data from one single interface. YuuWaa combines a USB flash drive with software and secure online services. The solution offers two levels of storage capacity - “YuuWaa Go” is a 12GB option combining a 4GB USB flash drive with 8GB online capacity. “YuuWaa Plus” has 24GB, including 8GB on the USB flash drive and 16GB online. Both versions are available immediately from retail partners online and in stores for €19.99 (YuuWaa Go) and €29.99 (YuuWaa Plus).

ScanMyPhotos.com have launched ScanMyGrandparents.com, a service targeted at families striving to archive old photos. The package includes up to 100 photo scans on a DVD, a 20-page, double-sided Kodak Photo Book and free return delivery. Acceptable photo sizes are from 3"x3” up to 8"x10”. The service costs $49.95. Same-day service is available for an additional fee of $19.95.

Website: Scan My Grandparents

Wild Magnolia Design has announced the world’s first archival, eco-friendly wedding albums. Each album is made completely by hand and incorporates materials such as hemp canvas, vegan silk, and tree-free paper. The albums come in a variety of sizes and are available through select professional photographers, some of which are listed on the Wild Magnolia website. Wild Magnolia Design also offers eco-friendly photographic prints and graphic design services.

PhotoTrek Tours, a company that combines an officially licenced New York City tour with professional photographs, is celebrating its five-year anniversary in 2009. PhotoTrek Tours offer a personalised private walking tour of New York City where a professional photographer will take pictures of the group and deliver a CD with their digital images to their hotel within 24 hours. Guests are from all over the world and include honeymooners, families, friends or couples who want to be photographed together while participating in a walking tour of the city.

Website: PhotoTrek Tours

Basic Underwater Photography is a new book by Paul J. Mila, which offers a unique, non-technical photographic approach for divers who prefer enjoying their dives and taking photos without continually adjusting camera settings. Instead, the author stresses the importance of positioning, stalking techniques, and using the correct accessories. The book is designed for new underwater photographers as well as for experienced divers who are disappointed when their photos of beautiful eagle rays and barracudas appear small and unimpressive, colourful sponges and corals look drab and featureless, and their fish photos are blued-out or just blurry, grainy tails. The 23-page manual is intentionally short, easy to read, and packed with information, illustrating basic techniques using Mila’s own photos. The book is available for $12 (hard copy) or $5 (electronic version) via www.milabooks.com.

The National Park Foundation and Olympus have announced the launch of the 2009 Share the Experience Photo Contest, a special competition that encourages nature lovers, amateur photographers, and kids of all ages to take pictures of a national park. The 2009 Share the Experience Photo Contest will run from May 4, 2009 through December 31, 2009 and showcases the more than 500 million acres of Federal Lands, drawing entries from all across the United States. All 2009 entrants will have the opportunity to win one of six prize packages, including trips to national parks. The Grand Prize winner will earn the international honour of having his/her winning image grace the cover of the 2011 “Federal Recreation Lands Pass,” an Olympus E-3 DSLR camera kit, plus a five-day, four-night trip for four to the Federal Recreation Area of their choice.

Getty Images and Agence France-Presse (AFP) have renewed their partnership agreement. The renewed contract takes effect on 1st June 2009 and extends the partnership between the two companies for a further three years. AFP and Getty Images also signed a separate agreement on video sharing at the beginning of the year. Under the terms of the agreement, each party was granted access to the other’s video productions, for which they have non-exclusive worldwide marketing rights.

LEE Filters have teamed up with leading landscape photographer Jeremy Walker for a couple of weekend photographic workshops across the U.K. Jeremy is a professional landscape photographer with many years experience, his work has been used extensively by agencies and corporate clients around the world. He is an experienced course leader of workshops and tutorials, his easy going personality, inspirational photographs and close attention to detail help his students gain a thorough understanding of landscape techniques on both digital and film. Each extensive two-and-a-half-day workshop will be limited to just ten photographers.

Website: Jeremy Walker Landscape Workshops

Park Cameras have announced a dedicated event for professional photographers that looks to showcase the Canon ‘Digital Solution’. This is a one-day event running from 10am-5pm on 28 May. It consists of opportunities to both attend seminars on the Canon EOS system and also have the chance yourself to put any combination from Canon’s Professional range to the test. Canon is supported by the presence of both onOne Software and Colour Confidence, themselves displaying the latest post-production products through a combination of seminars and ‘touch and try’. This event is free for all those attending. Advance booking is required. Click through / read on for the seminar overview.

Harman Technology, owner of the Ilford brand, is staging a no-minimum-order-quantities ordering window for Ultra Large Format (ULF) photographers. This initiative allows ULF photographers to order sheet film from the manufacturer’s ILFORD PHOTO black and white brand, free from the constraints of minimum order quantities. The window, which opened on May 1st, will run until July 3rd 2009. After the closing date, Harman will manufacture the products at its factory in Cheshire, England with a view to shipping the products to arrive with dealers by mid-September. Specific products covered include FP4 PLUS in sizes up to 12 x 20 inches, HP5 PLUS in sizes up to 20 x 24 inches and ORTHO PLUS in hard to find sizes such as 18cm by 24cm. “Someone has to champion analogue photography and who better than Harman with a history in the medium stretching back over 130 years,” says Steven Brierley, HARMAN’s President of Marketing for North America. Click through / read on for a list of participating dealers.

Olympus have launched a new service on their website, called Lensfinder. As its name suggests, the Lensfinder helps you find the right lens for you, by showing you the same scene photographed from the same viewpoint, but at different focal lengths. For each focal length, the Lensfinder displays all Olympus branded FourThirds lenses capable of shooting at that focal length, shows which tier they belong to, and lets you click through to the detailed product page of each. The Lensfinder does not show any of the Sigma and Leica branded FourThirds lenses though.

Website: Olympus Lensfinder

Olympus have launched a new service on their website, called Lensfinder. As its name suggests, the Lensfinder helps you find the right lens for you, by showing you the same scene photographed from the same viewpoint, but at different focal lengths. For each focal length, the Lensfinder displays all Olympus branded FourThirds lenses capable of shooting at that focal length, shows which tier they belong to, and lets you click through to the detailed product page of each. The Lensfinder does not show any of the Sigma and Leica branded FourThirds lenses though.

Website: Olympus Lensfinder