The Canon Speedlite 430EX II is a high-powered compact flashgun with a guide number of 43. Replacing the Canon Speedlite 430EX, the Speedlite 430EX II features an inbuilt wide panel to allow coverage suitable for wide angle lenses to 14mm. Used in Manual mode, the Speedlite 430EX II offers settings in 1/3 stop increments for increased precision of operation. The Canon430EX II is available from the end of July 2008 priced at £209.99 / €279.99.

The Epson Stylus S20 is stylish, compact and affordable printer with individual ink cartridges. The Epson S20 uses Epson DURABrite Ultra Ink, with individual ink cartridges from £5.99 each. Epson’s PhotoEnhance technology automatically enhances colour settings to improve the overall tones and contrasts. Mark Robinson, Senior Product Manager at Epson UK, commented: “The Epson Stylus S20 offers a competitive price for customers seeking an easy to use, high-quality printer, for everyday printing needs.  However, Epson has not sacrificed any of its core technologies; the Stylus S20 benefits from Epson DURABrite Ultra Ink and delivers laser-like text and superb photos.” The Epson Stylus S20 costs £39.99 and will be in available July 2008.

CameraLabs have reviewed the Olympus Zuiko Digital 25mm 1:2.8, a tiny new Four Thirds lens equivalent to a focal length of 50mm.

“Ultimately most DSLR owners consider a standard focal length lens at some point for their collection, and for Four Thirds owners, that means something with a focal length of around 25mm. The pancake hits that particular nail on the head while additionally boasting very slim dimensions and light weight. As a standard lens alone we can recommend it, but if you have one of the smaller Olympus bodies and value portability, then it’s an unbeatable choice. Indeed we’d say it’s mandatory if you bought an E-4xx for its compact dimensions.”

Website: CameraLabs - Olympus Zuiko Digital 25mm Review

Microdia have launched a 64Gb compact flash card, enough capacity to store 19,000 20Mb images! Unveiled at the Australian PMA show, the 64Gb Microdia 300 Xtra Elite card offers read/Write transfer rates of up to 45MB/sec (300x rated) and is compatible with UDMA-enabled digital SLR cameras. Microdia’s 64Gb compactFlash will be available in Australia from July, but there’s no word yet on either price (presumably huge) or worldwide release dates.

Website: Microdia - 300 XTRA ELITE Cards

The Gorillapod Go-Go from Joby is the newest addition to its award-winning product line of Gorillapod tripods. Handheld devices, from cell phones, to MP3/MP4 players, to PDAs, to digital cameras, can be attached anywhere using the Gorillapod Go-Go. This minature tripod is made up of ball-and-socket joints and covered with rubberized rings to provide extreme gripping capability. The Joby Gorillapod costs £26.99 including VAT.

Hasselblad is now accepting submissions for the 2009 Hasselblad Masters Awards. For 2009, winners will be chosen from submissions in each of the following ten categories: architecture, editorial, fashion/beauty, fine art, general photography, nature/landscape, portrait, product, up and coming, and wedding/social. Submissions for all categories will be accepted from any established professional photographer, using any large and medium format camera. The closing date for submissions is 1st January 2009.

Final year graduate students from the University of Kent have organised an exciting photography exhibition which will take place at Trumans Brewery in London’s East End. The venu and time are F Block T5, Brick Lane from the 12th to 16th June, 10am to 7pm. One of the students, Helen Ives, says, “The focus has been on development of individual and intuitive photography where we have been encouraged to develop our own personal practice.  Our exhibition at Free Range, Brick Lane, will bring to fruition our energy, imagination and passion for photography”. The high standard of work has attacted generous sponsorship from various sources including PhotographyBLOG, University of Kent, West Kent College, Blake Friedmann, dstl, Westfield, Francis Lincoln, Maison Mignon, Mediatek, Chirotic and Windsor Print. This is the inaugural year of this top-up degree based at West Kent College, Tonbridge. For further information please visit their website: http://www.the-exhibitionists.com

Fujifilm have released a new firmware update, version 1.0.3, for the Finepix F480 camera. The firmware (Ver.1.02 to Ver.1.03) update fixes the following issues.

- After taking pictures of the scene under bright condition, such as the picture of sun, occasionally next picture may be shot with underexposure condition.

Website: Fujifilm F480 1.03 Firmware Update

Regularly backing up your data is important for everyone, but especially so for photographers. Losing either all your memories or your means of income is a frightening prospect, yet numerous studies have revealed that relatively few of us have a daily backup routine. Enter NTI Shadow 3, an award-winning and simple-to-use backup software application which is compatible with Windows and Mac platforms. NTI Shadow can continuously monitor and backup all changed files, or be scheduled for a certain time. The latest version includes backup to any optical media, including Blu-ray, useful now that the HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray debate has finally been resolved. Best of all, NTI Shadow 3 is available for just $29.99, so there really is no excuse to start backing up your photos right now. Jon Canfield guides you through the process in our NTI Shadow 3 review.

Website: NTI Shadow 3 Review

Stop press: NTI are running a special promotion until June 8th, where NTI Shadow 3 is completely free!

Website: NTI Shadow 3 for Free

DSLR Doctor have published their top 10 tips for taking fantastic photos after dark with your DSLR camera.

“The best shooting mode to use for night photos is also the scariest for many DSLR owners – Manual exposure mode. The main reason for using this particular mode is that it’s usually the way to access the Bulb setting, which in turn allows you use shutter speeds longer than 30 seconds. Also, you’ll often find that the exposure suggested by the camera in Aperture or Shutter priority modes doesn’t give the most appealing results. Using Manual mode, you can quickly experiment with different shutter speed and apertures, finding the best combination for the subject that you’re shooting.”

Website: DSLR Doctor - Take Better Night Photos

Camera thieves have been apprehended after an Eye-Fi card uploaded pictures of them. Owner Alison DeLauzon looged onto her Eye-Fi account after her camera had disappeared while on vacation, only to find her holiday snaps uploaded along with photos of the two men who had stolen her camera kit. The wireless Eye-Fi SD card inside her Canon compact had automatically logged onto an available unsecured network and uploaded the images without the thieves even realising!

Website: Reuters - Lost cameras “phone home” to catch thieves

The new Oregon Scientific ATC5K and ATC3K are hands-free, waterproof action cameras. The ATC action cameras easily strap on to just about anything - a helmet, arm, leg, bike, canoes and more. “We’ve taken Oregon Scientific’s heritage in making award-winning electronic products for the home to the great outdoors, creating one-of-a-kind, affordable all-terrain cameras that action enthusiasts of all kinds will enjoy,” says Bill Uzell, Executive Vice President for Oregon Scientific. The ATC3K will be available in July for $149.99 and the ATC5K in August for $199.99.

World renowned social photographer Larry Herman is taking his “Waged London” exhibition on a national tour, sponsored by Ilford Photo. The tour will commence in autumn and will appear at a number of specially selected colleges and galleries across the UK. “I am genuinely excited by the chance to exhibit some of my work in progress from Waged London to students across the UK. It is always an honour to help educate and inspire a new generation of young and creative minds who, potentially, could become the great photographers of tomorrow.” commented Herman.

Douglas Kirkland: Creative Inspiration is a new video course from lynda.com featuring one of the most renowned photographers of the 20th Century. Kirkland shares his insights on photography craft and technique, gleaned from 50 years photographing the entertainment industry. “Douglas Kirkland brings a lifetime of photography experience to this video course, having created some of the most iconic celebrity images of the last half-century,” says Lynda Weinman, CEO of lynda.com. Members of the lynda.com Online Training Library receive on-demand access to this entire course, while non-members can access 10% for free.

Steves Digicams have reviewed the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S780 entry-level camera, which offers 8 megapixels, 3x optical zoom lens and 2.5 inch LCD screen.

“The S780 captures nice photos outdoors. The exposures were descent, some instances looked a little bright (over exposed), and the color saturation is nice and vivid. The 3x optical zoom lens, with a 35mm equivalent of 35-105mm, is great for shooting landscape and portrait photography on the wide end, and the zoom end it good for singling out an individual or for framing your landscape shots. It is not, however, enough to bring your distant objects much closer. On the wide end of the zoom you will notice some barrel distortion and some slight chromatic aberrations (purple fringing) throughout the range.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S780 Review

DxO Optics Pro v5.1 is now available for both Windows and Mac platforms. Version 5.1 offers considerable improvements in stability and extra features, including a more flexible Pace Interlok protection that doesn’t require installation of an Interlok driver. DxO Optics 5.1 also now supports 3 new cameras and 35 new DxO Modules, including the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi/450D and Nikon D60. In addition, to celebrate DxO Optics Pro’s 4th birthday, and the arrival of version 5.1, all customers purchasing an upgrade to DxO Optics Pro v5.1 and activating it before 1st July 2008 will receive DxO Film Pack for free.

DPNow are giving away an Olympus E-520 twin-lens kit in their latest monthly prize draw. All you need to do to enter is subscribe to their email newsletter.

Website: DPNow - Win a twin-lens kit Olympus E-520 DSLR

The Sanyo Xacti HD1010 is an ultra-compact, full 1920 x 1080 high-definition digital camcorder with a 300fps slow-motion video mode. The HD1010 features “Face Chaser” face detection technology for both video and stills and 7fps sequential shooting for superb action photography. There’s also a 10x optical zoom lens (38-380mm range), image stabilizer, 2.7 inch widescreen LCD screen, and simultaneous shooting of 4-megapixel still images and HD movie clips. The Sanyo HD1010 will be available in the USA in July 2008 for $799.99.

Flip Video Mino is a tiny camcorder that provides high-quality, portable, and easy-to-use video. The Flip Mino weighs just over three ounces and is smaller than most mobile phones. With 2GB of on-board flash memory, Flip Video Mino allows consumers to capture up to 60 minutes of high-quality video. In addition to quickly posting videos on sharing and social networking sites, you can also email videos and video greeting cards. The Flip Video Mino costs $179.99 and is available now.

The web-based digital photo application RocketLife has beaten four of it’s main rivals, CVS, Kodak EasyShare Gallery, Shutterfly and Snapfish, in a recent Infotrends study. In a test of independent consumers, RocketLife “outscored the other four platforms on all eight of the attributes on which InfoTrends obtained consumer evaluations.” Users felt that one of RocketLife’s greatest advantages was the speed and ease of getting started. “In our comparative sample, the majority of people placed more photos in their RocketLife book and got more accomplished within the same time period using RocketLife.” said Alan Bullock of InfoTrends.