Kodak has won three prestigious Innovations 2008 Design and Engineering Awards for the 5300 All-in-One Printer and ZD710 and V1253 cameras. Chosen by a panel of independent industry designers, engineers and journalists, the CES awards recognise superior design and engineering among the year’s most technologically advanced products.

Production of Canon EOS SLR cameras has just passed the 30 million mark, with 10 million of those digital bodies. The achievement coincides with Canon’s 70th anniversary and the 20th anniversary of the launch of its EOS line of SLR cameras. In March of 1987, Canon’s 50th anniversary, the company introduced the EOS 650 AF SLR camera (pictured), the first model of the EOS series. One for the fact-fans out there - EOS is the name of the Greek goddess of the dawn.

PCMag have reviewed the Epson PictureMate Zoom 4”x6” compact photo printer.

“There are two ways of looking at the Epson PictureMate Zoom ($199.99 direct), the high-end model of the newest generation of PictureMate dedicated photo printers. On the one hand, it’s Epson’s faster, less expensive (by $100) replacement for last year’s Editors’ Choice PictureMate Flash. On the other, it’s the first cousin to this year’s Editors’ Choice PictureMate Dash. Either way, it comes with an impeccable pedigree. More important, it lives up to expectations, earning its own Editors’ Choice for high-end small-format dedicated photo printers.”

Website: PCMag - Epson PictureMate Zoom Review

The-Digital-Picture have just reviewed the new Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens.

“For the money, the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens performs very well optically. From 18mm through 35mm or so, center sharpness is reasonable wide open and reaches its optimal sharpness at f/5.6. Corners in this focal length range are relatively sharp. Wide open center-of-the-lens performance remains similar throughout the focal length range until the long end where this lens becomes soft. At 55mm, even f/8 is not as sharp as I’d like to see. “

Website: The-Digital-Picture - Canon EF-S 18-55mm Lens Review

A new version of the Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC Lens is compatible with the Nikon D40 and D40x DSLR cameras. Now featuring a built-in motor, the new Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC lens can auto-focus with all Nikon APS-C DSLR cameras and replaces the previous version for 2008. Price in the UK is £329.99.

A free Linux version of the award-winning LightZone photo-editing software has just been released. LightZone is the first and only application of its kind spanning all three major platforms. The new Linux version has been internally tested on such popular distributions as Ubuntu, Red Hat and Debian, with others planned. “The Linux release is our latest initiative to make LightZone available to as many users on as many operating systems as possible. Light Crafts serves a diverse Linux community consisting of many creative individuals who want the same high quality, robustness and powerful commercial photo-editing tools that are available for Windows and Mac users,” said Fabio Riccardi, CEO, Light Crafts.

All of the latest versions of onOne Software’s products are now compatible with Apple’s Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5) operating system. “We are pleased to be able to provide these updates to our users for Mac OS X Leopard so quickly,” said Craig Keudell, president of onOne Software. “We appreciate the loyal support of our customers within the Mac community and we’re delighted that they will be able to benefit from the creative features of our imaging software products on the new Mac OS X Leopard operating system.”

The Creative Digital Darkroom is a new book that takes readers on an inspirational visual journey. “The camera and the digital darkroom are only some of the tools we use on our creative journey. Without the most important tool, however, the creative and curious mind, even the best camera and computer system are just lifeless jumbles of equipment and software code,” commented authors Katrin Eismann and Sean Duggan. Available online now, The Creative Digital Darkroom costs $49.99 US / £28.95 GBP.

An english language version of PhotoPerfect 2.85 photo editing software has just been released. “PhotoPerfect is a sophisticated tool designed specifically for photographers” said Ralf Hauser, CEO of Arcadia Software. “Equipped with every feature a photographer needs, the software offers a refined functionality to assist you in mastering your professional image-editing techniques, while achieving a new level of results.” The suggested retail price of PhotoPerfect is $79.99 and a free trial version is available.

10-year-old Alex Worthington from Lancaster has won the RSPCA Young Photographer Award 2007. Talking about his winning shot, Alex Worthington said: “For this picture I used all the zoom of the Olympus SP500.  This let me get very close and it makes an unusual picture. I was able to take several pictures, but I think this one is the best because the chameleon is looking at me, the contrast of colours is good and your view is drawn to the eye.” Alex wins a photoshoot with the RSPCA, plus a top of the range Olympus camera.

The RAW converter software SILKYPIX Developer Studio 3.0 has just been introduced in the USA and Canada. SILKYPIX is specifically developed for enthusiastic photographers and professional users. The program supports over 120 cameras and works on both Windows and MAC platforms. SILKYPIX Developer Studio 3.0 costs $149.00 and a free trial version is available.

Fujifilm have released a firmware update for the Fujifilm Finepix S8000fd digital compact camera. Version 1.01 incorporates the following improvements:

1. Countermeasure for PC connection between the 4GB memory card inserted camera and PC on Windows Vista.
  Data transfer from PC to the camera has been enabled under usage of FinePixViewer.

2. Fix the issues in high speed continuous Shooting function when ISO sensitivity is set to “AUTO”.
  • Exposure level shooting in low brightness condition has been corrected.
  (In some shooting condition, dark or black images are captured even in gloomy scenes.)
  • Miss description of ISO sensitivity on Exif tag has been corrected, when shooting at ISO640.
  (ISO sensitivity was recorded as “ISO64”. mistakenly.)

Website: Fujifilm Finepix S8000fd Firmware Update 1.01

With the PMA photography trade show just around the corner and aggressive Christmas competition driving down prices, it’s surprising what kind of camera you can buy for less than £150 / $300. Take the Nikon Coolpix P50 for example - 8 megapixels, 28-102mm wide-angle lens, vibration reduction, ISO 2000 and face detection is an impressive feature set for this price-point. We reviewed the Nikon P50’s more expensive brother, the P5100, a couple of months ago, and while it promised a lot on paper, it failed to really wow us. Can the Coolpix P50 avoid a similar fate? Gavin Stoker found out.

Website: Nikon Coolpix P50 Review

Bibble Pro 4.9.9 adds support for the Nikon D300, Nikon D3, Canon 1Ds Mark 3, Canon G9, Olympus E-3 and Sony A700 cameras. This release also adds tethered shooting support for all Nikon SLR’s on Intel Macs. Bibble 4 is available in both “Pro” ($129.95) and “Lite” ($69.95) versions for Windows, Macintosh (PPC/Intel as a Universal Binary) and Linux.  The Bibble 4.9.9 update is free for all current Bibble 4 customers, and new customers will also receive a free upgrade to Bibble 5, when available.

Wang Feng from China has beaten over 74,000 entrants to win the Sony Ericsson World View 2007 cameraphone photo contest. Commenting on Wang’s image, judge David Viggers said: ‘It’s a very high quality, sharp and well framed image, which blends a sense of humour with technical ability. It’s a simple, spontaneous moment captured on a camera phone to produce a visually striking, unusual image.” Merran Wrigley, Head of External Relations at Sony Ericsson, said: “Camera phone photography is being taken more and more seriously as the quality of images improve to that comparable with stand alone digital cameras. People are now using their camera phone to capture spontaneous moments that occur when they probably wouldn’t have their traditional camera.” Wang Feng has won a once in a life time photography trip for two.

The RIDATA Yego Drive is now available in 8GB capacity. This hub drive allows users to securely store data and add on more USB powered devices. Harvey Liu, Advanced Media president explains “It allows easy connection of additional USB devices. Users now have access to a virtually endless stream of data, photos, or music without running out of USB ports or continually changing devices. Additionally, units may be linked together for even greater USB connectivity and storage capacity.” The RIDATA USB Yego Drives are now available in 1GB to 4GB capacities and “are competitively street priced”.

The winners of Tamron’s “An Emotional Appeal” 2007 photo competition have been announced. “Mixed Emotions” by Lance Taylor was chosen as the Grand Prize Picture and wins a Tamron AF 18-250mm lens for a picture of his wife Jacqueline and 3-year old daughter Jillian at a beach near Corolla, North Carolina. Tamron has also just announced the “An Emotional Appeal” 2008 Photo Contest - the deadline for entries is 11/30/08.

Panasonic have released a new firmware update for the DMC-L10 DSLR camera. Version 1.1 adds the following improvements:

  1. Improved the performance of AF(Auto Focus) with Panasonic lenses. (Model Number L-ES014050,L-RS014150).
  2. Improved the performance of AE (An accuracy improvement of Auto Exposure at night scene).
  3. Improved the performance of AWB(Auto White Balance).
  4. Shortened the minimum shooting intervals on the single shooting mode.
  5. Enabled the Front/Rear dial operations in the fine white balance adjustment and the change of magnifying position on the MF Assist in Live View mode.

Website: Panasonic DMC-L10 v1.1 Firmware Update

Canon will announce new imaging products on January 24th 2008, a week before the PMA trade show starts in Las Vegas, USA. An interview with Robert Westin of Canon Sweden on the Swedish website Kamerabild.se reveals that 2008 is set to be an even bigger year for Canon than 2007, with more products being released. Westin doesn’t give any details away about what exactly will be released - recent internet rumours have suggested replacements for the Digital Rebel XTi / EOS 400D and the EOS 5D (pictured) DSLR cameras.

Website: Kamerabild.se

CameraLabs have reviewed the Olympus Stylus 790 SW, a new shockproof, waterproof digital camera.

“The Olympus 790 SW lets you confidently take photos in situations where you’d worry about other cameras, or simply be unable to take them at all. Raining? No problem. Splashes from a canoe or kayak? Fine. Dropped in the snow while skiing or boarding? No sweat. Complete submersion underwater? Why not? This makes it the ultimate type of camera for anyone who works or plays in adventurous environments, but it’s equally ideal for kids – or indeed anyone – who might knock a camera around.”

Website: CameraLabs - Olympus Stylus 790 SW Review