Adobe Camera Raw 5.2 adds RAW file support for seven camera models, including the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Panasonic DMC LX3. It also introduces the new Targeted Adjustment Tool for on-image refinements and output sharpening for print or screen output, and the ability to create a snapshot of all adjustments made to an image as a bookmark for future reference. The Photoshop Camera Raw 5.2 plug-in is available as a free download for existing customers of Photoshop CS4, Photoshop Elements 7, and Premiere Elements 7.

onOne Software have released holiday-themed frames, textures, layouts, backgrounds, and adornments for their PhotoFrame 3 and PhotoFrame 4 Photoshop plug-ins. “In the spirit of the holidays, we wanted to give our PhotoFrame users free content to add to their frame, texture and adornment library,” said Craig Keudell, president of onOne Software. “This is just the first of many free frame packs that we intend to provide to PhotoFrame users so they continue to get extra value out of their software.” These free elements are in addition to the 1000+ frames, backgrounds, textures, and adornments included with PhotoFrame 4.

Adobe Configurator is a new utility that enables you to create your own panels for Photoshop CS4. Configurator makes it easy to drag and drop tools, menu items, scripts, actions, and other objects into a panel design, then export the results for use inside Photoshop. Configurator is free for anyone to use, and a full 30-day tryout version can be downloaded now.

Canon have updated four of their software programs for Windows and Mac OS X. The updates add new features and support for the EOS 5D Mark II camera. The latest versions are:

- Digital Photo Professional 3.5.1
- EOS Utility 2.5.1
- Picture Style Editor 1.4.1
- WFT Utility 3.3

Website: Canon Software Updates

Cameratown has just published a review of three different video editing software packages capable of handling high-definition, AVCHD video files, and priced under $100. Ron Risman compares Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9 Platinum Edition, Pinnacle Studio Plus Version 12, and Corel VideoStudio X2 with the goal of helping you choose the right software for the task at hand. The review includes over 100 minutes of free video demonstrations, allowing you see how easy it is to edit your high-definition video clips.

Website: CameraTown - Head-to-Head! Three AVCHD Video Editing Packages Under $100

FotoNation FaceEnhance automatically reduces the appearance of wrinkles and other skin imperfections from human faces in an image. Designed to be licensed to camera and picture frame manufacturers, Face Enhance can be applied automatically upon image capture, or applied manually in the display setting when viewing an image. “The FotoNation FaceEnhance solution is the latest addition to our portfolio of image enhancement technologies that are transforming the next generation of camera-enabled devices,” said Michael Bereziuk, executive vice president, Imaging & Optics, Tessera.

Digital Anarchy’s Knoll Light Factory plugin is now compatible with Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Windows Vista 64-bit (x64). Version 3.0.2 takes advantage of the faster performance and better memory handling that Vista x64 supports. Knoll Light Factory enhances the lighting in Photoshop images to produce dramatic or natural effects. Digital Anarchy other plugins will be updated for the Windows 64-bit environment in Q1 2009.

30-day try-out versions of all the new Adobe CS4 applications are now available. Not sure if Photoshop CS4 is worth upgrading to? Then just register for a free Adobe account to try it out. The trial period lasts for 30 days after you first launch the application.

Website: Adobe Downloads

Canon has released a new version of its RAW codec, which lets you view Canon RAW files within Windows. Version 1.5.0 now supports the EOS 50D, EOS 5D Mark II, and PowerShot G10 (pictured) cameras.

Website: Canon RAW Codec 1.4.0

Phase One have released a new version of their RAW workflow software, Capture One 4 Pro. Version 4.5.1 for Windows adds support for Canon EOS 50D and 5D Mark II RAW files, and enhances the general performance of the software.

Website: Capture One 4.5.1

The ProShow Plug-in for Lightroom seamlessly exports professional slide shows from Lightroom to ProShow. The ProShow Plug-in allows photographers to quickly and easily set-up slideshows in Lightroom and export directly to ProShow Gold or Producer. Photographers can also take advantage of the plug-ins ability to add captions and copyright information from metadata. The ProShow Plug-in for Lightroom is a free download.

The RAW converter software Silkypix Developer Studio now supports the Nikon D90, Nikon Coolpix P6000, Canon EOS 50D and Leica D-LUX 4 cameras. Version 3.0.25.1 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 3.0.25.1

X-Rite have released a new software update for the ColorMunki calibration device. Version 1.0.5 adds a number of new features and improvements, including the option of selecting the Tone Response Curve shape for the display profile, improved projector profile quality, and improved strip measurement error detection when building printer profiles.

Apple have just released the Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 2.3 for Mac OS X 10.4.11 and OS X 10.5.2. This update extends RAW file compatibility for Aperture 2 and iPhoto ’08 for the following cameras:

Canon EOS 50D, Nikon D90, Sony DSLR-A900, Nikon Coolpix P6000

It also addresses issues related to specific cameras and overall stability.

Website: Apple Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 2.3

Akvis Magnifier 2 enlarges digital pictures to super-high resolution enlargements. Now available as a plugin to a photo editor, as well as a standalone edition, Magnifier 2 adds support for image editing in Lab mode, a print dialog, and three new interface languages. Akvis Magnifier 2 is available for both Windows and Mac and costs $129 USD / 99 Euro.

CameraBag allows iPhone and iPod Touch owners to quickly and easily improve their photos by flipping between pre-defined camera filters. CameraBag’s advanced filters that emulate several different camera and film styles, giving your photos an old-school, cinematic appeal. Version 1.3 offers 8 different filters, including the new fisheye lens filter. CameraBag costs £1.79 / $2.99 for a limited time.

XDepth 48 is a new technology that allows JPEG images to reach a maximum of 16 bit for each RGB component. XDepth 48 employs the same image reconstruction algorithm offered with XDepth Raw, thus avoiding common JPEG and JPEG2000 artifacts. It also offers improved compression of files, with XDepth asserting that a 48bit TIFF of 6088x4550 pixels would be 166MBs in size, with the equivalent XDepth 48 JPEG only being 17MBs. Further details are scarce, but there is a full-sized sample available for download.

Website: XDepth 48

Apple have released an updated version of iPhoto, which allows you to share your photos by email, create web pages, cards and calendars, and automatically organize your photo library. iPhoto 7.1.5 improves the printing quality of books, cards and calendars ordered via the iPhoto printing service.

Website: Apple iPhoto 7.1.5

Nikon has released a new version of its RAW codec, which lets you view NEF files within Windows. Version 1.4.0 now supports NEF (RAW) images taken with the D90 DSLR camera (pictured).

Website: Nikon RAW Codec 1.5.0

Genuine Fractals 6 adds several new features designed to help photographers get the best enlargements possible. The improvements include include texture presets, gallery wrap function, batch processing, tiling for smaller printers and support for Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom 2. Available in November, Genuine Fractals 6 is available in a Professional Edition and a Standard Edition for $299.95 and $159.95 respectively.