Nik Software GmbH has announced an online training course on their Sharpener Pro 3.0 software for beginners. The webinar takes place on Thursday, 7 May, at 6pm CET and runs for about 45 minutes. Another webinar will be held on Tuesday, 12 May, at 8pm CET. The online training room opens 45 minutes before start.

Website: Sharpener Pro 3.0 - Beginners’ Training

The first batch of Polaroid PoGo instant digital cameras is expected to land in the warehouses of Firebox.com on the 12th, the UK dealer says. Firebox is already taking pre-orders for the Polaroid PoGo, which is an all-in-one five-megapixel digital camera and printer that allows you to take a picture with the Polaroid PoGo, then print it in less than 60 seconds as a full-colour, 2x3-inch print. You can crop photos before printing them, add borders, remove red-eye and print dates. Obviously, your shots are also stored on a memory card, so you can have much bigger prints made later if you so wish. The retail price of the Polaroid PoGo is £229.95.

Website: Firebox

Tamron has relaunched its website dedicated to photographic lenses in order to make navigation and access to product information easier for visitors. The photo lens section, accessed by clicking photographic lenses at www.tamron.com, or directly at http://www.tamron.com/lenses/default-photo.asp, features a flash sequence of images and roll-out information blocks for top products and promotions. Multiple navigation systems were also added to give users greater access to more information, all from one top-page location.  In particular, the new navigation located directly under the Flash movie uses drop-down menus, allowing our visitors the ability to “drill” deeper into the Tamron website. Something that once took multiple click-throughs can now be accessed in just one click.  Best-selling products are highlighted and links to all other lenses are found in multiple areas.

Website: Tamron’s Photographic Lenses

LPA Design has announced a new firmware for its PocketWizard ControlTL system, which allegedly provides “amazing energy savings for faster recycling” when shooting in Canon’s HSS/FP Flash mode. This is made possible via the through-the-shoe communications feature of the new MiniTT1 Transmitter and FlexTT5 Transceiver. “By precisely matching flash duration to the shutter speed, large gains in efficiency were found, as much as 60% in many cases, for both remote and on-camera flashes,” the company claims. Units running older firmware may be updated to the latest release via a firmware upgrade by going to the maintenance tab of the PocketWizard Utility and click “check for updates” or go to PocketWizard.com/support/downloads to download the utility.

Website: PocketWizard

Corel have announced that they are to axe approximately 80 jobs worldwide. This represents 8% of their global workforce, the company says. The move is described as an attempt to adapt the company’s expense structure “to reflect the new market reality”. The layoffs will incur a one-time restructuring charge in the second quarter in the amount of $1.4 million (USD).

Corel have announced that they are to axe approximately 80 jobs worldwide. This represents 8% of their global workforce, the company says. The move is described as an attempt to adapt the company’s expense structure “to reflect the new market reality”. The layoffs will incur a one-time restructuring charge in the second quarter in the amount of $1.4 million (USD).

Following a similar programme announced last month, Pentax is now offering instant rebates on select cameras in the USA. This time around, two models are involved, the Pentax X70 super-zoom camera and the Pentax K2000 digital SLR; the latter in a bundle with the DA L 18-55mm lens. The rebate is $30 on the X70 and $50 on the K2000 kit. The offer is valid until Saturday, 9 May.

Review: Read our in-depth review of the Pentax K2000

Interfit, a manufacturer of photographic lighting, has announced the new Monstar 3 continuous studio light, available as a single softbox kit complete with a carry case. The Monstar 3 has a uniform light source of 3 lamps, with each lamp delivering 150 watts of light, which is equivalent to 600 watts of Tungsten lighting. Therefore the three lamps deliver the equivalent of 1800 watts, Interfit says. The Monstar 3 is claimed to be ideal for group shots and product photography, and is marketed as “an affordable solution to modern studio lighting”. The kit, comprising the head, the three lamps, the carry bag, a softbox and the necessary power cables will be available from July, starting at £379.99.

Website: Interfit

Nik Software has announced that Sharpener Pro 3.0 is now available for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3 and higher. Once installed, the plugin is accessible via the Lightroom Photo—> Edit In… menu. Edits made using the plug-in within Lightroom are non-destructive in nature, with edits applied automatically to a newly generated TIFF file and not the original. The update is available now as a free download to current owners at www.niksoftware.com/lightroom. A full version of Sharpener Pro 3.0 costs €199.95 including German VAT. A fully functional trial version can be downloaded from www.niksoftware.com/sharpenerpro.

This summer, Fujifilm will release a new instant film camera, the Fujifilm Instax 210. According to photoscala.de the Instax 210 will have the same basic specifications as the existing Instax 200, but will come in black colour. Availability is slated for June in Japan, August in Europe. The price is to be confrimed.

Via photoscala.de

Ricoh has issued a new firmware upgrade for the Ricoh CX1 digital compact camera. Version 1.19 addresses the following issue: when the battery is low, camera may power down without retracting the lens.

Website: Ricoh CX1 Firmware Update

Olympus has released a firmware update for the Olympus mju 7000 digital compact camera. Version 1.1 improves the reliability of camera operation while viewing images taken in a vertical position and pressing the DISP button.

Website: Olympus Firmware Updates

Kodak has reported a net loss of $353 million for the first quarter of 2009. Sales are down by 29% versus the same period of last year, to $1.477 billion. This includes approximately 6% of unfavourable foreign exchange impact, the company says. The Consumer Digital Imaging Group’s first-quarter sales were $369 million, a 33% decline from the prior-year quarter, including approximately 5% of unfavourable foreign exchange impact. First-quarter loss from operations for the segment was $157 million, compared with a loss of $111 million a year ago. It’s not all doom and gloom though: for example, sales of consumer inkjet printer hardware and ink grew by more than 100% in a market that declined with the overall economy. In various other market segments. the company is either gaining or maintaining market share.

Tom Mackie Images has announced a four-day landscape photography event event that will take place in the Lake District from 18th October - 22nd October 2009. Visiting places such as Grasmere, Derwentwater and The Langdales the group of just five photographers will explore the magnificient mountainous landscape, stunning autumnal woodland colours and the water that spectacularly shapes the region. Contact +44 (0)1603 465 292 / www.tommackie.com to book your place.

Buffalo Technology has launched a new DVD Reader/Writer for netbook users and those who travel frequently. Available in both black and white, the Buffalo Portable DVD MultiDrive comes with a Buffer Under-run Prevention feature that allows users to work on simultaneous applications whilst reliable writing takes place. The DVD drive also features CyberLink Software that allows users to write content to CD-Rs and DVDs. The Portable DVD MultiDrive is available from May 2009 from Amazon, Dabs, Insight, Misco and other leading resellers. The suggested retail price is £59.99 Inc VAT.

In a new departure for Fujifilm Professional, its Distinctions Awards will now be 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. Images are scanned and then submitted via the Distinctions website, www.fujifilmdistinctions.co.uk - the closing date for entries is 1 September 2009. Entry is free and photographers can submit as many images as they like.

The winners of the April 2009 PhotographyBLOG Competition have been selected by a panel of judges. The theme for April was “Paradise” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 5 winners:

1st Place
Norwegian dream by Igor

Prize: CanvasRus 40 x 30” Canvas Print
Kindly donated by CanvasRus
http://www.canvasrus.co.uk

The winners of the April 2009 PhotographyBLOG Competition have been selected by a panel of judges. The theme for April was “Paradise” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 5 winners:

1st Place
Norwegian dream by Igor

Prize: CanvasRus 40 x 30” Canvas Print
Kindly donated by CanvasRus
http://www.canvasrus.co.uk

We’re giving away a HP StorageWorks RDX Removable Disk Backup System worth £235! On Monday 1st June 2009, one lucky winner will be randomly selected from the list of PhotographyBLOG Newsletter subscribers. To have a chance of winning this great prize, simply subscribe to the completely free PhotographyBLOG Newsletter.

The 5 lucky winners of our fantastic April 2009 Newsletter contest have been randomly selected from the PhotographyBLOG Newsletter subscriber list.

Flavio Bosi, Miça Quartey, Katherin Morris, Lorne Neil and Geoff Wilkins have all won a copy of David Noton’s “Chasing the Light” DVD, worth £19.98.