The lucky winner of our fantastic July 2008 Newsletter contest has been randomly selected from the PhotographyBLOG Newsletter subscriber list.

Anne Hoffmann wins a Ricoh GX200 digital camera kit, worth a total of £399.

The Epson P-6000 and P-7000 are new multimedia photo viewers offering bigger hard drive capacities, faster download speeds and an advanced LCD screen. Billed by Epson as a “compact, premium on-location back-up and viewing solution”, the P7000 and P6000 both feature a 4-inch, 640x480 Photo Fine Premia screen which displays 94% of the Adobe RGB colour gamut. Download speeds are up to 35 percent faster than previous models, and 80Gb and 160Gb versions are available. Available in September, the Epson P-6000 costs $599.99 / £449.99 and the Epson P-7000 $799.99 / £549.99.

PictureCode have released a plug-in version of Noise Ninja for Apple’s Aperture photo editing and management software. The Aperture plug-in (version 2.0.0) of Noise Ninja allows users to take advantage of powerful noise reduction technology without having to leave Aperture. Noise Ninja 2 requires Aperture 2.1 or later to be installed, and costs $ 79.95.

Olympus and Panasonic have jointly developed the “Micro Four Thirds System standard”, producing significantly lighter and more compact cameras. The Micro Four Thirds sensor will remain the same size (18x13.5mm) as the current Four Thirds standard, but the optical viewfinder and mirror box are completely removed so that a Micro Four Thirds camera is 50% thinner. Also lenses are smaller, due to the 6mm smaller lens mount outer diameter, and movies are also set to feature.  Olympus is developing a range of Micro Four Thirds System lenses and accessories, and Micro Four Thirds System camera bodies smaller than the E-420. Likewise, Panasonic are also working on ultra-portable camera bodies, interchangeable lenses, and related system accessories, so we’d expect new product announcements shortly before Photokina in September. Both companies will continue to develop “normal” Four Thirds DSLR products. So what do you make of the new Micro Four Thirds System standard - is a tiny DSLR-like camera without an optical viewfinder that can also shoot movies the camera for you?

Samsung UK have announced Limited Edition versions of the NV4 and L100 digital cameras featuring the Chelsea FC team crest. Free luxury camera cases are also included. “Samsung is delighted to strengthen the Chelsea range with the launch of two new limited edition premium compact cameras which provide unrivalled image quality and innovative features to photographers of all levels” said Robert King, Director, Samsung Cameras UK. The Limited Edition Samsung NV4 Titanium is expected to retail at around £149.99 and the L100 at around £99.99. Both will be available from the Chelsea Megastore from the start of the season.

NTI Shadow 4 is the latest version of this always-on, data backup solution for PC, Mac and network users. Version 4 of NTI Shadow adds bi-directional sync, a graphical destination display, threshold capacity warnings and NTI Ninja tools for encryption/password protection. NTI Shadow with NINJA (Windows) is US $39.99 and $29.99 for the Mac Shadow 4 only version.

The Gitzo Series 5 Traveler is the World’s first monopod dedicated to sport photographers. It provides solid support for long lenses yet is ultra compact and easy to carry, extending from 41cm folded-up to 153.5cm when fully extended. The Gitzo Series 5 Traveler has a maximum load capacity of 25Kg yet weighs only 780g. The Gitzo Series 5 Traveler monopod is available now for £229.95, or £249.95 for the Olympic version featuring the “888” logo.

Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Ultra Smooth and Photo Rag Baryta are two new fine-art inkjet papers. Photo Rag Ultra Smooth features an incredibly smooth surface with a premium, silk-finish coating. Photo Rag Baryta has a glossy, finely structured coating which contains barium sulfate that imparts a uniquely stunning quality to any image. Both new products are archival-quality, acid-free papers ideal for producing beautiful, museum-quality prints in either black & white or color.

Picture Information Extractor 4.2 extracts the metadata from JPG and RAW formats of practically all cameras. It then automates general tasks such as transferring,renaming and rotating image files. Picture Information Extractor special EXIFcare technology ensures that no information contained in the file gets lost. The full version of Picture Information Extractor 4.2 costs $29, and a free evaluation version is available.

Canon is the official imaging partner for The Tour of Britain cycle race for the fifth consecutive year. This year’s Tour of Britain is the longest yet, taking place over eight stages from 7th-14th September. Andy Vickers - Managing Director, Canon UK and Ireland said “Canon has been involved with supporting British and European sporting events for over 30 years and we are delighted to continue our support for The Tour of Britain as one of the top events in the cycling calendar.” The Canon Photography Competition gives spectators to the race the opportunity to win Canon digital imaging equipment, by taking the winning image of the 2008 race.

Steves Digicams have reviewed the new Kodak Easyshare Z1012 IS digital camera, which offers 10 megapixel resolution and 12x optical zoom with optical image stabilisation.

“Our indoor samples also showed excellent quality from the Z1012 IS. The exposures both with and without the flash did very well. The colors were slightly different as seen on our samples page with the M&M man shots. The auto white balance produces a cooler image when using the flash than it does without. Our sample portrait shot was taken in “Portrait” scene mode, showing an excellent exposure with the lowest possible ISO, and natural looking skin tones. The built in pop-up flash has a range of approx. 25’ at the wide end and 14 1/2’ at the telephoto end. This is very powerful and can be very useful when taking pictures outside in low-light or inside in a large room. “

Website: Steves Digicams - Kodak Easyshare Z1012 IS Review

PCMag have reviewed the new and Canon Selphy CP760 compact photo printer, which offers a combination of lab-quality photo printing and ease of operation.

“When I reviewed the Canon Selphy CP740 last year, I said that if you were looking for a dedicated small-format photo printer at a bargain price, this one would be hard to beat. The shelf life on that statement has long since expired, but now Canon has come out with the Selphy CP760 ($99.99 direct), essentially an upgrade of (and replacement for) the CP740. The competition is a lot tougher now, so the CP760 isn’t the standout budget-price winner that the CP740 once was. Nonetheless, it’s a perfectly capable photo printer, an improvement on the CP740, and certainly worth considering.”

Website: PCMag - Canon Selphy CP760 Review

The new Fujifilm FinePix S8100fd ultra-zoom camera is a rather modest update of it’s predecessor, the S8000fd. New features include the inevitable increase in megapixels, up from 8 to 10, new Zoom Bracketing and Instant Zoom modes and some new continuous shooting modes. The S8100fd also offers the same CCD-shift image stabilisation system, 2.5-inch LCD monitor with a refresh rate of 60 frames per second, electronic viewfinder, Face Detection system and battery life of up to 400 pictures as the S8000fd. With a street price of less than £200 / $350, Gavin Stoker found out if the Fujifilm S8100fd can successfully undercut its main rivals without sacrificing features, performance or picture quality.

Website: Fujifilm FinePix S8100fd Review

We’ve teamed up with Bogen Imaging to offer six lucky winners the chance to win a Kata DC441 Shoulder Bag, worth £50 / $70 each.

The Kata DC441 is a comprehensive camera bag which features unique TST RIB structural protection and is designed with style to hold and organize your D/SLR and accessories. The main compartment holds a small D/SLR in top grip position while on the two sides you can store and protect lenses, flash or other accessories.

It’s simple to enter - just make sure you subscribe to the PhotographyBLOG Newsletter, and on Monday 1st September 2008, six names will be randomly selected to win these great prizes.

Website: Win a Kata DC441 Shoulder Bag

The winners of the July 2008 PhotographyBLOG Competition have been selected. The theme for June was “Here Comes the Sun” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 5 winners:

1st Place
The Bay Awakes by Hangin10

Prize: ShutterPoint.com one-year subscription with 100Mb of storage space
Kindly donated by ShutterPoint.
http://www.shutterpoint.com

In a recent J.D. Power and Associates survey, photographers were most satisfied with the Canon EOS and Nikon D series of DSLR cameras. Each received a score of 823 out of 1000 in the 2008 Digital Camera Usage and Satisfaction Study, with Canon being praised for picture quality, and Nikon for ease of operation, performance, and appearance and styling. In the other categories, the Fujifilm Finepix S series was the highest point and shoot model, the Canon PowerShot G series and the Lumix (Panasonic) DMC-TZ series tied in premium point and shoot, and Sony Cyber-shot T series topped the ultra slim segment.

The Sigma HC-11 is a new dedicated hard case for the Sigma DP1 compact camera. Th HC11 hard case is specifically designed to protect the DP1 from damage, and is made from genuine leather with accentuated red lining and stitching. The HC-11 conforms to the shape of the DP1 body, it provides good handling and does not hinder the operation of the camera when fitted. It is also possible to remove the case whilst the camera strap is still attached. Price and availability of the HC-11 Hard Case to be announced.

The ExpressDigital Template Marketplace is a new e-commerce solution which provides access to hundreds of graphic templates and borders. “ExpressDigital and its selected partners are thrilled to unveil the new ExpressDigital Template Marketplace, which puts the power in the hands of the photographers to increase their product offering with a variety of creative content,” said Graham McFarland, Founder and CEO of ExpressDigital.  “Templates are a proven way to turn photos into profits, and now we are providing a one-stop-shop to enable easy access to the best content out there and make them more accessible to professional photographers.” The ExpressDigital Template Marketplace is available in Darkroom v8.9.

The-Digital-Picture have reviewed the Canon EOS 450D / Digital Rebel XSi, a 12 megapixel compact DSLR camera.

“The number of people moving up to digital SLR cameras has been amazing - but so are the images these cameras can deliver. Even compared to the not-very-old Canon Rebel XTi / 400D, the Canon EOS Rebel XSi / 450D delivers better image quality from a more attractive body with more features ... I’m very pleased (actually somewhat surprised) with the improvements delivered by the Canon EOS Rebel XSi / 450D. It will be a worthwhile upgrade for many XTi / 400D owners - it is a lot of camera for the money for anyone purchasing it. “

Website: The-Digital-Picture - Canon Digital Rebel XSi Review

Website: Read our Canon Digital Rebel XSi Review

Imaging Resource have reviewed the Fujifilm FinePix Z20fd, a new 10 megapixel compact camera with MPEG-4 video technology.

“The Fujifilm FinePix Z20fd is small and fun, and offers good capability for its tiny size. The 10-megapixel CCD picks up a lot of fine detail, and both color and exposure performance are generally good. Noise handling isn’t great at the highest sensitivity settings, but results are fine at the normal ISOs. Blurring in the corners of the frame will definitely detract from compositions with a lot of fine detail in these areas, but for average day-to-day snapshots, the Z20fd’s performance should be just fine.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Fujifilm FinePix Z20fd Review