AKVIS has released version 11 of AKVIS Sketch for Windows and Macintosh. The software converts photos to colour and black-and-white pencil drawings and watercolor paintings. Version 11 offers the ability to save guidings lines made by the stroke direction tool to a file. Two new interface modes (Express and Advanced) have also been added, and the plugin version is now compatible with Photoshop CS4-CS5 64-bit on both Windows and Macintosh. Express mode provides just the features and parameters you need to quickly obtain a satisfactory result, while Advanced mode reveals the features and parameters hidden in Express mode, giving the user access to the full functionality of Sketch. Users who own versions 9 and 10 of Sketch can upgrade for free; while users of older versions need to pay an upgrade fee. New users can purchase a licence for $72 / €55.

ACD Systems have released a second, free ACDSee Pro 3 update that provides additional flexibility when processing digital images and publishing those images online. The upgrade brings netbook compatibility, improved raw processing performance, workflow customisation, online enhancements and other improvements. ACDSee Pro 3 is available for a free 30-day trial and for purchase at $169.99.

Website: ACDSee

Photodex has released a new iPad device output profile for its ProShow slide show software. The ProShow Device plug-in works directly with ProShow Gold and Producer to create device-ready versions of a user’s slide shows. Now any ProShow user can easily sync their slide shows to their iPad and watch them play back full screen and in HD without the need for complicated formatting or conversions. The ProShow Device plug-in is available for $19.95.

Microsoft and Phase One today announced that Phase One has acquired the Microsoft Expression Media product. Expression Media is a digital asset management application used to catalog and organize photos, video and music for effortless retrieval, presentation and sharing. Under the terms of the agreement, Phase One takes full ownership of the Expression Media product. To ensure a smooth transition for Expression Media customers, Microsoft will continue to provide support to retail customers for 90 days. Phase One will begin offering support for the Expression Media product after the 90-day transition period. Microsoft customers who are currently using Expression Media under an Enterprise Agreement will continue to receive support from Microsoft through the term of their agreements. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

FileTagSleuth from Ulfwood Ltd. enables photographers to search all of their various photo files by shutter speed, exposure, and anything else stored in the EXIF. Paul F. Wood of Ulfwood said, “Cataloguing and searching [...] photo files can be incredibly time consuming. FileTagSleuth lets you search thousands of files quickly - even if you don’t know the entire name of what you’re looking for and just have a small bit of the text. FileTagSleuth will unlock the secrets of your files, and quickly show you what you’re looking for and which file it’s in.” The program is available as a free download from the website below.

Website: FileTag Sleuth

Kubota Image Tools has announced the general availability of its newly enhanced Dashboard 3 Pro software, as well as the brand new Kubota Texture Tools and the re-released Kubota Sloppy Borders. Dashboard 3 Pro is a floating palette within Photoshop that acts like a mini search engine for Photoshop actions, enabling photographers to manage and run their entire actions collection. The latest version of the tool includes the ability to keyword search for actions, update action descriptions and mark favorites for future use. Dashboard 3 Pro is available for immediate download through the Kubota Image Tools website. First time users can purchase the software alone for $79.

Nevercenter has released CameraBag Desktop 1.5, a free upgrade to their Mac and PC photo filter tool. The program, which emulates classic camera and film looks and processing techniques, is now capable of batch processing and allows the saving and sharing of custom filters. Version 1.5 also adds a new filter called Silver, which produces a vintage, tinted monochrome effect. CameraBag 1.5 is available as a free upgrade to registered users. New users can purchase it for $19 at the website below.

Website: Nevercenter CameraBag

Imagenomic has released its Portraiture 2 plugin for Adobe Photoshop CS5, CS5 Extended, and Elements 8. This new version adds native 64-bit support for running Portraiture from CS5 on Mac OS X, and complements Imagenomic plugin support for 64-bit Windows Vista and Windows 7. This is a free update for registered users of Portraiture for Photoshop. New users can try the Portraiture Plugin for Photoshop CS5 and Elements 8 on a 15-day free trial basis.

Website: Imagenomic

Corel UK today announced a two-day Spring sale running from May 19th to May 20th that includes offers on key products across Corel’s digital media, graphics and productivity software range. The offers include 50% off the regular price of Corel Digital Studio 2010, and 25% off Corel WinDVD Pro 2010 as well as Corel Painter 11. The two-day sale extends to other products in its software range for current Corel users such as Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3 Upgrade and Corel VideoStudio Pro X3 Upgrade with 10% off the upgrade price.

Website: Corel UK Store

X-Rite has announced i1Profiler, the company’s next generation colour profiling software and Pantone Link, a new colour swatch bridging software. Accommodating a broad range of proficiencies and expertise i1Profiler lets pre-press, publishing, digital printing and photo professionals create custom profiles for their RGB and CMYK printers, monitors and digital projectors. i1Profiler  together with PANTONE Link, introduce new UI concepts that offers an unprecedented level of flexibility to address the specific needs of users at all levels, the company claims. i1Profiler will soon be undergoing beta testing and is scheduled for release in Q4 2010.

AKVIS has released ArtWork 3.5, a piece of software that transforms photos into paintings using various techniques. This latest version introduces the ability to save guiding lines to a file , making it easier to continue editing a photo later. When guiding lines are loaded, their size is adjusted automatically to the image. AKVIS ArtWork is available as a stand-alone application, as well as a plug-in to a photo editor. In version 3.5 the plugin version of AKVIS ArtWork is now 64 bit compatible. AKVIS ArtWork Home License (plug-in or standalone) sells for $72 USD. Registered users can upgrade to version 3.5 for free.

Website: AKVIS ArtWork

Adobe has posted a release candidate of ACR 6.1 for Photoshop CS5 users. This version of Adobe Camera Raw adds support for a range of digital cameras and medium-format backs, fixes bugs and includes new lens correction functionality that can apply profile-based corrections to accommodate geometric distortions, chromatic aberration and lens vignette effects. Manual corrections for geometric distortion as well as vertical and horizontal perspective transforms are also available.

Website: Adobe Camera Raw 6.1 RC

TimeShot is a very interesting web application that allows you to “paint” with your photos. “The inspiration for this came in a talk with a friend,” TimeShot developer Tiago Cardoso says. “After doing a timelapse of sunsetting, it was cool to see what it would look like a photo that blended all the timelapse, showing daytime on one side and nighttime on the other.” The application has multiple uses, including the already mentioned timelapse photography, HDR imaging, “super slo-mo” video, focus stacking and more. While TimeShot is not the only way to achieve these effects, it promises to be easier and more fun than others.

Website: TimeShot

Hasselblad’s Phocus 2.5 for Apple computers allows users to import raw files from more than 150 DSLR cameras, and features support for most standard image file formats. The supported camera models include products from Canon, Nikon, Leica, Sony, Fuji, Olympus, and more. Photographers who use Leaf digital backs also benefit from this upgrade, with the inclusion of raw support for Leaf digital backs. Phocus 2.5 for Mac will be available for download from the Hasselblad website starting 19 May.

DxO Labs have launched DxO Optics Pro 6.2 for Windows and Mac, which supports Canon 550D and Sony Alpha DSLR-A450 in both its Standard and Elite editions, and the Canon 1D Mark IV and Nikon D3s in its Elite edition. In addition, 85 new DxO optical modules are now available to DxO Optics Pro users, supporting the following cameras: Canon 350D, 400D, 450D, 500D, 550D, 20D, 30D, 40D, 7D,1D Mark III, 1D Mark IV; Fuji S5 Pro; Nikon D3000, D40X, D50, D60, D90, D700, D3, D3s; Pentax K200D, K-7; and Sony A450. This brings the number of lens-camera combinations supported by DxO Optics Pro to 2000. The DxO Optics Pro 6.2 Standard edition costs £85, while the Elite edition is £179. These discounted prices are valid until 15 June 2010. All customers who purchased DxO Optics Pro 5 or 6 after 1 June 2009 are entitled to a free upgrade to version 6.2.

Photo gallery software “Lightbox Photo” has been re-branded to Stockbox Photo. The developers of Lightbox Photo felt there was over use of the term ‘lightbox’ in the photographic industry and less understanding of it in a wider audience.  Adrian Ellis co-founder of Stockbox Photo commented, “It became apparent that our name Lightbox Photo no longer distinguished our products and services in the marketplace as effectively as it did when we launched several years ago. Therefore, we have chosen to re-brand our software and services with the new name Stockbox Photo to better differentiate ourselves.” Stockbox Photo is available as a Standard, Professional or Enterprise Version priced from $399.

Adobe has made available a prerelease version of its Lens Profile Creator utility for Windows and Mac OS. Adobe Lens Profile Creator generates custom lens profiles for use with the Lens Correction tool in Photoshop CS5. As Adobe puts it, “a lens profile describes the types of optical aberrations that exist in a particular lens and prescribes how to correct the lens distortions in an image captured from the same lens”. These optical aberrations include geometric distortions, corner shading and chromatic aberrations. You first need to capture a set of chequerboard images with your camera (provided as part of the application package), which you can then feed into the Lens Profile Creator utility. For more information, visit the website below.

Website: Adobe Lens Profile Creator

Topaz Labs has unveiled “IntelliNoise,” a new proprietary noise reduction technology that specializes in removing image noise while recovering detail. “Removing noise is easy. The real challenge is to also recover details obscured by the noise,” explains Dr. Albert Yang, the primary innovator of IntelliNoise. “IntelliNoise analyzes patterns in the entire image to discover underlying detail and to recover it in the final result.” The new IntelliNoise technology makes its product debut in the newly upgraded Topaz DeNoise 4 plug-in, which works with a variety of host programs including Photoshop, Aperture, and Lightroom for Mac and Windows. Topaz DeNoise 4 with IntelliNoise is a free upgrade for existing DeNoise customers and retails for $79.99.

Website: Topaz DeNoise

Zoner Software has just launched Zoner Photo Studio Free, a free program that helps users easily manage pictures, edit them, and share them online. Highlights include automatic redeye removal, cropping, horizon levelling, panorama creation, one-click Quick Fix and more. Zoner Photo Studio Free is free for personal and non-commercial use on single computers running Window XP, Vista, or Windows 7.

Website: Zoner Software

Lynda.com has released 10 courses covering the products in Adobe Creative Suite 5. Course topics include Photoshop CS5, Dreamweaver CS5, Flash Professional CS5, Illustrator CS5, InDesign CS5, After Effects CS5, Adobe Premiere Pro CS5, Fireworks CS5, Encore CS5, and Soundbooth CS5 tutorials. Registered users of all Adobe Creative Suite 5 products receive a free 30-day trial membership to lynda.com, which unlocks 100 percent of the lynda.com course offerings in addition to the Creative Suite 5 tutorials.

Website: Lynda