ACD Systems have launched two new products, acdVIDEO Converter (for Windows and MacOS) and ACDSee Duplicate Finder Standalone Edition (MacOS only). acdVIDEO Converter converts HD video files for playback on all popular media devices including an iPod, iPhone, PSP, Zune, mobile phones from Blackberry and Nokia; and game consoles including PS3 and Xbox 360. “While there are currently several open source programs that offer a degree of this functionality, they are often unreliable and do not cover the same breadth of formats as acdVIDEO Converter,” the company claims. The program is available for purchase at the ACDSee website for a limited time offer of $14.99. ACDSee Duplicate Finder - the standalone Mac-only version of a popular feature currently integrated into ACDSee Pro 5 and ACDSee 14 - helps people with large photo or video libraries locate hard-to-find duplicate files. Duplicates can then be eliminated, freeing up valuable disk space. Though the MSRP is $9.99, it will be available in the Mac App Store starting Thursday, 22th December at a discount of $4.99 through 9th January.

The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-50mm 1:3.5-6.3 EZ is a new dust- and splash-proof, 24-100mm equivalent power zoom for the Micro Four Thirds system. Aimed at both videographers and photographers, the lightweight (211g) M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-50mm f/3.5-5.6 comes with a new ultra-smooth, variable-speed, near-silent electromagnetic zoom mechanism and offers “blazing quick” AF speeds. The optical formula comprises 10 elements arranged in 9 groups, including 1 ED (extra-low dispersion), 1 HR (high refractive index), 1 DSA (dual super aspherical) and 2 aspherical lens elements. Offering up to 0.36x maximum magnification that allows users to fill the frame with a subject that measures just 48mmx36mm, the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED f/3.5-5.6 EZ also doubles as a quasi-macro lens. Priced at £349.99 / €399.00 / $499.99, the lens will sell separately and as part of a kit with one of the three newest PEN cameras: the E-PL3, the E-PM1 and the flagship PEN E-P3.

Unified Color has released today announced the latest upgrade to itsr HDR image editing software offerings, HDR Expose 2, and 32 Float v2. HDR Expose 2 is a standalone application, while 32 Float v2 is a Photoshop plug-in. Built upon Unified Color’s Beyond RGB colour technology platform, both HDR Expose 2 and 32 Float v2 separate an image’s colour component from its luminosity component, enabling photographers to adjust each independently; thereby preventing the tell-tale colour shifts often associated with HDR photography and producing much more natural-looking tone mapped results, the company claims.“With these upgrades, Unified Color has reengineered its base architecture to significantly improve performance and expand the programs’ tool sets to offer additional fine control over global and local tonal adjustments,” said Alfred Zee, CEO of Unified Color Technologies. “This new architecture powers a real-time processing engine that enables image adjustments to be visualised immediately while applied to the full image, not just a proxy or scaled down preview version.” The program and the plug-in are available for direct purchase through the company website.

Sigma Corporation of America has teamed up with underwater photographer, sculptor and conservationist Jason deCaires Taylor to help photograph the artist’s oft-unseen work and share it with the world. Taylor is the mastermind behind the underwater sculpture park, known as the Museo Subacuático de Arte (MUSA) in Cancun, Mexico. The museum, which consists of more than 400 of Taylor’s permanent, life-size sculptures, is designed as an artificial coral reef that provides a new habitat for sea creatures, while drawing attention – and tourist traffic – from the region’s overtaxed natural reefs. Because the project can only be viewed by scuba divers, snorkellers and people aboard a glass-bottom boat, photographs of the museum are essential in helping Taylor share this work. “Sigma lenses have become a vital tool for me to document my work and portray the beauty and fragility of the underwater world,” he says. “I have been photographing underwater for more than 10 years and have tried many different camera setups, however, using Sigma’s wide angle 10-20mm has been a turning point.” For information about on Taylor, MUSA or his artwork, visit the website below.

Shaped by War is the largest ever UK exhibition about the life and work of one of the world’s most acclaimed photographers, Don McCullin. On show at IWM London until 15 April 2012, the exhibition brings together McCullin’s frontline work from conflicts all over the world including the confrontation between East and West Berlin, Vietnam and Cambodia, the conflicts of the Middle East and the intense human suffering in Biafra and Bangladesh. These are displayed alongside McCullin’s photographs of more recent conflicts such as the Gulf War and the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. The exhibition is accompanied by a book, Don McCullin: Shaped by War, published by Jonathan Cape in association with IWM. The 208-page hardback has an RRP of £25.

Photography game and education site PhoozL has released version 1.1 of its photo IQ quiz app, PhoozL IQ for iPhone and iPod touch: The free edition of PhoozL IQ includes 50 challenging questions and allows a longer time period for answering the questions. The pro version ($0.99) includes 100 more-difficult questions and a shorter time clock. An optional “Extended Play” mode in the pro version enables players to answer all 100 questions in one, intense, non-stop game session.

proDAD has announced availability of the newest member of its Adorage video effects family – Effects Package 13. Included in Adorage 13 are hundreds of effects and transitions based around the themes of holiday, family, festivals, weddings and romance. Adorage Effects Package 13 is available for immediate purchase and download from the proDAD online shop and is available for a special introductory price of $79 until 15th January.

The BenQ AC100 is a new AA battery powered14-megapixel compact camera featuring 10 special effects. The digital filters on board include Negative Film, Colur Accent, Astral, Toy, Lomo, Mosaic, and more. Other highlights include in-camera panorama stitching, a 720p HD video mode, advanced smart scene detection, HDR imaging, a 5cm super macro mode and a 27-108mm (eq.) f/2.9-6.5 lens. Availability is slated for January, with pricing to be announced.

Over the next 7 days we’ll be revealing our favourite products from this year in our first ever annual awards, looking back at the essential photography kit that has helped to define 2011.

Kicking things off is the Software of the Year 2011 award.

There aren’t too many applications that we consider to be a must-have addition to any photographer’s camera bag, but Silver Efex 2 from Nik Software is certainly one of them.

“There are some features that you will be able to do in any editing suite available. The main difference with Silver Efex is the ease in which you can apply the changes and the vast amount of preset monochromatic settings available. If you enjoy playing around with your pictures and you have around 200 euro to spend on a Photoshop plug-in, then this will provide hours of fun.”

Read the Full Review

Congratulations to Nik Software and Silver Efex 2!

Nikon has posted firmware updates for its new Nikon 1 J1 and Nikon 1 V1 compact system cameras. Version 1.10 adds a pixel mapping function and support for the FT-1 adapter that enables users to attach F-mount lenses to these cameras. You can download the firmware updates from the websites below.

Website: Nikon 1 J1 Firmware Update 1.10
Website: Nikon 1 V1 Firmware Update 1.10

iLightningCam 1.2 allows you to capture a lightning strike using the 8-megapixel camera of the Apple iPhone 4S. In full-resolution mode, the app builds on the increased speed of capture offered by the iPhone 4s, which “should capture almost all lightning strikes within range”, the developer says (the app works on the iPhone 4 too, but fast lightning strikes might be missed “due to hardware limitations”). iLighningCam 1.2 also works in video mode, where it analyses the footage and grabs the frame in which the lightning occurs and saves it - along with the next one - as a JPEG with a resolution of 1280x720 pixels on the iPhone 4 and 1920x1080 pixels on the 4S. The app is available on iTunes for $0.99.

Ecce Terram has launched a new photo book app for Facebook. The application enables members of the social network to create and order photo books from their favourite photo services provider, using photos stored in their Facebook albums. Order processing is handled by Ecce Terram’s Photo2Lab CentralHub middleware. For large retail chains with the Photo2Lab infrastructure already in place, configuration and deployment of the new app to work with their existing order processing system can be completed within a matter of days, the company says. Facebook members who log in to the Share Your Photostory app can simply select one of their albums, choose a background colour and pick the photos they want to include in their photo book, add some text, define the sort order and determine the cover image, and order the book, without ever leaving Facebook.

AKVIS has released version 4.0 of its NatureArt image manipulation software. Described by its developers as “an excellent tool for imitating the magnificence of natural phenomena”, AKVIS NatureArt lets photographers choose from up to eight nature effects including ice, frost, rain, water, lightning, clouds, fire and Sun. The new version makes it possible to apply an effect to a transparent area, adds new presets to the Sun and lightning effects, and includes an improved, more realistic version of the fire effect. AKVIS NatureArt is available in two editions, including a standalone version and a plug-in to a photo editor. The program sells for $72 USD for Home version (either Plugin or Standalone, 6 effects), $129 USD for Home Deluxe (Plugin and Standalone, 8 effects), $189 USD for Business (Plugin and Standalone, 8 effects, for commercial use).

Adobe has released the final versions of Lightroom 3.6 and Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) 6.6. Previously available as “release candidates”, these updates add support for new cameras including the Nikon 1 V1 and J1, the Canon Powershot S100, the Fujifilm X10, the Leica V-Lux 3, the Ricoh GR Digital IV, the Sony NEX-7, the Panasonic GX1 and the Samsung NX200 and NX5 (pictured). They also contain various bug fixes.

Website: Adobe Software Updates

Sigma has just announced the release of the PG-31 power grip for the Sigma SD1 digital SLR camera. Measuring 156mmx72mmx77mm, the Sigma PG-31 vertical grip can accommodate up to two BP-21 lithium-ion batteries for extended battery life, and features a shutter release for easier shooting in portrait orientation. Availability is slated for January, SRP to be announced.

The winners of the international Travel Photographer of the Year 2011 competition have been announced. The overall winner is Louis Montrose of the USA - an Elizabethan scholar and former professor at the University of California -, who has received the award for his two striking, and very different, portfolios; one documenting life in a painted village in Burkina Faso and the other depicting the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Festival in Oaxaca, Mexico. Mr Montrose will be given a unique personal showcase within the exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) in the summer of 2012. In addition he’ll receive a £1,000 cash bursary, plus Adobe Creative Suite Design Premium 5.5 and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 software, a Plastic Sandwich personalised leather iPad portfolio case, complete with iPad2, and a Lexar Professional 600x 32GB CompactFlash memory card + Lexar Professional Dual-Slot USB 3.0 card Reader.

Chrome Industries have launched a photo contest, entitled “‘I’m A McKenzie, You’re A McKenzie”. Interested photographers are invited to visit and “like” the Facebook fan page of Chrome Bags, and email a picture of a friend that most closely resembles Bob or Doug McKenzie from the film, ‘Strange Brew’. “We’re talking winter truck stop beanies, hunting caps, flannel and charm,” says Corinne Avganim of Chrome Industries. The submission deadline is Thursday, 15th December, and the main prize is a Nikon D300 and a Chrome Niko pro camera bag.