Olympus Japan has announced that no less than five new companies have joined Micro Four Thirds. The newcomers include Kodak licensee JK Imaging, innovative digital cinema camera manufacturer Blackmagic Design - which has already launched a Micro Four Thirds model, the Blackmagic Cinema Camera MFT (pictured) -, high-speed digital imaging expert Photron, as well as Germany’s SVS-VISTEK and Japan’s ViewPLUS. “With the addition of exciting new products from these companies, the Micro Four Thirds lineup will become much more diverse, further increasing the potential of this advanced digital imaging system,” Olympus said in a statement.

JK Imaging, the worldwide licensee of the Kodak brand name for digital cameras, has unveiled a new Micro Four Thirds camera called the Kodak Pixpro S1. The company’s representatives showed a mock-up of the new camera at a press conference in China. In addition to being compatible with Micro Four Thirds lenses - and possibly other MFT accessories -, the Kodak Pixpro S1 will also offer smartphone connectivity over Wi-Fi. Other details are vague but it appears that the new Kodak-branded CSC will be equipped with a Sony sensor, just like Olympus’ newer MFT offerings.

Kodak has been a member of the Four Thirds consortium since the latter’s inception in 2002. JK Imaging’s adoption of Micro Four Thirds standard was announced today.

Via PR Photo Credit: PConline

The Székesfehérvár organisation of the Society for Military and Civil Cooperation and the Interspect Research Team have partnered to create the world’s highest-resolution aerial ortho image mosaic. Putting Google Earth to shame, the record-breaking aerial image mosaic shows the Pákozd Military Memorial Park from above, in stunning detail. Prior to creating the photographs, the young Hungarian researchers had developed bespoke image sensors and special methods for making aerial images from fast-moving aircraft. “The enthusiastic team has been involved in development of the idea of a high spatial resolution ortho image mosaic since 2006,” the Society said in a statement. “They had to overcome many obstacles to be the first in the world to make a subpixel orthophoto mosaic with details smaller than half a centimetre from a high speed aircraft.” To view the image, visit the website below.

Nikon UK has extended its cashback promotion on the Nikon 1 J1 and J2 camera kits until 31st January 2013. UK and ROI residents purchasing the Nikon 1 J1 or Nikon 1 J2 single- or double-lens camera bundles will now be able to claim £50 /€60 cashback until the end of January. For more information on the promotion, and how to submit your claim, visit the website below.

The Lil-Mule is an intuitive new professional dolly for creating arced or linear camera moves when shooting time-lapse movies and regular video clips. Developed by product designer and time-lapse enthusiast Warren Herndon, the Lil-Mule gives you a self-contained, motorised cart that makes straight or curved moves and can motor as far as the surface you set the shot up on will allow. “I wanted the motion control piece to be as simple as possible,’ Warren Says. “The controller for the Lil-Mule is a single knob which allows you to variably control the speed you are moving in the forward and backward direction. No math equations, no menu settings, just set up your shot and twist a knob to start moving.” The Lil-Mule project has already surpassed its minimum funding goal on crowd-funding site Kickstarter but you still have 10 days to offer your support in exchange for significant savings off the planned retail prices ($289 for the manual version, $689 for the motorised edition).

Website: Lil-Mule on Kickstarter

JP Distribution have been announced as new authorised distributors of enlight photo products in the UK. These include the Orbis ring flash (£179.99) and ring flash arm (£49.99), the Frio cold shoe (£9.99) and the ioShutter cabled SLR shutter release accessory for Canon and Nikon (£59.99, pictured).

Cooltopia has announced that its Kickstarter campaign for the SnappGrip - a snap-on camera controller that essentially turns smartphones into point-and-shoot cameras - has met its funding goal and will enter production in late February. “We will release SnappGrip for iPhone and Galaxy III in less than a month and will soon follow that with additional smartphone options,” says Lee Harris, Creator of SnappGrip. Completely portable, compact and removable, the SnappGrip enables smartphone users to take one-handed photos and snap off spontaneous pictures with ease. Carrying an MSRP of $99, the SnappGrip can be pre-ordered now for approximately $79 (£49) at the website below.

Iridient Digital has released Iridient Developer 2.0 for Mac OS X. This update brings a name change, dropping the “RAW” from RAW Developer, along with support for non-raw images, including most standard image formats (JPEG, TIFF, PNG, etc) as well as OpenEXR and Radiance HDR image formats. Other major new features include a redesigned image preview window with an all-new image thumbnail browser optimised for Retina screens; an all-new lens correction module with support for lens profiles, chromatic aberration and distortion correction; support for 39 new camera models, star ratings metadata and EXIF 2.3 information. This release is a paid upgrade for users who originally purchased a licence prior to 16 September 2011. Upgrades are available to previously licenced users for the discounted price of $45 by requesting a 40% discount code from [email protected], while new licences can be purchased for $75.

Rollei has added a new “4-in-1” model to its Bullet range of action cameras. “The Rollei Bullet Youngstar is an action, photo, driving and diving camera all in one,” the company says. The camera has a fixture on the camera housing to which lanyards can be attached. The package also includes a helmet mount, four 3M adhesive stickers, a USB cable and underwater protective housing for recordings at a depth of up to 10 metres. Outfitted with a 135° ultra-wide angle lens and a 5cm touch panel, the Rollei Bullet Youngstar is capable of capturing 5-megapixel stills as well as 720p HD videos. Priced at €59.95, the Rollei Bullet Youngstar records videos and photos on microSD memory card and comes complete with a proprietary 440mAh Lithium-ion battery

Calumet has made an offer of free help to any Jessops customer left stranded with warranty repair issues following the recent collapse of the high-street retailer. Christof Bergmann, MD at Calumet Europe, said: “Customers experiencing these problems can walk into any Calumet store with their appropriate receipt and our staff will handle the dispatch and return of the product along with all the necessary paperwork – and we will make no administration fee for this service.”

Lehmann Aviation today launched a totally new product - the LA100, a fully automated Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) which, when outfitted with a GoPro camera, enables amateurs to easily capture aerial images and video. Aimed at users with no piloting background, the Lehmann LA100 follows a pre-programmed flight path, so the only thing to do is literally to mount a GoPro Hero, Hero2 or Hero 3, switch on the engine and launch the vehicle. After 5 minutes of capturing footage from a height of 80 to 100 metres, the hand-launched aircraft returns to the launch site with HD aerial videos or photos on the SD card. The LA100 is priced at €990 (around $1,290). Lehmann Aviation says it plans to release hardware and software upgrades for the LA100 on a regular basis.

This month we’re giving away 3 copies of Cyberlink Power Director Ultimate 11!

The lucky winners are Christopher Powell, Sergio Garcia, and Edward Mackiewicz. Congratulations!

Cyberlink is pleased to offer 3 lucky Photography Blog readers the chance to win the new Power Director Ultimate 11, the perfect software for enhancing photos and videos.

Power Director Ultimate 11 is award-winning software designed for Photo-Enthusiasts. It combines powerful pro-level features and intuitive functionality in a complete post-production video editing solution. It can be easily installed on a home PC allowing photographers of all abilities the chance to edit their masterpieces. From the novice shooting family movies on a smartphone up to a professional making a music video or a short film with high-end digital equipment Power Director Ultimate allows them to truly create. It can import over 50 different RAW formats onto the timeline and create 4k/2k quality photo slideshows, the slideshows can then be burnt to CD/DVD and Blu-ray for sharing with friends and enjoying for years to come. Power Director Ultimate is award-winning software that is 38% faster than the previous version.

This month we’re giving away a Capdase mKeeper camera backpack!

The lucky winner is Keith Pollard. Congratulations!

The Capdase mKeeper is a ultra portable sling style back pack which allows you to get instant access for your SLR camera and any accessories. You can simply swing it around and you’re ready to shoot. The unique sling design means that you can swivel the back round to your front to gain instant access to your camera, rather than having to take the backpack off and removing your camera, saving you time and making sure you’re ready for that perfect shot.

The mKeeper features a large compartment which easily houses any lenses, flash, or any other accessories which you need to carry around with you. The compartment features a zipper which ensures that all of your accessories are protected when they’re not in use.

Sponsor LoveCases also sell iPod Touch 5G cases.

We’ve now announced all of our award winners for 2012. Just in case you missed any, here’s the full list:

Camera of the Year 2012
Olympus OM-D E-M5

DSLR Camera of the Year 2012
Nikon D800

Compact System Camera of the Year 2012
Olympus OM-D E-M5

Compact Camera of the Year 2012
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100

Lens of the Year 2012
Panasonic LUMIX G X VARIO 12-35mm F2.8 ASPH

Printer of the Year 2012
Epson Stylus Photo R2000

Accessory of the Year 2012
Spyder4Elite

Software of the Year 2012
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4

ONE, a 3 million-strong global advocacy organization that fights extreme poverty and preventable disease, and iStockphoto have launched the “ONE Thing We Agree On” contest. Hosted on Zooppa.com, the contest will run through 26 February 2013. It is a challenge for creative minds to develop a video or print piece that showcases rivals uniting to fight issues such as poverty, famine and disease. Videos must be short and the message conveyed in three minutes or less. Twelve winners in total – six video winners and six print winners – will share $20,000 dollars and 35,000 free credits from iStockphoto. Winners will also be featured at ONE’s live events, on its website and social media platforms.

Scottish pet photographer Paul Walker scooped up the coveted Photographer of the Year 2012 title at The Societies’ Convention Awards Dinner in London on Saturday 12th January. In addition to receiving his trophy Paul also walked away with a VIP trip to The Societies’ 2014 Convention, set to take place in the Hilton London Metropole hotel in January next year. Paul commented, “Shocked, delighted, speechless, in that order.  I’m going to buy the dog a juicy bone for at least paying attention for that split second - most have selective hearing!”

Wilkinson Cameras have launched a new website called WeBuyAnyCamera.com where you can upload details of any camera kit and lenses which you no longer require and turn them in to cash. After uploading details of the kit you’d like to sell, one of the team at Wilkinson Cameras will get back to you with an offer for your old gear. There are two sale options available – a straight cash sales price, or cash price plus 10% extra if you request payment in Wilkinson Camera online vouchers. David Parkinson, MD at Wilkinson Cameras said: “We’ve seen a huge increase in the demand for quality second hand equipment – and we’ve also seen an increase in people who want a fast, simple process – instead of the risks associated with online auction sites and classified ads.” For any equipment purchased worth £500 or more, Wilkinson will even arrange collection, completely free of charge.

Madbits have just released its new iPhone photo app, Momentsia. The app’s simple-to-use features are “designed to let creativity flow naturally, allowing iPhoneographers to artfully express their experience through beautiful collage compilations,” the company says. Users simply select one of Momentsia’s colorful “Mondrian”-style collage layouts and snap photos into position by either tapping directly on the screen to capture the current moment or browsing their iPhone Camera Roll library to pair moments from yesterday with those of today. The free app is available now from the iTunes App Store.