Olympus Japan has announced the release date of the new Olympus E-5 digital single-lens reflex camera. The weather sealed 12-megapixel DSLR, which sports a large optical viewfinder, fully articulated LCD screen, in-body image stabilisation, dust reduction system, 5fps burst shooting and a video mode will go on sale on 29th October. The press release does not quote a price, but the product announcement made last month said the European price would be €1,699. Olympus also announced that the M.Zuiko 40-150mm lens - which is a Micro four Thirds lens and thus not compatible with the Olympus E-5 - will also be released on the same day.

Website: Our First Olympus E-5 Sample Images

Blurb today launched Blurb Bookify, an online bookmaking tool designed to streamline the creation of high-quality photo books. Within Bookify, users will find a curated collection of the most popular layouts, fonts, and design elements for book creation. Additionally, users will be able to drag and drop images directly onto a page and the page will “design itself”, the company says. Being an online tool, Bookify alleviates the need to download a client-side application, and allows users to work on their book from more than one computer. To begin a Blurb Bookify project, visit the website below.

Canon has posted a firmware update for its EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR camera. Version 2.0.8 fixes a number of bugs related to movie capture, live view, the auto power-off function, the ST-E2 flash transmitter and the MR-14EX and MT-24EX Macro Ring Lights. You can download the firmware update from the website below.

Website: Canon EOS 5D Mark II Firmware Update

Zagat has just announced its first-ever photo contest. Photographers are invited to take a picture of anything that says “ZAGAT” - for example, a restaurant sign -, and upload the photo to the Zagat Photos website until 10th November. Every entrant will get a 90-day membership to Zagat.com, while the winner will also receive an “ultimate getaway” for two at Wynn Las Vegas including airfare up to $800, two nights in a Parlour Suite, meals and more.

The Epson Stylus Photo PX660 is a new all-in-one printer, scanner and copier designed to meet the needs of the photo enthusiast. Users can print pictures directly from memory cards, USB drives and PictBridge-enabled cameras. Printing a 10x15cm photo takes 12 seconds, and you can personalise CDs and DVDs by printing directly onto suitable discs. Priced at £129.99, the Epson Stylus Photo PX660 uses dye-based Epson Claria ink, and will be available to purchase from 1st December.

Corner-A today announced PhotoStyler 4.5 for Mac OS X. Billed as “the easiest way to style digital photos with your Mac”, PhotoStyler 4.5 features an improved user interface based on customer feedback. System requirements include Mac OS X Version 10.5 or higher and Universal Binary for PowerPC and Intel, with a CoreImage compatible video card being strongly recommended. PhotoStyler 4.5 is available at a price of $30.

The Master Photographers Association (MPA) has announced the winners of the 2010 Master Photographer of the Year Awards. Michael Dearden has been named the UK Master Photographer of the Year 2010, and he also finished first in the Contemporary Wedding category. The Overseas Master Photographer of the Year title went to Ryan Wong Teck Yan of Singapore. Click through for the winning images.

Mick Rock - Rock: Music is a retrospective of the legendary photographer’s work documenting the most outrageous moments, people and legends in music history. Celebrated as ‘The Man Who Shot the 70s’, Mick Rock launched his career in 1972 with his portrait of an unknown David Bowie and spent the next four decades capturing the most fascinating and exciting characters in rock music. His retrospective at the Idea Generation Gallery, 11 Chance Street, London E2 7JB, will open on 11 November and run until 16 January 2011.

Eyewitness Decade is a new book that tells the story of the first ten years of the new millennium in a series of “stunning and awe-inspiring” images. Some record the unfolding of major world events: 9/11, the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the financial crisis of 2008, President Obama’s inauguration. Others tell more local and personal stories: a man sleeping rough in Cambridge, chess-players in Budapest, patients receiving treatment in Havana. Some explore the world of nature and natural disasters, while a handful look at the quirkier side of life. Published by Guardian Books, Eyewitness Decade is available at a price of £25.

X-Rite has just announced the Seasons of Colour Photo Contest. Each week for the next 12 weeks, photographers are invited to submit their images that they feel best represent the week’s featured Pantone Plus series colour. The top 10 winners each week, determined by popular vote, will receive an X-Rite ColorChecker Passport (pictured). Photographers can enter the contest by visiting the website below.

Website: Seasons of Colour

The Lomography X-Pro Chrome 100 is a new colour reversal film. Although it is possible to develop the Lomography X-Pro Chrome as a “normal” transparency film, using the industry-standard E-6 process, lomographers will probably love it for the strong contrasts and saturation it produces when cross-processed. In the United Kingdom, the Lomography X-Pro Chrome 100 is available in 35mm format, priced at £16.90 for a 3-pack.

iWorkCase is an on-location workstation for photographers and digital operators working on an Apple Macbook Pro. With changeable inlays you can use the iWorkCase with different Macbook Pro versions. In addition, the iWorkCase supports the Arca Swiss type quick release system for quick and easy tripod mounting. “A couple of years ago I was working as an digital operator,” says inventor Immanuel Meier. “We never had an easy-to-set-up working place for outdoor people, lifestyle and fashion shoots. I started to develop my own case for this purpose.” A result of this development, the iWorkCase is now available for €499.

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Photography in the Raw is David Noton’s second photography DVD. The sequel to David’s highly successful Chasing the Light DVD, Photography in the Raw is a 90 minute photographic tutorial, shot in full HD, from many locations around the UK and abroad. David said:  ‘Photography in the Raw is as close an experience as possible to being on the road with me, shooting dawn and dusk in a wide variety of locations from a hill top in Snowdonia to the ancient stone circle at Avebury to a pottery in France.” The the DVD is priced £18 + VAT and will be available from early November.

AgfaPhoto has introduced six new digital photo frames ranging from 7 to 10 inches in size. The AgfaPhoto AF5108PS, AF5088PS and AF5078PS are for photos only, whereas the AgfaPhoto AF5108MS, AF5088MS and AF5078MS are multimedia frames that can also play back videos and music. All of these frames feature a 4:3 aspect ratio and SVGA resolution (i.e. 800x600 pixels). All photo frames also have LED backlight LCD screens and use “Crystal Image HD” technology, which applies automatic adjustments to brightness, contrast, hue, colour balance and so on. The recommended retail prices range from €49.99 to €139.99, depending on model.

Pentax has posted a few sample images taken with the Pentax K-5 digital SLR camera. There are three photos, all of which were taken at a sensitivity setting of ISO 100/21°. To take these K-5 samples, the photographer used three different lenses, including a 16-50mm zoom, plus a 200mm and a 135mm prime. The aperture settings vary between f/5.6 and f/11. There is another gallery on the site, containing ten photos, but those are all downsampled to Web size, whereas these three are full resolution images.

Website: Official K-5 Samples

Panasonic has unveiled the MSRP and availability of the Panasonic AG-AF100 interchangeable-lens digital video camera. Accepting all Micro Four Thirds lenses, the Panasonic AG-AF100 offers superior video handling, native 1080/24p recording, variable frame rates, professional audio capabilities, dual card slots and compatibility with SDHC and SDXC media. The camera incorporates a large Four Thirds type,16:9 MOS imager that minimizes skew with fast imager scanning, and incorporates low pass filters for elimination of aliasing and moiré. High-end features include color-on peaking and a focus bar; two sets of adjustable zebras; a waveform monitor and vectorscope for more accurate monitoring of broadcast safe levels. The Panasonic AG-AF100 digital video camera will start shipping on 27th December at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $4,995.

The Sigma 85mm F1.4 EX DG HSM lens is now available for purchase in the US. This fast medium telephoto lens is optimised for 35mm full-frame digital and film SLR cameras, although it can of course also be used on cropped-sensor digital camera bodies as well. The Sigma 85mm F1.4 EX DG HSM contains one Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass element and a glass mold element, and comes with a Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) for quiet focussing.  The lens has a round, nine-blade diaphragm for attractive bokeh, and comes bundled with a petal-type hood. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) is $1,400.