The Mac OS X 10.5.2 update released yesterday has added RAW file support for the following cameras:

Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III, Canon Powershot G9, Hasselblad CF-22, Hasselblad CF-39, Leaf Aptus 75s, Nikon D3, Nikon D300, Sony Alpha DSLR-A700

Website: Mac OS X 10.5.2 Update

Apple’s Aperture 2 photo editing and management software has over 100 new features that make it faster, easier to use and more powerful. Aperture 2 features a more streamlined user interface and completely revised image processing engine. It also offers new imaging tools for highlight recovery, color vibrancy, local contrast definition, soft-edged retouching, vignetting and RAW fine-tuning. Aperture 2 is available immediately for a new low price of $199. The Digital Story has a nice overview post of the new Aperture 2 release.

iNovaFX Photoshop Actions is a new 248-page interactive eBook and set of 600 original Photoshop actions. You can use iNovaFX Photoshop Actions to quickly convert any image into convincing oil paintings, airbrush art, watercolors, wood block prints, graphic cartoons and outrageous abstracts. “This is a new work from the ground up,” said iNova, ” and all of these Photoshop Actions are for digital images 6MP and larger. Each brings a special treatment to the image that will correct, enhance or transform the shot.” The CD Standard Edition of iNovaFX Photoshop Actions is $64 and the USB Thumb Drive Premium Edition is $69.

Filter Forge Freepack 2 - Photo Effects is a free collection of 7 filters for Photoshop. ‘Dreamy’ filter gives photos a sunny, somewhat ethereal style; ‘Grunge’ works best on warm-colored images and produces a ragged, harsh look; ‘Old Photo’ automatically ages the image, giving it an authentic old-time feel. A 20% discount is currently available for all editions of Filter Forge. The plugins currently work under Windows only.

AKVIS SmartMask is an efficient masking tool that saves you time on complex selections. Available for both Windows and Macintosh, SmartMask enables you to spend less time on the selection of objects and more on creativity. Registered users who have bought at least one AKVIS plug-in get a 20% discount on AKVIS SmartMask. Customers who have purchased all AKVIS plug-ins get a 50% discount. A 10 day trils version is also available.

Viveza allows you to precisely control and adjust the color and light in your digital images. Based on Nik Software’s U Point technology, Viveza provides easy-to-use methods for correcting and enhancing images without the need to create complicated selections or layer masks. Users place U Point powered Color Control Points directly on colors or objects in an image (such as sky, skin, grass, etc.) then adjust easy-to-use sliders for brightness, contrast, color and more. The suggested retail price of Viveza is $249.95, available in the first quarter of 2008.

A new DVD honours the life of digital imaging pioneer Bruce Fraser. The “Industry Celebration and Tribute to Bruce Fraser” DVD is a faithful record of last year’s Macworld 2007 tribute. “If you were fortunate to attend the Tribute itself, you will find the DVD to be a treasured keepsake; if not, you will experience a program that will touch your heart, make you laugh and most of all demonstrate how one thoughtful individual can hold a unique place in an industry and in the lives of all whom he touched,” says Tribute committee member, Larry Baca.

Blubox 4 claims to be the world’s most advanced software compression application for digital images. It can apparently compress photos by up to 95% without sacrificing picture quality. Blubox 4 can also encrypt and protect pictures using 256-bit AES encryption technology. Blubox V4 is available now for £19.99.

DxO Optics Pro v5 (Standard and Elite Editions) now supports the Nikon D300. Support for the Nikon D3 and the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III will be added in early February in the Elite edition.

Light Crafts has today released version 3.4 of LightZone, plus an updated beta version LightZone 3.4B. LightZone 3.4 features seven style families and an impressive 38 pre-defined styles that can be both viewed and applied with one click of your mouse. In addition LightZone 3.4 instantly displays a real-time visual thumbnail preview of the picture with the applied chosen style. LightZone 3.4 is available through February 15, 2008 at a $50 discount for either the ‘full’ or ‘basic’ editions bringing the purchase price to $199.95 and $99.95 respectively.

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 offers more than 50 new and significantly enhanced features. “The end result is CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 - a suite that provides users with easy-to-use tools that deliver outstanding results, while also having a dramatic and positive impact on their day to day productivity”. said Gérard Métrailler, director, product management, graphics at Corel. CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 will be available across Europe for a suggested retail price of £329 for the full version and £149 for the upgrade (excluding VAT).

ChromaFix from FotoNation is a new one-step chromatic aberration correction technology. Aimed at camera manufacturers rather than consumers, ChromaFix brings advanced image processing technology normally found in much higher-priced cameras to low-cost low-power devices. “We see tremendous potential in using digital technologies to correct optical aberrations that are currently present in consumer-level digital capture devices.  FotoNation’s ChromaFix technology has been designed to leverage our expertise in bringing advanced image processing to low-power consumer devices,” said Eran Steinberg, CEO of FotoNation.

ExpressDigital Darkroom 8.9 photography workflow software adds fast digital output, enhanced wireless support, advanced greenscreen and more. “By working closely with professional photographers, conducting extensive photographer surveys and watching industry trends, we gauged the needs of the professional photographer and built a new version of Darkroom to fulfill those needs,” explained Graham McFarland, Founder and CEO of ExpressDigital. ExpressDigital Darkroom v8.9 is available now. The retail prices are as follows: Darkroom Core Edition - $495, Darkroom Professional Edition - $1395, Darkroom Assembly Edition (Plus 6 hours phone training) - $2995, Darkroom Assembly Edition (Plus 2 days on-site training) - $4395. Upgrade pricing is also available.

CorrectPhoto 3.0 takes the guess work out of color correction with PictoColor’s OneClick Color technology. With just one click, anyone can remove an unwanted color cast, improve the exposure and increase the vibrancy of all of their digital pictures. Also included is ImageTitler, an additional stand-alone program for adding titles to any photo. CorrectPhoto with ImageTitler costs $39.95 as a software download. A free trial version is also available.

onOne Software has just bought Liquid Resize, a ground-breaking new way to resize images. Liquid Resize uses a technique known as “seam carving” to reduce the distortion that typically occurs when manipulating the aspect ratio of an image. A free public beta of Liquid Resize for both Windows and Mac OS X users will be available in late January 2008, with A Photoshop plug-in version available in the middle of 2008.

Corel PhotoImpact X3 digital photo editing software is aimed at the family memory keeper and the graphic arts hobbyist. “Project-oriented users will find that PhotoImpact X3 has the perfect mix of easy-to-use editing capabilities, creative project templates and digital art - all at an affordable price.” said Denise MacDonell, Director, Product Management, Digital Imaging at Corel. With a suggested retail price of $69.99 (US and Canada), PhotoImpact X3 is available now.

Bling! It from Vertus is now available for Mac OS. Bling! It is a simple to use image editing tool which gets you amazing results in minutes. It lets you prepare professional-looking images of products for publishing on the Web or on an online auction site. Vertus Bling! It costs $49.95, and there’s a free 15 day fully functional trial version.

FaceTime from FotoNation is a new technology that makes it easier to take a self-portrait when using digital camera or camera phones. FotoNation FaceTime is a new type of shutter trigger technology that is invoked when the photographer’s face is detected in a scene. The camera waits to fire the shutter until it recognizes face of the photographer. “Sooner or later, every photographer wants to be part of a photo they are composing; and until now, it has always been a cumbersome effort. We believe that FaceTime is the first new technology that brings a pragmatic solution to self-portraits,” said Eran Steinberg, CEO of FotoNation, Inc.

Printroom has released new plug-ins for Apple Aperture and Apple iPhoto that enable photographers to upload images into their Printroom online storefronts. The next generation of Printroom’s own complete photo management application, Printroom Studio Manager (PSM) 3.1, has also been unveiled at MacWorld. “Now Mac users can choose the studio workflow that best fits their needs, whether it is with Aperture, iPhoto or PSM, and quickly publish online galleries that meet the expectations of the most demanding clientele. As soon as the shoot is over, no matter where they are, the pro can quickly update their dynamic Flash home page and post galleries. said Printroom vice president of marketing Andrew Baum. All three software tools are free to Printroom customers.

Ovolab Geophoto 2 is an all-in-one application for easily organizing and browsing photos by location on your Mac. You can pan, zoom and fly through the photos via a three-dimensional representation of the Earth. Ovolab Geophoto 2 now supports importing track data from GPS devices, including GPS-equipped cameras. Ovolab Geophoto 2.0 will be released in the second half of February 2007 as an electronic download, and will cost $19.95.