Corel PaintShop Pro X7 features new editing tools, faster brushes and modern UI updates. Giving photo pros and enthusiasts an image editing application that’s affordable and easy to use, Corel PaintShop Pro X7 delivers the impressive feature set and power expected from a professional caliber software package. “With the new PaintShop Pro X7, we’re continuing our commitment to give photographers and creative users the tools they need to create their best-ever work. X7 offers more creativity, speed and productivity to help you achieve amazing results, faster,” said Greg Wood, Senior Product Director for Photo Products at Corel.

Suggested retail pricing for PaintShop Pro X7 is $79.99 (USD/CAN)/ EUR 69.99/ £59.99 (inclusive of VAT, where applicable)/ $99.95 (AUD).

Suggested retail pricing for PaintShop Pro X7 Ultimate is $99.99 (USD/CAN) / EUR 89.99/ £79.99 (inclusive of VAT, where applicable)/ $129.95 (AUD).

HDRlog has released the first update to hte standalone version of its HDRinstant software. Version 1 brings new features such as a tool to help you choose the sharpest image, user tone-mapping presets, image sharpening and adjustment tools. The innovative technology behind the program allows the user to create an HDR image from video footage, and its anti-ghosting capability removes motion blur when creating HDR images from several frames. After importing your video clip, you can extract as many images as possible, then select your favorite frame. HDRinstant will stack the frames and apply a special morphing algorithm to build the final HDR photograph.  The Mac and Windows versions can be downloaded from the website below.

Pickture, a photographic contest app for Android and iOS, has now reached over 100,000 Instagrammers through a series of collaborations. Initially released to a key group of high-volume Instagram users, the intuitive app activates the capabilities of Instagram to provide users with a platform to share their images, be immersed inphotography and have the chance to win a range of prizes. Pickture adopts a multi-platform approach by putting winners in the spotlight both within the app and on its own Instagram account. This provides users a chance to not only be rewarded for their images through prizes, but also with a chance to build their network of followers as they are exposed to a wide audience. Through celebrating the winners, Pickture also enables users to connect with and discover others who hold the same creative interests. You can download the app from the website below.

Younity today announced the ability to publish any photo stored on a computer directly to Instagram via the younity iOS app. Until now, Instagram users could only publish photos to the social network if those photos were stored on their smartphones. This release enables users to easily publish any photo, stored on any computer they own, directly to their Instagram account from their iPhone or iPad. "Posting old or remote photos to Instagram is easy," the company said. "Once younity is installed on your computers, it will discover all the photos stored on those computers and external hard drives. Then, simply open younity on your mobile device, browse to any photo you’ve ever taken and select the Post to Instagram button."

Sigma has released an update to its Sigma Photo Pro software package. Version 6.0.5 incorporates the following improvement and fixes:

• It has improved the image quality of long exposure photography, taken by the SIGMA dp2 Quattro.
• It has corrected the phenomenon that JPEG images developed from X3F files are neither properly displayed in the photo editing software nor successfully uploaded to SNS/websites.
• It has corrected the phenomenon that it resets the displayed position of thumbnails when the main window is updated after saving and deleting images.
• It has corrected the phenomenon that the print size in the print window occasionally goes back to the default settings.
• It has corrected the phenomenon that X3F files are not properly processed when the images are taken with the SD1 or Merrill series cameras and the color space is set at Adobe RGB.

Website: Sigma Global Vision

Apple has posted a Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update, which adds system-level support for raw image files generated by the Nikon Coolpix P340, Nikon 1 V3, Olympus OM-D E-M10, Olympu STYLUS 1, Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GH4, Sony A7S (pictured), Sony Alpha ILCE-5000, Sony Alpha ILCE-6000, Sony Alpha SLT-A77 II and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III cameras. You can download the update from the website below.

Website: Apple

7 SNAPS is a new, interactive iPhone app that combines social media, imagination and photography. The unique app challenges photographers, both amateur and professional, to use their imagination and interpret a presented word through the art of photography. Increasing their vocabulary and stretching their imagination, users are given a word a day, seven words a week. Photos can be uploaded and viewed by others, encouraging interaction between friends, old and new. All participants are allowed to vote on the best photo for each word, with just two weeks of voting time. The author of the app is currently seeking funds through Indiegogo to fully develop the idea and let individuals start SNAPPING. With a goal of $80,000 AUD and a campaign end date of 25 September 2014, the creator hopes to make the app available worldwide.

Brushed Pixel Software has released the Slingshot plugin for Adobe Lightroom on Mac OS X, which allows users to conveniently send items from their library to other applications. When the user activates the plugin, it displays a customisable list of applications; the user can choose an application to open their library item, without having to manually find and open the file in the OS X Finder, and launch the desired application. Slingshot is available for CAD $9.00. For more information, visit the website below.

AKVIS has updated its Chameleon collage creation software to Version 8.5. New features include a Share option that lets you post pictures from the program to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, Google+ and Dropbox; compatibility with Photoshop CC 2014, and support for 64-bit versions of Windows. Users who own versions 5.0-8.0 of AKVIS Chameleon can upgrade to Version 8.5 for free.

Pixel Film Studios have released the Glass Light Theme, a new template for Final Cut Pro X. “Our goal is to offer our users a wide variety quality themes and the Glass Light theme adds a shiny template to our growing library,” says Christian Austin, Pixel Film Studios CEO. “Glass Light theme has a reflective glass look our users will love." The theme comes with 48 camera presets that include a variety of different shots. The shots include booms, dollies, sweeps and more. Available for $29.95, Glass Light is compatible with all types of media and comes with all the tools a user needs to create a professional video including a background key for green screen footage, a logo key for personal insignia, 4 transitions and 2 lowers thirds.

Aperture Exporter is a Mac application allowing users of Apple Aperture to transfer their images and libraries to another photo manager such as Adobe Lightroom. "With only a few options and a click of a button, Aperture Exporter re-generates your Aperture Library as a set of folders and subfolders containing your images," the developers say. The program enables users to "retain meticulously crafted project hierarchies," keep all their metadata including ratings and comments, export images contained in their albums and smart albums, and convert Aperture flags and colour labels to keywords. Aperture Exporter is now available on the Mac App Store, priced at $14.99.

Adobe has released final versions of ACR 8.6 and Photoshop Lightroom 5.6, which were earlier posted as 'release candidates.' These updates add support for raw files generated by the Nikon D810, the Panasonic FZ1000 (pictured) and Lumix GH4, add profiles for twenty-two camera-lens combinations, and fix bugs.

Source: Adobe Lightroom Journal

Tonality from Macphun is a new Mac app for creating superior black-and-white images. The software uses a proprietary 16-bit raw processing engine, advanced imaging algorithms and a comprehensive set of unique digital darkroom features permitting photographers "to do things they never before have been able to achieve," the company says. Starting with "professionally inspired" presets, Tonality includes features like layer-based image editing, adaptive exposure and smart contrast, overlay textures, advanced clarity and structure detail, grain and film emulation, adjustment brushes and a selection of finishing tools for photographers to craft their finest work. Each layer includes separate opacity controls, blending modes and preserves colour data of the original image. “For many photographers, crafting dramatic black-and-white images is their favouritee form of creative expression yet presents uniquely difficult and time-consuming challenges,” said Paul Muzok, CEO of Macphun. “We designed Tonality to overcome those challenges, and be not only the best app for those passionate about monochrome image making but also appeal to the casual photographer who is exploring the genre." Tonality is available today as an electronic download from the Macphun Web Store.

Nikon has released an update to the 64-bit Windows edition of its new Capture NX-D software. According to the company, when the 64-bit Windows version of the application was used to create JPEG-format files converted from raw (.NEF/.NRW), TIFF, or JPEG images using the Convert Files... or Run Batch Process... option in the File menu, a gray band was sometimes visible at the bottom of the images when they were opened in the 64-bit Windows version of Capture NX-D. This issue has been resolved in version 1.0.1.

Website: Nikon

Phase One Industrial today released Phase One iX Capture, an image capture and raw conversion application designed specifically for aerial photography. The software enables operators to track each capture and utilize real-time feedback to be confident that each image has been captured correctly. Dov Kalinski, General Manager of Phase One Industrial said, “Our new iX Capture application has been designed to boost efficiency — enabling inflight picture review, ensuring high quality image results and streamlining the inflight capture process." Compatible with the Windows 8.1 operating system, the Phase One iX Capture application was created for use exclusively with Phase One aerial cameras. It is a free application available immediately from the website below.

Iridient Digital has released version 2.4.4 of Iridient Developer. This update adds raw image file support for the Samsung NX3000 and also includes support for automatic lens corrections based on raw image metadata for all Samsung NX mirrorless models. This release is a paid upgrade for users who originally purchased a license prior to 1 November 2012. Upgrades are available for the discounted price of $45. New licenses can be purchased for $75.

Lightricks has announced Facetune for Android, an app that promises to enable every smartphone user to transform everyday mugshots into high-end portraits. “The tremendous success and rave reviews with Facetune for iOS (4.8 stars out of 5 on the App store over thousands of reviews) led to countless requests for the app from Android users,” says Zeev Farbman, Lightricks' CEO. “Today, we are just as excited to release this product to Android as our users are to receive it, and we are eagerly awaiting their reaction." Facetune for Android is offered at the introductory price of $2.99 and available worldwide exclusively on the Google Play Store.

Akvis has released version 6.0 of its NatureArt software for Windows and Mac OS X. This update adds new presets to the Sun and Frost effects, improves performance under 64-bit versions of Windows, adds an option for Dropbox users to share their images directly from the program with no loss of quality, brings support for several new raw file formats, and fixes bugs. Additionally, the plug-in variant gains compatibility with Adobe Photoshop CC 2014. Registered users of NatureArt can upgrade to version 6.0 for free.

Xara has announced a new release of Xara Designer Pro. Billed as the ultimate all-in-one creative software that provides all the tools for: illustration, photo editing, web graphics and desktop publishing; Xara Designer Pro X10 supports multi-core processors for faster performance, and provides tools that might typically be required by professional designers such as PANTONE, CMYK, colour separations and PDF/X. Bundled with this release is a new Photoshop plug-in called PhotoLooks from Red Giant (previously sold by Red Giant for $199) for users wishing to intensify the mood of their photo via various colour and lighting effects or adding a popular film look from soft lighting to Hollywood drama. The plug-in includes over 100 presets inspired by real commercial projects, from wedding vignettes to popular cinematic looks. Xara Designer Pro X10 costs £249 with upgrades from £79.

Blackmagic Design has released version 1.8.2 of its Camera software, which adds 3 new Apple ProRes file formats for the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera and Blackmagic Production Camera 4K. The new formats include ProRes 422, ProRes 422 LT and ProRes 422 Proxy. This update gives customers using Blackmagic Design cameras the ability to get significantly smaller video file sizes allowing much longer recording durations on the same media card, all while preserving full frame 10-bit 4:2:2 quality. Selecting the type of ProRes format for recording can be set via the on-screen menus and all ProRes types can be played back instantly. The. Camera 1.8.2 update is available now free of charge from the website below.