The winners of the August 2010 Photography Blog Competition have been announced. The theme for August was “Trees” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 5 winners:

1st Place
Trees in the mist by jonathan bean

Prize: X-Rite ColourChecker Passport
Kindly donated by X-Rite
http://www.xritephoto.com/

Epson today introduced the Epson Stylus NX625, a powerful all-in-one with built-in Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity. The Epson Stylus NX625 features built-in memory card slots and a 2.5-inch color LCD to easily view, select, edit, and print photos without a computer. Utilising Epson’s all-pigment DURABrite Ultra ink, this versatile all-in-one delivers superior photo quality and durable prints that are fade-, smudge- and water-resistant, while also printing a 4x6” photo in as fast as 20 seconds. In addition, the Epson Stylus NX625 offers high-quality scanning at 2400dpi. Available from September, the Epson Stylus NX625 all-in-one device is expected to retail for $149.99.

To celebrate the company’s 60 years of being in business, Tamron USA has announced a promotion which involves giving away 60 Tamron SP 70-300mm Di VC USD zoom lenses. For the next 60 days, every US resident that’s signed up to receive Tamron news by e-mail will automatically be entered into the prize draw. Each day, one lucky winner will get a Tamron SP 70-300mm Di VC USD lensm with four other entrants winning other prizes ranging from $15 to $499 in value. For complete details and to sign up to enter Tamron’s 60th Anniversary 60-Day Lens Giveaway, visit the website below.

Website: Tamron USA

The Sony Bloggie Touch is a Full HD pocket camcorder that also takes 12-megapixel photos. Available in two versions - the MHS-TS20 and MHS-TS10 with 8GB and 4GB of embedded memory respectively -, the Sony Bloggie Touch has a 3-inch capacitive touch screenthat automatically adjusts for vertical or horizontal shooting and viewing, enabling customers to shoot video right-handed, left-handed, right-side-up or even upside-down. Equipped with an f2.8 wide-angle lens and a sensitive Exmor CMOS sensor, the Bloggie Touch has SteadyShot image stabilisation for smoother footage and a built-in USB arm for easy charging and uploading to a computer. Available in silver or black, the MHS-TS20 and MHS-TS10 will be hit the shelves in October for about $200 and $180 respectively.

Sony has unveiled a range of new digital photo frames with innovative features. The Sony DPF-XR100 ($250) and DPF-VR100 ($200) models offer AVCHD video playback capabilities on the units’ 10” high-resolution WSVGA LED backlight LCD screens. The frames also feature stereo audio and Sweep Panorama playback, while Sony XR100 additionally features the manufacturer’s exclusive TruBlack technology. Other models in the new S-Frame range include the Sony DPF-D830 ($150), an 8” unit which bears the distinction of being Sony’s first battery-operated digital photo frame; and eight additional models that vary by screen size and internal memory and range in price form $70 to $150. The three advanced frames will be available from November, while most of the others will be launched in October.

X-Rite has announced its inaugural Coloratti XritePhotoWalk event-taking place next month during Photokina 2010 in Cologne, Germany. Photographers of all levels are invited to walk in, learn about and photograph Cologne while also learning about photographic techniques and tips from world class professional photographers Vincent Versace, Natural Light Photographer (USA) and Jens Petersen, Fashion, Editorial and Lifestyle Photographer (Germany). The walks will take place at 7am on 22 and 24 September. The meeting point is Train Station Deutz. A German-language tour will also take place at 5pm on 22 September, with the meeting point being the Köln Tourism Information centre in front of the main entrance to the Dome.

The Digital Imaging Websites Association (DIWA) has honoured the Panasonic DMC-G2, DMC-FX66 (pictured), and DMC-TZ10 with a DIWA Gold Award. The G2 won in the Advanced Digital System Camera category, the second finished first among Digital Amateur Mini Cameras, whilst the third was found to be the best among Digital Advanced Megazoom Cameras. Kai Thon, test manager of DIWA Labs comments: ”Not long ago, Panasonic were an outsider to the established camera industry. In many respects, they are now leading the way. All the three awarded cameras have vital common factors, such as innovative thinking, supreme engineering and craftsmanship, and user-friendly design. Most importantly, however, is that all cameras deliver the highest image quality of their class.”

At this year’s IFA and Photokina Rollei will be presenting two new compact Full HD camcorders in the “Movieline” product range: Both the Rollei Movieline SD-15 and the Rollei Movieline SD-23 have 5-megapixel sensors and can thus capture still photographs as well as videos. The SD-15 (€169.95) has 10x optical zoom, whereas the SD-23 (€199.95) boasts a 23x zoom lens. Both models feature 3” displays, with the one in the SD-23 being of the touch-sensitive variety. Additionally, both camcorders feature Motion Detection and video stabilisation, and both record movies and images on SD and SDHC memory cards. Shipping with bundled HDMI, AV and USB cables, the Rollei Movieline SD-23 and Movieline SD-15 are scheduled to hit the shelves at the end of October.

The Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 1,4/35 is a remarkably fast moderate wide-angle lens for Canon and Nikon single-lens reflex cameras. With a focal length of 35mm and a maximum aperture of f1.4, the manual-focus Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 1,4/35 has been designed with ultimate sharpness and excellent bokeh in mind. Plus, with the Zeiss T*‘s anti-reflective coating, its sophisticated stray light reduction and the excellent flare control the new Distagon also takes pictures of bright light sources without artifacts, the manufacturer says. Constructed of 11 elements arranged in 9 groups, the Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 1,4/35 can focus down to 30cm, enabling full-frame camera users to fill the frame with an object that measures 18x12cm (0,2x magnification). The lens will be available in first quarter of 2011 at a recommended retail price of €1385.71+VAT.

Canon has introduced two compact professional HD camcorders. The smallest models in Canon’s professional line-up, the new XF105 and XF100 utilise the same Canon XF Codec featured in the Canon XF305 and XF300, introduced earlier this year. The Canon XF105 and XF100 feature 10x wide zoom lenses with a SuperRange Optical Image Stabiliser, and native Full HD CMOS sensors. Each camcorder also features a convenient, freely rotating 3.5-inch, 920,000 dot LCD monitor and 0.24-inch 260,000 electronic viewfinder with approximately 100 percent field of coverage. The LCD can show peaking, edge-monitor-focus and magnify the image, enabling users to confirm critical focus. Additionally, the Canon XF105 and XF100 include an infrared feature enabling the capture of HD video shooting in conditions with little to zero ambient light. The new camcorders support 16-bit PCM audio at 48 kHz with automatic and manual audio level adjustment. Both the Canon XF105 and XF100 are scheduled to be available in the first quarter of 2011.

Zoner Software has announced the addition of 10-bit colour support to Zoner Photo Studio Professional. This support enables users with compatible graphics cards and displays to view images with 10 bits per colour channel, for a total of 30 bits. “Displays with 10-bit color can express over a billion different colors—64x more than normal, 8-bit displays can offer. In practice this means truer colors, smooth gradients, and a better representation of what a photographer wants to express—but only when the user’s graphics card and software support 10-bit display,” says Ales Hasala, Development Manager. Note that only the Professional edition of Zoner Photo Studio supports 10-bit display devices.

Website: Zoner

Artensoft today introduced Artensoft Photo Mosaic Wizard 1.0, a software tool specifically designed to let anyone create a mosaic picture from hundreds of smaller tile images. The program offers a simple wizard-driven interface that allows the beginner to create the first photo mosaic project in a few minutes, without opening a manual. Following the instructions of the wizard, the user first selects a photo to be used as a template for a photo mosaic, adds folders with photos, and then clicks the “Create Photo Mosaic” button. A photo mosaic is generated automatically and displayed on the screen. If necessary, the user can move, resize or replace individual tiles to fine-tune a mosaic picture before saving it to file. Artensoft Photo Mosaic Wizard 1.0 is available immediately for $49.95.

Adobe has released the final versions of Lightroom 3.2 and Adobe Camera Raw 6.2. Originally posted as Release Candidates, these software updates extend raw file support to over a dozen new camera models including the Panasonic Lumix LX5 and Pentax 645D, improve on several of the lens correction profiles introduced as part of the Lightroom 3 and Camera Raw 6.1 releases, and add more than 120 new lens profiles to help photographers automatically correct for a number of distortion and aberration effects.

Website: Adobe Downloads

The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 is a new ultra-telezoom lens the Micro Four Thirds platform. Equivalent to a 150-600mm lens in 35mm format, the new Olympus 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 measures just 70x116mm and has been designed with both photographers and videographers in mind. Featuring a rear-focusing mechanism with only two moving lens elements, the M.Zuiko Digital ED 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 enables “remarkably fast” and quiet autofocus. Constructed of 18 elements arranged in 13 groups, the lens boasts two ED lens elements and three highly refractive elements, while its iris diaphragm has seven rounded blades for pleasant bokeh. Weighing in at 430 grams, the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 75-300mm f/4.8-6.7 takes 58mm filters and comes in black and silver, priced at £799.99/€899.00/$899.99. Availability is slated for December.

Note: This is the “Super Telephoto Zoom” that appeared on the MFT lens roadmap we published back in November 2009.

The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/4-5.6 is an 80-300mm equivalent telezoom lens for the Micro Four Thirds system. With its ultra-quiet and “extremely fast” autofocus mechanism, the M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/4-5.6 is claimed to be ideal for video capture. Available as a standalone product or as part of Olympus’ PEN double zoom kit, the lens comprises 13 elements (including an ED element) in 10 groups. Weiging in at only 190 grams, this is one of the lightest telephoto lenses around. The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/4-5.6 will be hit the shelves in October in Europe (and November in the USA), priced at £299.99/€329.00/$299.99.

Olympus has announced two limited-edition E-P2 kits. The Olympus E-P2 Special Black EVF Edition comprises a black E-P2 body, a matching black Olympus 17mm f/2.8 pancake lens and a VF-2 add-on electronic viewfinder, while the Olympus E-P2 Special Black Flash Edition (pictured) offers a black FL-14 external flash alongside the black body and black pancake lens. Both kits feature retro styled lens caps imprinted with the original Olympus PEN F logo in silver. The Olympus E-P2 Special Black EVF Edition will be available for €1079.00, whilst the Olympus E-P2 Special Black Flash Edition can be yours for €1049.00/$999.99, come October. The retro lens cap can also be purchased separately for €49.90.

Canon has successfully developed the world’s largest CMOS image sensor, with a chip size measuring a whopping 202x205mm. This is approximately 40 times the size of Canon’s largest commercial CMOS sensors. Despite its size, which in the past would have meant slow signal readout speeds, the massive sensor meets the requirements of video capture. Thanks to its improved circuitry and exceptional light sensitivity, the new CMOS imager can be used to record video at 60 frames per second at a mere 0.3lux of illumination. Potential applications include the video recording of stars in the night sky and nocturnal animal behaviour.