MacPhun today announced the upcoming release of FX Photo Studio 3.1 for the iPhone, IPad and iPod Touch. Billed as the collection of photo effects on the AppStore, The new version adds 10 new filters, introduces faster image processing and sharing via Tumblr. The most innovative new feature is the sharing of presets - the user gets a unique code for every preset created, which can then be emailed or shared from inside the app via Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr or Facebook. FX Photo Studio sells for $2.99, with this version expected to be available in the App Store within a week or two.

BenVista released PhotoZoom Pro 4 and PhotoZoom Classic 4 today. With PhotoZoom Pro 4, BenVista claims to offer a breakthrough in “uprezzing” and cleaning up mediocre or even low-quality photos to produce acceptable enlargements. Says D.S. Schoolwerth, CEO at BenVista: “We have developed a technology that combines perfectly with our S-Spline Max resize method. Not only it cleans up JPEG compression artifacts and noise, the image will also look perfectly sharp and true to nature after enlargement.” Other improvements include 64-bit support, additional fine-tuning options, new pre-defined settings for different types of images, and additional presets for common print and pixel sizes. PhotoZoom Pro 4 costs €169, while the less feature-rich but still powerful PhotoZoom Classic sells for €79.

The Plugin Site just released Version 2 of its FocalBlade plug-in for Mac Os. FocalBlade is a plugin that sharpens photos for display and print with the help of various automatic and manual tools. It also reduces noise and produces natural-looking bokeh, soft focus and special effects. Version 2 renders 10 to 100 times faster than Version 1 (depending on the used settings and CPU). It supports multiple sharpening workflows and various output devices. Additionally, FocalBlade 2 achieves better sharpening effects with less artifacts through improved edge masking and halo reduction. FocalBlade 2 for Mac OS X is $69.95 for the regular licence and $39.95 for the academic licence. A Windows version is also available.

Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, announced the release of Ansel Adams for the iPad. The app provides a multi-tiered introduction to the life and work of the most honored American photographer of the twentieth century, and includes a slideshow of 40 Ansel Adams photographs, with optional audio narration, written commentary, or synchronised music. Ansel Adams for the iPad is available on iTunes for $13.99.

The BenQ S1420 O.I.S. is a new 14-megapixel compact camera with optical image stabilisation and HDR II image enhancement technology. Featuring a 26-130mm equivalent zoom lens, a bright 3.0” LCD, 720p HD video capture and a range of creative shooting modes which includes “LOMO”, “Fisheye” and “Colour accent”. The orange coloured S1420 will be available in China and Asia Pacific in December, Latin America and Europe in January 2011.

Casio has posted a firmware update for the Casio EX-H20G digital compact camera. Version 1.01 enables the camera to write all positioning log data stored in its memory to a memory card. This output log will be saved as a *.kml file. Casio has added a page dedicated to the use of this function to the user’s guide.

Webstie: Casio EX-H20G Firmware Update

For the first time in its history, the Sony World Photography Awards is being held in London, on 27 April 2011. The awards will take place during the annual World Photography Festival & Exhibition. Honorary Judges for the 2011 Awards will be present and participating in the Festival, and the winning photgraphs will be on display for everyone to see. Other Festival programme highlights include workshops covering such topics as book design, designing your portfolio, merging film with stills and more; a five-evening series of intimate conversations with some of the greatest living photographers; and the World Photography Seminar Series including a panel debate on the London photography scene.

Website: World Photography Festival

Samyang Poland has announced the European launch of the Samyang 14mm f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC lens for the Samsung NX mount. Given that the the existing Samsung NX cameras use an APS-C sized sensor, the lens’ angle of view is equivalent to that of a 21mm lens mounted to a 35mm camera. The recommended retail price of the manual-focus Samyang 14mm f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC lens is €329.

Pentax are releasing a limited edition “Korejanai” version of the K-r DSLR in Japan. Just 100 sets of the special Korejanai K-r and a matching 35mm lens will be available in time for Christmas. It’s certainly a little more eye-catching than the usual sombre black…

Website: Pentax Japan Press Release

A new Polaroid camera will be unveiled at the CES show in January. According to Engadget, they’ve receieved a press invite from Polaroid for the 6th of January which shows a new camera tantalisingly shrouded in darkness. Some simple Photoshop trickery reveals a slot in the bottom of the new Polaroid, hinting at a new instant camera.

Website: Engadget

Nikon is about to release a new firmware upgrade for the D7000 DSLR to fix “noticeable bright spots with movie recording under certain conditions”. Owners have reported that the spots are particularly noticeable when recording movies of especially dark scenes or subjects. No date has yet been given for the release of what will be the first D7000 firmware upgrade.

onOne Software has released Perfect Photo Suite 5.5 for Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Apple Aperture. With support for Photoshop CS5, CS4 and CS3, the Perfect Photo Suite 5.5 includes the company’s FocalPoint 2, PhotoTune 3, PhotoFrame 4.6, PhotoTools 2.6, MaskPro 4.1 and Perfect Resize 7 plug-ins (the last of which is the next generation of Genuine Fractals). Additionally, the new version allows photographers to use FocalPoint 2, PhotoTune 3, PhotoFrame 4.6 and Perfect Resize 7 directly within Lightroom and Aperture without the need for a separate host application. The new Perfect Photo Suite 5.5 is available immediately to owners of Plug-In Suite 5 as a free upgrade at the website below. New users may purchase Perfect Photo Suite 5.5 for $499.95.

Arca-Swiss has announced the Rm2d, a precision medium-format camera, which is smaller and lighter than the critically acclaimed Rm3d. Marketed as the camera for high-resolution hand-held photography, the Arca-Swiss Rm2d can take film magazines as well as digital backs, and is compatible with Arca-Swiss R-mount lenses ranging from 23mm to 250mm. The precision of the focusing device allows for repeatable settings with 15 micron accuracy (when mounted on a tripod, of course), and the camera also boasts a shift functionality that makes it well suited to architectural photography. Weighing in at a mera 700 grams without a lens or a film magazine / digital back, the Arca-Swiss Rm2d is available at a price of €3,090 + VAT.

Accroding to net-security.org, ElcomSoft has discovered vulnerability in Canon’s Original Data Security System. The system, which is aimed at guaranteeing authenticity of photos captured with supported Canon cameras, uses secret keys to calculate authentication data. Researchers from ElcomSoft are now claiming they have been able to extract these secret keys and use them “for adding authenticity signatures to a set of manipulated digital images”, Net Security reports. ElcomSoft has alerted Canon to the problem.

Source: Net Security

The New-York Historical Society is soliciting digital photographs of contemporary Times Square from West 42nd to 47th Streets at Broadway or Seventh Avenue. Anyone from tourists to “serious amateurs” can send in their pictures that may include exterior architecture, outdoor portraits, group snapshots, billboards and advertisements and interior images of notable area buildings. Images should be at least 1,200 X 1,500 pixels, submitted in either GIF, JPG, or PNG format. Minor colour correction and/or cropping is acceptable as long as the original subject matter of the photograph remains intact. You have until 31 March 2011 to enter.

PictoColor Software has released iCorrect EditLab Pro 6.0 for Windows, an upgrade to its Photoshop plug-in for precise selective colour correction and colour editing. Product highlights include the ability to make both selective and global colour and exposure adjustments, advanced temperature based controls for colour balance correction, new 64-bit support on Windows, asvanced sharpeing and noise removal, shadow and highlight revovery on a global or hue-selective basis, and more. iCorrect EditLab Pro 6.0 may be purchased at PictoColor Software’s secure on-line store for $124.95 as a software download.  Upgrades are $79.95.

First Rodeo Software has released Face2Face 3D 1.0, billed as the first 3D face swapping and blending app available on iPhone and iPod touch. The app lets you swap and blend faces within your photos by manipulating 3D models of the faces using the touch interface of the iPhone.Unlike traditional 2D methods, which often make it look like a cutout head has been pasted onto a body, Face2Face’s 3D algorithms automatically determine and compensate for the orientation and shapes of the heads. “This allows for faces to be rotated away from the camera, and provides very convincing blends with the user required to position only a few points within the images,” the company said.Face2Face 3D 1.0 is $1.99 and available through the App Store in the Photography category.

A new version of TrueHDR is now available on the App Store. TrueHDR enables you to take two pictures at different exposures, and then takes the best features of each and merges them into one picture that has vivid colours and details in both the shadows and highlights. Version 2.1 offers a new “Natural” mode for taking HDR photos with realistic colours, fast processing, and low image noise. TrueHDR 2.1 is available at a price of $1.99.

Colorado-based Occipital has just introduced 360 Panorama 3.0 for iPhone and iPod touch devices. Using 360 Panorama, users simply pan their camera and see the application “paint” the panoramic scene in front of them from live video. Moments later the panorama is ready to be saved, emailed or uploaded via Twitter. 360 Panorama 3.0 requires iOS 4.0 or later, and is temporarily on sale for $0.99 USD (normally $2.99) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Photography category.