The RAW workflow software Capture One 4 Pro is now available. Capture One 4 Pro has been designed to enhance the image quality of professional digital captures. “Phase One supports pro photographers who prefer straightforward, responsive, effective options to meet uncompromising standards of quality,” said British fashion photographer Drew Gardner. “So you find in Capture One 4 PRO an experience more consistent with what photography is all about.” Phase One’s Capture One 4 Pro costs $399 and 299 Euros.

Lexar Elite Photographers Vincent Laforet, Moose Peterson, and Rick Sammon will be sharing their extensive knowledge at PhotoPlus Expo 2008 in New York. They will show their latest work, discuss their experiences as professional photographers, and answer questions about their digital imaging workflow. Visit the the Lexar booth between 12:00 pm and 4:00 pm each day at PhotoPlus Expo.

Photographs by Philip Jones Griffiths will be on display in Recollections at the National Conservation Centre in Liverpool. The first display of his work since Griffiths died in March this year, the exhibition will feature around 60 images of Britain in the 1950s and 60s. Recollections by Philip Jones Griffiths runs from from 17 October 2008 to 15 March 2009.

FocalPoint is a Photoshop plugin that enables you to put the point of focus in a photograph exactly where you want it. This selective focus and vignetting plug-in is designed to help photographers easily blur and vignette areas of an image. In the past, expensive or difficult to control selective focus and tilt-shift lenses, filters or vignetting hoods have been used to create this effect - now FocalPoint promises to achieve the same effect but with more control and greater speed than before. Jon Canfield took a look at what FocalPoint has to offer.

Website: FocalPoint Review

Apple have updated their entire Macbook laptop range. The new MacBook and 15-inch MacBook Pro have all-metal enclosures, LED-backlit displays and pro-performance notebook graphics. “Apple has invented a whole new way of building notebooks from a single block of aluminium. And, just as important, they are the industry’s greenest notebooks”, said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “The new MacBooks offer incredible features our users will love — like their stunning all-metal design, great 3D graphics and LED backlit displays — at prices up to £350 / $700 less than before”. Apple have also updated the MacBook Air and the 17-inch MacBook Pro.

The new Apple LED Cinema Display is a 24 inch LED-backlit widescreen monitor. It features a built-in iSight video camera, MagSafe charger, three USB 2.0 ports, new Mini DisplayPort, mic and speakers in a thin aluminium and glass enclosure. The new LED Cinema Display is the greenest Apple display ever, made with mercury-free LED technology, arsenic-free glass and highly recyclable materials. The Apple LED Cinema Display will be available in November for £649 / $899.

Adobe Creative Suite 4 is now available. There are six new versions - Design Premium, Design Standard, Web Premium, Web Standard, Production Premium and Master Collection - plus 13 stand-alone programs, including Photoshop CS4. Pricing for the collections starts from $1699 in the US. Take a look at our Photoshop CS4 review to find out what’s new.

The Mamiya DL28 is a brand new, affordable medium-format camera system. The DL28 marries the professionally proven Mamiya camera system to the innovative 28 megapixel Aptus-II 6 Digital Back from Leaf. It features a 28 megapixel image sensor with a pixel size of 7.2 microns, 16-bit capture, 12 stop dynamic range and an ISO range of 50-800, and a large 3.5 inch LCD screen. The 28 MP back provides raw files of 53Mb, and 16 bit TIFF files in excess of 159 Mb. The Mamiya DL28 will be available in November for $14,999.

Olympus, Panasonic and Sigma have launched a collaborative firmware update service for the Four Thirds System standard. The new online service allows users to update the firmware in their Four Thirds DSLR lenses, even when the camera and lens are not made by the same manufacturer. Previously, lens firmware could only be updated when the lens was mounted on a camera made by the same manufacturer. Scheduled to start today, this new joint service is the first of its kind in the photography industry.

The Iomega StorCenter ix2 is a new network storage appliance aimed at small businesses and home users. Priced from £219 for the 1Tb version and £309 for the 2Tb version, the StorCenter ix2 provides centralized storage to share, secure and protect your photos, mp3 files, videos and financial records. “The ix2 puts even the most non-technical person at ease with its straightforward operation. But behind the scenes, the ix2 utilizes advanced data protection and data management programs that haven’t been available to consumers and small businesses before. With the ix2, users are literally four clicks away from storage technologies built on the heritage of those that protect data at the world’s largest organizations, all at a cost of a little over £200.” said Jonathan Huberman, president of Iomega and the Consumer and Small Business Products Division of EMC.

Ricoh have released a firmware update for the R10 compact camera. Version 1.14 fixes the following issue:

Even if you set the [Fix Min. Aperture] ON, it will take a picture with aperture open in some conditions.

Website: Ricoh R10 Firmware Update 1.14

We’ve published a selection of sample photos and a video taken with the brand new Ricoh R10 compact camera. The Ricoh R10 is a 10 megapixel digital camera with a 7.1x, 28-200mm wide-angle zoom lens. There are 30 full-sized JPEGs and 1 video for you to download. Our full Ricoh R10 review will follow later this week…

Website: Ricoh R10 Photos

Photoshop Lightroom 2 Adventure is a new book that gives you a hands-on, guided tour of Lightroom 2.0. Author Mikkel Aaland shares the techniques and photographs from a recent trip to Tasmania, where he led 18 colleagues and a team of Adobe experts on a Lightroom 2.0 road test. In Photoshop Lightroom 2 Adventure, you’ll find expert tips, updated information for the most recent release of Lightroom, and step-by-step instructions. Photoshop Lightroom 2 Adventure is available now for $44.99 / £27.99.

The Hahnemuhle Gallerie Wrap System allows artists and photographers to produce professional quality gallery wraps in minutes. Gallerie Wrap is a complete system of easy-to-use fastening components and stretching frames to accommodate most popular imaging formats. With the Hahnemuhle Gallerie Wrap System, you can make the canvas print, stretch and fasten it to the frame yourself, in about 5 minutes. Hahnemuhle Gallerie Wrap stretching frames are available in two sizes. The Standard Stretching Bars offer a frame depth of 1 ¼” tall, and the depth of the PRO Stretcher Bars is 1 ¾”.

PNY has launched the “Let Our Memory Capture Your Memories” photo contest to help raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Parents can submit a favorite photo of their child to the contest and encourage their friends and family to vote for the photo. The contest runs until January 31st 2009, and PNY will donate $20,000 to St. Jude in the winner’s name. PNY are separately donating $100,000 to the hospital.

Spudz lens cloths and Camovers neoprene pouches are now available in the UK. Spudz are available in a range of colour designs and sizes and prices start from £2.99. Unlike other lens cloths, the Spudz lens cloth stays attached to the inside of the storage pouch. Camovers neoprene pouch offers complete protection from the elements and keeps it insulated from abrasive objects

DIWA has today announced two prestigious DIWA Gold Awards for the Nikon D300 and D60 DSLR cameras. Test Manager of DIWA Labs, Kai Thon, commented: “For many years, Nikon have been an industry leader in technological developments, but in recent months they have displayed elevations larger than ever, most of them included in models like the D60 and the D300. Computer-based analytic test results from our sophisticated DIWA Labs and expert reviews from DIWA member websites unanimously conclude that both models are highly competitive in either market segment”. The Digital Imaging Websites Association (DIWA) is a fast growing group of independent Web-based specialist publications dedicated to digital imaging.

Samsung are currently working on their third DSLR camera, scheduled for release in 2009. According to the report by What Digital Camera, Samsung’s new DSLR will be jointly developed with Pentax and will be based around an APS-C size sensor. The as yet un-named model will be significantly different to the current GX-20 (pictured), with video recording a possible inclusion.

Website: What Digital Camera - Samsung confirms plans for new DSLR

Adobe have released the final versions of Camera Raw 4.6 and DNG Converter 4.6 for both Windows and Mac platforms. Newly supported camera models in Version 4.6 include:

Canon 1000D (Digital Rebel XS/EOS Kiss F), Canon 50D, Fuji FinePix IS Pro, Kodak EasyShare Kodak Z1015 IS, Leaf AFi II 6, Leaf AFi II 7, Leaf Aptus II 6, Leaf Aptus II 7, Nikon D700, Nikon D90, Nikon Coolpix P6000, Olympus SP-565 UZ, Pentax K2000 (K-m), Sigma DP1, Sony A900

Website: Adobe Camera Raw 4.6 (Windows)
Website: Adobe Camera Raw 4.6 (Mac)

The LowePro Classified AW is a new range of camera bags specifically designed for photojournalists. Classified AW shoulder bags feature a discreet and slim profile, are contoured to be comfortable, and move easily with the body to help navigate a busy street. The largest model of the series also accommodates up to a 15.4” widescreen notebook computer, and all models feature Lowepro’s patented All Weather Cover to protect from the elements. “Classified AW delivers a full set of workmanlike features, plus a modern, off-hours appeal that Lowepro believes will speak to the photojournalist who wants style and substance in his or her camera bag.” said Nicole Mummenhoff, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, Lowepro. The new LowePro Classified AW range will be available in early November 2008.