Adobe has released ACR 8.6 and Adobe DNG Converter 8.6 as "release candidates." These updates add support for raw image files generated by the Nikon D810, the Panasonic AG-GH4 and the Panasonic FZ1000 (pictured), colour profiles for the Sony RX100 III, Alpha SLT-A77 II and A7S, and lens profiles for 11 Canon, Nikon Schneider Kreuznach and Sony lenses.

Website: ACR 8.6 Release Candidate for Photoshop CS6
Website: ACR 8.6 Release Candidate for Photoshop CC and CC 2014

Topaz Labs have released a major upgrade to their Photoshop image masking plug-in ReMask. Version 4 includes a new Edge Shift feature, a redesigned user interface focused on ease and speed, faster foreground recovery processing, and many usability improvements. It is a free upgrade for existing ReMask customers.

Rumanian software firm Bits&Coffee SRL have released version 4.0 of their image editor, BatchPhoto. New features include a completely rewritten user interface with a new Dark-theme, one universal version for both Windows and Mac, a Mac version which is fully Retina-ready, drag&drop functionality for the graphical filters, and a new Auto Crop filter. Pricing starts at $29.95.

Xara have released the latest new version of their creative design software for Windows, Xara Photo and Graphic Designer. Version 10 features new shadow and highlight tools, improved automatic panorama stitching, a new online content catalogue, support for the automatic rotation of images from iPhones and other cameras with orientation sensors, a new insert menu, improved import/export support for .doc and .docx files, RTF files, and significantly improved PDF import. 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. Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 10 sells for £69.99 (inc VAT). Upgrades from v9 to Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 10 cost £25 (inc VAT).

Ashampoo has released Photo Commander 12, the latest version of its photo storage and editing software. New features and enhancements include support for a variety of raw file formats, increased scalability, enhanced social sharing, more creative options for sharing and transforming photos, enhanced editing and more after-effects. Photo Commander costs $49.99 and can be downloaded from the website below.

Nikon's new Capture NX-D software is now available free of charge. Capture NX-D enables high-quality photofinishing of images captured in raw format by Nikon digital SLR cameras(including the latest D810 model), Nikon 1 compact system cameras, and Coolpix compact cameras that support this capability. The application is compatible with 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista/7/8; and OS X 10.7.5, 10.8.5 and 10.9.2-

Dreamstime today released Dreamstime Companion, a new free iPhone and Android mobile app that enables photographers to upload their own images directly from their smartphones. “The arrival of the Dreamstime Companion mobile app is not so much a new direction for our company, but one that we hope will continue to inspire the ever-growing smartphone photography community, as well as the changing needs of today’s consumers,” said Serban Enache, the company’s CEO and co-founder. “The size of our community is unparalleled in the industry, and provides mobile photographers with a unique and potentially lucrative opportunity." Users can sell their images as editorial content (with logos and faces visible) or as commercial content, which means no logos or people in the image unless they have signed a model release. The app provides users with real-time stats, sales reports, and up-to-date revenue details.

LensDistortions.com has released a new collection of presets for Photoshop. The website launched in early 2013 with products for filmmakers, editors, and VFX artists. Word quickly spread as people in the video community fell in love with the organic flares and unique looks. The new Legacy Collection contains 30 Photoshop Actions, each with their own unique presets and organic light leaks. To check out the newly released collection, head to the website below.

Adobe's new Photography Plan enables anyone to use the most up-to-date desktop versions of both Lightroom and Photoshop CC for as little as £8.78/$9.99 per month, which is an excellent deal for most people, especially those just getting involved in serious photo editing. But Adobe's move to a subscription-based model raised the question of what would happen to users' Lightroom catalogues once their Creative Cloud (CC) membership expired. In a recent blog post, Adobe's Tom Hogarty responded to these concerns, stating that "at the end of a membership, the desktop application will continue to launch and provide access to the photographs managed within Lightroom as well as the Slideshow, Web, Book or Print creations that we know many photographers painstakingly create. The Develop and Map modules have been disabled in order to signal the end of the membership and the need to renew in order to receive Adobe’s continuous innovation in those areas. Access to Lightroom mobile workflows will also cease to function."

The PicsArt mobile photo editing and drawing app now features a built-in video feature that allows users to generate and post videos that capture their editing process. "The new feature is a great tool not only for sharing the process of creating art but also for creating interactive and comprehensive infographics, presentations, fun trendy animations, video messages to other users, and much more," the company says. PicsArt is a free and full-featured photo editing and drawing mobile app available on Android, iOS and Windows Phone. For more on PicsArt, its community of users, and samples of their work, visit the website below.

Iridient Digital has released Version 2.4.3 of Iridient Developer. This update includes support for 8 new cameras including the Nikon D810 and 1 S2, the Sony A7S, the Pentax: 645Z, the Panasonic: DMC-FZ1000, the Kinefinity KineMINI 4K, KineRAW Mini and KineRAW S35; support for Nikon sRAW format and several bug fixes and improvements. This release is a paid upgrade for users who originally purchased a license prior to 1 November 2012

DxO Labs have launched DxO FilmPack v4.5.2 and DxO ViewPoint v2.1.7. These two upgrades allow both applications to integrate perfectly with Adobe Photoshop CC 2014. The upgrade to DxO FilmPack v4.5.2 is free for all owners of DxO FilmPack 4, as well as for photographers who acquired a DxO FilmPack license on or after 1 March 2013. The upgrade to DxO ViewPoint v2.1.7 is free for all owners of DxO ViewPoint who acquired a license on or after 1 August 2013.

DxO Labs have released DxO Optics Pro v9.5.1 for Mac and Windows. This update adds support for the new Sony Alpha A7S (Elite Edition only - pictured) and for four other cameras: the Sony DSC-RX100 III and SLT-A77 II, the Nikon 1 J4, and the Samsung NX30. Additionally, it gains 376 new Optics Modules offering support for Canon, Konica Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, Samsung, Sigma, Sony, Tamron, Tokina, and Zeiss lenses for many Canon, Fuji, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony cameras..

Akvis has released version 5 of SmartMask, an image selection and masking application for Windows and Mac OS X. Available as a standalone program and as a plug-in to a photo editor, the software is especially useful when you need to create photo collages with numerous objects from different images that don’t have clearly defined edges and fade into a background. This latest update fixes minor bugs; adds a Share option that lets you quickly publish images on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr and Google+; increases the maximum size of the Eraser and History Brush tools; optimises the performance of the Magic Brush; adds support for additional raw image file formats (standalone version) and compatibility with Photoshop CC 2014 (plug-in version). Registered users can upgrade to the new version for free.

Macphun has announced the UK launch of a new range of imaging software specifically developed for the professional photographer. Exclusively distributed by Color Confidence, the product range is available as an electronic download or on a 4GB SD card. The lineup includes Snapheal Pro (£29.99), Intensify Pro (£44.99) and Focus 2 Pro (£29.99). Each application runs as standalone or as a plug-in for Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. Macphun also offer a Creative Kit (£59.99), which includes Snapheal Pro and Intensify Pro, and Creative Kit Plus (£74.99), which includes all three products.

Photodex has released an update to its ProShow Web slideshow app for iPhone and iPad. Allowing users to combine photos, video, text, music and effects to create easy-to-share, professional-looking video slideshows; the latest version of ProShow Web for iOS adds a new GUI, custom timing control, photo and video captions, new privacy settings for videos, improved show syncing and over 200 new text effects. The ProShow Web app is free and integrates with Photodex's ProShow Web online video creation service. Options to upgrade to Plus or Premium plans to unlock more features, like HD video creation and longer, un-watermarked videos, start at $4.99 and can be purchased in-app.

AKVIS has today released its newest program - AKVIS Pastel 1.0. This software application promises to turn your images into digital art, imitating one of the most popular artistic techniques - pastel painting. The new product is available as a standalone program and as a plugin for Adobe Photoshop and other image editors. You can choose one of the presets or change the pastel settings to create a unique painting. The adjustable effect parameters give you a strong sense of control, the company says. The software runs on Windows XP/Vista/Win7/Win 8 and on Mac OS X 10.4-10.9, with a home license selling for $49/€39.

Ichikawa Soft Laboratory has begun sales of Silkypix Developer Studio Pro6 Download Version (Mac OS). New features include improved noise reduction, a new soft proofing function and portrait beautification effect and improved processing speed. Silkypix Developer Studio Pro6 Download Version (Mac OS) is compatible with OS X v10.6 - 10.9, and requires a processor with 64-bit support, a minimum of 2GB of RAM and at least 10GB of available hard-disk space.

Nikon's new Capture NX.D software will be available as a free download from Tuesday 15th July. Capture NX-D enables high-quality photofinishing of images captured in raw format by Nikon digital SLR cameras (including the latest D810 model), Nikon 1 compact system cameras, and Coolpix compact cameras that support this capability. The application will be compatible with 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista/7/8; and OS X 10.7.5, 10.8.5 and 10.9.2-

PhotoMatte by Plum Amazing is a new layout and graphics editor for Macintosh. With this app, you can easily create collages and montages courtesy of a host of built-in templates, backgrounds, frames, effects and more. The program also includes 15 integrated video tutorials to help you get going. PhotoMatte for Mac sells for $30, with a free trial version available.