Western Digital’s MyBook family of external hard drives has been expanded to include 2TB capacities. Yes that’s two terabytes - currently the largest available capacity in a single-drive system. The new 2 TB My Book family includes: My Book Studio Edition, My Book Mac Edition, My Book Home Edition and My Book Essential Edition models. All of these are available now except for the Mac Edition 2TB, which is forecast to hit the shelves next month. Estimated pricing ranges from $329.99 to $379.99, depending upon drive model.

Magnum photographers Paolo Pellegrin and Alex Majoli have been selected as the first two professional photojournalists to receive Getty Images grants for 2009. Two student PJs, Andy Spyra and Maximiliano Braun, are also getting grants from the agency. Paolo Pellegrin’s project is entitled “Iraqi Refugees”, Alex Majoli documents Brazil’s ‘hidden’ internal war in his ongoing work “Requiem for Samba”, Andy Spyra has chosen to report on the Kashmir Conflict, whereas Maximiliano Braun’s project, “Stay With Me”, focuses on families caring for a relative living in a vegetative state due to brain damage.

Canon have just unveiled the 15.1-megapixel Canon EOS EOS 500D / Rebel T1i digital SLR. The new camera is the first Rebel to feature HD video capture - 720p at 30fps as well as Full HD 1080p at 20fps. Other highlights include a Digic 4 image processor, 14-bit analog-to-digital conversion, a three-inch, 920,000-dot rear screen, Auto Lighting Optimiser, Creative Auto Mode and Live View. Continuous shooting is available at 3.4 frames per second, for up to 170 JPEG or 9 raw images when using a class 6 or higher SD or SDHC memory card. The Canon EOS 500D / Rebel T1i provides ISO speeds from ISO 100 up to ISO 3200 in whole stop increments, along with two additional high-speed ISO settings – H1: 6400 and H2: 12800. Live View comes in three flavours, Quick, Live and Face Detection Live. To combat any dust particles that may have settled on its 15.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, the Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit for the Canon EOS Rebel T1i / EOS 500D has been upgraded with a fluorine coating on the low-pass filter for better dust resistance.

The Canon EOS Rebel T1i / EOS 500D digital SLR is scheduled for delivery in May, at an estimated body-only price of $799.99. Throwing in an EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS kit zoom will set you back an additional $100. In Europe, the recommended retail price is £869.99 / €999.99 for the body and £969.99 / €1139.99 for the afore-mentioned kit including VAT. There’s also an additional 500D kit with the EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens priced at £1399.99 / €1639.99.

Canon have revealed the Canon Speedlite 270EX flashgun, the successor to the Speedlite 220EX. The Japanese giant timed this announcement to coincide with that of the Canon EOS 500D digital SLR, marketed as the Canon EOS Rebel T1i in North America. The Canon Speedlite 270EX is a compact and lightweight external flash unit intended for use with Canon EOS SLRs and select PowerShot models. The guide number is 27 in metres, though the ISO speed at which this number is valid is not specified. The flash is claimed to recharge almost as quickly as its predecessor despite being powered by just two AA batteries, and enables bounce shooting in four positions between 0 and 90 degrees. A zooming head, a quick-lock mechanism and a metal mounting foot complete the picture.

The recommended retail price of the Canon Speedlite 270EX is £149.99 / €169.99 including VAT. Availability is forecast for early May.

ACD Systems have released the new ACDSee Picture Frame Manager, a program that promises a better overall experience for digital picture frame owners. This is a piece of software that you can install on your PC or Mac. When you connect a digital picture frame to your computer, ACDSee Picture Frame Manager lets you load, move, resize or delete photos with drag-and-drop simplicity. The software also optimises the resolution of digital photographs for the given picture frame, enabling optimal use of available memory and cutting down on picture load times. Managing multiple frames at the same time is also possible. The price is $39.99.

Website: ACDSee Picture Frame Manager

Iridient Digital have released RAW Developer 1.8.3, an update to their raw image processing software for Mac OS X. This update includes support for the Olympus E-620, Canon SX1 IS, Casio EX-FH20, recent Hasselblad backs and RAW files converted by Phocus software. Other highlights include GPS metadata export, improvements to the default tone curves for the Nikon D3X and Sony DSLR-A900 and updates to the default Nikon white balance presets for many models. Irident RAW Developer requires MacOS X 10.4.10 or later and costs $125. The update is free for existing users.

Website: Iridient RAW Developer 1.8.3 Release Notes

Nik Software has released a Color Efex Pro 3.0 update for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3 and higher. The update is free to current owners of Color Efex Pro 3.0. Currently the update is available for the Color Efex Pro 3.0 Complete Edition; the updates for the Select and Standard Edition will be available soon. Color Efex Pro 3.0 installs as a plug-in for Lightroom 2.3. Photographers using Lightroom can utilise Nik Software’s unique Color Efex Pro filters and take advantage of their U Point technology to selectively apply enhancements without the need for any complicated masks.

Camera Armor have just unveiled the Seattle Solo DSLR bag, which is the latest addition to their dry bag Seattle Series. The Seattle Solo DSLR bag provides watertight transport for one camera body with lens attached, keeping dirt, dust, sand and water out. Other features include an adjustable, padded shoulder strap and an external accessory storage pouch for memory cards and other small accessories. The Camera Armor Seattle Solo DSLR bag is available now, with the price hovering around the £60 mark.

Imagenomic announced today the commercial release of Portraiture 2 for Aperture. Features of the new Apple Aperture plugin include Automatic Skin Tones Mask generation and “One-click” skin retouching through a new Preset Manager, Advanced Skin Masking controls for selecting, feathering and refining the retouching area, Enhancement Sliders and settings custom control, Non-destructive Editing and data integrity image preservation, Extended Output Options, and Batch Processing. The suggested retail price of Portraiture 2 for Aperture is $199.95, and a free trial version is available for download.

Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. is set to sell Popular Photography and American Photo, among other titles. Hachette is looking to sell a whole group of enthusiast magazines, and the two photography periodicals are part of this group, Advertising Age reports. Whether the titles are available for purchase individually or only as a group remains unclear at this point.

Website: Advertising Age

J. D. Power have published the results of a customer satisfaction survey conducted among digital camera owners in Japan. The findings are based on data collected from nearly twelve thousand respondents. The survey covered five segments: Digital SLR, High-end compact, Superzoom, Stylish and Standard. In the DSLR segment, Nikon acquired the first place with a score of 711 (out of 1000), trailed by Pentax and Canon (both scoring 697 points), Panasonic (679), Olympus (665) and Sony (653). Among owners of high-end compacts, Ricoh came out on top, with a score of 713, followed by Canon (704) and Panasonic (660). Each of these brands had a strong point of its own, with Ricoh being the absolute knock-out in the design and handling departments, Canon rated highest for capabilities and Panasonic seen as delivering the best quality. Among superzooms - cameras sporting a fixed-mount zoom lens with at least a 10x zoom ratio - Canon (660) just trumped Sony (659) and Nikon (657). In the Stylish segment, Sony took the lead (657), with Canon a close second (656), and Nikon third again (654). Among standard compacts, Panasonic was the clear winner with 625 points, followed by Canon (619) and Nikon (611).

Website: J. D. Power Press Release (in Japanese)

Adroit Photo Recovery is a new program that can reassemble digital photos you thought you had deleted. Nasir Memon, professor of computer science and engineering at Polytechnic Institute of NYU and co-founder of Digital Assembly LLC, has developed this piece of software to rescue fragmented image files, even from a formatted memory card, pendrive or HDD. Adroit Photo Recovery uses the trademarked SmartCarving technology that “looks at a deleted file as a giant jigsaw puzzle where each block of the file is a piece of the puzzle”. Currently, Adroit recovers photos stored either as JPEGs or PNGs, but future versions will add support for a number of raw image formats.

Adroit Photo Recovery costs $79.99, but there is currently a limited-time offer of $39.99. A free trial version is available for download.

Website: Digital Assembly

Nikon have released a new version of ViewNX, a file browser which ensures quick access to images for instant viewing. In version 1.3.0 of Nikon ViewNX, the Quick Adjustment palette is compatible with both NRW and NEF RAW images, and Google Maps can now be used with the GeoTag function, plus there are a larger number of more minor changes and improvements.

Website: Nikon ViewNX 1.3.0 (Windows)
Website: Nikon ViewNX 1.3.0 (MAC)

Nikon have released a new version of Nikon Transfer, a download utility which allows images to be simultaneously downloaded to two locations. Version 1.4.0 of Nikon Transfer includes 5 minor fixes and improvements.

Website: Nikon Transfer 1.4.0 (Windows)
Website: Nikon Transfer 1.4.0 (Mac)

Wacom Intuos4 is a new professional pen tablet that delivers new features and unparalleled performance to photographers. The Intuos 4 is capable of capturing the slightest nuance of pen pressure against the tablet surface, as well as offering 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity. Other innovative product enhancements offered by the Intuos4 include a refined and intelligent industrial design, customizable shortcut and modifier keys with accompanying OLED displays, and a user-defined Touch Ring capable of controlling up to four different functions in any application. The Wacom Intuos4 is available now and comes in four sizes - small ($229 / £199.99), medium ($369 / £329.99), large ($499 / £429.99) and extra large ($789 / £699.99).

Pentax have just announced the Pentax K20D Titanium Colour Premium Kit. The K20D is Pentax’s flagship DSLR, boasting 14.6 megapixels, in-body Shake Reduction, a Dust Alert System and Live View in a weather-sealed body. The limited-edition Pentax K20D Titanium Colour Premium Kit consists of a K20D body and a D-BG2 vertical grip, both finished in titanium colour. Just like the Pentax K-m Olive, also unveiled today, the Pentax K20D Titanium will only be produced in a batch of 1000 units, with availability slated for October 2009. Pricing is to be confirmed, and it is unclear whether this limited-edition kit will be sold anywhere outside Japan.

Website: Pentax Japan Press Release (in Japanese)
Review: Read our Pentax K20D review

Pentax have just announced an olive version of their entry-level DSLR, the Pentax K-m. Olive green must be the hip colour of 2009, as Leica have also released an olive version of their M8.2 digital rangefinder camera, dubbed the Leica M8.2 Safari Edition. Just like the Leica, the Pentax K-m Olive is also a limited-edition model, which comes bundled with a similarly painted smc Pentax-DA L 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL zoom lens. Only 1000 kits will be produced, with shipments commencing in October 2009 in Japan. Currently, there is no information on pricing or international availability.

Website: Pentax Japan Press Release (in Japanese)
Review: Read our Pentax K-m review

Picmeta Systems have just released Picture Information Extractor (PIE) 5.0, an image browser and viewer with extensive metadata functionality. Version 5.0 of the software offers a number of improvements over its predecessor, including a reworked user interface, lossless rotation and cropping of JPEGs, metadata editing for some raw formats such as Adobe DNG, support for XMP and IPTC plus automatic creation of a folder structure when downloading photos.

The full version of Picture Information Extractor 5.0 costs $35, including lifetime free updates. A free evaluation version can be downloaded from the Picmeta Website. Supported operating systems include Windows 95,98,ME,2000,XP and Vista.

The Nikon Coolpix S225 is a new digital camera exclusive to UK retailer Jessops. Offering a very similar specification to the recently announced S220 model, the entry-level Nikon S225 has 10 megapixels, 3x optical zoom and a 2.5 inch LCD screen. Other key features include Electronic Vibration reduction to reduce camera shake, 4x anti-blur technology, Smile and Blink Proof Mode, Face Detection, Auto scene selector, and Best Shot Selector (BSS). The Nikon Coolpix S225 is available now in silver, priced at £149.