Gigapan has announced Gigapan Tag, an innovative digital marketing product combining social media with high-resolution images. Users now have the ability to embed HD images on any website, including the ability to match their look and feel. Gigapan Tag - which allows people to zoom in, find themselves and friends, tag themselves on Facebook and take interesting snapshots of the image to share - supports all operating systems and mobile platforms, allowing widespread engagement and interaction on any device. A historic example of Gigapan Tag includes the Samsung 2012 Olympic Torch Relay, capturing 17,000 tags throughout the images, the highest number of tags to date.

London+Acumen, a volunteer-led group supporting Acumen, has launched its first ever Dignity Photo Contest. Open to photographers in London with a social mission, the contest provides an exciting opportunity for the creative community in to showcase their photography skills. The theme is "Dignity, not dependence" and there are two categories: Dignity in London and Global Dignity. For more information visit the websites below.

Manfrotto has just launched its new Top Lock Quick Release System. Compatible with Arca-style quick release plates and systems, Top Lock is made from light aluminium and stainless steel offering weight savings without any performance sacrifices, the company says. The innovative design of the Top Lock System means that the ball head, the quick release adapter and the quick release plate work together to allow for fast and reliable changeovers in any environment. Manfrotto’s new Top Lock Quick Release System is available as an adaptor or in complete pro ball heads for professional photographers with Arca-style QR plates and systems Prices start at £84.95.

Unified Color Technologies have just released the latest upgrades to their professional-level HDR software lineup. New state of the art merge, alignment and deghosting algorithms have been added to the standalone application HDR Expose 3, while 32 Float - also upgraded to Version 3 - provides the same full range of image editing tools in a convenient Photoshop filter plug-in. Novelties include adaptive tone mapping, upgraded alignment capabilities, reengineered deghosting algorithms, a new file browser and and an improved Color Safe Dodge and Burn Brush that allows photographers to selectively lighten and darken areas of the image without changing or shifting colours. HDR Expose 3 is available for $119, while 32 Float V3 can be yours for $89. Customers who have purchased either piece of software are eligible to a free upgrade.

From 17th August, Last Rites Gallery will be hosting Perfect Specimens, a solo exhibition by New York photographer and artist Mark Kessell. Perfect Specimens explores the fundamental processes of human becoming and unbecoming, documenting what he describes as a species portrait, a map of our existence from the first stirring of life to the final phase of post-mortem decay. These eleven works, images of the not-quite-born and the not-entirely-dead, drawn from a total of thirty-nine in the series, represent specific moments in the cycle. Initially created as daguerreotypes, these works now appear as large-scale prints that allow viewers to delve deeply into both the subject. Last Rites Gallery is located at 511 West 33rd Street, 3rd floor, between 10th and 11th avenues, New York.

With over three decades’ experience of capturing the Royal family on camera, professional photographer and Nikon user Arthur Edwards has decided to share his top tips for photography around the time of a new arrival to the family. He recommends that you first think about the light you've got, given that babies don't like flash. Then you ought to think about the time of day you take your pictures - catching the baby after a feed and a sleep increases the chances they are content, happy and giggly in the photos, rather than grumpy. His other advices include using different backgrounds, including the baby's favourite toy in some of the photos and having the camera charged before the session. "A top tip for new mums for getting a photo you’ll treasure is to make sure you’re happy with your eye make-up and keep your hair off the face," Mr Edwards says. "Also, a tight composition with just faces in the frame will make sure there’s no distracting detail in the background of the shot such as a hospital bed."

Gigapan and Promote Systems have united to help photographers simplify their workflow process when creating HDR and focus stacked gigapixel imagery. The Promote Control, an all-in-one, advanced remote control for digital SLR cameras, enhances the Gigapan EPIC Pro robotic camera mount (pictured) by increasing the flexibility in exposure bracketing needed to create high-quality images. “Combining the Promote Control with the EPIC Pro takes shooting HDR and focus stacked imagery to a higher level,” said Josh Friedman, CEO of Gigapan. “It makes it immensely easier for photographers to capture stunning and highly technical shots with more control and options when shooting high-resolution panoramic images.”

Bee Raw, an American honey company, is hosting a Flower Power Photo Contest in order to bring awareness to the many ways you can help save the bees. Focusing on the importance of planting bee-friendly gardens, this social-media-driven contest challenges photographers to take a picture of flowers that bees will flock to. Share your snapshot on Bee Raw’s Facebook page, and get friends and family to “like” the post. The entry with the most likes on July 30 will win a Manhattan Rooftop Honey Flight. The next five photos with the most likes will be awarded Bee Raw’s Good Bug Blooms seeds to start their own bee-friendly garden.

Bitcasa has launched its Infinite Drive in the UK and the rest of Europe with new support for 10 languages and local UK and Euro currencies. For £7/€8 per month, consumers can safely store and instantly access infinite amounts of photos, videos, music or share files without having to worry about capacity constraints. To celebrate the launch in Europe, Bitcasa will be offering a special 20-percent discount of £55/€60 for a year of Infinite Storage. This special introductory price will be available through 31 August 2013 when users enter the promotional code: UKEU20. Bitcasa infinite storage is available on iOS, Android, Mac desktop, Windows Desktop, Windows RT and the Web.

Corel today released the English version of Corel Painter X3. New features and highlights include crosshair cloning, 25 new jitter brushes, a brush search engine, new perspective guides, smart brush controls, a new reference image panel, flow maps, and the ability to apply a transformation to a selection across multiple layers. The full version of Painter X3 is available for £311 (including VAT) and the upgrade, for registered Painter 11 and 12 users, is available for £156 (including VAT).

Steve McCurry has been inducted into the SanDisk Extreme Team Legends programme. This programme honours photographers who have made major contributions to the art of photography during their careers. McCurry was inducted into the programme during National Geographic’s 125th anniversary event in Øksnehallen, Copenhagen. At the event, more than 110 photographs taken by some of National Geographic’s most prestigious photographers were featured. Most notably, McCurry’s “Afghan Girl” image, which appeared on the magazine’s cover in 1985, and has since become one of the most recognised magazine covers of all time.

Canon today introduced the Pixma MG3520 Wireless Photo and the Pixma MG2420 All-In-One printers. Available in black, red or a mirror-finished white, the wireless-enabled Canon Pixma MG3520 photo printer ($79.99) features Full HD Movie Print software to help users produce clear images of frames from videos captured on compatible Canon HD EOS and PowerShot digital cameras along with HD VIXIA camcorders. It also offers Apple AirPrint compatibility. The Canon Pixma MG2420 ($69.99), which does not offer wireless connectivity, is available in white only.

The Nokia Lumia 625 is an accessibly priced 4G smartphone with a 4.7" WVGA display and a range of integrated camera applications. These include Nokia Smart Camera, Cinemagraph lens, Panorama lens, Bing vision and Nokia Glam Me. The main camera has a 1/4"-type sensor with a sensible resolution of 5 megapixels and a 28mm (eq.) f/2.4 lens. Other highlights include Full HD video recording at 30 frames per second, Touch Focus, a LED flash and manual control over exposure and white balance. The Nokia Lumia 625 will be availabe in the third quarter of 2013 for around €220

Canon today announced that its newest Pixma Wireless All-in-One Printer, the MG3520, is equipped with AirPrint wireless printing. This built-in feature allows users to print wirelessly from their iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices. The Canon Pixma MG3520 joins a growing range of AirPrint compliant printers (see full list). Note that AirPrint functionality requires an iPad, iPad Mini, iPad 2, the new iPad, iPhone 3GS or later, or iPod touch 3rd generation or later device running iOS 4.2 or later, and an AirPrint-enabled printer connected to the same network as your iOS device. A printer connected to the USB port of your Mac, PC, AirPort Base Station, or Time Capsule is not supported.

SanDisk Connect is a new line of wireless flash memory storage devices including the SanDisk Connect Wireless Flash Drive and SanDisk Connect Wireless Media Drive. Billed as the smallest wireless USB storage device available to date, the SanDisk Connect Wireless Flash Drive provides users with up to 32GB of extra storage for their devices without the need for an Internet connection or cables. It is available in 16GB or 32GB capacities at an MSRP of £41.90 and £49.90 respectively. The SanDisk Connect Wireless Media Drive allows users to take content such as HD movies, videos, music and photos with them wherever they go. Available in the fourth quarter of 2013 in capacities of up to 64GB (pricing to be confirmed), the pocket-sized device offers up to eight continuous streaming hours on a single charge.

The Hasselblad Stellar is a 20-megapixel compact camera with a 28-100mm (eq.) f/1.8-4.9 Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens and a 1"-type sensor. Modelled on the Sony RX100, the Hasselblad Stellar retains all the headline specifications and adds a wooden grip. The company has set up a dedicated microsite for the Hasselblad Stellar, but has not officially announced its suggested retail price yet. The camera will go on sale later this month.

Fujifilm has released an updated lens roadmap for its X-mount compact system cameras, showing current and upcoming lenses (including the Touit range from Zeiss). Compared to the previous version, the updated roadmap includes two XC branded lenses, the already announced Fujinon XC16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS and the brand new Fujinon XC50-230mm f/4.5-6.7 OIS, which will be available by the end of this year. Fujinon XC optics are “compact and casual” lenses that are more affordable and accessible to amateur photographers.