Ricoh has posted a firmware update for the Ricoh CX5 digital compact camera. Version 1.19 improves white balance accuracy and fixes a bug with camera response when you take pictures repeatedly with a full-press of the shutter release. The firmware upgrade is available for download now from the website below.

Website: Ricoh CX5 Firmware

Color Range is a new photography app for the Apple iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. The program lets users modify the color range of an image to highlight a particular colour or range of colours while converting the rest of the picture to monochrome. In addition, Color Range offers 21 more built-in photo effects for free. Color Range is available now in the App Store for $1.99.

Verbatim has announced a new range of Class 10 SDHC memory cards. Offered in capacities of 4GB to 32 GB both in standard and micro size, the new Verbatim cards are available in the shops now and cost £6.99 (4GB), £12.00 (8GB), £24.00 (16 GB), £40.00 (32 GB).

The prize packages for the Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) contest have been announced. Prizes include trips to Marrakech, Oman, Botswana and Cambodia, cash bursaries and a paid photographic commission in England and Scotland. The overall winner of the awards will be given a unique personal showcase within the TPOTY exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) in the summer of 2012. The showcase will contain not just their eight TPOTY-winning images but also a selection of their other, non-TPOTY work. For more details, see the full announcement below.

KenigArt has just released Camera Pro, a new photography app for Apple’s iPad 2. The application, which offers 10 tools to improve photos from the device’s built-in camera, features a simple and easy-to use user interface fully optimised for the iPad 2. Camera Pro is available on iTunes for $2.99.

JP Distribution has announced availability and pricing for two new Black Rapid products, the RS-Sport 2 strap and the SnapR 35 strap-bag combo. Available now, the Black Rapid SnapR 35 (£50, pictured) is a combination camera bag and sling strap designed to fit compact system cameras and small camcorders. It allows the camera to slide out of the bag and up the strap to eye level. The RS-Sport 2 (£75), available next month, is a slimmer version of the existing RS-Sport strap, which combines the extra stability of a built-in underarm strap with a lower-profile pad.

Phaidon Press have just released Steve McCurry: The Iconic Photographs, a large-format limited book that includes 165 of his most evocative and famous photographs. Born in 1950, Steve McCurry is one of the world’s leading photojournalists, who attained international recognition in the mid-1980s when he won the Robert Capa Gold Medal for his coverage of the Afghan war and the ensuing humanitarian crisis. His portrait of a young Afghan refugee girl, which appeared on the cover of National Geographic Magazine in June 1985, is widely regarded as one of the most famous photographs of the twentieth century. The new collection features this and many other iconic images by McCurry, including Boy in Mid-Flight (shown above courtesy of Phaidon Press), Flower Seller, Boy at Ganesh Chaturthi Festival, Monk at Jokhang Temple, and Dust Storm, Rajahstan, India. Click through / scroll down for a video of Steve McCurry sharing the story behind the last of these photos.

Brilliant Prints UK has announced a special offer on canvas prints until the end of this month. Customers who order a canvas print from the UK branch of the Australian company will receive a second one for free. Do note that this limited-time offer is open to UK residents only. For details of the promotion, visit the website below.

RL Vision recently released version 4.1 of EXIF Tag remover, an application which allows users to quickly and selectively remove EXIF information from their image files in order to protect their privacy when publishing their photos online. Users can opt to delete all metadata or manually select the tags they want removed from their image files. The company also released version 6.54 of Flash Renamer, an all-in-one batch file renaming utility that can also be of use to photographers.

Website: RL Vision

Kenro has announced the UK availability of four new Benro Gimbal heads. These have been developed to allow the user to manipulate heavier cameras with large telephoto lenses more comfortably than with a standard tripod head. The mechanism on Benro Gimbal heads operates on the principle of manipulating the lens using its own centre of gravity. The four new heads range from 0.47kg to 1.76kg in weight, 15 to 25kg in load capacity and £220.00 to £584.99 in price. Stockist information is available on Kenro’s website.

Hasselblad has announced a bonus incentive plan for customers buying a new Hasselblad H4D series camera or a CFV-39/CFV-50 digital back. Anyone buying one of these cameras or backs before the end of July will be awarded a Bonus Cheque worth 10% of the net MSRP of the product they have purchased. The customer then simply redeems the Bonus Cheque with their Hasselblad dealer, spending the total value on any photographic item of their choice. The offer is not restricted to Hasselblad products - the Bonus Cheque can be .used toward any photo equipment the dealer sells. Click through for more information and a list of participating retailers.

Pentax UK has announced the availability of the Pentax K-r DSLR in five new colours. These include yellow, pink, blue, purple and metal chocolate. The new colours will be available to purchase from July, in a standard K-r kit which includes the K-r body plus a DA-L 18-55mm lens. The recommended retail price is £529.99.

Legacy Learning Systems has launched the sixth edition to its popular instruction series, Learn & Master Photography. The series is available as a set of 15 instructional DVDs containing 24 sessions, two photography sample CDs with hi-res images for editing and experimentation, an exclusive Lesson Book highlighting each session and access to a free online student support site. The Lesson Book is full of photographs and illustrated photo techniques to add to a user’s visual learning. It contains information on all the assignments in the video sessions so it can be read at the user’s own pace. There is also a glossary of photography terms. The course costs $249.+ shipping.

The new Velbon Ultrek UT-43D is a full-height tripod that folds down to 29.5cm for transport. This feat is accomplished through the use of six-section reverse-folding legs. The Velbon Ultrek UT-43D tripod comes complete with Velbon’s QHD-53D ball head, a quick-release plate and a two-section telescopic centre column. Weighing in at 1.17kg and extending to a full height of 156.6cm, the tripod has a load capacity of 3 kilograms and carries a suggested retail price of £179.99.

Lastolite has announced that it has been chosen as the UK distributor for the SMDV Flash Wave III. The new Flash Wave III is a compact radio slave system for wireless triggering of cameras, battery-operated and studio flash units, providing 16 individual radio frequency channels on a 2.4 GHz frequency band. A compatible shutter release cable allows you to remotely focus and trigger your camera using a two-step triggering button. The Flash Wave III has a built-in hotshoe, and also comes with a number of accessories including a PC Sync, 3.5mm mini jack cable and 3.5 – 6.3mm converter. The SMDV Flash Wave III is available now for £125.

onOne Software has just launched Perfect Layers 1.0, an application that gives photographers the ability to easily create and work with layered files in their workflow application of choice. Hitherto available as a Public Preview, Perfect Layers supports the creation of layered files that can be opened and edited by Adobe Photoshop and can be used directly from within Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, Adobe Bridge and Apple Aperture. Perfect Layers 1.0 is available as a standalone product at the special introductory price of $99.95 until the end of this month. From 1 July 2011, Perfect Layers will be available for $129.95 and included as part of the Perfect Photo Suite 5.5. Owners of Plug-In Suite 5 can upgrade to Perfect Photo Suite 5.5, which will include Perfect Layers, at no additional cost.

As part of global celebrations for Day of the African Child, Sony Europe has today unveiled photographs from the sixth Sony Eye-See initiative, an annual workshop held in partnership with UNICEF, giving vulnerable African children the opportunity to learn about photography and tell their stories through images. UNICEF photographer Giacomo Pirozzi led the group in an intensive week-long workshop, equipping them with a Sony digital camera and teaching them the core photography techniques necessary to go out and shoot the pictures. Click through / scroll down for an image gallery.

Lomography has launched a new super wide-angle film camera called La Sardina. Inspired by the design of sardine cans, La Sardina is a point-and-shoot camera equipped with a plastic wide-angle lens shooting regular 24x36mm frames on 35mm film. Initially, there will be four models available: El Capitán, Fischer’s Fritze, Sea Pride and Marathon. All of these come with a 22mm f/8 lens that has an angle of view of 88 degrees. El Capitán and Fisher’s Fritze are also equipped with Fritz the Blitz, Lomography’s newest and most powerful flash, which comes complete with 3 unique distance settings that allow you to regulate the flash output to suit your needs. This flash is also packaged with yellow, red and blue filters. El Capitán and Fisher’s Fritze are priced at £89/€89, while Sea Pride and Marathon can be had for £49/€49 each.