WD’s My Passport Studio portable hard drives are now available for Mac users. My Passport Studio portable drives are offered in capacities of 320 GB and 250 GB, feature FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 interfaces, and include a soft drawstring carrying bag for protection. “We designed the My Passport Studio portable drives to work seamlessly with Apple’s Time Machine, making this drive an ideal storage solution for creative pros on-the-go who require high performance storage to back up and carry their massive amounts of digital content,” said Jim Welsh, vice president and general manager of WD’s branded products and consumer electronics groups. The My Passport Studio portable drive with 250 GB capacity is $159.99 and 320 GB is $219.99.

Jalbum 8.0 offers entirely new capabilities for photo editing and improved organization of photos. It now covers the whole work-flow from organizing and editing of photos to publishing photo albums online, and it’s still free. “Adding photo editing to Jalbum is a natural step, since most users want to use one tool for their photo management. Answering 25,000 user e-mails gives me a good idea of what our users are looking for” says David Ekholm, Jalbum’s founder. Jalbum consists of freeware album creator software, free hosting and a creative community.

PopPhoto have reviewed the new Canon EF-S 55-250mm lens, which incorporates a 4-stop Image Stabilizer to combat image blur caused by camera shake and slow shutter speeds.

“A natural for globe-trotting vacationers and soccer parents, this is the obvious second lens for Canon EOS 40D and Rebel XSi owners. Clearly it and the 18-55mm IS make an attractive team that promises sharp pictures in dicey light across an amply wide 13.9X zoom range. And you can’t beat that price.”

Website: PopPhoto - Canon EF-S 55-250mm Review

Nikon UK has increased its spring cashback offer on the Nikon D60 by 50%, with up to £90 / €120 off. For purchases made between 22nd – 28th May 2008, there’s a £60 (€75) saving on the D60 single lens kit, and £90 (€120) on the D60 twin lens kit. Look out for the promotional voucher which will be available in selected national newspapers over the bank holiday, as well as selected stores across the country and on the Nikon website.

The Sony MicroVault Click is a new range of USB sticks incorporating a neat ‘click’ design to uncover and retract the USB connector. MicroVault Click Excellence is designed with business professionals in mind, offering up to 31MB/s read and 11MB/s write speeds. The colourful mid-range MicroVault Click line-up offers Hi-Speed USB 2.0 data transfer and storage capacity from 2GB up to 16GB. The MicroVault Click and Click Excellence ranges are available from May 2008 and come with 5 years European warranty.

Save up to £120 when you buy Photoshop CS3 or Photoshop CS3 Extended together with Photoshop Lightroom. The discount is available only when Lightroom and Photoshop CS3 or Photoshop CS3 Extended are purchased simultaneously from the Adobe Online Store, and only for customers with shipping addresses in the UK.

Serif’s powerful but affordable desktop publishing and graphics design software is now available in US retail outlets nationwide. The four programs, PagePlus X3, WebPlus X2, DrawPlus X2 and PhotoPlus X2, rival those of their competitors – Microsoft, Adobe and Corel – in functionality, but are more accessible due to their sub $100 price point and ease-of-use. PhotoPlus X2 offers an array of professional-level and dynamic photo editing tools. The four Serif programs range in price from $79.99 to $99.99.

The BODA lens bag is now available in the US retail market, as of Spring 2008. BODA DRY is a fully weather proof line of bags, which is sure to further revolutionize the way active photographers approach their assignments. BODA are also offering a a 10% Discount through June 30th 2008 - just visit their website and use the Promo Code: PR0521

Win an Olympus E-3 camera or a £1000 Supercheque Travel and Retail voucher in the 18th Annual TNT Magazine Travel Photography Awards. Photographs submitted should encompass the spirit of travel and be representative of different cultures, lifestyles, landscapes and people that one has contact with while on the road. All finalists will be published in a special edition of TNT Magazine and the photography finalist’s work will be exhibited for paid commission sales. The competition closes on August 8th.

The Pentax Optio W60 is a new fully waterproof, 10 megapixel digital camera with 5x zoom lens and 28mm wide-angle capability. The Pentax W60 can operate up to 13 feet underwater for two hours and at extreme temperatures well below freezing. The new Digital Wide function merges two shots into one image for ultra-wide-angle image capture (equivalent to a focal length of 21mm in 35mm format). The High-Quality Movie mode offers HD resolution up to 1280 x 720 pixels, comparable to a 720p HDTV. The Pentax Optio W60 will be available in July 2008 for $329.95 in a choice of two colors, Ocean Blue and Silver.

The Fujifilm FinePix Z200fd is a new, 19.8mm thick, 10 megapixel compact digital camera with a 5x zoom lens. The Z200fd also features Face Detection technology, intelligent red-eye removal and Dual Image Stabilisation, and two self-timer modes: Couple Timer and Group Timer. The Fujifilm FinePix Z200fd will be available from UK retailers from August. Pricing will be announced nearer to the date of the launch. In the US, the FinePix Z200fd will debut in September at a retail price of $299.95.

The Fujifilm A850 is a new entry-level digital camera offering 8 megapixels, a 3x zoom lens and ISO 800 sensitivity at full resolution. Image Intelligence processing, 14 selectable scene modes, icon-based Graphical User Interface and complete the major specifications. The Fujifilm A850 will be available from retailers from July. Pricing will be announced nearer to the date of the launch.

Hasselblad are offering up to $5000 off the price of a new H3DII when you trade in your old 35mm DSLR. The offer is valid between now and June 30, 2008, and you can receive up to $5000 off, dependant upo how many megapixels your 35mm DSLR camera has:

Up to 6.9mp (1000 USD/EUR Trade-in) (£700 Trade-in)
7mp-9.9mp (3000 USD/EUR Trade-in) (£2100 Trade-in)
10mp-15.9mp (4000 USD/EUR Trade-in) (£2900 Trade-in)
16mp-21.1mp (5000 USD/EUR Trade-in) (£3600 Trade-in)

Website: Hasselblad 35mm Trade-in

dispatches is a new quarterly magazine edited by journalist-author Mort Rosenblum and acclaimed photographer Gary Knight. A close-to-the-news journal, dispatches takes a hard look at vital issues facing an imperilled world. The premier issue, In America, explores the United States from the inside out and the outside in. Each issue of dispatches focuses on one critical subject — the next is Beyond Iraq. dispatches costs £10 per issue, with the Premier issue available in May 2008.

The fourth edition of the PhotographyBB Online Magazine has just been released. “This month we’re taking it to the next level by including photographic shooting techniques, a trip to Vancouver, and even more tutorials than last month, including Photoshop, Elements, and even a Dreamweaver (for the photographer) tutorial!” commented Editor Dave Seeram. PhotographyBB is available to download now in either PDF or ZIP formats.

Shuttertalk have reviewed the Asus Eee PC review, a 7 inch laptop that weighs less than 1kg and costs just £220 / $400.

“Image editing is where it starts to get tricky though. These days 800 x 480 pixels of resolution is hardly sufficient, and it shows. The two floating tool panels of The GIMP take up almost all of the screen real estate, and the image window has to be moved on top of the tool panels to be used. In the UFRAW plugin, certain elements of the page (such as the action buttons) do not fit on-screen and the window has to be dragged around to view them. In Picasa’s edit mode even, the “image tray” is obscured by the actions panel on the left.”

Website: Shuttertalk - Asus Eee PC Review

Steves Digicams have reviewed the Pentax Optio E50, a new 8 megapixel entry-level digital camera with numerous automatic functions.

“Outdoor quality from the Pentax E50 is good. The images are well exposed, and the colors are bright and crisp. The 3x optical zoom, with a 35mm equivalent of 37.5-112.5mm, is great for shooting landscapes, group and individual photographs, but it is not enough to get you closer to distant objects. At the wide end of the zoom, you will see a moderate amount of barrel distortion and some vignetting. You will also see some edge softness throughout the zoom range.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Pentax Optio E50 Review

Epson’s new SX400 and SX200 all-in-one printers offer cost-effective printer, scanner and copier functionality in a stylish and compact unit. Both the SX400 and SX200 feature individual ink cartridges for cost-efficient printing, and use use Epson’s pigment-based DURABrite Ultra Ink for prints that can last up to 200 years when stored in a photo album. The Epson SX400 additionally includes a 6.3cm crystal-clear LCD viewer. The Epson SX400 costs £119.99 and the Epson SX200 £79.99, both available in June 2008.

Epson’s Focal Points aims to inform and inspire users of Epson’s wide-format printers. Focal Points features written and video stories on how creative professionals are obtaining success with Epson printers. “The first round of stories, images and videos allow viewers to experience recent exhibitions in some of the most prestigious galleries and museums in Europe and North America that they otherwise may not have had the opportunity to see. The accounts are also a testament to the overwhelming trust leading artists have in Epson Professional Products.” said Dan Steinhardt, Professional Imaging, Epson America, Inc.

Face to Face: Rick Sammon’s Complete Guide to Photographing People offers proven techniques and tips for photographing people. Sammon’s new book comes stocked with his extraordinary images of people from around the world, including Papua New Guinea, Namibia, Cuba, Mongolia, and Bhutan.  “You’ll learn how to photograph people in low light and in bright light, with a flash and without a flash. You’ll see how reflectors and diffusers can turn a snapshot into a great shot. You’ll understand the difference between an environmental portrait (a picture of the person in his or her environment) and a portrait—and the difference between taking and making a picture.” explains Sammon. Face to Face: Rick Sammon’s Complete Guide to Photographing People costs $34.99 / £21.99.