Our seventh award is for DSLR Camera of the Year 2012, which goes to the Nikon D800.

“On the resolution front, the Nikon D800 delivers images with a truly stunning amount of detail, comparable to what you can achieve with a number of medium-format digital cameras and backs. The 7360×4912-pixel photographs print to 24”x16” (60×40cm) size at industry-standard 300ppi with no interpolation required, which also means they are ideal for double-page spreads in a large-format 12”x12” photo book.”

Read the Full Review

Congratulations to Nikon and the D800!

Next Tuesday, 22 January, at 7pm the World Photography Organisation (WPO) is hosting the next in its series of PhotoTALKs at the Frontline Club, London. The topic will be ‘How to gain commercial success’ and the panel will include four members of the Honorary Jury for the 2013 Sony World Photography Awards - Magnum photographer Chien-Chi Chang, Panos Profile director Francesca Sears, photographic consultant Monica Suder and Balcony Jump director Tim Paton.  The talk will be led by Stuart Smith of SMITH Design. Tickets can be purchased online through the website below, priced at £12.50.

Website: Frontline Club | Photo: Chien-Chi Chang

G-Technology has announced that it is now shipping its G-Technology G-DRIVE mini and G-RAID mini external storage solutions with new high-quality, 1TB, 2.5-inch 7,200RPM hard disk drives from HGST. Delivering up to 136MB/s performance, the G-Technology G-DRIVE mini features a sleek compact and durable all-aluminium enclosure and both USB 3.0 and FireWire® 800 connectivity. Preformatted for Mac users, the drive works with Apple computer systems right out of the box and is Time Machine ready. The new G-DRIVE mini is now available for a suggested retail price of £149.99 for 1TB. Out of the box, the G-RAID mini solution is set up in RAID 0 (performance mode), with its two 7,200rpm drives working together for the performance needed to edit the most popular compressed HD formats. The G-RAID mini is FireWire bus powered — even when using USB 3.0 for data transfer. Shipping in early Q1, the 2TB G-RAID mini solution will have a MSRP of £339.99.

Panobook 2012 is a new title from Rocky Nook. Presenting 150 winning pictures from Kolor’s 2012 Panoramic Photography Competition, Panobook 2012 offers breathtaking landscapes, cityscapes, beaches, buildings, people, and street scenery, taken by day and by night. “This collection of images provides an introduction to the best of today’s panoramic photography and serves as inspiration for the interested photographer,” the publisher says. Distributed by O’Reilly, the 240-page volume sells for $39.99 / £30.99 / €32.00.

Website: O’Reilly

As the exclusive distributor for Phottix products in the United States, OmegaBrandess has launched a portrait / battery grip for the Nikon D600 digital SLR camera. Accommodating one EN-EL15 or six AA size batteries to offer double-length shooting time, the Phottix BG-D600 Premium Series Vertical Grip/Battery Holder is equipped with a vertical-grip shutter button, dual control dials, multi-function controller and an AE-L/AF-L button for convenient shooting with the camera in portrait orientation. The Phottix BG-D600 carries an MSRP of $139.99.

As the exclusive distributor for Phottix products in the United States, OmegaBrandess has launched the magnesium-alloy Phottix BG-800M multi-funcion battery grip for the Nikon D800 digital SLR camera. Capable of holding one EN-EL15 or eight AA size batteries to offer double-length shooting time, the Phottix BG-800M is equipped with a vertical-grip shutter button, dual control dials, multi-function controller and an AF-ON button. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the BG-D800M Multi Function Battery Grip is $199.99.

X-Rite has updated its i1Profiler colour management software to include scanner profiling. Additionally, version 1.4 adds compatibility with MacOS X 10.8x (with the latest updates installed) and Windows 8 32 or 64 bit (with the latest service pack installed), and several other improvements. i1Profiler 1.4 is available for immediate download from the xrite.com and xritephoto.com websites. Current i1Profiler users will receive this software update for free. Those who have the auto-update option activated will automatically receive the update next time they launch the software.

Olympus has scooped up tow iF product design awards - one for the Olympus Stylus XZ-2 premium compact (pictured) and one for the Olympus OM-D E-M5 compact system camera. Established in 1953, and sponsored throughout by the International Forum Design GmbH of Hanover Germany, the iF product design award is recognised all over the world as a symbol of outstanding design and innovation. This year, the jury picked the winners from 3011 products in 16 categories.

Review: Read our in-depth review of the Olympus Stylus XZ-2
Review: Read our in-depth review of the Olympus OM-D E-M5

Our sixth award is for Compact System Camera of the Year 2012, which goes to the Olympus OM-D E-M5.

“The OM-D E-M5 is the best Olympus compact system camera to date, and also a strong contender for best compact system camera full stop. It delivers a compelling mix of classic looks, excellent image quality, an extensive feature set and immediate responsiveness, with the camera so well designed that it rarely gets in the way of the creative process. The E-M5 may hark back to a bygone era, but it’s definitely bang-up-to-date in all the places that count.”

Read the Full Review

Congratulations to Olympus and the OM-D E-M5!

Mounting between a mirrorless camera and an SLR lens, the Speed Booster adapter from Metabones and Caldwell Photographic increases maximum aperture by a full stop (hence its name) and has a focal length multiplier of 0.71x. This essentially means that full-frame SLR lenses can be used on a compact system camera with an APS-C sized sensor with (almost) the same angle-of-view coverage as originally designed. For example, a 28mm lens becomes a 19.9mm with the Speed Booster - if you then mount it on a camera with a 1.5x “crop factor” you’ll end up with a 29.8mm equivalent solution. The first Speed Booster enables users to mount Canon EF lenses to Sony NEX bodies, with auto-aperture, image stablisation, EXIF and (slow) autofocus support for post-2006 Canon-brand lenses. It will be available in later this month from Metabones’ website and its worldwide dealer network for $599 plus shipping and applicable taxes and duties.

Photo Restoration and Retouching Using Corel PaintShop Pro X5, by Robert Correll is a new title from Course Technology PTR.  This completely new edition is a comprehensive guide to using the latest version of Paintshop Pro to improve your photographs. The 384-page paperbackincludes tips on solving color problems, removing specks and dust, retouching people, and more. Available from Amazon, the book retails for $44.99.

Sigma has announced a new promotion enabling anyone who purchases the Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM telephoto zoom lens to claim £50 cashback. This is a short-term offer running until 28th February and valid on lenses imported by Sigma Imaging UK only. You can download the application form from the Sigma website.

X-Rite’s redesigned i1Pro 2 spectrophotometer has received the 2013 iF Product Design Award. This device can be found in X-Rite’s i1Basic Pro 2, i1Photo Pro 2, and i1Publish Pro 2 products. “X-Rite is honored to be selected for this coveted iF product design award for our thoughtfully redesigned i1Pro 2 spectrophotometer,” said Frank Maeder, X-Rite Product Manager, i1 Solutions. “Recognized for its high quality design, the i1Pro 2 device helps deliver to color professionals around the world the workflow tools they need that incorporate ever important emerging color standards. Our highly talented product designers Guido Franzke and Detlef Fischer from formmodul have truly proven that they delivered world class industrial design with the i1Pro 2.”

The Lomography Smartphone Film Scanner offers a convenient option to digitise your 35mm film shots using your smartphone. Small and portable, the Lomography Smartphone Film Scanner comprises a light source, a simple manual film advance mechanism, a rectangular tube and an adjustable smartphone holder. Users can digitise their transparencies or negatives simply by turning on the back-light, positioning the film and taking a photo with their phone. Though obviously limited by the capabilities of the camera module built into your phone, the Lomograph Smartphone Film Scanner provides an easy and efficient way to “scan” and share your analogue pictures. The Lomoscanner app, available for Android and iOS, will allow users to convert negative scans into positives, stitch together scans into seamless panoramas and animate 35mm analogue movies shot using the Lomography LomoKino camera. The device is currently exclusively available on Kickstarter with expected delivery in March.

Phase One has released Capture One Pro 7.0.2 Available now, this update adds preliminary support for raw files generated by the Fujifilm X-Pro1, Fujifilm XE-1, Fujifilm XF1, Canon EOS 6D, Canon EOS M, Sony SLT-A57, Sony NEX-5R, Olympus XZ-2 iHS, Canon 1D X and 5D mark III (sRAW and mRAW); and incorporates a number of bug fixes and minor improvements.

Our fifth award is for Compact Camera of the Year 2012, which goes to the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100.

“Sony have not only blurred the lines between compact and compact system in terms of the RX100’s features, performance and image quality, but somewhat inevitably perhaps also in terms of its price. $650/£550 is more than many mirrorless cameras and even some DSLRs too, but on the other hand this is no humble compact. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 is the first truly pocketable camera to offer a DSLR experience, and in that regard it could almost be seen as something of a bargain - it’s certainly deserving of our highest Essential! accolade.”

Read the Full Review

Congratulations to Sony and the Cyber-shot DSC-RX100!

The Samsung WB2100 is a 16.3-megapixel bridge camera with 35x optical zoom. Featuring an optically stabilised 25-875mm equivalent superzoom lens with a maximum aperture of f/3.0 at the wide end and f/6.0 at full telephoto, the Samsung WB2100 is capable of recording moving pictures in full 1920 x 1080 / 60i resolution, in addition to capturing sixteen-megapixel stills. Other highlights include a sweep panorama mode, a 3-inch tilting screen and automatic scene recognition. Pricing to be confirmed.

Talenthouse has announced a new Creative Challenge for photographers. City Academy, a London-based performing and creative arts academy, is inviting aspiring photographers to submit their best images portraying the creative arts. One winner will be selected by the team at City Academy and will receive £500 along with a year’s worth of courses. They will also gain exposure on the academy’s website, blog and Facebook page. The deadline for entries is 5 February 2013.

Website: Talenthouse