Between Here and There: Passages in Contemporary Photography, on view 2 July 2010 through 13 February 2011, is a new exhibition to be held in the the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The first half of the exhibition shows how artists in 1960s and 1970s, working in the context of Minimal and Conceptual art, were drawn to photography for its differences from traditional art media. The second half features photographers from the 1980s to the present day including Rineke Dijkstra, Doug Aitken and Weng Fen. The exhibition will be on display in the Joyce and Robert Menschel Hall for Modern Photography.

The majority of GE’s new cameras, announced earlier this year, are now available in the UK. These include the GE X5 superzoom camera with 15x optical zoom (pictured), the GE E1486TW touch-screen model featuring an 8x optical zoom in a slim body, the 14.2-megapixel GE J1455 that sports a 5x zoom lens with image stabilisation, and the smart-looking GE A1255 and A1455, which come with 5x optical zoom and a 12 and a 14 megapixel imager, respectively. The 12.2-megapixel GE G5WP waterproof compact and the 14-megapixel GE E1486W - which is essentially an E1486TW without the touch-screen interface - are slated for July.

The National Association of Photoshop Professionals has launched its new Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Learning Center. Timed to coincide with the release of Lightroom 3, the NAPP Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Learning Center is open to the public and offers new in-depth tutorials on the most talked about features including: the new import dialogue, tethered capture, improved noise reduction, lens correction, the new grain feature, and more.

Website: NAPP’s Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Learning Center

Fujifilm has posted firmware updates to a number of their S series digital cameras. The affected models include the FinePix S2500HD, S2550HD, S2600HD, S2700HD, S1800, S1850, S1880, S1900, S1600, S1700, S1730, S1770 and the S1780. Firmware version 1.04 addresses the issue that unwanted number of sheets are printed by setting with “PictBridge” function, and improves handling when playing back images.

Website: Fujifilm Finepix Firmware

Nikon has released firmware updates for the Nikon Coolpix S3000 and S4000 digital compact cameras. Version 1.1 for the S3000 and version 1.2 for the S4000 both address an issue related to the EN-EL10 battery. The issue was that when the battery was inserted in the camera and charged, charging sometimes did not stop after the designated amount of time had passed.

Website: Nikon Coolpix S3000 Firmware 1.1
Website: Nikon Coolpix S4000 Firmware 1.2

MonoPhix HD 1.0 is a completely new app for the iPad that allows you to turn any picture on your iPad into a high quality, high contrast monochrome image. The outcome is fully customisable by using multiple, “Lightroom-like” sliders, the developers say. Featuring a real-time preview of your changes, high-speed filters, separate tools for dodging and burning and more, MonoPhix HD 1.0 for iPad is available on the App Store priced at $1.99.

Website: MonoPhix HD 1.0

Panasonic has anounced the price of the recently-introduced Panasonic Lumix FX70/FX75. The new super-slim digital camera, which has a 24-120mm equivalent Leica DC Vario-Summicron 5x zoom lens, a 14-megapixel imager and a touch-screen interface, will be available in mid-July 2010 in black and silver for a suggested retail price of $299.95.

Camera Bits has unveiled a bundle of new improvements for users of its Photo Mechanic photo browser and workflow tool. Version 4.6.4 offers faster browsing and new support for raw files captured by the Olympus E-P2 and E-PL1 cameras as well as various Phase One models, and recognition of extended range ISO values (Lo and Hi) for certain Nikon digital SLR cameras. The new version also enables new advanced workflows when combining Photo Mechanic’s unique “variables” and “code replacements” features, such as the ability to split still images from movie files during ingest to aid the import of video clips into Final Cut Pro using Canon’s EOS Movie Plugin-E1.

Website: CameraBits Downloads

SanDisk has launched a professional photography contest on the SanDisk Extreme Team Facebook page. The submission deadline is 31 July, 11:30pm PT. Entries are accepted in four different categories – Nature, Wedding/Events, Action and Fashion. The grand prize winner will be offered a one year spot on the SanDisk Extreme Team and the grand prize winning photo will be exhibited in the “Winner’s Circle” gallery showing during the PhotoPlus Expo in New York City. The four finalists, the winners of each category, will each receive a $1,000 cash prize and their photos will be featured in the online Winner’s Circle gallery. Eight runners-up will receive $250 worth of SanDisk memory cards, and their photos will be featured in the online Winner’s Circle gallery.  The winners will be announced on or around 31 October.

Website: SanDisk Extreme Team Facebook Page

The Sony A290 and A390 are two new 14.2-megapixel DSLR cameras targeted at the entry-level market. The main difference versus the existing Sony A230 and A380 is a redesigned right-hand grip (one of our most important criticisms levelled against the previous generation of Sony’s entry-level DSLRs concerned the rather uncomfortable handgrip). As regards the A290, the 14-megapixel sensor is also a novelty, given that the A230 had a 10-megapixel imager. In virtually all other areas, the Sony A290 and A390 are identical to their respective predecessors, with the A390 boasting Live View with fast autofocus (though no movie mode), and the A290 trading in Live View for a bigger optical viewfinder. Available this summer, the Sony A290 and A390 are priced at €450 and €500, respectively, including a Sony DT 18-55mm SAM kit zoom in each case.

The three lucky winners of our fantastic Manfrotto Joystick Head competition have been selected.

These new joystick heads offer a uniquely ergonomic way of quickly unlocking, moving and locking the camera, so you can frame and reposition freely to get the perfect photo.

Travis Jarvis has won a 327RC2 Joystick Head.

Johny Johnson and Graeme Arnold have each won a 324RC2 Joystick Head.

Congratulations to the three winners and thanks to everyone for taking part.

PictoColor has released its iCorrect OneClick iPhone App. Using OneClick app you can take a picture, fix the colour and exposure if needed, and email or upload the photo to Facebook in a few simple steps. The software has a Preview screen that allows you to easily compare the corrected photo with the original. iCorrect OneClick iPhone may be purchased at the Apple iTunes/iPod store for $2.99.

Website: OneClick

The Distagon T* 2,8/25 manual-focus lens from Carl Zeiss is now available in a ZF.2 version for Nikon SLR cameras. This version has an electronic interface (CPU) that supports all exposure modes of the camera like shutter priority, aperture priority and program mode, as well as manual mode (even with camera bodies without AI-coupling lever). The new Distagon T* 2,8/25 ZF.2 is available at a retail price of €755.46 (excluding VAT).

Blurb today launched Blurb for Good, a platform that enables citizen philanthropists and nonprofit organisations to create and use books as a means to generate awareness, goodwill and monies for social causes. Anyone and any organization can join Blurb for Good at the initiative’s website. Blurb for Good authors can set up a unique page in the Blurb Bookstore to help promote their cause, and their books will be featured in a special section of the Bookstore reserved for cause-related books. Moreover, Blurb will provide contributions to qualified authors who are raising money for registered non-profit organisations in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The illustration above is the cover of Spirit, a Blurb book by Scottish photographer John G. Moore, whose proceeds went to a Glasgow hospital.

BeFunky today introduced a suite of one-click photo enhancement tools. These tools fix the common problems of over or underexposure, digital noise, poor color quality and fuzziness. BeFunky also added four new art effects to its portfolio: watercolour, underpainting, gouache and pointillism. It’s free to use BeFunky.com’s editing and effects tools. Users can also upgrade to premium and professional subscription services starting at $4.95 a month that offer more capabilities like higher resolution output and full screen workspace.

Website: BeFunky

WD today introduced its new high performance My Book Studio LX external hard drive, which offers a high-speed FireWire 800 interface and features a sleek new, cool-to-the-touch aluminium case. In addition to FireWire, the My Book Studio LX drives also support USB 2.0. Offering automatic, continuous backup and 256-bit hardware-based encryption, the WD My Book Studio LX is available in capacities of 1TB and 2TB, with the manufacturer’s suggested retail price ranging from $199.99 to $269.99 depending on the model.

Samsung has issued a firmware update for the Samsung NX10 mirrorless interchangeable-lens system camera. Available today, version 1.15 improves stability, offers faster SD card read / write speeds and adds features like user selectable manual focus assist and an EVF selection function in the AMOLED display menu. The firmware is currently available on the Samsung UK website for users to download.

Website:  Samsung UK

Spider Holster has announced several newly-created cross-platform adaptors. The first of these new offerings includes a collection of kits which enable photographers to quickly connect the SpiderPro holster to popular professional-grade belt systems, including Think Tank Photo’s Pro Speed Belts and Steroid Speed Belt. Current SpiderPro owners also have access to a new simple modification that facilitates use with Lowepro’s Street and Field Series. Plus, owners of Arca-Swiss-style ballheads and tripods can now purchase a new double-dovetail quick-release plate for a faster transition. The adaptors range in price from $12.99 to $39.95.