The Nikon UK team will be visiting Jessops’ New Oxford Street store on 1st - 2nd May 2009 to demonstrate the capabilities and benefits of the Nikon D5000 DSLR, which goes on sale on Friday. A programme of free Nikon-led seminars will also be running throughout the two-day event. These include a tutorial on getting the best out of the D5000’s HD movie mode and a demonstration of Nikon’s Creative Lighting System. In addition, for every purchase of the D5000 made at the store, customers will receive a free canvas print (32” x 24”) and a free Sandisk 8GB Ultra II SDHC card, Centon outfit bag and Jessops TP323 tripod.

Website: Nikon D5000 Hands-On

Ricoh have launched a website devoted to the promotion of the Ricoh CX1 digital compact camera. The CX1 website includes full information on the CX1 camera and explanations of key features such as the Dynamic Range, Double Shot mode, Multi Target Auto Focus and Multi Pattern Auto White Focus. Press feedback is included with links to the very latest online reviews of the camera plus details of awards and opinions from some of the leading photographic media. Full technical specifications, an enquiry form for further information and information on the accessories available for the CX1 are also provided. You may even win a new Ricoh CX1.

Website: Ricoh CX1
Review: Read our in-depth review of the Ricoh CX1

AKVIS has released AKVIS MultiBrush v.4.0, a photo retouching and portrait enhancement program, for Windows and Macintosh. AKVIS MultiBrush v.4.0 is available as a standalone application as well as a plugin to a number of popular photo editors. AKVIS MultiBrush sells for $49.00 USD, but registered users of AKVIS Stamp can activate MultiBrush for free.

Other World Computing (OWC) announced today the new OWC USB 2.0 Display Adapter, an easy way to add an additional display to Macs and PCs via any standard USB 2.0 port. Functioning like a bus powered “external video card,” the OWC USB 2.0 Display Adapter adds an additional monitor to desktop and laptop computers that offer only one built-in display/video-out port.  In addition, the adapter also eliminates the cost and hassle of installing a video card into a computer. The OWC USB 2.0 Display Adapter connects to HDMI, DVI, and VGA equipped displays in full 32-bit colour at resolutions of up to 1600x1200 pixels. Up to 6 adapters can be configured to either clone a user’s primary screen or extend the desktop, allowing visibility of more applications at the same time on up to 6 individual displays.

DxO Labs have posted detailed RAW-based image quality data on the Olympus E-30 and the Pentax K-m DSLRs. DxOMark is a free online resource that delivers key objective sensor performance metrics measured directly on the RAW image for a variety of cameras.

Website: DxOMark
Review: Read our in-depth review of the Olympus E-30
Review: Read our in-depth review of the Pentax K-m

The LaCie Data/Share is a new way to access the data from SD and microSD cards. It converts SD card and microSD information into the more accessible USB format, instantly creating a USB-ready storage key. The two sides of the Data / Share allow you to keep personal data on one side, while using the other side for shared data. Both sides have the advantage of High-Speed USB transfer rates of up to 480MB/s. The LaCie Data/Share is available now for £9.90 / $9.90.

Lenovo and Microsoft have announced that the Shutter Sisters, otherwise known as Jen Lemen and Stephanie Roberts, are the winners of the Name Your Dream Assignment competition. Over 1,300 people voted for the Shutter Sisters to fulfill their dream - “Picture Hope.”  The Shutter Sisters will soon be traveling around five continents to capture hope in surprising places. As winners, Jen and Stephanie receive a Lenovo W700ds, Microsoft Vista, Microsoft Expression Media 2, and $50,000 to live out their dream. The two runners up, The World in a Bubble and The Travelling Poet Project, each receive a Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds and Microsoft Expression Media. The 20 finalists all receive a copy of Microsoft Expression Media 2.

Website: Name Your Dream Assignment

Nikon has released a new version of its RAW codec, which lets you view NEF files within Windows. Version 1.7.0 now supports NEF (RAW) images taken with the D5000 DSLR camera (pictured).

Website: Nikon RAW Codec 1.7.0

Nikon have released a new version, 2.5.0, of Camera Control Pro. This software allows photographers to control a camera remotely from a computer using either a wired or a wireless connection. Changes in this version include added support for the new Nikon D5000 DSLR camera.

Website: Nikon Camera Control Pro 2.5.0 (Windows)
Website: Nikon Camera Control Pro 2.5.0 (Mac)

Canon USA have issued a service notice for the PowerShot G10 camera. Lines may appear in images captured by some units of the Canon G10. This phenomenon does not occur in all images, is not caused by the camera settings, and the length of lines that appear in images differs depending on the subject. Images that exhibit this phenomenon cannot be fixed. Products whose fourth and fifth digits from the left indicate the following numbers may be affected:

***50*****, ***51*****, ***52*****,
***53*****, ***80*****, ***81*****,
***82*****, ***83*****

Free repairs will be provided by Canon USA for affected products.

Website: Service Notice: PowerShot G10: Lines Appear in Captured Images

The standalone version of Noise Ninja has been upgraded to 2.2.0. Noise Ninja Standalone now has a Sidekick Mode. While Noise Ninja is in sidekick mode any files sent to Noise Ninja from external applications, drag and drop or the file open dialog will be automatically processed and saved without user interaction. This is particularly useful when using Noise Ninjas as an external editor for hosts like Lightroom. Noise Ninja 2.2.0 also improves external editor support and batch processing and fixes a bug with profiles folder preference on Mac OS X.

Website: Noise Ninja

Sigma Photo Pro Software 3.5.1 for Windows and Sigma Photo Pro 3.3 for Macintosh are now available. Sigma Photo Pro is an exclusive software package for displaying and manipulating your Sigma digital camera images on your computer. This latest version of Sigma Photo Pro software for Windows has improved the display speed of thumbnails in the Main Window and performance when in the Review Window from “SIGMA Photo Pro 3.5” enclosed with the DP2 camera. Regarding the Macintosh version, it has improved the stability of the software’s operation from “SIGMA Photo Pro 3.3” bundled with the DP2.

Website: Sigma Photo Pro 3.5.1 (Windows)
Website: Sigma Photo Pro 3.3 (Mac)

Panasonic has released new firmware updates for three cameras - the DMC-FT1 / DMC-TS1, DMC-TZ6 / DMC-ZS1 and DMC-TZ7 / DMC-ZS3. Version 1.1 adds AVCHD playback support for the FT1 / TS1 and TZ7 / ZS3, reduces the auto-focus noise in Quick AF mode for the TZ7 / ZS3 and TZ6 / ZS1, and improves the playback quality of still images for the FT1 / TS1 and TZ6 / ZS1.

Website: Panasonic DMC-FT1/DMC-TS1 Firmware Update 1.1
Website: Panasonic DMC-TZ6/DMC-ZS1 Firmware Update 1.1
Website: Panasonic DMC-TZ7/DMC-ZS3 Firmware Update 1.1

A UK retailer is now taking pre-orders for the Voigtländer Bessa III medium format folder. The Voigtländer Bessa III 667, which is marketed as the Fujifilm GF670 in Japan, is now listed at Robert White’s website for £1,650 + VAT. The Bessa III 667 / GF670 is a folding bellows camera that uses 120 and 220 format roll film. With a special selector switch, you can specify whether you want it to shoot a 6x6 or a 6x7cm frame (the actual dimensions are 56x56mm and 56x69mm, respectively). The Bessa III features a HELIAR 80mm f/3.5 lens, whose angle of view is 53 degrees for 6x6cm frames, and 57 degrees for 6x7cm ones. The camera is expected to ship next month.

Website: Voigtländer Bessa III at Robert White’s Website

Genius has announced a new pocket-sized high-definition digital video camera that can also capture 11-megapixel still photographs. Videos are recorded in MPEG-4 format using the H-264 codec. The Genius G-Shot HD520 weighs only six ounces and features a fixed 7.1mm lens and a 2.5” LCD that can rotate up to 270 degrees. Furthermore, G-Shot HD520 comes equipped with Face Detection and an Electronic Image Stabiliser. Its internal memory is a meagre 32 megabytes, but it accepts SDHC cards too. The Genius G-Shot HD520 has an MSRP of $149, including an HDMI cable.

Seagate Technology LLC has announced the Seagate Replica PC backup system. The Seagate Replica continuously stores up-to-date copies of everything on your PC, including the operating system, programs and settings – without you doing any of the work. The device connects to the computer via USB, and requires no installation or configuration. In the event of a computer crash, users can restore their PCs quickly and effortlessly, without having to spend countless hours manually installing and copying files. The storage capacity is 250GB. A Multi-PC version is available for homes with two or more PCs. The Multi-PC version has twice the storage space (500GB). Plus, the Multi-PC version includes a convenient dock to hold the Replica backup system vertically, which saves valuable desk space. The 250GB solution costs $129.99 (MSRP), whereas the 500GB Seagate Replica Multi-PC will set you back $179.99.

Cosina has announced the Voigtländer VM adapter, which allows M mount lenses to be attached to Micro FourThirds bodies. It is a simple spacer with no electrical contacts of any kind. The Voigtländer VM, which will cost ¥19,800 according to the Japanese Cosina site, is apparently not the first such adapter, as CameraQuest has, for some time, been selling what seems like a different one to us.

Website: Voigtländer VM Adapter at Cosina’s Japanese Site
Website: CameraQuest M to Micro FourThirds Adapter

Panasonic has announced that it would start developing a professional 3D Full HD production system. The system, which is expected to be the first of its kind in the industry, consists of a twin-lens P2 professional camera recorder and a 3D-compatible High Definition Plasma display. While this system is obviously aimed at Hollywood studios, it will be interesting to watch if any part of this technology trickles down to consumer products, especially given that another company, Fujifilm, already announced the development of its own Finepix Real 3D system back at Photokina.