Kingston has announced the release of the second-generation Kingston SSDNow V+ solid-state drive. The Kingston SSDNow V+ solid-state drive has Windows 7 TRIM support, is available up to 512GB and provides faster performance than the previous generation. The addition of TRIM support helps keep the Kingston SSDNow V+ maintain optimal write speed throughout its lifespan. The Kingston SSDNow V+ is available in 64GB, 128GB, 256GB and 512GB capacities. As part of Kingston’s goal to provide an easy upgrade path, the drive is also available with a bundle that includes cloning software, 2.5” USB enclosure, 2.5” to 3.5” mounting brackets and SATA data and power cables. The standalone drives are priced from £138.43 to £1018.37 depending on capacity, whereas the bundles retail for £146.39-£1026.32.

Adobe today announced the immediate availability of Photoshop.com Mobile for iPhone 1.1. This update adds a video playback feature for users who host videos on Photoshop.com, and a new Sharpen tool that makes refining details in photos as simple as dragging a finger across the image to increase or reduce sharpness. Also with just one touch, users have their choice of eight new artistic borders that add creative punch to their photos. The Adobe Photoshop.com Mobile for iPhone 1.1 application is available worldwide as a free download from Apple’s App Store on iPhone and iPod touch. Current Photoshop.com Mobile for iPhone users will have access to version 1.1 by checking for updates in Apple’s App Store.

Website: Photoshop.com Mobile for iPhone

Wedding Photography - A Guide to Posing is a new title from Oliver Cameron Publishing. Designed for professional and amateur photographers who cover weddings, this pocket-sized, 7x5”  book contains 300+ images over 200 pages from some of the world’s finest wedding photographers. Topics covered include basic poses, bride and groom formals, group shots inside and outside the church, posing the couple in the church after the service, cutting the cake, using off-camera flash, posing mistakes to avoid and more. The book is claimed to be especially useful for those who have “blanks” when posing brides and grooms or find themselves recreating the same pose at every wedding. Going on sale in April 2010, Wedding Photography - A Guide to Posing is priced (including shipping) at £10. Anyone who pre-orders from the UK will also receive a set of discount vouchers from some of the industry’s leading suppliers. Those pre-ordering the book from the USA or any other country outside the UK before 1 February will receive half price postage and packing. The discounted price is $18.95 in the USA and £12 in the rest of the world.

Website: Oliver Cameron Publishing

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the People’s Republic of China, Leica is offering collectors a limited-edition Leica MP analogue rangefinder camera. The camera is coated in 24-carat gold and encased in Leica Red Box calf leather. Sold only in mainland China, the production run of the golden MP is limited to 60 bodies outfitted with gold-plated Summilux 50mm f1.4 lenses. The serial numbers start with 1949, the year Mao Zedong’s communists seized control of the country. Priced at $199,900 yuan, the golden camera and lens come in a luxury wooden box. Honestly, we have no idea of what Marx, Engels or Mao himself would have thought of something as blatantly bourgeois as a golden camera that costs hundreds of times more than what the average Chinese worker earns in a month, but we have the sinking feeling that they might not have approved of the idea…

Via Engadget

Panasonic Singapore is about to launch a new, English-language microsite dedicated to the Lumix G series of Micro Four Thirds cameras. The countdown has already started, and the site will go live on 31 January. If you happen to be in Singapore on that day, you might want to join Panasonic to celebrate the microsite launch in the Eugenia Ballroom of the Siloso Beach Resort. The launch event will kick off at 1pm local time. Advance registration is mandatory.

Website: Panasonic Lumix G

The Worldwide Community of Imaging Associations has created a fun, educational, and interactive experience for attendees of the first Southern California Photo Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center on Saturday, 20 February. The show’s underlying theme, “Discover, Create, Share,” describes the overall essence of what visitors can expect to experience throughout the day. Participation begins with submissions of their own photos to help create an enormous 8-by-16-foot photo mosaic to be displayed at the expo (see illustration above). In addition, U.S. military families will have an opportunity to have family and individual portraits taken and shared with loved ones overseas, free of charge.  Lastly, attendees will be able to learn how to take better photos through educational and inspirational presentations by some of the most respected photographers in the industry and get a hands-on look at the latest camera and imaging software technology. A single ticket for adults will cost $15, family admission for two adults and up to four children is $25, while seniors pay $10. Admission is free for active U.S. soldiers and their families.

To mark the re-launch of the Santander brand throughout the United Kingdom, Metro and Santander are asking you to take a photograph that sums up life in your home city. Simply use your camera, iPhone or mobile to snap anything you might see on your lunch break or even on your way home from a night out – whatever you feel represents and celebrates your city. After that, use the upload form below to submit your work. Uploading closes 2pm Monday 1st February. The shortlisted top ten photographs will be showcased on the gallery page. Readers can vote for their favourite image from 2pm Tuesday 2nd February until 5pm Monday 8th February. The overall winner receives £5,000 of holiday vouchers to visit any city in the world.

Website: “One Moment in My City” Competition Upload Form

The Leica Oskar Barnack Award and the Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award are open for entries. The Leica Oskar Barnack Award is announced for the 31st time, and accepts photo essays from professional photographers until 15 March. The award is given by an international jury “to photographers whose unerring powers of observation capture and express the relationship between man and the environment in the most graphic form in a sequence of a minimum of 10 up to a maximum of 12 images”. The winner of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award will receive 5,000 euros or, alternatively, Leica camera equipment to the same value. Also, a Newcomers Award will be incorporated in the competition, open to all (prospective) pros who are aged 25 years and under. The winner of the Newcomer Award will receive 2,500 euros.

Website: Leica Oskar Barnack Award

The online photo book site My Photo Plus has announced the addition of 2 HP Designjet Z6100ps large format 60 inch wide printers offering large canvas, posters and photo prints.My Photo Plus is based in Washington DC and provides many photo products from photo books, photo prints, calendars and many photo gift items. James Dempsey - My Photo Plus Division Manager - said “We now can offer our customers large photo prints, maps, fine art, photos on canvas, photo gloss/matte paper and even super large wall stickers and posters using their own pictures”  The HP Designjet Z6100 uses 8 sepearate colour cartridges, and also has an embedded spectrophotometer to ensure accurate colour output every time.

The winning images from the 2009 international Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) awards go on display at Adventure Travel Live at London’s Royal Horticultural Halls from January 29th-31st. As well as enjoying over 70 stunning images, show visitors have the chance to win an Intrepid Travel 15-day Wild China trip, and can buy the latest TPOTY book, Journey Three. This publication contains the winning images from TPOTY 2009, 2008 and 2007. Priced at £25, Journey Three takes readers on a trip round the globe, through the eyes of award-winning photographers.Amateur and professional photographers from over 70 countries entered the 2009 Travel Photographer of the Year competition. The 2010 TPOTY awards open in the spring. For further information, visit the TPOTY website.

Website: TPOTY

Tamron has announced the launch of a new, innovative, interactive blog-style sharing site, called ShareItWithTamron.com. Participants are encouraged to respond by posting one or more photos and any length story about the photo, tip on how it was created, hotel recommendations for the place where it was shot and more. The rules are simple: All content (words and photos) must be appropriate. “This is a responsive and interactive site designed to motivate a spirited exchange of images and ideas,” notes Stacie Errera, Tamron’s Marketing Director. “Many people are used to reading and posting on blogs these days and we feel this blog-style sharing site will be comfortable for users. We want people to respond to our posted questions with comments in the form of their own images and words, comment on each other’s photos and stories, and have an entertaining and informative conversation. By posting frequent questions on a variety of topics, we hope to motivate people to come back frequently to see what’s happening on this dynamic new site, to converse with their peers, and to have fun sharing a broad range of images.”

Website: Share It With Tamron

Sigma UK have managed to slash the price of several of their specialist, professional lenses by securing lower cost prices from their parent company in Japan. The lenses in question include the Sigma 4.5mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Circular Fisheye, the 8mm f/3.5 EX DG Circular Fisheye, the 10mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Fisheye, the 15mm f/2.8 EX DG Fisheye, the 180mm f/3.5 EX DG HSM Macro, the 800mm f/5.6 APO EX DG (pictured), the 100-300mm f/4 EX IF DG HSM, 120-300mm f/2.8 APO EX DG HSM and the 300-800mm f/5.6 APO EX DG HSM. Click through / read on for the new SRPs.

Manfrotto Distribution has launched a new range of Kata camcorder bags designed exclusively for HD video users. The new range features four models, the CB-100 (pictured), CB-200, CB-300 and CB-400, to fit the full range of professional-choice HD video cameras. All four CB bags are 100% water resistant, with protective zippers to ensure tools are kept dry when stored throughout shoots in even the most inclement weather. In addition, they are roomy enough for a camera to be stored with mic assembled, keeping set-up time to a minimum. To select the best bag for you, visit the Kata bag chooser at www.kata-bags.com.

Kata has launched its Auxiliary System, a new kit carrying system for photographers who are selective about the precise kit they take on shoots, and want everything close to hand when they need it most. The Auxiliary System is a collection of individually specified pouches that can be used alone or combined using Kata’s Auxiliary Belt and Harness to carry a combination of kit. With Kata’s new system, extending the capacity of a kit bag is as simple as selecting a new pouch and adding it to the existing set-up. Auxiliary System pouches can be configured in any way to suit personal needs, making them fully customisable and helping photographers, whatever their subject, ensure their favourite gear is always right at hand. To select the best set-up for them, photographers can visit the Kata bag chooser at the Kata Bags website.

Website: Kata Bags

FinerWorks.com has announced “My Licensed Images”, a web-tool designed to increase earning potential for registered photographers and other artists. James Theopistos, graphic artist and owner of FinerWorks.com states, “I think that our members will be very pleased with this new feature because it will allow them to batch upload their images without forcing them to create a print or gift product in order to profit. It is a big time saver on one hand, but on the other, it actually increases their potential to profit, because it essentially increases their number of available products.” Though it is scheduled for release late this month, a beta version may become available within the next week. Registered members will be able to access “My Licensed Images” through their account management systems and will not be limited to the number of images they may display in their galleries.

Website: FinerWorks

I’m a Photographer, Not a Terrorist! (PHNAT) invites all UK-based photographers to a mass photo gathering in defence of street photography. “Following a series of high profile detentions under s[ection ]44 of the terrorism act including 7 armed police detaining an award winning architectural photographer in the City of London, the arrest of a press photographer covering campaigning santas at City Airport and the stop and search of a BBC photographer at St Pauls Cathedral and many others, PHNAT feels now is the time for a mass turnout of Photographers, professional and amateur to defend our rights and stop the abuse of the terror laws,” the campaign group writes on its website. The rally will take place on Saturday, 23 Januyary 2010, on Trafalgar Square. PHNAT expects over a thousand participants.

Website: PHNAT

ViewBug has announced the winning photos of the “Black and White American Photo Magazine Publishing Contest”. The black and white photo contest was first announced in the November/December 2009 issue of the American Photo Magazine. There were over 200 entries and over 6,000 votes on the photos. Winners were selected by ViewBug members and approved by the judging panel. The winners’ photos will be published in the March/April 2010 issue of AmericanPhoto Magazine. The first prize goes to Thomas Hocker for his work featured above.

Sony has launched an 8GB Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo memory card with TransferJet technology, which allows wireless data transfer from the card to another TransferJet device. Right now, only two compatible products are listed on SonyStyle.com, including the new Sony Cyber-shot HX5 and TX7 camera models. Also introduced is a Sony TransferJet Station and a TransferJet enabled Sony VAIO F series notebook. The new card and transfer station are now available for pre-order priced at $99.99 and $149.99, respectively.

Website: SonyStyle

Via Imaging Resource

Iridient Digital have released RAW Developer 1.8.8, which brings support for two the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV and the Fujifilm Finepix S200EXR. It also comes with an improved default camera ICC profile for the Canon EOS 1D Mark III, and fixes a bug related to the Canon EOS 20D. This release is a free update for all currently registered users and should automatically recognise your existing registration information. New licenses can be purchased for $125.

Website: Iridient RAW Developer 1.8.8