Microsoft Pro Photo Tools is a free program that makes geotagging available for all photographers. Microsoft have also released Expression Media 2, a new version of its digital asset management software. The Pro Photo Tools and Expression Media 2 are designed to work together to help photographers better manage their digital image collections with new comprehensive digital asset management functionality including geotagging. “These two products really simplify the process of geotagging and organizing digital photos by location, even without a GPS device,” said Josh Weisberg, director of the Rich Media Group at Microsoft. “We’ll continue to look for ways to simplify features like geotagging that help keep photographers organized.”

Nikon has increased its spring cashback offer on the D60 DSLR camera by 50%. Valid for purchases made between 1st - 7th May 2008, you can now save up to £90 on the D60 (twin lens kit). Customers should look out for the promotional voucher which will be available in selected national newspapers over the bank holiday.

Movie Edit Pro 14 now ships with a free copy of Reallusion Crazy Talk 4 worth £29.99. Movie Edit Pro 14 is an all-round video solution for users with high demands. Crazy Talk 4 allows you to create a virtual cast of live talking characters from just a single photograph. Movie Edit Pro 14 with Crazy Talk 4 is available in the UK from 1st May for £59.99.

Colour Confidence has expanded its selection of viewing booths and controlled lighting solutions, offering accurate colour assessment for photographers. Products range from the desktop Colour Confidence GrafiLite – a natural lighting solution for just £60/€99 inc. VAT – to full-size specialist proofing stations.  “The benefits of monitor calibration and printer profiling are well known, but if you are viewing prints or proofs in harsh artificial lighting, colours can become distorted and the benefits lost. Standardised lighting not only allows colour professionals to accurately assess their work, but also provides clients viewing proofs with a quantifiable reference point”. commented Simon Prais, Technical Director at Colour Confidence.

Scott Kelby’s The Digital Photography Book is the best-selling digital photography book ever. With over 250,000 copies currently in print, The Digital Photography Book includes nearly 200 of the most closely guarded photographic “tricks of the trade”. “Scott Kelby’s book continues to resonate with readers and photographers of different skill levels,” said Nancy Aldrich-Ruenzel, Publisher and Vice President of Peachpit and the Pearson Technology Group. “With his approachable style, Scott’s hard-earned practical advice on digital photography has his readers constantly clamoring for more from their beloved author.”

Ricoh have released a new firmware update, version 2.02, for the GR Digital II compact digital camera. Version 2.02 fixes the following bug:

- After taking a picture with a long exposure time (1 second or slower) in the M mode (manual exposure mode), and then even if you take a picture in the Auto shooting mode, the image processing for the long exposure time will be performed.

Website: Ricoh GR Digital II Firmware Update 2.02

TrustedReviews have reviewed the Canon Digital IXUS 85 IS, a 10 megapixel cameras with 3x zoom lens and optical image stabilizer.

“As one might expect from a premium-priced camera like this, image quality is generally very good, but it is not without one or two annoying problems. The lens is very sharp and detailed over most of the frame, but the corners are soft and blurry, and barrel distortion at wide angle is much more pronounced than I would expect from the usually excellent Canon optics. Likewise image processing, normally another Canon strong-point, also has a couple of notable problems. Colour rendition is superb, with good detail even in saturated bright colours, but high-ISO noise control is surprisingly poor, with visible noise effects from as low as 200 ISO.”

Website: TrustedReviews - Canon Digital IXUS 85 IS Review

The 6 lucky winners of our fantastic April 2008 Newsletter contest have been randomly selected from the PhotographyBLOG Newsletter subscriber list.

Helen Williams wins a Lowepro Fastpack 250 bag

Neil Hall, Ian Pullinger, chihung lau, mort friedman and Ann Gould each win a signed copy of The Digital Photography Companion

The winners of the April 2008 PhotographyBLOG Competition have been selected. The theme for April was “Mirror Image” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 5 winners:

1st Place
manhattan mirror by leeroboo22

Prize: Photobird.com one-year subscription with 500Mb of storage space
Kindly donated by Photobird.com.
http://www.photobird.com

Purchase a Ricoh R8 camera in the UK between 1st May and 12th June 2008 and get £50 cash back. The R8 features 10 megapixels, a slim body and 7.1x optical wide-angle zoom lens. All claims must be received no later than 3rd July 2008.

Canson Infinity is a brand new range of inkjet fine art paper, available in 14 different medias. The Canson Infinity range with its unique coating properties has been engineered to allow optimum color gamut, an incomparable D-Max and ensure maximum resistance to aging. Cut sheets and rolls up to 60” width will be available for shipment in July. “Our range, tested by the Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc., has been developed with a new process that has enabled us to get an un-rivalled whiteness without using Optical Brightening Agents on many of our papers.” commented Heidi Vincent, International Product Manager for Digital fine Art and Photo.

The first-ever Photodex ProShow Conference is being held in Austin, Texas from August 16-18. This conference and training event will focus on the popular ProShow slide show product line. “The idea for the ProShow Conference grew from an overwhelmingly positive response from our ProShow training seminars over the past year. This three-day conference is a chance for us to meet our users’ requests and provide them with an annual forum to meet, share ideas and explore new ways of creating slide shows together,” said Paul Schmidt, President of Photodex Corporation. Early registration discounts are available until July 16th, 2008 and offer $100 off the price of attending.

Canon will sponsor the Getty Images Gallery in London, UK from 2008 to 2010. Getty Images Gallery is London’s largest independent photographic gallery and was founded in 1996. Louise Garczewska, Director, Getty Images Gallery, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Canon as the headline sponsor of the Gallery. Canon’s professionalism, commitment and dedication to imagery makes them an ideal partner and we look forward to working with them to continue showcasing further iconic exhibitions.”

FotoRetina is a new “editable interactive website” for creative professionals. FotoRetina has features that allow photographers to showcase their work online with tools to create galleries. You can add and sort images, create clients, assign galleries to clients, add and edit content pages and style the homepage with different styling options. Website users can also play slideshows with the ability to manage the slide playback time and download images.

Website: http://www.fotoretina.com

DigiCamReview have reviewed the Ricoh R8, a new 10 megapixel digital camera with a 7.1 wide-angle zoom lens.

“The Ricoh R8 looks and feels great, and is capable of taking some great photos. The camera has a sharp wide angle 7.1x optical zoom lens, and is almost ultra compact, similar in size to other ultra compact cameras such as the IXUS 90 IS. Ricoh appear to have moved this camera upmarket with a newly designed body, and improved hand grip and control dial. The camera features built in anti-shake which helps keep pictures sharp, and has one of the sharpest screens I’ve ever seen. The camera still suffers from a poorly positioned flash, and noticable noise levels at all ISO settings. However, if you can look past the noise and can work with the camera - then it is capable of producing some excellent results.”

Website: DigiCamReview - Ricoh R8 Review

Website: Read our Ricoh R8 Review

Canon has released a new firmware update, v1.1.2, for the 1Ds Mark III DSLR camera. This firmware update incorporates the following improvements:

  1. Includes the following new features that were frequently requested by customers to the new firmware.
      - Direct selection of AF points by the Multi-controller is added to C.Fn III-9.
      - Alternate access to Exposure compensation is added to C.Fn IV-3.
  2. Improves the stability of AF accuracy in AI servo AF when shooting extremely low-contrast subjects.

Website: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III Firmware Update 1.1.2

Canon has released a new firmware update, version 1.2.3, for the EOS-1D Mark III DSLR camera. This firmware update incorporates the following improvements:

  1. Includes the following new features that were frequently requested by customers to the new firmware.
      - Direct selection of AF points by the Multi-controller is added to C.Fn III-9.
      - Alternate access to Exposure compensation is added to C.Fn IV-3.
      - With the camera’s External Speedlite control menu, Flash function settings can be used to set the Wireless setting and Zoom.
  2. Improves the stability of AF accuracy in AI servo AF when shooting extremely low-contrast subjects.

Website: Canon EOS-1D Mark III Version 1.2.3 Firmware Update

The SeaLife DC800 is a new 8 megapixel digital camera that can be used down to 200 feet underwater. The DC800 features a wide-angle optical lens with 4x optical zoom, 2.7-inch LCD screen, auto focus up to 2 inches (5 cm) and a video mode for capturing high-resolution digital video with sound. “With its new features and upgrade in technology geared towards the scuba diver and underwater enthusiast, the DC800 is sure to add a new dimension of fun in and out of water.” said Joe Ifi, SeaLife’s director of sales and marketing. The SeaLife DC800 is available now at a suggested list price of $549.95.

AKVIS Sketch 7 converts photos to realistic pencil and watercolor drawings. Version 7 offers special effects that make the final photo more impressive, including creating a blend of the final drawing and the original image. AKVIS Sketch 7 is available as a stand-alone application, as well as a plugin to a photo editor. AKVIS Sketch 7 Home License costs $72 USD / 55 Euros.

Ilford Photo has announced a special initiative in support of ultra large format (ULF) film photographers as part of their “Defend the Darkroom” campaign. Taking place from mid-April to 30th June 2008, this window allows photographers to order ILFORD PHOTO ULF sheet film products from a select group of dealers without the worry of meeting minimum order quantities. Susan Harlin (work pictured) commented: “ULF may be a fairly specialist method of black and white photography but its practitioners are highly passionate and the medium is enjoying a resurgence with a new generation of photographers now being drawn to its benefits.”