Newpro has announced the availability of new accessories from Cullmann and Pedco. These include a a complete Cullmann monopod and ball & socket combination comprising a Cullmann Magnesit 550 monopod and CB7.3 ball & socket head (£99.99) and the new Ultraclamp 2.5 kit from Pedco (£34.99). The individual prices are £71.51 for the monopod and £57.00 for the CB7.3 head, so the new Cullmann combination offers a saving of £28.52. The Ultraclamp 2.5 kit (pictured) is a combination of the original UltraMount ball & socket head and a brand new Clamp unit with jaws that have an opening aperture from 1” to 2.5” wide. This is then suitable for mounting cameras, camcorders, spotting scopes etc. on larger or wider objects than the original Ultraclamp can accommodate.

Website: Newpro

Apple has released a Digital Camera RAW.compatibility update for iPhoto and Aperture. Version 3.3 adds support for raw files created by the Canon PowerShot SX1 IS, Olympus E-PL1, Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 & G10, Samsung NX10, Sony A450, NEX-3 and NEX-5 (pictured) digital cameras. The update is downloadable from the website below.

Website: Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.3

Akvis has just released Akvis Retoucher 4.0 for both Windows and Macintosh. The program can restore damaged photos by removing dust, scratches, stains, and by reconstructing the missing parts of a photo automatically. It can also be used to improve composition of a photo by removing irrelevant details and even large objects that spoil the impression of a photo. You can remove date stamps, logos, wires, refuse bins etc. Akvis Retoucher 4.0 is available both as a plug-in and as a standalone program, and sells for $87. Registered users with a Home license can upgrade to Retoucher 4.0 for free.

Website: AKVIS

Topaz Labs released a major upgrade of the Topaz DeNoise plug-in, which features a double increase in speed, double the maximum image size and many additional noise reduction capabilities. “DeNoise 5 is twice as fast as its predecessor. It also introduces unique shadow tone restoration and dual-directional debanding capabilities, which enable photographers to solve additional problems caused by heavy noise,” said Dr. Albert Yang, President of Topaz Labs. Topaz DeNoise 5 works with a variety of host programs including Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Aperture, iPhoto and Lightroom. It is a free upgrade for existing DeNoise customers and retails for $79.99.

Rollei has introduced two touch-screen cameras, the Rollei Compactline 360 TS and 370 TS, which will be on display at Photokina and available at retail from the end of September. The Rollei Compactline 360 TS is a 12-megapixel model with 4x optical zoom starting at 28mm, and 720p HD video recording functionality. The Rollei Compactline 370 TS is the same thing with a 14-megapixel imager. Both cameras include a 3-inch LCD touchscreen display with gesture support. The recommended retail price of the 360 TS is €99.95, while that of the 370 TS is €129.95.

Lexmark Canada has announced the launch of the Lexmark Pinnacle Pro 901 all-in-one (AIO) printer. The Lexmark Pinnacle was awarded an Outstanding Business Inkjet 2010 Pick Award by Buyer’s Laboratory Inc, as well as a 2010 Hot Tech Demo Award at the Fifth Annual Small Business Summit 2010. Featuring the world’s lowest-cost black ink (based on MSRP and average yield), Lexmark’s Pinnacle is available now via major national and regional retail outlets, online retailers, distribution partners and direct from Lexmark at Lexmark.com for $299.99 CDN.

32 Float is the industry’s first HDR-specific plug-in for Adobe Photoshop that brings 32-bit colour controls and editing tools to Photoshop users. Powered by Unified Color’s patented Beyond RGB colour space, 32 Float is able to separate colour data from brightness information, to make brightness adjustments without introducing the colour shift often seen using other HDR solutions. “Photoshop has supported 32-bit images for many years, but provided only limited functionality to actually work with the images in 32-bit mode,” said Alfred Zee, CEO of Unified Color Technologies. “With 32 Float, Photoshop users can finally take full advantage of all the data in their 32-bit images and process them for colour and tone without having to first down sample them to 8 or 16 bits to use editing tools.” Starting August 23, 2010, 32 Float will be available for purchase at www.unifiedcolor.com at a list price of $99.

The Casio EX-Z800 and EX-S200 are new compact cameras featuring Single Frame SR Zoom which extends the zoom range. The 14.1 megapixel Casio Z800 and S200 both offer a 4x optical zoom lens that starts at 27mm wide-angle, CCD-shift image stabilization mechanism, Premium Auto and Dynamic Photo functions. The EXILIM Card EX-S200 is a slim, high-quality, card-sized camera that is just 17.8 mm thick and only 14.9 mm at its thinnest part, while the EXILIM Zoom EX-Z800 is compact enough to fit in the palm of the hand. The Casio EX-Z800 and EX-S200 will both be available at the beginning of September 2010.

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

1st Place
Making a family! by Rachel Scott-Renouf

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

Aurora Expeditions have created a special photographic expedition for 27 photographers of all levels to spend a week on the Antarctic Peninsula. Accompanied by two professional photographers, David Burren and Martin Bailey from LuminOdyssey, passengers will spend time exploring the historic and rich wildlife at Vernadsky Station, taking in the spectacular rugged coastline from Lemaire Channel to the Gerlache Strait. For digital photographers, David and Martin will explain how to process and organise images with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3. Prior to the voyage, the two experts will be available to advise participants regarding their photography equipment. During the passage to Antarctica they will present classes and seminars to help prepare passengers for the Peninsula & Falkland Islands, and these will continue throughout the voyage. Prices start from US$9350 and include ship accommodation, all meals onboard, all shore excursions, lectures, medical services, port charges and taxes.

Peak Systems has released the first update for Diptic, a recent Top 5 paid iPhone and iPad photography app. An application that lets you quickly and easily combine multiple photos to create a new image, Diptic 1.1 features adds 14 new layouts for a total of 19 – nearly 4 times as many as Diptic 1.0. This update is available as a free download to all current Diptic owners. New users can get the app for $1.99.

Website: Diptic

Pixpa has launched the ability for its portfolio website users to publish and share their portfolio galleries anywhere on the web. Pixpa users can now publish their photo galleries directly on their Facebook wall, any website or blog or a number of social networks as an interactive slideshow with full navigation controls. Pixpa users can also use this feature to share specific galleries as stand-alone slideshows with clients.

Website: Pixpa

K. B. Canham Cameras has struck an agreement with Kodak to supply a variety of Kodak emulsions in a range of sheet film sizes. Kodak Tri-X, Ektar 100 and 400NC can be preordered in sizes ranging from 11x14 inches to 16x20 inches, while Kodak TMax 400 is available in 5x7” size. Since demand for most of these sizes is rather limited, prices are naturally high and interested photographers are required to pay the full amount in advance. Those who order a box or two of these films will be placed on a list along with everyone else that has ordered the same size and emulsion, and once enough orders are placed to reach the minimum number of boxes needed, as listed on their website, K. B. Canham Cameras will contact Kodak and should receive the film in approximately 6 weeks.

Microsoft is devising a new way to combat image blur resulting from camera shake. The 1001NoisyCameras blog points to a research paper presented by the Redmond based software giant at the SIGGRAPH 2010 conference, which discusses a solution that uses a combination of an external “image deblurring attachment” and sophisticated software algorithms to reduce the adverse effects of camera shake on image quality. “Our approach uses a combination of inexpensive gyroscopes and accelerometers in an energy optimization framework to estimate a blur function from the camera’s acceleration and angular velocity during an exposure,” Microsoft says. “We solve for the camera motion at a high sampling rate during an exposure and infer the latent image using a joint optimization.”

Website: 1001NoisyCameras

DxO Labs have announced the availability of 100 new DxO optics modules for DxO Optics Pro. Covering a large selection of Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Sony camera-lens combinations, the new modules are listed at the website below.

Website: 100 new DxO Optics Modules

The book “Wildlife Photography - On Safari with Your DSLR: Equipment, Techniques, Workflow” is now available in the UK. Author Uwe Skrzypczak wrote the book with several goals in mind—to teach the technical aspects and the workflow of digital wildlife photography; to show the beauty of East Africa and his beloved Serengeti National Park, and to educate about its habitat; and to provide a guide for the photographer who is planning to go on an African photo safari. Topics covered include equipment and accessories, conditions on the road, composition, light, migrations and mating seasons, habitats and animal behaviour, river crossings and more. The 240-page book, which was launched in the US a month ago, is now available in the UK priced at £30.99.

The Photography.Book.Now competition, presented by Blurb, today opened voting for the People’s Choice Award. Anyone may visit the Photography.Book.Now Bookstore and vote for their favourite photography book through 20th August. There will be one People’s Choice Award winner in each category – Editorial, Fine Art, and Photography Portfolio.

Website: Photography.Book.Now

The district court in Utrecht/Netherlands rendered a drastic verdict against H.P. Ruitenberg and 4 respective entities of the so-called Crown group in favour of Tamron Europe. Tamron`s lawyers succeeded in providing evidence that Ruitenberg and several of his respective Crown companies violated the trademark rights of Tamron by dealing with illegally imported merchandise, which was not imported into the EU by or on behalf of Tamron. The verdict includes a penalty of €2,000,000 for non-compliance with an earlier verdict that Tamron had obtained in its favour.