Sigma has announced that the updated Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 EX DG OS APO HSM telephoto zoom lens is now available for purchase in the USA. Unveiled at Photokina 2010, the lens features one SLD and two FLD glass elements for maximum correction of chromatic aberrations. The OS (optical stabiliser) function offers the use of shutter speeds approximately 4 stops slower than would otherwise be possible. The super multi-layer coating reduces flare and ghosting. The Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 EX DG OS APO HSM is available for the MSRP of $4,700.

The Wedding Photographer’s Toolkit is an iPad app packed with photography tips, tricks and how-to’s for the modern wedding photographer. “Learn poses from the pose guide, get lens selections from the lens guide and learn retouching, composition and complete lighting all in one easy to navigate app,” the developer says. “Use the toolkit section to learn about online resources, conferences that include sample contracts, shotlists and business forms.“The Wedding Photographer’s Toolkit is $12.99 and available now on iTunes.

The OptimumCS-Pro iPhone app is an optimum camera settings tool for photographers, cinematographers and videographers. Designed for any kind of photography where maximum sharpness over a large depth of field is required, OptimumCS determines the camera settings that will result in the sharpest photographs “the laws of physics will allow”, developer George Douvos says. This approach is quite different from practices based on the international depth of field standard, which have the goal of finding the largest aperture that will provide acceptable sharpness on relatively small prints. Additions versus the original OptimumCS application include several different distance scales, emphasising near or far distances, circles of confusion for film sizes up to 8x10”, and optimum sharpness data for longer focal lengths. OptimumCS-Pro is available now on iTunes for $3.99.

Mary Walker, the driving force behind Focus on Imaging has picked a new team of creative professionals. The new members include Editorial Photographer Matt Sills, independent film maker Ross Casswell and imaging expert Jonathan Briggs. Mary Walker explained: “With growth and development constantly taking place in this marketplace, it’s always been essential for Focus to embrace and represent it - by trend setting as much as following. This annual reinvention keeps the show fresh, and ensures that it continues to meet the needs of the industry, both in terms of suppliers and end-users.” Focus on Imaging 2012 takes place from 4 to 7 March 2012 at the NEC Birmingham.

Kenro has released the Benro Flat Traveller tripod range. Tripods in the Flat Traveller series incorporate dust and water resistant leg-locks and an anti-rotation leg system. They also feature a centre column which allows the user to make fine vertical camera adjustments. These ultra-lightweight camera tripods are available in either aluminium or high-strength carbon fibre and come with either stainless steel spiked or rubber feet. There are three models available in aluminium, with varying maximum loads of 6, 8 or 12 kilograms. They range in price from £109.99 for the smallest to £130 for the medium model up to £160 for the largest. The carbon fibre versions come in the same sizes and cost £319.99, £359.99 and £394.99 respectively.

The World Photography Organisation (WPO) today announced that the Sony World Photography Awards 2012 are now open for entries. The awards include a Professional competition, which invites entries from the world’s leading photographers and ‘serious enthusiasts’, and an Open competition for everyone with an interest in photography. For the 2012 awards, a ‘Nature & Wildlife’ category has been introduced to the Professional competition and there are no less than three new categories in the Open competition including ‘Enhanced’, ‘Split Second’ and ‘Low-light’. The submission deadline is 4 January 2012. For full details, visit the website below.

CyberLink has released a public Beta of PhotoDirector 2011, an innovative photo workflow software for photography enthusiasts. Photo Director offers a raw converter, a photo editor and a photo sharing tool in a single package. Any user who downloads the Beta version and provides “valid feedback” of their experience by June 20th will receive the official release version for free. For more information, visit the website below.

Update: Beta testing is over, the final version is out now (21 June 2011).

A group of emerging photographers from City and Islington College in North London will be auctioning some of their work on behalf of the Teenage Cancer Trust. The auction will take place from 6.45pm to 8pm on Wednesday 15th June as part of an exhibition at John Jones London, which runs from Wednesday 15th to Saturday 18th June 2011. The twelve lots that will be on offer can be viewed at the website below.

Carrafix today released Photo Boost 1.0, their new photo enhancement application for the Apple iPhone/iPad. Utilising the multi-touch support of the devices, Photo Boost provides a number of filter effects including Stretch, Colorise, Focus, Twirl and Bump. All effects actions can be undone with a simple touch. When you’re done, you can share your art via Twitter, Facebook or email from within the application. Photo Boost 1.0 for iPhone is $1.99, Photo Boost HD 1.0 for iPad is $4.99, with both versions available on iTunes.

Fusioncam is a new toy camera app for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch. Developed by Hong Kong based Stepcase, Fusioncam features multiple exposure capabilities as well as toy camera effects and easy photo sharing. Today, the app can be downloaded free of charge from iTunes. Tomorrow you can buy it for $0.99, while the regular price will be $1.99.

Center has announced a public photographic portfolio walk for Friday, 3 June 2011, 5:30 to 8:00pm, at Santa Fe Hilton Historic Plaza. This is a free event that forms part of Review Santa Fe, an invitational photographic portfolio review event that allows 100 photographers to present their work to nationally and internationally renowned curators, book publishers, editors and gallery directors. At this event, collectors and art enthusiasts will have the opportunity to view the work, talk with the artists and add to their collections at a reasonable price. (The photo above is from Tamás Dezs?‘s project Here, Anywhere, which has won him the 2011 Center Award.)

Canon has issued a firmware update for the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV digital SLR camera. Version 1.1.0 incorporates the following improvements and fixes:

1. Improves writing/reading speeds when using UDMA 7-compatible CF cards.
2.Fixes a phenomenon where the ability to shoot movies may be stopped under the following conditions:
• When using high-capacity (32 GB or greater) CF cards with little available space remaining and the user attempts to start shooting movies; or
• When the camera’s battery is removed and reinserted into the camera and the user immediately attempts to start shooting movies.
3. Corrects misspellings in the menu screens displayed in Arabic and Portuguese languages (applies to models outside of the the Japanese market only).

Website: Canon

The 40th issue of the free PhotographyBB Online Magazine is now available. This month’s edition explores two photo-centric locations; the colourful Australian Outback, and Puerto Angel, Mexico. The issue also has a three-page feature on what it takes to protect your photo business, ten tips on shooting razor-sharp photos and an article on smart sharpening. PhotographyBB is available as a free download from the website below.

Website: PhotographyBB

Kodak has now introduced social network connectivity to the Kodak Picture Kiosk. Version 5.0 of the Kodak Picture Kiosk software enables users to access and print the photos they’ve published or shared on Kodak Gallery, Facebook and Picasa Web Albums. With no need for media such as memory cards consumers just have to log in to one of these sites to instantly access their photo albums and make prints, collages, greeting cards or photo books using the Kodak Picture Kiosk. This new feature will be available in the UK starting next month.

INFLUX is the title of an upcoming photography exhibition hosted by East London gallery theprintspace. Showcasing a mix of portraiture, landscape and documentary photography,  INFLUX reflects the interest of 2nd Year Foundation Degree Students at Brighton University in contemporary photographic practice. “All students have drawn their inspiration and skills from working with design artists, web designers and from within the field of teaching, which is reflected in the depth and diversity of the exhibited photographs,” the company says. “theprintspace gallery is proud to provide these students with the unique opportunity of exhibiting their work to photo enthusiasts and industry experts.” The exhibition runs from 6th June-17th June, Monday-Friday 9am-7pm. The gallery is located at 74 Kingsland Road, London E2 8DL.

The Samyang 35mm f/1.4 AS UMC is now available for Pentax and Sony digital SLR cameras. Released at the beginning of the month for Canon and Nikon, the manual-focus Samyang 35mm f/1.4 AS UMC uses a system of floating lens elements in order to preserve high image quality even at the lens’ close focus point of 30cm. Like the Canon version, the Pentax and Sony variants sell for €399 including taxes.

Western Digital has released the newest version of its WD Photos photo viewer app. The updated app now works with the WD TV Live Hub media center from an Apple iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Android compatible smartphone or tablet, allowing users to create content with their iOS or Android device and send it directly to anyone with a WD TV Live Hub media center for big screen viewing. The app is available for free on iTunes and the Android Market.

Cyclopital3D has introduced a unique line of accessories for the Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D W3 camera. The new accessories enable users to attach add-on macro, wide-angle and fish-eye conversion lenses to their cameras. Also available is a stereo base extender for the W1 and W3, which uses perfectly aligned high-quality mirrors to effectively increase the stereo base of the camera to 225mm for great 3D photos of faraway subjects. The accessories are available through the website below.

Sony has announced a 16.15-megapixel, 1/2.3” CCD sensor, which uses its Super HAD (Hole-Accumulation Diode) technology. Developed for consumer digital cameras, the new sensor uses tiny 1.34µm pixels, but Sony says it has maximized the photodiode area and significantly improved sensitivity per unit pixel thanks to “new fine pixel fabrication technologies”. It also claims to have “raised signal-to-noise ratio to the highest level in the industry.” The company also introduced a smaller, 1/2.93” sensor offering 10.17 megapixels of resolution using the same 1.34µm pixel size.

Source: Sony CX-NEWS Via DCVIEWS