Leica has announced a special edition of the D-Lux 5 digital compact camera: the Leica D-Lux 5 Titanium. Featuring the same technical specifications as the regular model - including a 24-90mm equivalent zoom lens and a 1/1.63” sensor with a resolution of 10.1 megapixels - the Leica D-Lux 5 Titanium boasts an anodised silver-grey finish, and comes presented in a special set with a premium grey leather case with shoulder strap. An Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 licence is also part of the package, with the software itself being supplied via Web download. The Leica D-Lux 5 Titanium special edition set is scheduled to be available in the UK at the end of October 2011 at an SRP of £855 including VAT from authorised Leica dealers.

As part of its worldwide “Imagine More” campaign, Manfrotto has launched the Imagine More Factory Roadshow. The Imagine More Factory is described by Manfrotto as “a unique place where anyone is invited to test his talent by personally experiencing the emotion of photographing – and being photographed – on professional photography sets”. The roadshow involves an interactive “Photo Lab” being set up in a number of temporary locations including Berlin, Hong Kong, London, Rome, Paris, Tokyo and New York. In this “Photo Lab”, you’ll find a team of professional photographers who will guide you and your friends through amusing photo sets, and provide you with an opportunity to try the newest Manfrotto products. The next Imagine More Factory roadshow locations are Berlin (21-23rd October), Hong Kong (5-6th November) and Covent Garden, London (18-20th November).

Olympus has announced that the most talented members of its PEN Flickr group will get a chance to have their best work featured on the Olympus website as well as in upcoming PEN adverts. Alongside international recognition, there’s also a financial reward for members whose pictures are chosen for the campaign. For example, generous credits for the Olympus online shop where they can choose from the complete Olympus product line-up, including the growing range of Micro Four Thirds lenses and PEN accessories. Or one of three new PEN cameras: the flagship PEN E-P3, the PEN Lite (pictured) or the PEN Mini. You can join the Olympus PEN Flickr group at the website below.

Jessops has teamed up with The Mob Film Company to launch a short film competition. Using nothing but a digital camera’s movie function, participants must produce a ten-minute film entitled, “The Shot”. The competition, which runs until early next year, is open to everyone in the UK and offers one lucky winner an all-expenses paid trip to spend the day with Paul WS Anderson on the set of his latest movie. In addition, the winner will also receive a £5000 camera package, courtesy of Nikon. Full competition rules and submission instructions can be found on Jessops’ Facebook page.

The 2012 Fujifilm Student Photography Awards are now open and accepting entries. The Awards are open to all students aged 16 or over undertaking full or part-time professional photographic training, or full or part-time graphic design training of which photography is a major part at a UK based college or university. The theme for 2012 is ‘Extreme’ with students being briefed to capture the meaning of that word in a single image. As in previous years, all images must be originated on Fujifilm film stock, then scanned and submitted via the website below.

An exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the Nikon 1 Factory in China.

Annaloa Hilmarsdottir, Alan Thomas, Tom Truong, Fadhul Ramadhan and Ketlan Ossowski have all won a copy of Fluid Mask 3.2, courtesy of Download Buyer.

Fluid Mask 3.2 is a still-image masking tool that works as both a standalone application and a plug-in to Adobe’s Photoshop or Elements. The Visual Image Segmentation lets you see exactly how your image is made up of segments of similar properties, enabling you to create super-fine mask selections with ease. The Targeted Edge Detection and Blending lets you isolate difficult areas and apply alternative selections, whilst the intelligent blending gets the closest to extracting the true character of the image.

The onscreen help and guidance make Fluid Mask 3.2 quick and easy to use. The stored workspace setting allows you to tailor the default settings to your needs and process complete studio runs effortlessly. Fluid Mask 3.2 is ideal for photographers, image editors, graphic designers or for those who are interested in digital image editing. One of the fastest masking tools available today, Fluid Mask 3.2 is as easy as ‘see, click, cut’!

This contest is now closed.

The Canon EOS-1D X is a new professional digital SLR camera with a full-frame 18-megapixel sensor, a continuous shooting speed of 14 frames per second (12fps with AF) and a new 61-point AF system. Also featuring dual DIGIC 5+ image processors and 14-bit analogue-to-digital signal conversion, the Canon EOS-1D X offers a sensitivity range of ISO 100-51,200, expandable to ISO 204,800. The new 61-point AF module boasts Intelligent Tracking and Recognition, an expanded AF coverage area, superior focusing precision and low light sensitivity, and greater low-contrast subject detection capability compared to earlier EOS AF systems. The Canon EOS-1D X digital SLR camera is scheduled for March 2012 availability and will be sold in a body-only configuration at an estimated retail price of $6,800.

Canon Europe has posted a detailed, 12-page explanatory article on the new Canon EOS-1D X digital SLR camera. Available on the Canon Professional Network website, the article explains the technical aspects of the new camera in great detail. The professional-grade Canon EOS-1D X will be available in March 2012 at an estimated retail price of $6,800.

Canon has announced the achievement of two milestones: the company has recently manufactured its 50 millionth EOS-series SLR camera, and expects to produce the 70 millionth EF lens by the end of this month. The first-ever Canon EOS camera, the EOS 650, was launched in March 1987. By the 10th anniversary of the series in 1997, the number of EOS cameras sold had reached the 10 million mark. Production propelled to 20 million units in 2003, and by the 20th anniversary they had reached the 30 million mark, due to the continued popularity of the EOS system in the digital age. The 40 millionth EOS camera was manufactured in May 2010, while the current 50 million-unit production milestone was achieved in September 2011.

According to Nikon, the total production of Nikkor interchangeable lenses for Nikon SLR cameras reached sixty-five million at the beginning of this month. The first Nikon SLR camera, the professional-grade Nikon F, was launched in 1959 along with the very first F-mount Nikkors such as the Nikkor-S Auto 5cm f/2. In March 2011, total production of Nikkor lenses reached sixty million. Since then, Nikon has continued to expand the product lineup by releasing two new SLR lenses, the AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G (read review) and the AF-S DX Micro-Nikkor 40mm f/2.8G.

Emporio Armani and Magnum Photos have teamed up to present an exhibition of photographs by Elliott Landy. Opening tonight at the Emporio Armani Boutique, 149 Boulevard Saint-Germain, 75006 Paris, the exhibition features some of the photographer’s abstract and especially colourful images of 1960s rock and roll legends. This is “a different group than I normally exhibit — less literal and more painterly,” he says. “They are printed on a variety of non-paper media in large sizes and have never been printed this way before. Some of the images have never been exhibited prior to this show.” Limited Editions are available for purchase from Magnum in Paris and New York City. Interested readers are encouraged to contact Ms Valerie Fougeirol at Magnum Photos.

Canon has announced three all-in-one photo printers. All three printers feature the ChromaLife 100 two-cartridge ink system, enhanced Full HD Movie Print software andr a maximum colour resolution of 4800x1200dpi. The Canon Pixma MG4120 and MG3120 models additionally offer wireless printing capabilities, and the MG4120 (pictured) is also compatible with the Pixma Cloud Link for easy printing of photos and templates directly through the printer without the use of a computer, using the 2.4 inch colour LCD screen. The Canon Pixma MG4120 Wireless, MG3120 Wireless and MG2120 Photo all-in-one printers will have an estimated selling price of $129.99, $79.99 and $69.99 respectively.

Foto8 has announced a new series of seminars for the coming months. The first of these, which is entitled “Making it Happen” will take place on 26th November, 10am-7pm at HOST Gallery and is designed to help you make it to the next stage in your photographic career by looking at models for self-funding, print sales, publishing and curating. The fee for this seminar is £140, which includes all seminar sessions and group critique session as well as lunch, beverages throughout the day and a drinks reception in the evening. HOST Gallery is located at 1 Honduras Street, London EC1Y 0TH. You can book your place online through the website below.

Fujifilm has issued a firmware update for the Fujifilm X100. Version 1.11 improves AF performance in the macro range, and fixes two bugs: I) When “SHADW TONE” is set to “MEDIUM SOFT” or “SOFT”, solarisation may occur on the LCD just after pressing the shutter halfway. II) With the self-timer activated, focus and exposure are set just after pressing the shutter release and these settings remain locked until the shutter is released. You can download the firmware update from the website below.

Website: Fujifilm

The Art of Photographic Lighting by Eib Eibelshaeuser is a new title from Rocky Nook. From this book, you will learn how light and shadow can be used to compose photographs and get acquainted with the principles of perception and lighting design. The book is available now from O’Reilly for $44.95.

“Ron Wyatt’s China” is a solo exhibition of large-scale photographs of China by editorial and corporate photographer Ron Wyatt, Hosted by The Calumet Gallery, the exhibition is taking place from October 26 to November 4, 2011 and showcases a collection of more than thirty images, representing two bodies of work: photographs of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and images of China’s cities, towns and people. An opening reception will be held on Wednesday, October 26, 2011 from 7-10 PM at the Calumet Gallery, 22 West 22nd St (2nd Floor), NY, NY. The reception is free and open to the public.

Sigma Corporation of America has announced the price and availability of the new Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 II DC OS HSM lens. Successor to the 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM “Mark I”, Sigma’s newest superzoom lens features FLD (“F” Low Dispersion) glass elements, which have the performance equal to fluorite glass, and SLD (Special Low Dispersion) glass elements for the correction of colour aberrations. Additionally, the manufacturer’s Super Multi-Layer Coating is also there to reduce flare and ghosting throughout the entire zoom range. An iris diaphragm with seven rounded blades and an Optical Stabiliser promising approximately 4 stops’ worth of image stabilisation round off the features list. The Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 II DC OS HSM lens is available now in Canon and Nikon mounts for the MSRP of $720. As reported earlier, the UK price will be £499.99.