Boots has teamed up with Photobox to provide a range of online photographic services to UK customers. All Photobox products including the latest photobooks, canvases, home accessories and gifts will be available directly from the Boots.com website. Ross Crombie, photo category manager, Boots said: “This is the first time that Boots has teamed up with a specialist online retailer in this way. The move will provide our customers with the very best service and products that the web has to offer in the photographic market.”

WD’s range of My Passport external hard drives is now available in 500Gb capacities. Both the My Passport Elite and My Passport Essential portable drive models benefit from the upgrade. Weighing in at less than 7 ounces and designed to withstand the rigors of everyday use, the new 500 GB My Passport portable drives are small enough to fit in a pocket or backpack for easy portability. The 500GB My Passport Elite costs $219.99, and the 500GB My Passport Essential costs $199.99.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 is the World’s first Micro Four Thirds camera. Using a mirror-less structure and an electronic viewfinder instead of a conventional optical viewfinder, the Panasonic G1 still has a 12.1-megapixel Live MOS, Four Thirds sensor, but is much smaller than a regular DSLR camera. Other standout features of the DMC-G1 include a 3-inch, 460K dot, free-angle LCD screen and high-resolution 1,440,000-dot equivalent Live View Finder, both of which provide a 100% field of view and Full-time Live View. The Panasonic G1 accepts not only Micro Four Thirds System interchangeable lenses, but also conventional Four Thirds System lenses when an optional adapter is mounted. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 will be available from November 1st for £599 / $799.

Panasonic have unveiled two new Micro Four Thirds lenses to accompany the DMC-G1 camera. The LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm/F3.5-5.6 ASPH./MEGA O.I.S. lens offers a zoom range of 28-90mm in 35mm terms, and the LUMIX G VARIO 45-200mm/F4.0-5.6/MEGA O.I.S. lens offers an equivalent range of 90-400mm. You can use the camera’s contrast AF system when either lens is mounted on the DMC-G1, and both lenses feature optical image stabilisation. Pricing and availability of the Panasonic 14-45mm and 45-200mm is still to be announced.

Hasselblad will launch its eagerly awaited Hasselblad Masters book at Photokina. This commemorative book contains a selection of creative work of the ten chosen Hasselblad Masters of 2008. It contains 170 photographs both in colour and black-and-white, as well as biographies and other information on each of the Hasselblad Masters of 2008. The Hasselblad Masters Book is priced at £65/€79.90/US$95.

The Life of a Photograph is a new National Geographic book by photographer Sam Abell. Drawing on 40 years of Abell’s fieldwork, the book takes readers on assignment and inside the heart of this master photographer to witness the making of nearly 200 images. Many photographs are complemented by text from Abell, providing background on the photograph and how he crafted the image. The Life of a Photograph will be available at the end of October for $40.

Tea Leaves have an interesting review of the Nikon D300, a 12.3 megapixel DSLR camera, from the point of view of a long-time Canon user.

“With no huge investment in quality glass, why shouldn’t I at least look at Nikon? “It’ll never work”, said Pete. “You’ve spent three years living, breathing, and thinking Canon. You can’t rewire your brain to a completely different user interface. You’ll hate it.” But I was curious to try the experiment anyway. I contacted Nikon, and they graciously agreed to loan Tea Leaves a Nikon D300 and a very nice lens. I’d like to tell you a bit about my experience.”

Website: Tea Leaves - Nikon D300 Review

Website: Read our Nikon D300 Review

The Epson P-7000 is a brand new 160GB multimedia photo viewer, replacing the P-5000 model. Promoted by Epson as a “compact, premium on-location back-up and viewing solution”, the P7000 features a 4-inch, 640x480 LCD screen which displays a remarkable 94% of the Adobe RGB colour gamut. Download speeds are up to 35 percent faster than previous models, and the P-7000 also offers improved battery life and a new jog dial that makes it easier and faster to scroll through images. Available now, the Epson P-7000 costs $799.99 / £549.99 - Jon Canfield discovers if it’s worth it in our Epson P-7000 Review.

Website: Epson P-7000 Review

SanDisk have released a 32GB version of their Extreme III CompactFlash memory card. The new card’s 30MB/s (200x) read and write speeds enable users to record and transfer content quickly and reliably. All SanDisk Extreme III CF cards from 4GB to 32GB, as well as the new SanDisk Extreme III SDHC and SanDisk Extreme III Memory Stick PRO HG DUO, recently received a 50 percent speed increase from 20MB/s to 30MB/s. The 32GB SanDisk Extreme III CF card has a retail price of $299.99 in the United States. Worldwide availability is targeted for October.

Ricoh have launched a creative set of accessories for the GR Digital II compact camera. The new Creative Set includes the camera, wide angle converter 0.75x, lens hood with adapter, new external view?nder and strap. The Ricoh GR Digital II Creative Set is available now in the UK for £599.99 inc Vat.

ACDSee Pro 2.5 is a major update designed to improve digital asset management and workflow. New features include completing digital asset management as photos are imported, embedding custom metadata such as categories and ratings, improved Auto Slide Show, and adding borders, drop shadows and edge effects to images. ACDSee Pro 2.5 is available for a free 30-day trial and for purchase for $129.99 (USD). ACDSee Pro 2 users are eligible for a free upgrade to this new version.

DigitalCameraInfo have reviewed the new Nikon D700, the second full-frame, FX-series DSLR camera from Nikon.

“Is it rational to call a $3000 camera a bargain? It is when it delivers nearly all the features of the company’s revered $5000 pro model, which is precisely the case with the Nikon D700. Basically the D700 takes the best parts of two established cameras and blends them seamlessly. The $5000 Nikon D3 contributes a full-frame image sensor with low-noise performance that makes previously impossible photos as simple as pressing the shutter. From the Nikon D300 comes a nearly unchanged body that’s hefty but nicely balanced, tightly sealed against the elements and nearly 20% lighter than the D3.”

Website: DigitalCameraInfo - Nikon D700 Review

Website: Read our Nikon D700 Review

PhotoReview have reviewed the Olympus mju 1040, a 10 megapixel digital camera which measures just 16.5mm at its thinnest end.

“Photographs taken with the test camera showed most of the characteristics of a small-sensor digicam. Colour saturation was slightly elevated and both highlight and shadow details were lost in shots taken in bright sunlight. The test camera showed a slight tendency in such conditions to expose for shadows, making it difficult to prevent blown-out highlights without resorting to exposure compensation.”

Website: PhotoReview - Olympus mju 1040

The new Sony Vaio AW-Series is an 18.4-inch laptop aimed at photographers. Full coverage of the Adobe RGB colour space offers total accuracy for editing, thanks to the 3LED backlighting system also found on Sony’s Bravia TVs. The AW-Series comes with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom as well as Adobe Photoshop Elements pre-installed. The VAIO AW-Series has an Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 processor, NVIDIA 512MB GeForce 9600M GT graphics card, 128GB Solid State Disk and a 500GB SATA drive. Price and availability to be announced.

Smithsonian.com’s 6th Annual Photo Contest is now open for submissions. Contestants can enter photographs in five categories: The Natural World, Americana, Altered Images, Travel and People. Fifty finalists will be selected, ten for each of the five categories. The winning entries will be published in the print edition of Smithsonian magazine during summer 2009.

X-Rite have announced a trade-up program for the ColorMunki calibration device. For a limited time, you can earn up to $100/ €90/£60 in savings with proof of purchase of a competitive colorimeter or printer profiling solution. “Those who have invested in entry-level solutions can now gain additional color functionality– like monitor-to-print match for photographers and PrintSafe color creation and color control for designers. Now is the time to take advantage of special savings and move to the all-in-one ColorMunki,” states X-Rite Market Manager Photo, Design, Prepress, Thomas Kunz. Read our ColorMunki review to find out if it’s worth investing in.

Practical HDRI is a new book exploring the exciting new frontier of High Dynamic Range Imaging. PopPhoto.com’s Jack Howard guides you from the initial image capture and into the digital darkroom, covering the most popular and effective HDR programs. The emphasis in Practical HDRI is on the creative process and how to make it work for you. Practical HDRI from Rocky Nook costs $32.95 USD.

PCMag have reviewed the Nikon Coolpix S210, a super-thin entry-level camera with 8 megapixels, 2.5 inch LCD screen and 3x zoom lens.

“Nikon’s 8-megapixel Coolpix S210 ($179.99 list) offers a slim profile and good looks, especially when compared with its more-capable Canon counterpart, the bulky PowerShot A590 IS, which fetches the same price. Unfortunately, the benefit of its slick design is completely overshadowed by poor image quality.”

Website: PCMag - Nikon Coolpix S210 Review

TrustedReviews have reviewed the Nikon P5100 camera, offering 12.1 megapixels, 3.5x zoom (35-123mm) and the EXPEED digital image processor.

“As before, the P5100’s main strength is its overall image quality, although the extra two megapixels don’t make a huge amount of difference, with roughly the same overall level of detail despite the slightly larger image size. The distortion control feature does work well, eliminating barrel distortion at wide angle and also cutting down the slight chromatic aberration that is visible toward the corners of the frame when it is not used. There appears to be no negative impact on image quality, although it does slow down shooting speed even more, to approximately four seconds per shot, so you might not want to leave it switched on all the time.”

Website: TrustedReviews - Nikon P5100 Review

Website: Read our Nikon P5100 Review

The Canon PowerShot A2000 IS is a new 10 megapixel camera with a 6x optical zoom lens. The new range-topping model in Canon’s popular A-series of compact cameras, the A2000 IS
replaces the A720 IS, adding a larger 3-inch LCD screen with wide viewing angle, DIGIC III image processing engine, and 17 shooting modes including the new Easy mode for point-and-shoot operation. The Canon A2000 IS is available exclusively from Jessops in the UK for £199.99, and it will cost $249.99 in the US. In the World’s first online review, we find out if the Canon PowerShot A2000 IS is worth considering.

Website: Canon PowerShot A2000 IS Review