PMA 2007: PhotoPresets for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom are a free collection of 20 custom presets developed by Jack Davis that allow photographers who use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom to instantly apply various adjustment settings. “These presets were designed for onOne Software by Jack Davis to further simplify a photographer’s workflow allowing them to spend more time taking pictures. These will be a perfect addition to any photographer’s toolbox” said Craig Keudell, president of onOne Software. PhotoPresets for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom are free of charge and are immediately available from onOne Software’s website (www.ononesoftware.com).

PMA 2007: Essentials for Adobe Photoshop Elements includes technology from onOne Software’s highly acclaimed Intellihance Pro, Mask Pro, PhotoFrame Pro, and Genuine Fractals software products fine-tuned specifically for Adobe Photoshop Elements. Users can easily correct the color of their photos, cut out and separate foreground and background objects, add a unique border and edge around their photos and increase the size and resolution of their photos. onOne Software’s Essentials for Adobe Photoshop Elements is available for $59.95 in the first week of April 2007.

PMA 2007: The Mask Pro 4.1 beta release includes support for 16-bit images and the Macintosh version is a Universal Binary. The final version will be Photoshop CS3 compatible. Mask Pro 4 provides a complete collection of Photoshop plug-in tools for image masking jobs. Mask Pro 4.1 will be available as a free download to all registered owners of Mask Pro 4.0.

PMA 2007: The Kingston DataTraveler Reader is a USB 2.0 Flash memory drive that provides up to 4GB of storage and includes an onboard SD/MMC expansion slot for reading nine different Flash memory card formats (including SDHC). Available in storage capacities of 1GB, 2GB and 4GB, the Kingston DataTraveler Reader is compatible with both Mac (OS 10.x or higher) and Windows. Prices are $19.99 / £11.60 for 1GB and $34.99 / £19.60 for the 2GB DataTraveler Reader (price of the 4Gb version to be confirmed). Kingston’s DataTraveler Card Reader will be available by the end of March.

PMA 2007: Kingston introduces three new 8GB cards available in Class 2, 4 and 6 speed ratings as well as two new 4GB SDHC cards in Class 4 and 6 speeds. “Today’s higher resolution image devices require larger memory card capacity and faster Data Transfer Rate (DTR) to maximize overall performance,” said Jean Wong, Flash product manager, Kingston. “Our new 8GB SDHC cards, as well as the 4GB Class 4 and 6 cards, satisfy the growing demand to help consumers get the most out of their advanced digital devices.” The new Kingston 8GB SDHC Class 2 card will cost $109.99 / £65.25, Class 4 $114.99 / £71.80 and Class 6 $129.99 / £79.80.

PMA 2007: Panasonic and Leica are developing a new Leica D large-diameter telephoto zoom lens designed specifically for digital SLR cameras. The LEICA D VARIO-ELMAR 14-150mm/ F3.5-5.6 ASPH./ MEGA O.I.S. lens offers a focal range of 28-300mm in 35mm terms and complies with the Four Thirds System. The Leica 14-150mm lens is the first to incorporate Extra Silent Motor (XSM) technology, which assures quick, quiet, accurate auto focusing control. No firm date has been set for the release of the new lens.

The new LEICA D SUMMILUX 25mm/F1.4 lens (35mm equivalent: 50mm) is a bright, large-diameter F1.4 standard lens. First announced at Photokina in Autumn 2006, the Leica 25mm F1.4 lens will be available in April at a suggested retail price of £749.99.

PMA 2007: The Tamron AF 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di VC LD Aspherical (IF) MACRO zoom lens is the first ever lens from Tamron to feature built-in image stabilisation, dubbed Vibration Compensation. The new Tamron 28-300mm is suitable for both APS-C size or full size image sensors - when mounted on a DSLR with an APS-C sized sensor, the focal length is around 43-465mm! The proprietary Vibration Compensation mechanism developed by Tamron features a triaxial configuration using three pairs of driving coils and slide balls around the compensator group of the lens’ optical system. Since the compensator lenses are supported with rolling friction of the balls, the response performance is enhanced and the construction is simple, which results in the compactness of the lens. The Tamron 28-300mm lens also incorporates a highly accurate gyro sensor for detecting hand-shake. I’ll hopefully be trying out the new lens on my Canon EOS 5D tomorrow.

PMA 2007: The Kodak Z712, Kodak Z885, Kodak C763 and Kodak C613 digital cameras are unveiled at PMA. The new Kodak Z712 is positioned as an alternative to a DSLR, offering a 12x zoom lens (36-432 mm) and 7.1 megapixels. Available in April, the Kodak Z712 will cost £229. The Kodak Z885 boasts a 5X optical zoom lens (36-180mm) and 8.1 megapixel resolution and up to ISO 8000! Available in May, the Kodak Z885 will retail for £149. The Kodak C763 and Kodak C613 are two new entry-level models. Kodak have also announced the G610 Printer Dock, available in May for £129.99, and a new series of Ni-MH pre-charged batteries (2100mAh, 1.2Volts).

PMA 2007: At PMA, the new Kodak Z885 and Kodak Z712 IS digital cameras with high ISO and image stabilization for taking action pictures in any lighting conditions will be showcased. Kodak will also unveil a lineup of custom photo books, collages and digital photo merchandising products and services that can be produced in-store, on-line and at wholesale.

PMA 2007:Norcent announces new additions to their current line of flash media products. New Secure Digital and Compact Flash memory cards plus its SD Duo, SD Trio cards, Micro SD Reader/Adapter and USB Drive products will be at the PMA show this week. The CF, SD, SD Duo and Trio formats provide our customers with dependable media for almost every device,” stated Dennis Robinson, Norcent CFO.

PMA 2007: Norcent will showcase their 3 lines of digital cameras at this year’s PMA Show. The new Xias (pronounced Kí-as) camera line features a unique, sleek and ergonomic high-end design, whilst the 25 Series camera is an elegant silver color with a brushed metal finish and features a large 2.5” LCD display. The new 50 Series digital cameras will offer a large 3” color LCD screen, 3x optical zoom, Face Detection and Anti-Shake Reduction.

Pentax have released a firmware update, v1.11, for the Pentax K10D DSLR camera.

The following functions has been added in version 1.11:
  1. Correspond to development in the RAW data camera when multiple exposing.
  2. When built-in flash is used the luminescence control by the trailing-shutter-curtain sync was corrected.

Website: Pentax K10D v1.11 Firmware Update

A new firmware download for the LEICA M8 camera is now available. Version 1.092 includes user interface changes and enhanced operational reliability. Note that the planned adjustments for using the specialized UV/IR filters has not been included in this release. Firmware version 1.10 is expected to be available by the middle of April 2007.

The Archos 704 WiFi Portable Media Player is the only PMP with a 7 inch touch-screen and full wireless capabilities. The 704 WiFi offers 802.11g wireless networking, 80GB hard drive, 800x480 pixel resolution with 16 million colors, a touch-screen for simple navigation using fingertips or the included stylus, and video editing capabilities for trimming recorded video directly on the device. The Archos 704 WiFi will be available for $549.99 U.S from mid March.

PMA 2007: Image Trends DustKleen simplifies the removal of dirt and dust from scanned images, whilst Image Trends SensorKleen removes dust from DSLR camera images with SensorKleen. Both DustKleen and SensorKleen will be Windows based stand alone applications initially and cost $49.95 US each. They are also available now for a free trial download. Also announced is the fully automatic SensorKleen Pro, which will follow later in 2007. Initial purchasers of SensorKleen will receive a credit of their original purchase price toward the purchase of SensorKleen Pro.

The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust has launched a photography competition in colloboration with Nikon. The competition has three categories: ‘WWT Nikon Photo of the Year’, ‘WWT Nikon Junior Photo of the Year’ and ‘WWT Nikon Digiscoping Photo of the Year’. The main rule is that all photos submitted must have been taken at one of the nine WWT centres in the UK. The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust competition is now open and the closing date for entries is Monday 27th August 2007.

PMA 2007: SeeFile 3, a web-based creative collaboration tool, allows the individual lab owner or professional photographer to take control of their online sales. SeeFile 3 introduces side-by-side image comparisons, onscreen annotations, and color-coded collections for each user. This is a free release for owners of earlier versions of the software with an annual upgrade contract.

Possible news of a Canon EF 24-70mm IS USM lens is buried within a revised press release for the new EOS camera kits. It contains the following enigmatic entry:

EOS 5D Standard Zoom Kit - £2,999.99
- EF 24-70 IS U Lens

Could a new EF standard-zoom lens be on the horizon? I’m currently checking this out with Canon UK to find out if it’s a simple mistake or not.

Pricing has now been confirmed for all the new Canon EOS related products that were announced at the end of February at the Spring Launch event. Availability TBC on all products listed below.

- EOS 1D Mark III DSLR camera priced at £3049.99 RRP inc. VAT.
- EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM lens is priced at £1319.99 RRP inc.VAT
- Speedlite 580EX II flashgun is £399.99 RRP inc.VAT
- Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E2 is £649.99 RRP inc.VAT
- Original Data Security Kit OSK-E3 is £599.99 RRP inc.VAT.