Vertus and Imagenomic are offering a`20% discount on Noiseware Pro, Portraiture, and RealGrain bundled with Vertus’ Fluid Mask 3. This offer runs from August 13 to September 30, 2008. “We are very excited to work with Vertus to bundle our software suite with Fluid Mask 3.  There are distinct advantages to using these tools together; as such we’ve created a ‘super suite’ that truly enhances the workflow for creative and visual pros,” said David McDonell, co-founder and CEO of Imagenomic. The bundles will be available on both Vertus and Imagenomic’s websites as electronic downloads, and will be priced from $247.16 to $383.16.

Your photo could feature on the cover of Lonely Planet’s ‘Encounter’ guides, the main prize in a new competition. Run by Lonely Planet, the world-leading travel guide publisher, and Pikeo.com, a new photo-sharing website, you could also win a free trip to India, Russia, Morocco or Kenya courtesy of Intrepid Travel. You need to tsubmit unique and inspiring pictures of London, Paris, Barcelona and Istanbul to enter. The competition is open to those in the UK, France, Spain, USA and Canada and entries close on September 8, 2008.

X-Rite have revealed further details about the built-in display calibration solution that they developed for the Lenovo ThinkPad W700 laptop, which was announced last week. X-Rite adaptted it’s hueyCOLOR technology for the W700, embedding it into the mobile workstation’s palm-rest. “X-Rite is pleased to have worked with an industry leader like Lenovo to introduce the first embedded notebook calibration solution. Enhancing the Lenovo ThinkPad W700 mobile workstation display is in keeping with our mission to provide predictable and easily-manageable color throughout any digital workflow whether in the office, on the plane or working from home,” says X-Rite CEO Tom Vacchiano

The RAW converter software Silkypix Developer Studio now supports the Nikon D700 full-frame DSLR camera. Version 3.0.23.0 is available as a free upgrade for registered users. Silkypix Developer Studio 3.0 costs $149.00 and a free trial version is available.

Website: Silkypix Developer Studio 3.0.23.0

The-Digital-Picture have reviewed the new Sigma APO 50-150mm F2.8 II EX DC HSM lens.

“The Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 II EX DC HSM Lens is a very attractive combination of focal length range, wide aperture and size/weight. Unfortunately, focus calibration issues appear to be prevalent in this lens. All three purchased-retail-new copies of this lens I tried strongly front-focused on both my Canon EOS Rebel XSi / 450D and Canon EOS 40D DSLRs. All three focused consistently, but all focused well in front of the subject.”

Website: The-Digital-Picture - Sigma 50-150mm Lens Review

PCMag have reviewed the Nikon Coolpix S600, a new 10 megapixel compact digicam with a 4x wide-angle zoom lens.

“The 10-megapixel Nikon Coolpix S600 ($299.95 list) is about as basic as entry-level cameras come. You won’t be capturing any photographic masterpieces with this point-and-shooter, but it will do the trick for family gatherings or vacation photos. If you’re looking for nothing more than a simple and stylish compact camera, the S600 is a solid choice. But it’s difficult to justify its high price, particularly when you can pick up the feature-packed entry-level Canon PowerShot A590 IS for less than $200. “

Website: PCMag - Nikon Coolpix S600 Review

ImagingResource have reviewed the Canon A590 IS, a new addition to the A-series Powershot range.

“The camera performs well in a variety of situations, with fairly good overall responsiveness and timing, producing good quality images, with good exposure and overall color. The availability of a 15-second maximum shutter time and the varying level of manual exposure control are also great bonuses, making the camera much more flexible than many in its price range.”

Website: ImagingResource - Canon A590 IS Review

Website: Read our Canon Powershot A590 IS Review

The JOBO S4 Mobile Photo Display is a new 3.5 inch digital picture frame. The S4 uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery for up to 2-1/2 hours of continuous use, and is available in two frame colors, black and white. The 3.5-inch TFT display features a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels with 65,000 colors displayed. The JOBO S4 Mobile Photo Display is available for €49.90.

The seventh edition of the PhotographyBB Online Magazine has just been released. This month’s issue includes continuing series on HDR Photography Techniques, Darkroom Photography, Photography 101 class, and brand new Lightroom tutorial. There’s also a photographic look at London, one of the world’s most spectacular cities. PhotographyBB Online Magazine is available for free download in either PDF or ZIP formats.

The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book: The Complete Guide for Photographers details the features of the newly released Lightroom 2 software. Author Martin Evening shows readers how to work with images shot in the raw or JPEG format, create and manage a personal image library, apply tonal adjustments to multiple images, and more. The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book: The Complete Guide for Photographers is now available, priced at $49.99.

PhotoReview have reviewed the Nikon SB-900, the brand new top-of-the-range Speedlight flash gun.

“We were only able to test the SB-900’s capabilities as a single flash unit and in conjunction with the D700’s built-in flash. And, not having reviewed the SB-800, we were unable to compare the performance of the two flash units. Suffice it to say we found the test sample to be an excellent performer that delivered an evenly-exposed set of test shots with different camera-to-subject distances and focal length settings. In use, we found recycling to be almost silent and very fast with NiMH rechargeables matching the 2.3-second recycle times claimed in the SB-900’s specifications.”

Website: PhotoReview - Nikon SB-900 Review

Photography Bay have reviewed the new ColorRight, which takes less than 15 seconds to take a proper color reading.

“I cannot express the simplicity and accuracy of this device enough. For those of you who never use custom white balance, the “wow” factor you get out of your first image will blow you away. For those of you that use a white card or try to snap your white balance off some guy’s white t-shirt, I’m sure that you can see the potential that ColorRight could have in your shooting.”

Website: Photography Bay - ColorRight Review

DCResource have reviewed the new Canon PowerShot SD890 IS, a 10 megapixel camera which features a 5x optical zoom lens and enhanced optical Image Stabilizer.

“Canon’s PowerShot SD890 IS Digital ELPH is a good choice for those who want a little extra zoom power from a compact camera. It offers very good photo quality (in good light), a 5X zoom lens, optical image stabilization, good performance, and plenty of point-and-shoot features—all in a stylish package.”

Website: DCResource - Canon PowerShot SD890 IS Review

Capture One 4.1.2 adds lens correction support for Phase One digital back owners with Hasselblad H, Hasselblad V and Contax mounts. “Sometimes nature doesn’t give you a choice, so it’s good that Phase One does,” said fine art landscape photographer Tim Wolcott (www.galleryoftheamericanlandscape.com). “Purple fringing occurs most often in high-contrast scenes. These lens correction tools let you get the shot you want and can save hours of post-production.” Capture One 4 is priced at $129 or 99 euros. Capture One 4.1.2 is a service release—free to all existing Capture One owners.

Eye-Fi and SmugMug have teamed up to provide free geotagging and hotspot access for SmugMug members using an Eye-Fi memory card. For a limited time, Eye-Fi Share and Eye-Fi Card users who choose SmugMug for photo sharing will receive one year of free hotspot access and geotagging. “Our photo map has become extremely popular and sets us apart from other online sharing sites,” said Chris MacAskill, president and co-founder of SmugMug.  “This opportunity makes it even easier for people to spend more time enjoying their photos, and less time uploading and tagging their images.” SmugMug are also offerring new and existing members a 20% discount on their membership plans until the end of 2008.

We don’t usually feature unsubstantiated rumours, but when one of the best known Nikon-related authors decides to publish the key specs and a release date, it’s pretty clear that the Nikon D90 is on its way. David Busch, creator of the popular Nikon Digital Field Guides series, has revealed that the D90 will offer a 12 megapixel sensor, Live View shooting mode, “larger” LCD screen than the D80’s (pictured) 2.5 inch model, 4.5fps continuous shooting, HDMI connectivity, video recording (!) and GPS compatibility. Busch states that the price of the Nikon D90 with a new 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G DX VR kit lens will be $1299, something that’s also verified by recent stock listings at Best Buy and Circuit City. Finally, August 27th will apparently be the launch day according to Busch.

Website: Nikon Guides - D90

Nik Software have released an update for Silver Efex Pro. Version 1.001 resolves some stability and other minor issues for Photoshop on both Macintosh and Windows platforms, as well as in Aperture.

Website: Nik Silver Efex Pro 1.001

TrustedReviews have reviewed the Samsung i8 camera, which features a 2.7 inch touch-screen LCD and PMP (Personal Multimedia Player) with integrated MP3 player.

“Image quality is also surprisingly good. The lens is the weakest link, but even this performs reasonably well, with good centre and edge sharpness awith only a small amount of barrel distortion, although it does suffer from noticeable chromatic aberration in the corners of the frame at wide angle. Colour reproduction is very good, and captures highlights in bright colours better than some cameras I’ve seen recently. The exposure system does tend to sacrifice highlight detail in favour of shadow detail, resulting in some burned out highlights, but on the whole it copes well with a wide range of conditions.”

Website: TrustedReviews - Samsung i8 Review

Buy-n-Shoot have reviewed the 14 megapixel Samsung GX-20 DSLR camera.

“In summation, it is fair to suggest the GX-20 is not an entry level unit. It has clearly been designed with the intermediate to advanced user in mind who is familiar with the general controlling, functions and handling of a DSLR. The lack of scene modes and the detailed menu/function information help to define the target customer as an experienced camera user capable of fully controlling the GX-20 as opposed to it automatically controlling the look of images with point-and-shoot operation.”

Website: Buy-n-Shoot - Samsung GX-20 Review

Website: Read our Samsung GX-20 Review

The new Canon MP480 and MP190 all-in-one printers offer a sleeker design and enhanced performance. The Pixma MP480 Photo All-In-One combines elegant design with easy operation, fetauring a a 1.8-inch TFT color LCD display and easily navigated control panel. The Canon MP480 Photo All-In-One costs $99.99. The Pixma MP190 Photo All-In-One features a maximum of 4800 x 1200 dpi color resolution and delivers 4 x 6 inch borderless photo quality prints in approximately 70 seconds. The Canon MP190 Photo All-In-One costs $69.99.