Apple iCloud is a set of free new cloud services that work seamlessly with applications on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content. When anything changes on one of your devices, all of your devices are wirelessly updated almost instantly. iCloud’s Photo Stream service automatically uploads the photos you take or import on any of your devices and wirelessly pushes them to all your devices and computers. iCloud will be available this Autumn concurrent with iOS 5.

The iOS 5 beta release includes over 200 new features that will be available to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users this Autumn. For photographers, new features in the Camera and Photos apps give you instant access to the camera right from the lock screen, and you can use the volume-up button to quickly snap a photo. Optional grid lines help line up your shot and a simple tap locks focus and exposure on one subject. The new Photos app lets you crop, rotate, enhance and remove red-eye, and organise your photos into albums right on your device to share them on the go.

The Mac OS X Lion operating system will be available to customers in July. With more than 250 new features and 3,000 new developer APIs, Mac OS X Lion features Multi-Touch gestures, system-wide support for full screen apps, and Mission Control for instantly accessing everything running on your Mac. Mac OS X Lion will be available in July as an upgrade to Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard from the Mac App Store for £20.99.

TouchUp Pro is a new photo editor for the iPhone and iPad. TouchUp Pro offers a quick, clean interface that lets you edit photos in a matter of seconds. TouchUp Pro 2.2.11 is available from the iTunes App Store and BlackBerry App World for $1.99 (USD).

X-Rite have released a video interview featuring world-renowned professional nature photographer and artist John Paul Caponigro. Mark Rezzonico, vice president X-Rite Photo Marketing, commented “To get the chance to share this exclusive video interview where John Paul shares his insights on photography and the importance of color management with the imaging community is such an honor.”

Acme Made Compact Mega Zoom (CMZ) pouches are a new range of colourful and compact protective cases. Available in high gloss purple, red, yellow and a black chevron design, Acme Made CMZ cases are perfect to house compact mega zoom cameras. They are available from major photo retailers, www.acmemade.co.uk, and selected electrical retailers. Price is around £20.

Snapseed is an entirely new photo application designed specifically for the iPad. Snapseed enables anyone to create amazing photos with a wide variety of innovative filters and tools, including Grunge, Vintage and Drama and Nik’s revolutionary U Point technology. With Snapseed, users can enhance, edit, and share their photos via social networks, email and even print via Apple’s AirPrint Wi-Fi printing standard. Snapseed for iPad is available now for €3.99 / $4.99 on the Apple App Store.

The Master Photographers Association has launched the new style 2011 Master Photography Awards. This year sees a change in submission method, plus 8 new, or updated, categories, and the brand new title of ‘International Master Photographer of the Year’. The Master Photography Awards are the most prestigious awards for photography in the UK, and are open to all qualified members of the Association.

The Camera Lens Cap Holder makes sure that you won’t lose a lens cap again. Mark Stevenson’s lens cap holder allows you to securely attach a camera’s lens cap to your neck strap or camera bag. Initially there will be ten lens cap sizes. 52mm, 55mm, 72mm & 77mm for Nikon, Pentax, Fujifilm, Sony, Pro-series and vintage lenses, 46mm, 58mm & 67mm for M4/3, Cannon and Nikon lenses, and 40.5mm, 49mm & 62mm for M4/3, Olympus and vintage lenses.

XL Studio Lighting have released a new 2 in 1 black and white background for high/low key studio photography. Made from durable vinyl, one side is Matt Black and the other Matt White. Available in 2m and 2.9m widths and a range of lengths, prices start at £49.95.

Peter Steedman’s new exhibition at Lauderdale House encompasses a wide variety of themes ranging from landscapes to textures, plant portraits to old buildings. Lauderdale House is located in Waterlow Park on Highgate Hill in north London. The exhibition runs until 12th June, and is open daily from 11.00am to 4.00pm Tuesday to Friday, and midday to 5.00pm on Sunday. Admission is free.

From Monday 6 June, Australian consumers will have the opportunity to snap up one of just 2,000 limited-edition “red” EOS 1100D digital SLR cameras. The camera bodies come with the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5–5.6 IS II and EF-S 55-250mm f/4–5.6 IS lenses, a red strap and a custom-made aluminium travel case. The kit can be yours for AUD 1,199.

Source: Canon Australia via 1001 Noisy Cameras

Canon has announced the resolution of patent infringement disputes with twenty companies. The dispute concerned certain toner cartridges and their photosensitive drums. As a result of the resolution, the twenty companies involved are now prohibited from making, using, selling and offering for sale in the US, and from importing into the US, the products which Canon accused of infringement.

Snapixel Magazine, which started out as an online publication dedicated to great photography by up-and-coming talents, is now looking to go into the print world. To this end, the editors have launched a Kickstarter campaign asking interested readers to back the project with donations. They want to raise at least $6,000 to cover the costs of printing and distribution, and you can pledge $5 or more to help them make this happen. “We’ve done some test runs, and the magazine really shines in print,” says marketing and advertising director Emily Sands.  “We want to be able to reach a wider audience and expose our featured artists to everyone everywhere!”

Website: Snapixel Kickstarter Page

Nikon has announced a new summer cashback promotion offering customers in the UK and Republic of Ireland up to £65 /€75 back on purchases of the Nikon D3100, starting today. Customers are entitled to claim £40/€50 cashback on purchases of a new Nikon D3100 body or single lens kit, or £65/€75 cashback on purchases of a new Nikon D3100 body with two or more lenses until 31st July. All claims must be received by 31st August to apply. For more information, visit the website below.

ActiveTrak has developed a new online tool to find stolen cameras and resolve copyright issues related to the unauthorised use of photographs on the Internet. Currently in Beta, GadgetTrak Camera Serial Search is built around the same idea as Matt Burns’ Stolen Camera Finder, namely, that many of the top camera manufacturers embed the camera’s serial number into the image files produced by their cameras. The difference is that the Portland, Oregon-based company has “built out a bot-net style distributed computing network to scour massive amounts of images online,” says Justin Thiele of AcitveTrak, adding: “This service can help locate & recover stolen cameras and we are working with law enforcement agencies to see how it can be used to solve other serious crimes, like child pornography.”

Website: GadgetTrak Camera Serial Search Beta

Photodex has partnered with Zenfolio to offer integrated solutions for creating video slideshows online. Photodex’s ProShow Web service now seamlessly pulls photos from Zenfolio galleries to create customised, HD video slideshows that can be shared online through social media sites like Facebook and YouTube, embedded on a blog or website and downloaded to a computer. Users can complete their shows with over 50 stylish themes, royalty-free music, and the ability to drag and drop a la carte effects onto any photo or video, resulting in a fully customised video. The news comes three months after the announcement of a similar agreement between Photodex and SmugMug.

KAZA has introduced handcrafted, full-grain leather camera cases for the Olympus E-PL1 and the Olympus E-PL2. Each case has a classic, vintage look and “is expressly intended to offer the utmost in security and ease of access in a full case”, the company says. Both of these cases have a smooth, soft flannelette lining that cushions the camera and protects the lens and LCD screen from scratches without adding unnecessary bulk, keeping the cases slim and easy to bring anywhere. KAZA’s Olympus E-PL1 and E-PL2 cases are available now at $59 apiece. For more information, check out the website below. Note that buyers are required to specify whether they need the E-PL1 or the E-PL2 version as they are slightly different in size.