Canon today announced plans to launch digital camera production in Manaus, Brazil. Situated in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, Manaus is the capital and most populous city of the state of Amazonas. “Recently, the digital camera market has displayed steady growth, led by emerging countries,” Canon said in a statement. “Brazil, in particular, has a large market with demand expected to increase, which has created a pressing need for a strategic product supply.” The new company, called Canon Indústria de Manaus, will foreseeably commence operations in July 2013.

Designed specifically for Sony NEX and Samsung NX cameras, the Samyang 8mm f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC Fisheye is the latest addition to the Korean manufacturer’s range of manual-focus lenses. Comprising 10 elements arranged in 8 groups, including one aspherical and two extra-low-distpersion elements, the lens offers an angle-of-view of 180 degrees, with a minimum focusing distance of 0.3 metres. Slated for a July release, the Samyang 8mm f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC Fisheye will retail for €349.99/£279.99.

MacPhun has released an iPhone version of its Color Splash Studio software. Allowing users to create photos with selective colour, Color Splash Studio offerst the following features: special effects to make pictures more dramatic; blue tone, grayscale and sepia monochrome layers; hue, saturation, contrast, brightness adjustments; a customisable smart brush and integration with Instagram and FX Photo Studio. Color Splash Studio for iPhone is available on the App Store for $0.99.

The Canon EOS 650D / T4i is an 18-megapixel digital SLR camera offering simple touch-screen operation. In addition, the EOS 650D is the first-ever Canon EOS model to feature a dual AF system, which ensures sharp stills as well as continuous autofocus tracking when shooting movies - subject to use with Canon stepping motor (STM) lenses. Thanks to its Canon DIGIC 5 processor, it provides 14-bit image processing for subtle transitions between colour tones in stills. Featuring capacitive technology, the new 3” Vari-angle Clear View LCD II Touch screen supports a variety of multi-touch gestures, such as pinching and swiping. In Live View mode, you can even select AF points, track faces and objects, and fine-tune image settings via the camera’s Quick Control screen.

Canon has has announced two new lenses for its EOS system. The Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM ($549.99/£479.99/€569.99) is a compact, versatile zoom for digital SLR cameras with APS-C sized sensors. The lens features an intelligent optical Image Stabiliser which offers a claimed 4-stop advantage over non-IS models, and a new stepper motor (STM), enabling fast, continuous focus when recording moving subjects. When shooting movies, Dynamic IS automatically engages, countering any shake caused by the videographer’s movement to produce smooth, stable footage. The Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM ($199.99/£229.99/€279.99, pictured) is a full-frame pancake lens ideal for reportage, travel and street photography. In addition, it also features STM technology for fast auto focus during movie capture.

Panasonic is launching a new series of memory cards. The new P2 F Series cards are designed for broadcasting and professional video production use. These tough memory cards withstand impacts up to 1,500 G and vibrations up to 15 G, operate in temperatures from -20°C to 60°C, and can be stored in temperatures from -40°C to 80°C. All P2 cards contain a flash memory error correction system, which is equivalent to RAID system, to greatly strengthen the data retention reliability. Additionally, as the P2 card complies with the PC card standard (Card Bus Type-II), it can mount directly to the PC card slot of a laptop PC to read or write recording data.

Rusted Gears today released an update to their Photo LoL app. Version 2.0 boasts a completely new look and multiple orientation support, advanced selection tools, and iPad compatibility. Like the previous version, it comes with a layer system that uses the same principles as the professional photo-retouching programs. Photo LoL 2.0 is available now for $1.99 on the iTunes App Store.

Teorex has released a new program called PhotoStitcher, which enables any home user to create a panoramic image with one-click simplicity. “PhotoStitcher greatly facilitates panorama creation, since the user does not need to align and stitch adjacent images manually,” the company says. “The whole process of panorama stitching is performed automatically and takes just a couple of minutes.” Compatible with Windows XP and higher / MacOS X 10.6 and higher, PhotoStitcher is available for $19.99.

Manfrotto School of Xcellence is going to host Drew Gardner for a webinar devoted to the Olympic Golden Greats project. Taking place from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm BST on Monday, 11 June 2012, the webinar will take participants behind the scenes of this exciting project: which saw Drew travel all over the UK and the USA photographing every senior British Olympic Gold medallist. The second webinar of the week, taking place from 6:00pm on Friday, explores the key pillars of David duChemin’s new book, Visually Speaking. During this one-hour webinar, participants will discover the key techniques David explored in his book, and he will discuss the visual language and how a grasp of that language can help photographers create stronger, more meaningful images. Click through / read on for more details and links to the online registration forms.

Nikon has launched the Small Moments are Huge online community photo gallery to encourage digital camera users to celebrate meaningful, everyday moments. The new community, which will be hosted on the Nikon USA page on Facebook, kicked off with the help of some of today’s most influential personalities in television, film, music and technology. Fans can join the Guest Stars and upload their own “small moments” to the community gallery throughout 2012. Additionally, for every photo uploaded, Nikon will donate $1 to The Ronald McDonald House of Long Island up to $50,000.

The CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year competition is now open for entries. Launched in 2007 by the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM), the Environmental Photographer of the Year award is now one of the fastest growing photographic competitions in the world, attracting increasing numbers of entries each year from photographers of all ages and from all over the world. Entry to this year’s competition is £5 for the first image plus £1 per image up to a maximum of 10. Entry for registered students is free. The submission deadline is 5pm GMT on 31 December 2012.

Contour has introduced a range of mounting kits for their hands-free digital video cameras. The range includes the ContourROAM Watersports Kit as well as mount kits for snow, bike, moto, outdoor and helmets. “These kits make it easier to purchase the right accessories for your preferred activity and offer the optimum mounting combinations in one easy package as well as save you money,” the company says.

FOAP is a new web service that enables users to sell their iPhone photos via a smartphone app. The company splits the revenue on a 50/50 basis with the photographer, and each approved photo is licensed for $10, meaning you can earn $5 each time someone buys it. “We want to attract the best Iphoneographers and those who are passionate about photography rather then everyone,” says David Los, co-founder of FOAP. The company claims it has already partnered up with a number of photo buyers including Ferratum, a micro loan company. The app launched in the Scandinavian AppStores on 15th May, and has already attracted thousands of registered users. Today marks its launch on iTunes UK.

Worpix.com is a new online marketplace for geotagged photos. Created by Omegapython, a Finnish company based in Helsinki, Worpix is a global service that works without registration. Photographers retain the right to determine the pricing of their own photos, with Worpix getting a commission of 15% (or a minimum of $2) on every transaction. Additionally, photographers also have the option to auction the photos.

The Sony Cyber-shot RX100 is a 20-megapixel compact featuring a fast lens and a sensor with the same dimensions (13.2 x 8.8mm) as the ones in the Nikon 1 series cameras. The integrated, 28-100mm equivalent Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar zoom lens has a maximum aperture of f/1.8 at the wide end (though only f/4.9 at full telephoto). Complementing the “1.0-type” sensor and Zeiss lens, the optimised BIONZ image processor allows continuous shooting at up to 10fps at full resolution, while high-speed autofocus locks onto your target in 0.13 seconds, at least in ideal conditions. Full HD video recording, Auto Portrait Framing and a host of Picture Effects round off the features list. The Sony Cyber-shot RX100 will available from mid/late July 2012 for $650/£550.

Rollei has revealed four new add-on add-on lenses for the Apple iPhone 3G/4/4S. The new range includes the Rollei 12x Tele (€49.99), 9x Tele (€39.99), 0.5x Super Wide (€29.99) and 0.28x Fisheye converters (€19.99), which can be affixed to the iPhone via the supplied hard case. All of the new Rollei conversion lenses are available now.

The FEP European Professional Photographer of the Year Awards 2012 competition is now open for entries. Open to all professional photographers who are registered and resident in a European country, the FEP European Professional Photographer of the Year Awards offer six categories including Commercial, Illustrative, Landscape, Portrait, Reportage and Wedding. There are also two special sections: International Photographers, (for non- European professional photographers), and Young Photographers & Students.

PhotoShelter has released its 2012 Photography Blog Handbook, a free ebook aimed at photographers interested in launching or improving their blogs. The 41-page PDF offers photographers key insights on how blogging can help market their businesses, grow a following, and bring more potential clients to their websites. “This handbook will show you how to use your blog as an effective marketing platform, a top search engine optimization tool, and a direct extension of your brand,” the company says. You can download your copy of PhotoShelter’s 2012 Photography Blog Handbook by entering your email address at the website below.

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