PSKiss has announced a new package of Pixel Bender professional image editing filters named Pixel Gear Suite. The first set of Pixel Gear filters include Skin Gear - a unique skin retouching filter - and S/H Tone Gear for tone and contrast manipulations. “The algorithms of those filters would have taken ages to run on the CPU”, says Max Penson, Co-owner of PSKiss and chief of product development. “Thanks to Pixel Bender Technology, we are able to run our original cutting edge algorithms, straight on the GPU, shortening processing time to a blink on an eye”. Pixel Gear Filters are now offered with a limited time special discount of 25% at the website below.

Next week Insight Guides will be launching a free app for iOS devices, entitled the Insight Guides Travel Photography. Every day a new photograph will be delivered to the app, showcasing the best shots from Insight’s extensive range of travel guides, which cover over 200 destinations in 90 countries across the world.  The photographs are accompanied by informative captions, with related cultural insights, useful travel advice, seasonal travel recommendations and photography tips. You can also share these photographs via e-mail, Facebook and Twitter.

iClone4 from Reallusion is an affordable, real-time 3D animation tool with stereoscopic output capabilities, which allows any Photoshop project to be turned into 3D stereo prints. Adobe Photoshop users can now import image layers into iClone4 to create 3D Stereo prints in a matter of minutes, the company says. iClone4 is available at a list price of $149.90. Reallusion has also created a specially designed landing page for Photoshop users to visit, and learn all about the benefits and tools with several step-by-step tutorials made exclusively for graphic artists. To see more, just visit the website below.

The new gps4cam application allows iPhone users to geotag pictures taken with any digital camera. Photographers wishing to use it will need to install both the iPhone and the Mac/PC versions. The app doesn’t need to connect to a network to be used, and doesn’t require the user to manually synchronise the time and date between his iPhone and his camera, thanks to the use of a QR-Code generated by the app itself. gps4cam for iPhone is for sale in Apple’s App Store for $1.99, whereas the desktop (Mac/PC) version is free.

Hamrick Software has released a public Beta of its upcoming VueScan 9 software. The current version, VueScan 9.0.b2, was posted yesterday with developer Ed Hamrick saying that “most things are now working well, and the final version will be released in the next few days”. VueScan 9 adds support for 64-bit versions of Linux, Mac OS X and Windows, boasts an easier-to-use user interface, starts up and shuts down much faster than previous versions, plus it is easier to install and generally faster and more responsive than it used to be. You can download the Beta from the website below.

Website: Hamrick Software

DxO Labs have just released DxO Optics Pro 6.5 for Mac and Windows. Featuring Single Shot HDR technology for optimised rendering of contrasty scenes, improved raw conversion, Lightroom 3 support and more, DxO Optics Pro 6.5 is available at a 30% holiday season discount until Christmas. The Standard edition is now $99, while the Elite edition costs $199 with the discount applied. All customers who purchased DxO Optics Pro since 1 June 2009 are entitled to a free upgrade to version 6.5.

Solar Spark Productions today announced Remotomatic Camera 1.1 for iOS, an update to their app that provides Bluetooth remote control of any iPhone camera. With this app, you can use any Bluetooth enabled iOS device as the remote control, and version 1.1 adds remote control of the iPhone’s video camera as well. Remotomatic Camera 1.1 is $1.99 and available through the App Store.

Boinx Software today announced the availability of iStopMotion 2.5, a stop-motion animation and time-lapse capture application that now features a brand new tilt/shift filter. A bit of a misnomer, the “tilt-shift” filter helps users achieve a miniature-scale model effect in their time-lapse sequences. (To clarify, you can achieve a similar effect with a tilt lens, but a tilt/shift lens is a more complex tool that can be used for other purposes too, including perspective control.) Additional product updates include full support for new Canon DSLR camera models and HDV camera support in iStopMotion Pro when Logic Studio or Final Cut Studio is installed. Version 2.5 also boasts a new ‘Send to iMovie’ functionality in the file menu, for quick and easy export of your stop motion animations to iMovie 8 or later. iStopMotion 2.5 is available now via the website below. The update to version 2.5 is free for all current owners of a valid iStopMotion 2 licence.

Sony has posted a firmware update for its Handycam NEX-VG10E E-mount camcorder that allows it to autofocus with A-mount lenses. The camcorder was able to accept A-mount lenses from day one, via an adapter, but so far it has not been able to autofocus with them. Available now for download, the free firmware update adds AF support with 14 A-mount SAM and SSM lens models. The firmware update can be obtained from the website below. Note that you need to download a separate firmware update for the LA-EA1 adapter as well.

Website: Sony NEX-VG10E Camcorder Firmware Update

Akvis has updated its ArtSuite effects collection to version 6.6. The new version includes some bug fixes and a new Christmas Pack of decorative photo frames. This pack includes 50 hand painted frames suited to holiday photos. In addition to frames, Akvis ArtSuite also contains various photo effects such as black-and-white conversion, selective colouring and colour replacement etc. Akvis ArtSuite Plugin sells for $49; Akvis ArtSuite Standalone for $ 69.

Global Delight has released Photo Delight 1.0, an iPad application that has a beautifully designed virtual canvas to place your color photographs on and get going. You can also add colour to any part of the automatically converted black-and-white photograph with simple swipes of your finger and see the effect. Photo Delight also comes with a smart integration with Facebook allowing you to import pictures from your own or your friends’ account. Photo Delight 1.0 is $1.99 and available through the App Store in the Photography category.

Cooliris today announced Liveshare 1.1, a new mobile application that allows people to post photos taken with their mobile phones to a live, real-time stream and share them with their friends using the Cooliris 3D Wall. Available today for Android and on the web at liveshare.com, the new version of Liveshare by Cooliris for iOS will also be available soon.

Website: Liveshare

Pixel Genius has announced Photokit Sharpener 2.0, a new update slated to ship by the end of the year. In addition to improving the sharpening effect routines, Photokit Sharpener 2.0 adds all new functionality and new effects. The PixelGenius Toolbox dialogue simplifies the processing, provides a thumbnail and 1:1 previews and offers integrated batching capability. Also new to Photokit Sharpener 2.0 is the ability to have multi-layered effects reduced to a single layer for file size savings. Upgrade pricing for current Photokit Sharpener 1.x users provides a 70% discount for an upgrade price of $29.99. Users who purchased Photokit Sharpener 1.x on or after 1st October 2010 are eligible to receive a free upgrade to Photokit Sharpener 2.0.

Nik Software has updated Sharpener Pro 3.0 and Dfine 2.0 to support 64-bit applications. These two plug-ins are the last to receive this update, meaning that Nik Software’s entire range is compatible with 64-bit environments now. For registered users of Sharpener Pro 3.0 and Dfine 2.0, the updates are available as free downloads at the website below.

Akvis has released version 1.5 of Akvis Nature Art. Described by its developers as “an excellent tool for imitating the magnificence of natural phenomena”, AKVIS NatureArt lets photographers choose from six nature effects including rain, water, lightning, clouds, fire and Sun. Version 1.5 introduces the option of changing the colour of lightning bolts and coluds in the Lightning and Colours effects, respectively, and adds new languages to the program’s interface. The software is now available in seven languages including English, French, German, Russian, Italian, Portugese and Japanese. Available as a standalone program or as a plug-in to an image editor, Akvis NatureArt costs €55 / $72, with version 1.5 being a free update to existing users.

Apple has just released an update to Snow Leopard, which adds system-level raw support for ten new digital cameras. The additional cameras supported by MacOS X 10.6.5 include the Canon EOS 60D, Powershot S95, Hasselblad H4D-40, Nikon D3100, Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5, Sony DSLR-A290, A560, A580, A33 (pictured) and A55.

Website: Apple

The new AutoStitch 3.1 brings significant improvements in panoramic photography to users of the iPhone 4 and the new iPod touch 4G. While AutoStitch has already been widely used on these new devices, Version 3.1 introduces some important new features, including multi-tasking to complete a stitsch while a user runs other apps, improved Facebook uploads and the option of entering a caption directly from the app. Many other small interface improvements and bug fixes are included. AutoStitch 3.1 is $2.99 and available through the App Store.

Application Gap has announced that its product, Easy Release 1.8 for iOS, is the first application approved by Getty Images, Inc for creating digital model and property releases. Getty announced its approval on 9th November via its creative contributor website. Note that Getty has only approved Easy Release for iOS version 1.8.100814 (the current version available in Apple’s App Store). Robert Giroux, founder of ApplicationGap, says “Since its release in March 2010, Easy Release has gained wide and enthusiastic acceptance from professional photographers.  While many stock agencies have for months been accepting model and property releases created with Easy Release, approval by Getty Images means far more professionals will be able to take advantage of our application to save time and money.”

MediaPad Pro is a new app for the Apple iPad which, accordig to its developers, will “revolutionise” the presentation of professional portfolios. The app comes equipped with features such as a fully customisable interface, offering instant access to showcase a selection of work and even edit presentations on the spot. MediaPad Pro is available now on iTunes for $14.99.

FX Photo Studio 3.0 for iPhone and iPod Touch is now available on the App Store. This update adds 31 new photo effects and filters, and further simplifies the editing and sharing of pictures, letting users mix and tune photo effects hundreds different ways. One can apply multiple effects to an image and use the multi-step undo option if not satisfied with the results. The app is priced at $2.99.