Akvis has released Version 5.5 of Akvis Magnifier. Available as a plug-in or a standalone program, the software is claimed to “deliver good results” when ‘uprezzing’ a photo to create poster-sized enlargements. “Resizing pictures with Akvis Magnifier yields a much higher quality image than simple bicubic interpolation,” the company says. Version 5.5 adds compatibility with the upcoming Photoshop CS6 and Photoshop Elements 11 (plug-in version), fixes a bug which caused the program to crash when using the graphics processing unit on a computer running MacOS X Lion 10.7.3, and improves colour processing when loading raw images. Registered users of Magnifier can update their version free of charge.

PlayMemories Studio is a new and easy-to-use application for viewing, managing, editing and sharing digital photos and HD video clips on the Sony PlayStation 3 console. The integrated viewer in PlayMemories Studio lets you browse and view photos and videos – including 3D images and clips – on your TV screen. A Map view displays all your geotagged images on an on-screen globe, while one-button effects allow you to turn your photos into monochrome/sepia, emulate the effect of a soft-focus lens or a toy camera etc. PlayMemories Studio also allows users to tag, trim and join video clips.PlayMemories Studio can be purchased at the PlayStation Store, with a 30-day trial available as a free download.

Seim Effects Photo Tools has announced complete updates for its collection of Lightroom toolkits designed for use by photographers. The company’s Power Workflow 3, Silver Shadows 2 and Color Fantasies are now fully compatible with Lightroom 4, including a dedicated set of every effect for Lightroom 4 that takes advantage of the new 2012 process version. In addition, Seim Effects is offering the updates free to all existing users of the current product line. New customers can purchase the toolkits through the website below.

SmugMug has announced a major update to its Camera Awesome app. Currently the #1 iPhone photography app in 55 countries, Camera Awesome allows users to “awesomise” their photos and then instantly share them on Instagram with one simple tap. Additionally, the Camera Awesome app now comes with an in-app getting started guide, easier and more intuitive pinch-zooming, a white balance lock feature and a smoother way to set the self-timer. Plus you can now purchase all add-on filters as a single package for $9.99. If you’ve already bought a few effects, the company will bill you the difference rather than the full amount.

proDAD has announced that Corel is including 3 video effects technologies from proDAD with its newly announced VideoStudio Pro X5 Ultimate software. The proDAD technologies with Corel VideoStudio X5 Ultimate include the Mercali V2 Pro post-capture video stabiliser, TravelRoute Designer and VitaScenee V2 LE professional-grade effects. “We’re thrilled to once again be chosen by Corel to provide video effects technology for VideoStudio” said Andreas Huber, managing director for proDAD.

North Carolina based Carve Gybe Software today introduced SuperPhoto, a new iOS Universal App designed for ease-of-use. The app simplifies the iOS camera to just three buttons and also follows Apple’s Accessibility standards. “We created SuperPhoto for everybody - kids, parents, and grandparents who want to enjoy the moment and share it,” says founder John Alexander. SuperPhoto is available on iTunes for $0.99.

Independent developer Ken Tidwell has released D3S DSLR 2.0 for iOS, another in his series of Min-U Guides to Nikon DSLRs. The opening screen of the Min-U (minimum menu) Guide consists of seven main chapter headings, each including a replica of the icon used on the D3S for that menu. The six Menu chapters include: Playback (modify playback settings and manage photos an movies), Shooting (configure D3S shooting options), Custom Settings (fine-tune camera settings to your liking), Setup (basic camera configuration), Retouch (create trimmed or retouched copies of existing images), and My Menu (your custom menu and options). The seventh chapter, [More], contains miscellaneous info. All new under the hood. D3S DSLR is rebuilt for iOS 5.1, now with iPad SplitView providing enhanced navigation. The app is still a universal binary, and displays in the highest, native resolution on every iOS device. D3S DSLR 2.0 is available on iTunes for $4.99.

Revolution Mosaic is an iOS photography app that allows iPhone users from around the world to submit their photos to create a gigantic photo mosaic. Scheduled to launch in the App Store this May, Revolution Mosaic invites users from around the world to submit their iPhone photos. Once 360,000 photos are submitted, one of the submitted photos will be chosen to form the final mosaic image. This image will be chosen based on its depiction of the mobile generation. The final mosaic will then be turned into a 48” by 72” mural poster that can be viewed and purchased through the app, the website, or in commercial art galleries.

Adobe has released Photoshop CS6 beta, available as a free download from Adobe Labs. New features in Adobe Photoshop CS6 include a refined, modern interface and new additions to the Content-Aware tools: Content-Aware Patch allows greater control by letting users select and duplicate an area of an image to fill in or “patch” another, and Content-Aware Move lets users select and magically move an object to a new place in the image. Additionally, the new Adobe Mercury Graphics Engine enables near-instant results from popular editing tools including Liquify, Puppet Warp, Transform and Lighting Effects. Photoshop CS6 beta offers all the features of Adobe Photoshop CS6 and Adobe Photoshop CS6 Extended, such as new 3D editing features and quantitative imaging analysis capabilities. These features will be included in the shipping version of Photoshop CS6 Extended when it becomes available.

esDot Development Studio has announced the free “Lite” version of PicShop - Photo Editor, a mobile editing suite for iOS devices. Also available for Android, PicShop - Photo Editor offers a user interface created with Adobe AIR. Some of the more interesting features include the ability to emulate a shallow depth of field effect, replicate some of the results achievable with a tilt lens, remove blemishes from a portrait, change the saturation/brightness/contrast of an image, and more. PicShop Lite - Photo Editor is available from iTunes, with the Android edition being downloadable from the Google Play Store.

Downloadbuyer.com have a new exclusive bundle deal available for three MacPhun products for Mac. The software bundle includes FX Photo Studio Pro, Colour Splash and Snapheal. The price is €22.68, a 50% saving on the combined SRP of the three programs. To take advantage of this offer, head to the website below.

Slideshow tool provider Photodex has announced the latest version of its Adobe Lightroom plug-in for ProShow. Providing a seamless bridge between ProShow’s slideshow output and Adobe Lightroom versions 2, 3 and 4, the free plug-in supports both Mac and PC, and is now compatible with all three versions of Photodex’s ProShow line of HD slideshow tools. Additionally, it provides new and improved show titles and special characters for the ProShow Web application. The ProShow Plug-in for Lightroom can be downloaded directly from the Adobe Lightroom Exchange website.

Corel today launched CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X6. With a focus on opening up new creative possibilities for the design community, this update is claimed to deliver improved workflow and performance for both aspiring and experienced designers. Including Corel PHOTO-PAINT X6, CorelDRAW X6 and four other programs, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X6 is available immediately as an electronic download (ESD) from the website below. Box versions will be available from Corel’s authorised resellers later in March. Suggested retail pricing is £399 for the full version and £179 for the upgrade.

Phase One has launched a new website and announced a price cut on its Capture One 6 software. The program comes in three versions. Capture One Pro supports virtually every professional DSLR and most popular camera models and includes powerful tools to enhance the capture and editing processes. Capture One Express features the same processing engine as Capture One Pro, but is without some of the more advanced tools. Capture One DB ships with all Phase One medium format camera systems. Capture One Pro is available for $299 and €229; Capture One Express is now priced at $99 and €69. In addition, the trial period of the software from 30 to 60 days.

German software developer Jürgen Habenstein has devised two new operating systems for digital cameras. Both AppCam OS-I and AppCam OS-II are aimed at making cameras more intuitive and easy to use, without the need to delve into complicated and long-winded menu systems. How viable the idea will prove in the marketplace remains to be seen. The implementation of AppCam OS-I would require manufacturers to adopt a new control layout comprising a large Home button, a capacitive touch-screen with gesture support and no less than six rear-mounted control wheels. This would allow advanced compact camera owners to get to their most often used settings quickly, and customise their cameras to their tastes. AppCam OS-II, on the other hand, has been developed for dSLRs, and is ready to be integrated into existing hardware configurations relying on established control layouts. Click through / scroll down for a video demonstrating the AppCam OS-I concept.

Leica are now supplying Lightroom 4 with the Leica S2/S2-P, Leica M9/M9-P, Leica X1 and Leica D-Lux 5 cameras. Leica cameras are fully integrated into the Lightroom 4 workflow, for example with colour and lens profiles. In addition, the speed and stability of tethered shooting with the Leica S2 medium-format digital camera has been further improved.

Trip Photos allows iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users for easily organizing, tagging and searching your photos. Trip Photos 1.1 is available for download in the iTunes App Store for $0.99 USD.

Apple have released an update for Aperture 3 and iPhoto ‘11. This update adds RAW image compatibility for the following cameras:

- Canon PowerShot G1 X
- Nikon D4
- Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GX1
- Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ35
- Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ38
- Samsung NX200
- Sony Alpha NEX-7
- Sony NEX-VG20

Download the Apple Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.10

Tunaverse Media has just launched its new photo sharing social network called Blinq. Using web linking technology combined with proprietary “just enough, just in time” image delivery software, Blinq makes remotely stored media appear to reside on the user’s local device. By adding remote control capability Blinq enables users to do whatever they want with those remotely stored photos from anywhere. Because upload time is eliminated, sharing albums of any size, even remotely stored albums, is instantaneous, the company claims. To download Blinq and start sharing your photos, visit the website below.

DxO Labs have just released DxO FilmPack v3.2.1 for Mac and Windows. This update brings adds compatibility with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4, allowing Lightroom 4 users to apply the aesthetic signatures of more than 60 film styles, or any of the 25 creative renderings (in the Expert Edition) to their digital photo libraries. DxO FilmPack v3.2.1 runs in both 32 and 64 bits as standalone software. As a plugin, it is now fully compatible with DxO Optics Pro 6 & 7 (32 bits), Photoshop CS3 (32 bits), CS 4 & CS 5 (32 and 64 bits), Lightoom 3 & 4 (32 and 64 bits), Photoshop Elements 9 & 10 (32 bits) and Apple Aperture (32 and 64 bits).