Epson America has introduced the 24-inch Epson Stylus Pro 7900 and the 44-inch Epson Stylus Pro 9900. Almost twice as fast as previous models, the 7900 and 9900 feature Epson’s MicroPiezo TFP print head and new Epson UltraChrome HDR Ink technology with all-new Orange and Green inks. Also new to the Epson Stylus Pro series is an optional high performance, in-line spectrophotometer for commercial proofing applications. The Epson Stylus Pro 7900 and 9900 will be available in November 2008 for $3,995 and $5,995 respectively.

Sony has just launched its professional photographer program at the PhotoPlus Expo tradeshow in New York. Andy Katz, David McLain, Christina Mittermeier, Brian Smith and Matthew Jordan Smith are the five professional photographers to be included in Sony’ first-ever professional photographer program. Each of the photographers created the images in a gallery that is on display today at the PhotoPlus Expo.

Adobe Photoshop CS4 One-on-One is a new book by Deke McClelland. It includes step-by-step text lessons, DVD-video demonstrations, and real-world projects. “I covered all the new stuff and added several brand-new exercises. Plus I doubled the amount of video content. There’s more than 4 hours now! The best training system for Photoshop is now that much better.” commented McClelland. Adobe Photoshop CS4 One-on-One is available now for $49.99 / £30.99.

Genuine Fractals 6 adds several new features designed to help photographers get the best enlargements possible. The improvements include include texture presets, gallery wrap function, batch processing, tiling for smaller printers and support for Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom 2. Available in November, Genuine Fractals 6 is available in a Professional Edition and a Standard Edition for $299.95 and $159.95 respectively.

PhotoTools 2 is a new Photoshop CS4 plugin that provides a wide range of imaging tools including effects, corrections and production automation in a full-featured interface. Available in January 2009, version 2 offers an expanded range of photographic effects and a significantly improved user experience through a new effects library and additional new features. PhotoTools 2 offers an easier way to search for, access and preview over 270 included photographic effects. PhotoTools 2 is available in a Professional Edition and a Standard Edition for $259.95 and $159.95 respectively.

Plug-In Suite 4.5 from onOne Software includes new versions of PhotoFrame, PhotoTools and Genuine Fractals, plus Mask Pro 4, PhotoTune 2.2, and FocalPoint 1.0. “In addition to brand new versions of PhotoFrame 4, PhotoTools 2 and Genuine Fractals 6, the new Plug-In Suite 4.5 adds support for Photoshop CS4, Lightroom 2 and Aperture 2.1 so users can seamlessly integrate these valuable products into their existing workflow.” said Craig Keudell, president of onOne Software. Plug-In Suite 4.5 will be available in January 2009 to new users for $499.95 - a savings of $799.75 if purchased separately.

Kubota RAW Workflow for Lightroom 2 is a new DVD tutorial from professional photographer Kevin Kubota. Kubota RAW Workflow for Lightroom 2 takes digital photographers step-by-step through proper organization, efficient editing and enhancing, and final image presentation. More than just another Lightroom “Manual”, this interactive instructional DVD is based on a proven workflow system used daily by busy digital studios. The Kubota RAW Workflow for Lightroom 2 tutorial is available now for $99.

The Kubota Image Tools Dashboard is a new quick-launch interface for more than 280 Kubota Photoshop Actions. Users can now quickly and easily launch and apply selected Kubota Actions. “For me,” says Kevin Kubota “the most exciting feature of the new, more powerful Dashboard is that it is intuitive. For example, some images I want to appear ‘romantic’, others, ‘edgy’ or ‘funky’. I can type these words into the search bar of the Dashboard and a list of Kubota Actions will show up that will enhance my image to create the feeling I wanted to capture when I took that photograph.” Each individual Kubota Action Pak, with approximately 50 Actions each, is sold separately for $179.

The NEC MultiSync P221W is a new professional grade, wide-screen desktop LCD monitor. Featuring hardware color calibration using the optional NEC SpectraviewII kit, the NEC P221W delivers accurate color in a simple to use and affordable package. The NEC MultiSync P221W features a 3-year limited warranty and will be available for December 2008 for $636.90. The SpectraViewII color calibration kit will cost $374.99.

UK wedding photographer Crash Taylor has started a new site interviewing photographers from across the globe. Aiming to turn it into the biggest interview site in the UK, every week Crash interviews a photographer whose work pushes the boundaries of the wedding profession. Well worth checking out if you’re even remotely interested in wedding photography (or you’re just looking for a wedding photographer!).

Website: Crash Taylor Photographer Interviews

OWC has launched the Mercury Pro Blu-ray drives, the first Blu-ray external drives to offer a “Quad Interface” of FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB 2.0, and eSATA. OWC Mercury Pro drives feature 4x write speeds, a data transfer rate up to 150MB per second, and compatibility with both Windows and Macintosh systems. Mercury Pro Blu-ray drives read and/or write virtually all optical media, including Blu-ray, HD-DVD, DVD-RAM, and CD-R/RW. Pricing starts from $499.

Silver to Silicon is a new book that takes you through 25 years of photography change from analog film to digital chips. Veteran industry consultant and journalist, John Larish, takes you from the early mystery days of capturing, processing, showing/sharing and archiving images to today’s high tech, high fun digital image experiences. Silver to Silicon is available exclusively from Amazon.com for $18.

At this year’s PhotoPlus show in New York, Kodak will highlight the work of professional photographers on the Kodak Times Square Gallery. Throughout 2009, visitors to Times Square can experience the work of some of the world’s top photographers and learn more about their work. At the Kodak booth, Kodak will showcase its new Ektar 100 Film, the enhanced Network of Professional Photographers program and Kodak’s Pro Lab Locator, and new professional papers.

The new UniWire3 Calendar Kit allows you to create perfectly-bound 100% lay-flat calendars. It punches up to 25 sheets of paper at a time and binds up to 120 sheets of paper for easy-to-read calendars, featuring a thumb-cut punch for hanging. In addition to calendars, UniWire 3 also creates professional wire-bound hard and soft-covered books using Unibind’s “Your PhotoBook” covers. UniWire 3 is available immediately, priced at $599.

O’Reilly will be showcasing their latest photography books at this week’s PhotoPlus Expo, as well as hosting a full schedule of author presentations. Derrick Story, Rick Sammon, Stephen Johnson, Mikkal Aaland and others will be preseting sessions on Thursday and Friday. In addition, on Saturday at 3:45pm, O’Reilly Media authors will be presenting a session on Lightroom Adventure: Tasmania.

Motorola challenged 8 photographers around the world to capture 24 hours in 8 of the worlds cities, using the new 5 megapixel Motozine ZN5 camera-phone. The Motorola ZN5 is the first mobile phone to combine Motorola’s ModeShift Technology and Kodak Imaging Technology. It features a high-resolution landscape screen and one of the fastest click-to-click times available for 5 megapixel camera phones. Auto-focus locks in less than one second and there are no delays when taking one photo to the next. With one touch, users can view all their photos right from the home screen, and the ZN5 is optimized to work with Kodak Easyshare Software and provide one-touch access to Kodak Gallery.

Website: Motozine ZN5

X-Rite will be showcasing its innovative line of color control solutions at this year’s PhotoPlus Expo show in New York. ““Our products reflect the digital imaging gamut – responding to our customer requests by offering high-performance solutions that include all the components necessary to meet their specific workflow and budget needs,”” comments Iris Mangelschots, X-Rite senior VP of global sales and marketing. The Coloratti speaker program features renowned photographers John Paul Caponigro and Andy Katz, offering advice on how to achieve excellent fine art print results.

Animoto for Photography enables professional photographers to easily create unique, professional-quality videos. “Animoto for Photography takes the heavy lifting out of video creation, allowing photographers to create stunning video in minutes and spend more time taking photos,” said Brad Jefferson, CEO & co-founder of Animoto. “Until now, the process of editing photos into professional videos has been time-consuming and difficult, requiring expensive software. Animoto changes everything…” Animoto subscriptions cost $99 per user for three months, or $249 per user for one year.

The Digimarc for Images plug-in has been enhanced to coincide with the release of Adobe Creative Suite 4. Digimarc for Images enables content owners to place a persistent, invisible digital watermark into photographs and other images. It then reports to image owners on both authorized and unauthorized use of images online. New features include the addition of seven new languages, improved search and better image format transformations, resizing and compression. Digimarc will offer a free Webcast on November 13th for users interested in learning more about digitally watermarking their images.

We’ve just published sample photos and a video taken with the brand new Canon PowerShot G10 compact camera. The Canon PowerShot G10 features a 14.7 megapixel sensor and 5x, 28-140mm zoom. There are 40 full-sized JPEGs, 9 RAWs and 1 video for you to download. Our full Canon PowerShot G10 review will be published very soon…

Website: Canon PowerShot G10 Photos