The winner of the 2008 Fujifilm Student Awards is David Wala from Newcastle College. This year’s Awards were run in conjunction with Penguin Books and the brief was to provide a cover for the re-issued version of Ralph Ellison’s 1952 masterpiece, Invisible Man. David’s winning image will now grace the cover when the book is released as part of Penguin’s Modern Classics series, and he also wins £200 of Fujifilm Professional film, a library of 100 Penguin Classics titles and a copy of the book, ‘Seven Hundred Penguins’. The 2009 Fujifilm Student Awards will be launched in September.

DigitalCameraInfo have reviewed the Casio EX-F1 camera, which features the world’s fastest burst shooting performance of 60fps.

“Casio’s EXILIM EX-F1 promises features no digital camera on the market has offered before, and it delivers - with some reservations. The camera’s strongest suit is the option to shoot up to 60 full-res 6-megapixel images in a second. Combined with a sophisticated prerecord capability that continually captures images to a buffer when you half-press the shutter and saves the most recent ones to memory when push the shutter all the way, the tools you need to never miss another great shot are at hand.”

Website: DigitalCameraInfo - Casio EX-F1 Review

Kata has added 7 new holsters and pouches to its DPS range of camera bags. The new Kata DH-421 is designed to fit most compact camera sizes, whilst the Kata DH-423 and Kata DH-425 provide protection for small to medium DSLRs. There are also four new point and shoot pouches (the Kata DF-404, DF-406, DF-408 and DHP 485. Prices range from £9.95 for the Kata DF-404, to £29.95 for the Kata DH-425.

The Inside Digital Photo radio show has added The McNamara Report, which will feature reviews and industry analysis from Michael J. McNamara. With over 25 years as a professional photographer and over 17 years experience testing film, digital cameras, and imaging products, McNamara has written hundreds of articles and had thousands of his photographs published (including over two dozen Pop Photo covers). “Mike’s expertise, reviews, and analysis on photography trends and issues is sure to get the attention of our growing global audience of 70,000 professional photographers. The segment is also a perfect resource for our other technology audience base of 250,000 Inside Mac and Inside Digital Design Radio Show listeners.” commented Inside Digital Photo CEO/Anchor Scott Sheppard.

Ricoh have released a new firmware update, version 2.10, for the GR Digital II compact digital camera. Version 2.10 adds a number of new features, including Auto Aperture shift in the A mode, a noise reduction option depending on the ISO sensitivity, and correcting white balance during both shooting and playback.

Website: Ricoh GR Digital II Firmware Update 2.10

TrustedReviews have reviewed the Casio EX-Z100, a new 10.1 megapixel digital camera with a wide 28 mm lens and 4x optical zoom.

“The overall level of detail from the 10.1-megapixel sensor is very good, and the compression rate is very low, with some image files over 7MB, very large for a point-and-shoot compact camera. Dynamic range and colour depth could be a little better, but they are no worse than average for a camera in this class. The exposure system tends to preserve shadow detail at the expense of burned-out highlights.”

Website: TrustedReviews - Casio EX-Z100 Review

The Tokina ATX 11-16mm F2.8 PRO DX lens has just been launched in the UK. Tokina’ 11-16mm lens creates super-wide images without ‘fish-eye’ distortion, and is compatible with DSLR cameras with APS-C sized sensors. The AT-X 116 PRO DX features Tokina’s exclusive One-touch Focus Clutch Mechanism, which switches between Auto Focus and Manual Focus by simply snapping the focus ring forward for Auto and back towards the camera to focus manually. The Tokina ATX 11-16mm F2.8 PRO DX lens is available in either a Canon or Nikon mount for £489.99 Inc VAT.

The Tokina ATX 35mm F2.8 Macro PRO DX lens is now available in the UK. Tokina’s 35mm lens can focus as close as 5.5 inches (14cm), yielding a macro ratio of 1:1 or life-sized reproduction, and is compatible with DSLR cameras with APS-C sized sensors. The AT-X M35 PRO DX features Tokina’s exclusive One-touch Focus Clutch Mechanism, which switches between Auto Focus and Manual Focus by simply snapping the focus ring forward for Auto and back towards the camera to focus manually. The Tokina ATX 35mm F2.8 Macro PRO DX is available in either a Canon or Nikon mount for £369.99 Inc VAT.

LiveEdit is a new web-based software tool that allows photographers to cut costs and save time. LiveEdit was created by professional photographers for optimal creativity and time management, with its interface divided into to four sections: Edit, Retoucher, Archive and Stock. Users are able to track their entire archive in one place, which will enable them to showcase and sell more photos by creating a personal stock site. “The way in which professional photography is administered and disseminated is antiquated, inefficient and cumbersome,” says Lipman. “LiveEdit brings ease and efficiency to this process, vastly speeding up time to market for photography. Its features help bring the photo profession into the modern era, where the cycle from shoot to end product must happen in days - not weeks or months.” Pricing starts at $395/Year for the Photographer Package with 2GB of storage.

The Expose Your World photography competition is offering $70,000 worth of prizes. Finalists in all categories will also be part of an end of year winners’ exhibition with photos and video presented by Pixel Perfect Prolab. A selection of the winners’ images and stories will feature in the Australian Traveller magazine, be displayed in the RovingEye coffeetable book by Asukabook and have the opportunity to be represented by RovingEye. Entry is open internationally to all levels of photographers, writers and filmmakers in most categories, while nominations for the Young Australian Photographer of the Year and nominations for the Australian Adventurer of the Year are required to be Australian citizens. The closing date for entry is August 29 2008.

Portrait Professional 8 is the world’s first intelligent portrait airbrushing software that has been ‘trained’ in human beauty. The latest version of Portrait Professional is now Mac compatible and has been enhanced by further training in human appearance, particularly on the 3/4 views, in order to achieve the most realistic results possible. Portrait Professional 8 contains over 80 beautifying controls to give the user fine control over the appearance of the face and hair. The software is available in two versions: Portrait Professional 8 works on JPEG and Tiff files (priced at £39.95 or US $79.95), and Portrait Professional 8 Studio which also works directly on 16 bit Camera RAW files (priced at £69.95 or US $119.95).

PhotoReview have reviewed the Sony A300 DSLR camera, which has a 10.2 megapixel sensor and variable angle 2.7 inch LCD screen.

“Sitting between the DSLR-A200 and DSLR-A350 models (both of which have been reviewed on this website), Sony’s DSLR-A300 offers the resolution of the A200 model plus the Live View system of the A350. Initially the company had no plans to release the A300 in Australia but it obviously saw a need to compete with other manufacturers that offered live viewing in their entry-level models.”

Website: PhotoReview - Sony A300 Review

Buy-n-Shoot have reviewed the 10.1 mega pixel Samsung L110 digital camera, which combines Samsung’s Digital Image Stabilization and Intelligent Face Recognition Technology in a compact aluminium body.

“If you’re an amateur photographer in the market for a smart-looking, smart-operating digital camera that is quite compact (87.7mm x 56.3mm x 20mm) and lightweight but still hardwearing, the L110 is one to consider and if, for some reason, this model is not suiting your needs, have a look at the other digital compacts in the Samsung range and no doubt you will eventually find the unit best-suited for you.”

Website: Buy-n-Shoot - Samsung L110 Review

TrustedReviews have reviewed the Casio EX-Z200, a new 10 megapixel compact digital camera.

“Despite the many similarities between the Z200 and the Z100, for some reason the camera’s overall performance is very different, and not in a good way. It takes nearly three seconds to start up, and nearly as long to shut down again, which is very slow by current standards. In single-shot mode at maximum image quality the shot-to-shot time was approximately 2.5 seconds, which is again extremely slow. I thought that maybe the large size of the image files in this mode (over 7MB for some shots) was the cause, but the performance is the same in lower quality modes.”

Website: TrustedReviews - Casio EX-Z200 Review

Nik Silver Efex Pro is a brand new software plug-in that promises to make creating black and white images easier and more effective. Silver Efex employs Nik’s innovative U Point Technology to allow for precise selective tonal and contrast control, as well as offering a range of different film types, 20 one-click preset styles, and a Grain engine to emulate the grain properties of film. Silver Efex Pro costs $199.95 / 199.95 Euros - Jon Canfield discovers if Silver Efex Pro is the black and white conversion tool that we’ve all been waiting for…

Website: Nik Silver Efex Pro Review

The Imaging Source have launched a new series of affordable telescope cameras for astro-photography. Starting at $350.00 / EUR 290.00, the telescope cameras use low noise CCD chips from Sony, which have an exposure time of up to 60 minutes and a maximum frame rate of up to 60 fps. All camera parameters, such as exposure, sensitivity and frame rate, can be set using the graphical user interface. The Imaging Source telescope cameras ship in blue and black anodized aluminum and zinc housing, measure 50 mm x 56 mm and weigh 260g.

Samsung have released a firmware update, version 1.01, for the 14 megapixel GX20 DSLR camera. The new firmware minimizes image noise when using the 2 second self-timer.

Website: Samsung GX-20 Firmware Update 1.01

The Nikon Photo Contest International 2008-2009 will be open for entries from 1 September to 30 November 2008. The theme for this year’s competition is At the Heart of the Image, with two categories, ‘Free Subject’ and ‘My Planet’. Last year’s contest attracted over 16,000 entrants from 135 different countries. There will be an extra prize awarded to an outstanding entry, in addition to the 54 regular prizes and the Grand Winner.

Quarter of a million stock images were captured during PhotoShelter’s Shoot! The Day event, held on July 20, 2008. It is believed to be among the largest single-day contributions to the stock photo supply in history. Over 300 attendees joined a live event in New York, while an estimated 4,200 photographers shot images in hundreds of cities in more than a dozen countries worldwide. All photographers who took pictures in the five Shoot! The Day categories are encouraged to submit their work to the PhotoShelter Collection.

The-Digital-Picture have reviewed the new Tamron SP AF70-200mm F/2.8 Di LD (IF) MACRO, a fast tele-zoom lens for digital SLRs with with 35mm full-size image sensors.

“Overall, and especially for the price, I’m very pleased with the image quality of the Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 Di Macro Lens. On the wide end (70mm), this lens is sharp wide open (f/2.8) across the entire 35mm frame. Stopping down only makes a small improvement in sharpness - reduced vignetting is the primary difference seen. By 100mm, the center is still sharp wide open, but corner softness is setting in due to a slightly curved focus plane. Stopping down to f/5.6 results in excellent image quality across the frame. “

Website: The-Digital-Picture - Tamron 70-200mm F/2.8 Review