Popular UK online photo processor PhotoBox has just launched its new Pro Gallery service. Available to all Photobox users, PhotoBox Pro Gallery allows you to sell your photos online without any set up costs. As a gallery owner you get to choose the products and print sizes you want to sell and set the price you want to sell them at. PhotoBox then take care of all the printing, payment and delivery in exchange for a 10% commission fee on any sales.

Website: PhotoBox Pro Gallery

The 2009 Sony Campaign Award is a new football photography competition within the Sony World Photography Awards. Amateur photographers are invited to enter the Campaign Award with a single image that captures the beauty and spirit of football in unexpected places. The award is looking for originality amongst the thousands of typical images featured on the sport every year. The closing date for the Sony Campaign Award is 28th February 2009.

The new Olympus E-30 is the first mid-range DSLR camera from Olympus, positioned between the cheaper E-520 and more expensive E-3 models. Going head-to-head with the likes of the Canon EOS 50D and Nikon D90, Olympus have decided to try a different approach with the E30 by offering a number of creative possibilities built into the camera. The Olympus E30 offers six Art Filters (Pop Art, Soft Focus, Pale & Light Colour, Light Tone, Grainy Film and Pin Hole), and there’s also a Multiple Exposure mode for combining images and nine separate aspect ratios, all of which can be previewed on the free-angle 2.7” LCD screen. Olympus certainly haven’t forgotten the more traditional features, with fast 11-point autofocus, 5fps sequential shooting, shutter speeds of up to 1/8000th sec, Supersonic Wave Filter dust reduction system and built-in image stabilisation all on offer. The Olympus E-30 retails at $1300 / £850 body only or £1200 with the new 14-54 Mark II kit lens. Mark Goldstein gets in touch with his artistic side in our latest in-depth review.

Website: Olympus E-30 Review

Sigma UK will increase its prices on all products from 1st February, blaming “currency fluctuations”. The devaluation of £ Sterling against the Yen by 40% since December 2007 is the specific reason. Also, Sigma’s press release doesn’t rule out future increases: “We hope that the UK pound makes a recovery against foreign currencies however it is not altogether impossible that further price increases may be forced upon us all.”

The Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) has forecast falling camera sales in 2009. They predict that total sales will decrease by 0.7%, with point-and-shoot models suffering a 1.3% decline, while DSLR sales will actually increase by 6.8%. CIPA are blaming “the rapid economic slowdown since the autumn of 2008” for 2009’s tough outlook, with better news expected for 2010/11.

Leica have launched a special Safari Edition of the M8.2 digital camera. Limited to 500 units worldwide, the M8.2 Safari Edition includes an olive green painted M8.2 camera, silver LEICA ELMARIT-M 28mm f/2.8 ASPH.lens, a Billingham camera case, and a carrying strap. The price for such exclusivity? The Leica M8.2 Safari Edition can be yours for just $10,000…

The Kodak Easyshare C180 is a new entry-level 10 megapixel point-and-shoot compact camera. Featuring a 3x zoom lens (32–96 mm), Face detection and Blur reduction, the Kodak C180 also offers Kodak’s Perfect Touch technology, ISO speeds up to 1250, a 2.4 inch LCD screen and 16mb internal memory. The Kodak Easyshare C180 will be available in red, blue, pink and silver in August for $119.95.

Analyses of the Panasonic Lumix G1 (pictured), Olympus E-420 and E-510 DSLR cameras is now available on dxomark.com. DxO Labs has added detailed RAW-based image quality data and DxOMark Sensor rankings for each camera. www.dxomark.com is a free online resource that delivers key objective sensor performance metrics measured directly on the RAW image.

Flickrista is a new website that highlights the best fashion photography from Flickr. The site features some of the most inspiring fashion photography from photographers on Flickr, handpicked by editor Andreas Climent. While Flickrista mainly focuses on fashion photography, any photo can appear on Flickrista if it is beautiful and inspiring. Well worth a visit if you’re short on inspiration.

Website: Flickrista

Wildlife photographers William and Matthew Burrard-Lucas have launched a wildlife photography competition with a Olympus SP-570UZ camera (pictured) up for grabs. The theme is “Wildlife Portraits”. A photograph of any animal is eligible as long as it was taken in the wild. The competition is open to participants worldwide, of any age.There is a fantastic prize on offer for the winner: an Olympus SP-570UZ, a camera with a 10-megapixel sensor, a 2.7-inch LCD screen and 20x optical zoom with image stabilization - a perfect combination for wildlife photography.The deadline is 30th April 2009.

Website: Burrad-Lucas Photography - Wildlife Photography Competition

The UK-based Digital Camera Magazine website has seemingly been hacked and taken offline by an angry forum member. In a mass email to all of Digital Camera Magazine’s user database, a member called “4chan” sent out the following message:

Your retarded administrators don’t understand that repairing damage is meaningless unless you first fix the problem. This forum is now 4chan’s bitch, and we shall do with it as we please. Since your administrators are completely incompetent we have decided to ban them, as well as change their passwords; we’re sure you won’t mind. We went easy on you this first time, prepare for the worst.
-Anonymous

At the time of writing, the entire Digital Camera Magazine website (http://www.dcmag.co.uk/) was offline, displaying the message “You are not authorized to view this page”...

The Panasonic DMC-TZ7 is a new 10 megapixel compact camera featuring a 12x, 25mm wide-angle lens and 720p video recording. Offering a Leica lens with a focal range of 25-300mm, the Panasonic TZ7 (also known as the ZS3 in the USA) can record high-definition video in the new AVCHD Lite format. AF tracking and Face Recognition have been added to the TZ7’s Intelligent Auto mode, which is also available during motion image recording. Other highlights of the Panasonic TZ7 include a 3.0-inch, 460,000-dot Intelligent LCD, Venus Engine HD processing engine, optical image stabilization and three aspect ratios (4:3, 3:2 or 16:9). In the UK, the Panasonic DMC-TZ7 will be available in silver, black or brown from April 2009 for £349. In the US, the DMC-ZS3 will be available in silver, black, blue and red in April 2009 for $399.95.

The Panasonic DMC-TZ6 is a new 10 megapixel compact camera featuring a 12x, 25mm wide-angle lens. Offering a Leica lens with a focal range of 25-300mm, the Panasonic TZ6 (also known as the ZS1 in the USA) is the successor to the popular DMC-TZ5. AF tracking and Intelligent Exposure have been added to the TZ6’s Intelligent Auto mode. Other highlights of the Panasonic TZ6 include a 2.7-inch LCD screen, Venus Engine IV processing engine, optical image stabilization and WVGA (848x480) movies. In the UK, the Panasonic DMC-TZ6 will be available in silver or black from April 2009 for £269. In the US, the DMC-ZS1 will be available in silver and black in April 2009 for $299.95.

The Panasonic DMC-FT1 is the company’s first waterproof, shockproof and dustproof digital camera. Featuring a 28mm wide angle lens, 4.6x optical zoom lens and high-definition movies in the new AVCHD Lite format, the Panasonic FT1 (also known as the DMC-TS1 in the USA) can be used underwater to a depth of up to 3 meters and is drop proof from a height up to 1.5m. In the UK, the Panasonic DMC-FT1 will be available from March in a choice of silver or blue for £329, with a 40m underwater housing also available. In the US, the DMC-TS1 will be available in silver, green or orange in April 2009 for $399.95.

The Panasonic DMC-FX550 is a new touch-screen camera with 12 megapixels and a 25mm, 5x zoom lens. The Panasonic FX550 (also known as the DMC-FX580 in the USA) incorporates a large 3.0-inch touch-screen interface which combines cursor key control with touch screen operation. Other highlights of the Panasonic FX550 include manual adjustment of the aperture, addition of Face Recognition to Intelligent Auto mode, Venus Engine V processing engine, Panorama Assist mode, and HD motion pictures in 1280 x 720p. In the UK, the Panasonic DMC-FX550 will be available from March in a choice of black or silver for £299. In the US, the DMC-FX580 will be available in silver and black in April 2009 for $399.95.

The Panasonic DMC-FX40 is a new 12 megapixel camera with a 25mm, 5x zoom lens. The Panasonic FX40 (also known as the DMC-FX48 in the USA) features a 25mm Leica lens offering a focal range of 25-125mm and F2.8 brightness. Other highlights of the Panasonic FX40 include the addition of Face Recognition to Intelligent Auto mode, Venus Engine V processing engine, Panorama Assist mode, and 350 shot battery life. In the UK, the Panasonic DMC-FX40 will be available from April in a choice of black, red or silver for £259. In the US, the DMC-FX48 will be available in silver and black in April 2009 for $349.95.

The Panasonic DMC-FS25 is a new 12 megapixel camera with a 29mm, 5x zoom lens. The Panasonic FS25 features a 29mm Leica lens offering a focal range of 29-145mm. Other highlights of the Panasonic FS25 include the addition of AF tracking and Intelligent Exposure to Intelligent Auto mode, 3.0-inch 230,000 dot LCD screen, Photo Frame mode, and WVGA (848 x 480) movies. In the UK, the Panasonic DMC-FS25 will be available from April in a choice of black or silver for £219. In the US, the DMC-FS25 will be available in silver, black and gold for $249.95 in April 2009.

Apple iLife ’09, which features major upgrades to iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand, is available now. iPhoto ’09 builds on the ability to automatically organise photos into Events by adding Faces and Places as innovative new ways to easily organise and manage your photos using face detection, face recognition and GPS geo-tagging technologies.  iLife ’09 is included with every new Mac and is available as a £69 upgrade for existing users

The 12th edition of the PhotographyBB Online Magazine has just been released. The January 2009 release features digital photography articles with tutorials to help digital photographers to learn new techniques for achieving both better photographs as well as leaning post processing skills in Adobe’s Photoshop and Lightroom. PhotographyBB Online Magazine is available for free download.

The Honl Photo Speed System is a collection of lightweight, durable and affordable light modifiers for shoe-mount flashes. With retail prices ranging from $9.95 to $29.95, these practical tools were designed to universally fit all shoe-mount flashes without the use of annoying adhesives. Honl Photo Professional Speed System Products are now available at photo dealers in the US.