DxO Labs have launched DxO Optics Pro 6.2 for Windows and Mac, which supports Canon 550D and Sony Alpha DSLR-A450 in both its Standard and Elite editions, and the Canon 1D Mark IV and Nikon D3s in its Elite edition. In addition, 85 new DxO optical modules are now available to DxO Optics Pro users, supporting the following cameras: Canon 350D, 400D, 450D, 500D, 550D, 20D, 30D, 40D, 7D,1D Mark III, 1D Mark IV; Fuji S5 Pro; Nikon D3000, D40X, D50, D60, D90, D700, D3, D3s; Pentax K200D, K-7; and Sony A450. This brings the number of lens-camera combinations supported by DxO Optics Pro to 2000. The DxO Optics Pro 6.2 Standard edition costs £85, while the Elite edition is £179. These discounted prices are valid until 15 June 2010. All customers who purchased DxO Optics Pro 5 or 6 after 1 June 2009 are entitled to a free upgrade to version 6.2.

Bicycle Portraits - everyday South Africans and their bicycles is a photography book project initiated by Stan Engelbrecht and Nic Grobler. Described as “an investigation into South African bicycle culture”, the project involves photographs of, and interviews with, cyclists from all over South Africa. Engelbrecht and Grobler try to find out who the bikers are, why they ride bicycles, if and why they love their machines, and why so few South Africans choose these vehicles as a transport option. The two have set up a Kickstarter pledge page as an alternative way of raising funds by essentially taking pre-orders from an online community who want to see the project succeed. To find out more, check out the website below.

Website: Bicycle Portraits

This year, DCP Systems will be supporting the Manchester and Coventry events of the Photovision Roadshows. Now in their sixth year, the Photovision Roadshows aim to promote innovation and excellence in the photographic industry. The Manchester event will be held on 11 May, whereas the Coventry event takes place on 15 June. Both start at 11 a.m., but there will be free seminars for photographers starting at 10 a.m. DCP will be bringing with them a range of large-format printers for the photographic arena – including the Epson Stylus Pro 3880/4880 and the Epson Stylus Pro 7800/7900.

Website: Photovision Roadshows

Olympus Europe is releasing a silver version of the E-P2, which has until now only been available in black. This variant looks almost exactly like the E-P1, except that it has an accessory port for optional extras such as a detachable electronic viewfinder and microphones, just like the black version. Available from mid-May, the silver Olympus E-P2 comes bundled with a 14-42mm kit zoom.

According to Apple, the iPad will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK on Friday, 28 May. Customers can pre-order all iPad models from Apple’s online store in all nine countries beginning on Monday, 10 May. The UK prices are £429 for 16GB, £499 for 32GB, £599 for 64GB (Wi-Fi models) and £529 for 16GB, £599 for 32GB and £699 for 64GB (Wi-Fi + 3G models).

WD today announced that the WD TV Live HD media player, featuring network capability and Full-HD 1080p resolution, is the first network media player compatible with Windows 7. Using the Windows 7 Play To feature, users can initiate and control the streaming of video, music or photos to the WD TV Live HD media player from any Windows 7-based PC on their network. Any compatible media file accessible from the PC – located either on the PC or the network – can be played to the WD TV Live by right clicking on the file name in the folder or directly from within Windows Media Player 12 and choosing the WD TV Live HD media player as the playback device. Current users will need to update their WD TV Live HD media player to the latest firmware in order to use the Windows 7 Play To feature. Instructions for updating the WD TV Live HD media player can be found at the website below.

Website: WD TV Live HD Firmware Update

Robert Doisneau might be best known for his black-and-white street photographs - but a new book, containing 100 archival, never-before-seen pictures proves that he was very much at home in colour photography too. In 1960, Doisneau was invited by Fortune magazine to cover Palm Springs, the hottest travel destination of the day. There, Doisneau took hundreds of photographs, twenty-three of which were published in the magazine. The rest have been rediscovered in his archives, and one hundred are featured in the book, Robert Doisneau: Palm Springs 1960, for the first time. The 156-page hardback will go on sale in September, priced at $34.95 USD / $39.95 CDN.

Impossible GmbH, the company behind The Impossible Project, has stated its stance on the recent announcement of the Polaroid 300 camera. In October 2009, The Impossible Project and the new licensee of the Polaroid brand – The Summit Global Group – announced the relaunch of some of the most famous Polaroid instant cameras; for which Impossible was supposed to develop and produce a limited edition of Polaroid branded instant films. In January 2010, Polaroid unveiled their plans of producing a new, classic instant camera, the PIC 1000. Then, at the end of April, they launched a completely different model, the Polaroid 300, essentially a rebranded Fujifilm Instax Mini 7S, which uses Fujifilm’s Instax Mini instant film and its Polaroid branded version. Marlene Kelnreiter, Communications and PR manager of Impossible, has told PhotographyBLOG that the “management of The Impossible Project finds this confusing and clearly wants to state that the Polaroid 300 is not the camera that has been announced in Polaroid’s Press Release from January 7, 2010, which would be compatible with Instant Film produced by Impossible.” Click through / read on to read the full statement.

The Ricoh P10 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VC is a new lens-sensor module for the Ricoh GXR system. This unit has a 1/2.3-inch back-illuminated CMOS sensor and features raw image capture at 5fps. The VC designation indicates that this module has Ricoh’s Vibration Correction function on board to help combat image blur resulting from shaky hands. Also included are a 1280×720-pixel HD movie function, Ricoh’s dynamic range double shot mode feature and a macro shooting at a close-focus point of 1cm. The Ricoh P10 will be available at SRP £249.99. This price does not include the Ricoh GXR body, which may be purchased separately or in a kit with the P10 unit.

Photo gallery software “Lightbox Photo” has been re-branded to Stockbox Photo. The developers of Lightbox Photo felt there was over use of the term ‘lightbox’ in the photographic industry and less understanding of it in a wider audience.  Adrian Ellis co-founder of Stockbox Photo commented, “It became apparent that our name Lightbox Photo no longer distinguished our products and services in the marketplace as effectively as it did when we launched several years ago. Therefore, we have chosen to re-brand our software and services with the new name Stockbox Photo to better differentiate ourselves.” Stockbox Photo is available as a Standard, Professional or Enterprise Version priced from $399.

Outdoor Digital Photography Handbook: How to Shoot Like a Pro by Boyd Norton is a new title from Voyageur Press. From the basics of how digital imaging works through practical field techniques, from creative use of lenses to the details of image storage, filing, processing and manipulation, this comprehensive guide is filled with helpful tips and tricks and 299 of the author’s own images. This 208-page book is available now priced at $24.99.

The Rollei Sportsline 50 is a highly affordable waterproof digital compact camera. Robust and waterproof down to a depth of 3 metres, the Rollei Sportsline 50 is otherwise a pretty basic snapper featuring a 5-megapixel sensor, a fixed-focal-length lens and a standard-definition VGA movie mode. Powered by a pair of AA batteries and compatible with SD memory cards, the Rollei Sportsline 50 can be yours for €49.95. Availability is slated for the end of May.

Leaf Imaging has announced that on 10 May 2010, it will assume full responsibility for service and technical support of all Leaf digital camera backs, including legacy Leaf products and Leaf AFi camera systems. Leaf Imaging has signed an agreement with Eastman Kodak Company, according to which all technical service and support responsibilities are being transferred from Kodak to Leaf Imaging. This agreement covers service and support both for systems that are under warranty and for those that are out of warranty worldwide. As a result, Leaf Imaging will become a single resource for service and support to the entire Leaf customer base.

Manfrotto has announced two new promotions. One of them is a £20 cashback offer on the newly redesigned Manfrotto 190XPROB tripod, which is available now for £139.95. The other offer is a free Manfrotto 234 or 234RC Monopod Tilt Head, worth £16.95 and £31.95 respectively, with purchases of selected Manfrotto monopods. Click through / read on for the full list of eligible models.

The new Epson Stylus NX420 is billed as the “industry’s first wireless All-in-One under $100”. Featuring individual ink cartridges and fade-, smudge- and water-resistant DURABrite Ultra ink, the Epson Stylus NX420 offers fast printing speeds, one-click red-eye removal, 2400dpi scanning and manual, two-sided printing. The Epson Stylus NX420 is currently available through major computer, office and electronic superstores, a variety of retail stores across the U.S.A., mail order, PC manufacturers, the Internet, and Epson’s own retail site. The estimated retail price is $99.99.

Website: Epson Store

Renowned photographer Denis O’Regan will be giving a rare presentation on shooting the legendary band KISS ahead of their upcoming Wembley shows. The lecture will take place on Tuesday, 11 May in the Apple Store (235 Regent Street, London, W1B 2EL). O’Regan will also be discussing how he works on the road and using Aperture as the hub of his workflow.

Pictures of the Year International (POYi), the oldest photojournalism programme in the world, has announced the “POYi Emerging Vision Incentive” for aspiring documentary photographers. The incentive will fund and showcase documentary work on social issues or political trends, and the Emerging Vision Incentive recipient will receive up to $10,000 to assist in developing a photo story that reflects daily life, social issues, cultural trends or news events. The POYi Emerging Vision Incentive programme is made possible through financial support from the Reynolds Journalism Institute and the Annenberg Foundation. For more information about the programme or to enter, visit the website below.

Website: POYi

Ovation TV has brought back its week-long on-air programming event that is all about photography—Framed. This time around, Framed premieres The Wonderful World of Albert Kahn, a show featuring an encompassing mission during the early-1900s in which Albert Kahn commissioned photographers near and far to document the four corners of the world in colour using autochrome plates. Kahn believed that he could use the new autochrome process—the world’s first practical system of taking colour photographs—to promote cross-cultural understanding.  Kahn’s vast and legendary collection of autochromes remained relatively unheard of until a century after he launched his project. Today’s episodes of the show track the travels of Kahn’s team of photographers into Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine as well as Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan and India. Tied to the airing of the show is a competition entitled, Framed Art Race 2010. This photography contest calls for photographers of all genres to document their world using a cell phone camera. The submission deadline is 8 May 2010. Winners will be showcased on TV in a My Art spot on Ovation.

Adobe has made available a prerelease version of its Lens Profile Creator utility for Windows and Mac OS. Adobe Lens Profile Creator generates custom lens profiles for use with the Lens Correction tool in Photoshop CS5. As Adobe puts it, “a lens profile describes the types of optical aberrations that exist in a particular lens and prescribes how to correct the lens distortions in an image captured from the same lens”. These optical aberrations include geometric distortions, corner shading and chromatic aberrations. You first need to capture a set of chequerboard images with your camera (provided as part of the application package), which you can then feed into the Lens Profile Creator utility. For more information, visit the website below.

Website: Adobe Lens Profile Creator