Adobe has posted Lightroom 4.3 and Adobe Camera Raw 7.3 as “release candidates.” These updates add full support for the Nikon D600, Canon PowerShot S110,
Canon PowerShot G15, Canon PowerShot SX50 HS, Casio Exilim EX-ZR1000, Casio Exilim EX-FC300S, Olympus PEN E-PL5, Olympus PEN E-PM2, Olympus Sylus XZ-2 iHS, Panasonic DMC-GH3, Pentax K-5 II, Pentax K-5 IIs and Pentax Q10 (pictured). Additionally, they incorporate various bug fixes and new profiles for one Canon, one Pentax and twenty-four Leica lenses. Furthermore, Lightroom 4.3 RC adds support for HiDPI displays within the Develop module.

Website: Adobe Camera Raw 7.3 RC
Website: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4.3 RC

DxO Optics Pro 8.0.1 now supports the Nikon1 J2 and the Sony NEX-5R. Additionally, the new update brings 200 new DxO Optics Modules supporting Canon, Konica-Minolta, Nikkor, Sigma, Sony, and Tamron lenses for Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Samsung, and Sony cameras. This upgrade is free for all owners of DxO Optics Pro 8, as well as for photographers who purchased a license for DxO Optics Pro 7 after 1 September 2012.

Tamron has announced a new software application for Tamron’s recent SP series lenses. The program is based on Silkypix Developer Studio 4.0, produced by Ichikawa Soft Laboratory. The Tamron version provides a range of functions such as correcting aberrations (chromatic aberrations of magnification, distortion, peripheral light fall-off), based on the optical data. Lens data is available for SP series Tamron lenses launched since March 2012. Silkypix Developer Studio 4.0 for Tamron will be available from 30th November at the website below.

Unified Color Technologies has released HDR Express 2. Boasting a more streamlined workflow, image stacking and new de-ghosting algorithms, HDR Express 2 is powered by the company’s Beyond RGB technology, which allows colour and brightness channels to be adjusted independently thus preventing the telltale colour shifts often associated with HDR images. “Unlike other photo editing software, the new HDR Express 2 features “Adaptive Tone Mapping” algorithms that further improve contrast, colour, and detail retention in the highlight areas of large dynamic range images, while also maintaining optimal contrast and colour in darker areas of the image,” the company says. HDR Express 2 can be used as stand-alone HDR software or a plug-in to Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Apple Aperture. It accepts JPEGs and TIFFs as well as most of the major manufacturers’ raw file formats. HDR Express 2 is available immediately at a special introductory price $84 through 12 November 2012, after which it will be available for the regular price of $99. Current Unified Color customers can upgrade to HDR Express 2 for $59.

Athentech has released Version 3.0 of its Perfectly Clear app for Apple’s iPhone and iPad devices. This update introduces a completely redesigned interface, integrated noise removal, new Beautify filer and a one-click fix for the “purple haze issue” - essentially a particularly bad case of lens flare - that occurs when the iPhone camera is pointed toward the sun or some other bright source of light. Perfectly Clear 3.0 for iPhone and iPad is available on iTunes for $2.99.

Alien Skin Software today released Alt Photo, an iPhone app that applies a wide range of analog looks to photos. Alt Photo reproduces effects from throughout the history of photography, offering numerous black and white styles that cover everything from scratched Daguerreotype to grainy modern film. “It’s fun to give iPhone photographers cool results from our work on professional photography tools,” said Tom Welsh, creator of Alt Photo. “We stripped away all the geeky controls and made complex effects easy to apply.”Alt Photo is available through the iPhone App Store for the introductory price of $0.99.

onOne Software has released Perfect Photo Suite 7. Announced last month, Perfect Photo Suite 7 offers new easy-to-use, yet powerful tools to develop black-and-white images, enhance, stylise and correct images, retouch portraits and prepare all images, including mobile snapshots, for enlargement and print. Perfect Photo Suite 7 includes the brand new module Perfect B&W, Perfect Effects 4, Perfect Portrait 2, Perfect Layers 3 and Perfect Resize 7.5 Pro­–powered by Genuine Fractals technology, Perfect Mask 5.2 and FocalPoint 2. The new Perfect Photo Suite 7 is available immediately for $299.95. Owners of Perfect Photo Suite 6, Perfect Photo Suite 5.5, and Plug-In Suite 5 or earlier can upgrade to Perfect Photo Suite 7 for $149.95.

ReaSoft has launched a new free Web-based service for photographers. Currently in Beta, ImVerter (which stands for Image conVerter) recognises 500+ image formats including raw photo formats (CR2, NEF, ARW), vector graphics (CDR, SVG, DXF), postscript formats (PDF, AI, EPS) and also dozens of little-known or unpopular picture formats; and converts them into JPEGs, PNGs, GIFs, TIFFs, PDFs or BMPs depending on user preference. The service is free, with the only limitation being the maximum size of the source file, which is 20MB.

Corel has announced Painter Lite. “We often hear from today’s aspiring artists that they’re looking for a way to dive into the world of digital art but don’t know which tools they need to get started. With Painter Lite, we’re not only offering a seamless and natural transition from canvas to computer, but we’re also providing a simple and affordable entry point for anyone to experiment with different techniques and mediums,” said Andy Church, Senior Product Manager for Corel Painter. Corel Painter Lite is available for Windows and Mac for £54.99 including VAT.

Corel today launched CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X6 Small Business Edition. Available at £699+VAT, this edition of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X6 includes up to three installations for each business. Each copy includes CorelDRAW X6, Corel Photo-Paint X6, PowerTrace X6, Connect. Capture X6, Website Creator X6, three quick reference cards and thousands of photos, clip-art and other images. CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X6 Small Business Edition is available immediately from corel.com and authorised resellers.

SF Digital has released version 4 of its Foto SF software. This update has a host of new features, improved and faster navigation, new modules including “Quotes,” and eye-catching graphical reports. Pricing starts at $95 (£58 approx) for an upgrade and $145 (£90 approx) for Foto SF Lite.

AKVIS has released AKVIS Chameleon v.8.0, the latest version of its photo collage creation software for Windows and Macintosh. This update adds a new Guidelines feature helping users precisely position the fragment on the background image. Additionally, the new version is compatible with Mac OS X 10.8. Users of the latest versions (v.5-7) of AKVIS Chameleon can upgrade to version 8.0 free of charge.

CyberLink has released an updated version of PowerDVD 12 to ensure compatibility with Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 OS. “With the removal of native support for DVD playback in Windows Media Player, consumers will require additional media playback software to play DVDs and MPEG-2 files on their Windows 8 PCs.,” the company says. “PowerDVD 12, is certified as compatible with Windows 8, guaranteeing users can still enjoy all their Blu-ray Discs, DVDs and videos on their new systems.” CyberLink also launched a new mobile application designed for Windows 8 tablets.

BeFunky has announced that it delivers support for iOS 6, the iPhone 5 and the new iPad Mini. The new version of the app offers users the ability to stack an unlimited number of effects on mobile devices, new editing capabilities for enhanced artistic control, and a seamless photo editing experience across multiple devices and platforms, the company says.

Phase One today released Capture One Pro 7. This is a major release built on a new processing engine with new and advanced professional tools that are claimed to “dramatically boost” out-of-the-box image quality, offering exquisite detail and colour rendition as well as improved noise reduction. Additionally, Capture One Pro now includes Live View support for selected DSLRs in tethered mode, and adds expanded asset management functionality lifted from Phase One Media Pro (formerly known as Microsoft Expression Media). Phase One Capture One Pro 7 is available now for Mac OS X and Windows for $299/€229.  Owners of Capture One Pro 3/4/5/6 may upgrade for $99/€69. Owners of Capture One Express may upgrade to Capture One Pro 7 for $249/$199.

DxO Labs have announced the upcoming release of DxO Optics Pro. The program, which will be available for Mac and Windows on 29th October, introduces DxO Smart Lighting, a new feature that intelligently adapts to image content and allows users to easily adjust image contrast using a single slider. DxO Smart Lighting automatically recovers details both in highlights and shadows under even the most extreme shooting conditions, the company claims. For more advanced users, DxO Optics Pro 8 offers a new Selective tone tool that allows them to apply precise corrections separately to highlights, midtones, and dark zones. The Standard and Elite editions of DxO Optics Pro 8 for Mac and Windows will be available at a special introductory discount valid until 15th November - click through / read on for the details.

DxO Labs have just released version 5 of DxO Analyzer. Billed as an extensive measurement solution that provides in-depth raw and RGB image quality analysis for any image capture device, whether still- or video-capable, DxO Analyzer v5 offers new video image quality testing features such as motion artefact and image stabilisation system measurements that enable DxO Labs to report extensive video quality test results on dxomark.com.

Zoner Software has just released a new version of its photo software Zoner Photo Studio. New features in Version 15 include Quick Search, Folder Synchronisation, an all-new Import Module, Quick Edits, automatic backups, Quick Filters and a new tool that helps users emulate one of the effects achievable with a tilt-shift lens. Zoner Photo Studio is available for $69.99 and can be extended to all computers in a household for an additional $29.99.

GoPro’s new mobile app is now available for free download from Apple’s App Store and coming soon to Google Play. Compatible with GoPro’s HD HERO2 camera, the GoPro App enables full camera control and live scene preview for easy framing on smartphones or tablets. Subsequent releases of the GoPro App will enable streaming playback of videos and photos from the camera to a smart device, sharing of photo and video content from the camera to social networks, controlling of multiple cameras, and streaming live video from the camera to the web.

The Plugin Site has released FilterHub, a panel extension for Photoshop CS4, CS5, CS5.5 and CS6. Described as “a powerful replacement” for the program’s Filter menu, FilterHub supports both built-in Photoshop filters, filter plugins and third-party automation plug-ins. The FilterHub panel stays open as long as you wish and displays a configurable list of filters and plug-ins. Before running a filter it can automatically create a duplicated layer, a merged copy of all layers (stamped layer), a smart object or flatten the image. FilterHub costs $39.95 (Academic/educational licence: $24.95).