Canon has introduced a new flagship model to its 2009 VIXIA high-definition digital camcorder line, the Canon VIXIA HF S11 Dual Flash Memory camcorder sporting advanced HD features and professional-level manual controls.  The Canon VIXIA HF S11 offers the ability to record up to 24 hours of crisp high-definition video to a 64GB internal flash drive and the option of recording video directly to removable SDHC memory cards for fast and easy sharing of memories. Two new features that help enhance the video capture and viewing experience are Canon’s new Dynamic SuperRange OIS system, which delivers the ultimate in shake correction by providing continuous adjustment throughout the entire zoom range, and an Advanced Video Snapshot Mode. The Canon VIXIA HF S11 features a Genuine Canon HD Video Lens, Canon designed and manufactured 8.59-megapixel Full HD CMOS Image Sensor and Canon DIGIC DV III Image Processor, all of which allow the camcorder to produce hiogh-definition video and 8-megapixel photos. Scheduled to be available in mid-September, the Canon VIXIA HF S11 Dual Flash Memory Camcorder will sell for an estimated retail price of $1,499.

Nikon Vision Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Nikon Corporation, is has introducedt the Fieldscope Digital SLR Camera Attachment FSA-L2 for use exclusively with Nikon EDG Fieldscopes and Nikon D-SLR cameras. The Digital SLR Camera Attachment FSA-L2, which has 3.5x zoom and 500-1,750mm (f/5.9-21) focal length, used together with the new EDG Fieldscopes enables super-telephoto shooting with Nikon D-SLR cameras. The D-SLR cameras’ Aperture-Priority Auto Mode can be used when the camera is connected to the FSA-L2 and EDG Fieldscope. The FSA-L2 features a bright optical path with fully multilayer-coated lenses.

Simplify Media has launched a new application on the App Store called Simplify Photos. Essentially, the application connects to your home computer and syncs batches of photos over to your iPhone, so you can view the photos on the go. In order to get the photos over, you need to have both Simplify Photos running on your computer, and your iPhone/iPod Touch, and the syncing process will begin. The photos are never stored on the iPhone/iPod Touch, and this brings a big advantage of the application — this frees up gigabytes of space on your iPhone or iPod Touch. Simplify Photos lets users browse photos by folder and timeline, or GPS location on a map, view thumbnails, individual photos or slideshow, access iPhoto albums, events, faces and places, search by tags, comments, title or description. Simplify Photos is $0.99 and available from the App Store today.

iStockphoto has announced the nine winners of its Punctum Day competition, now in its third year. This year’s categories included best photo, vector, video, Flash and design of the year with audio included for the first time. The top 10 finalists from each category were selected from a pool of more than 1.75 million entries. The Photo of the Year category winner is Vladimir Piskunov, who receives the award for his entry entitled “Full Moon Calling” (see above). Piskunov, like the other category winners, will receive a cash prize of $5,000.

ScanMyPhotos.com has announced a partnership with Mixbook for creating photo books. Tens of millions of photographs scanned by ScanMyPhotos.com’s photo scanning service are now to be turned instantly into bookstore-quality photo books using Mixbook’s photo book software. With this partnership, ScanMyPhotos.com customers will be able to use their digitised photos in photo books created directly on Mixbook’s Web site. For more information about the partnership, visit: http://www.scanmyphotos.com/photobook.html.

Fujifilm Professional has announced details of an exhibition of images from the 2009 Fujifilm Student Awards. All 30 merit winning images from the Awards will be on view, including the eventual winner, taken by Andrew Partner from Leicester College. The awards were a tie-in between Fujifilm Professional and Penguin Classics and the brief was to supply a cover image for the next edition of Rachel Carson’s work Silent Spring (pictured). The exhibition is on display at the London pro lab, Bayeux on Newman Street, W1T 3EP from now until Friday 16th October. Bayeux is open from 9am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, admission is free and no booking is required.

LIFE’s newest title, Wonders of the World, is a photographic compilation of the Top 50 Wonders in the universe. These contain the original Seven Wonders of the World conceived in the 5th century B.C. by the Greek historian Herodotus, seven new man-made wonders and seven runners-up chosen by almost 100 million voters in a global poll fielded by the New 7 Wonders Foundation, 14 of nature’s wonders, 14 modern wonders of engineering and construction and One Lone Wonder - the magnificence of the Northern and Southern Lights. LIFE Wonders of the World, which retails for $29.95 U.S./$34.95 Canada (hardcover), will be available online and at bookstores nationwide on October 20, 2009.

Ricoh today announced the release of the Ricoh CX2, a new digital camera featuring a 10.7x (28-300 mm equivalent) superzoom lens in a compact body only 29.4 mm thick. The new Ricoh CX2 inherits many popular features from its predecessor, the CX1 - introduced less than half a year ago -, such as the unique expanded dynamic range; but also adds new features like full-resolution continuous shooting at 5 frames per second, Pre-AF and Continuous AF. The lens is also new, and its 10.7x zoom ratio is quite an achievement given the compact dimensions of the CX2. New scene modes such as “high-contrast B&W mode” and “miniaturize mode” have been added to stimulate shooting creativity, and various CX1 model functions have received enhancements, such as the addition of face recognition to easy shooting mode and the addition of an AUTO option for automatically defining the range expansion effect in dynamic range double shot mode. The CX2 will be available at an SRP of £299.99.

The Casio EX-Z33 is a new entry-level 10.1 megapixel camera. The stylish Casio Z33 features a 3x optical zoom lens, 2.5 inch widescreen LCD,  Automatic face recognition and Best Shot function. The Auto Shutter mode shoots automatically when the subject smiles or when there is no blur. The EX-Z33 will also be available in September with an MSRP of $119.99.  The EX-Z33 will boast stylish new colors, including black, light pink, vivid pink, silver and blue. 

ExposureManager, a customisable full-service online sales resource for photographers, announces EM Photo Day – an efficient new order placement system for photographers using handwritten order forms. ExposureManager’s latest offering to its community of photographers who cater to sports leagues, groups, schools, special events such as school dances, dance troops, theater groups or any other situation wherein orders are taken in writing by the photographer, is available now. To get started, for each photo day or event, photographers just send ExposureManager the blank order form they’ll be using for their event. EM Photo Day staff will then configure the order entry interface and set-up the price sheets. Once the photo day or event is complete, a CD or DVD of the images or an FTP link must be sent to ExposureManager for import into the system. The EM Photo Day System allows photographers to fully preview all the images to be ordered along with the capability to review any customised products too, as they will print, so as to catch any mistakes, saving time and money.

Adobe today released the Photoshop Camera Raw 5.5 plug-in and DNG Converter 5.5 Release Candidates available immediately. The update extends raw file support to four of the latest popular camera model releases, including the Nikon D300s, Nikon D3000, Olympus E-P1 and Panasonic DMC-FZ35. The Release Candidate also includes a correction to the demosaic algorithms in the raw conversion process for Bayer sensor cameras with unequal green response. The Photoshop Camera Raw 5.5 plug-in and DNG Converter 5.5 Release Candidates are available as free downloads for existing customers of Photoshop CS4.

Website: Adobe Labs

Windows Live Movie Maker makes it easy for Windows 7 and Windows Vista users to create and share movies from their photos and videos. Available as a free download, Windows Live Movie Maker is first application within the Windows Live Essentials suite optimized for Windows 7. It features a Auto Movie option that creates a great-looking video in under one minute, including transitions, a title, captions and a music soundtrack.

Epson has announced that a new range of media by Hahnemühle, the biggest name in fine art print media, has been certified for use with its Digigraphie program. Digigraphie by Epson describes a print created by a certified Epson Stylus Pro professional printer, which uses UltraChrome or UltraChrome K3 inks on a list of certified fine art media.Each print is individually authenticated with a serial number, signed by the artist, embossed and accompanied by a certificate of guarantee. Hahnemühle have worked closely with Epson to gain certification of their high quality fine art media. The new approved digital print media increases the number of Digigraphie certified Hahnemühle media to 9 - all of which are of different weights and properties. Click through / read on for the full list.

Epson has launched the Epson Stylus Photo PX810FW, a high-end 4-in-1 Wi-Fi photo printer. Integrating fax capability with Hi-Definition photo printing, scanning and copying, the PX810FW is Epson’s flagship Wi-Fi, all-in-one for the home user. In addition to photo printing, it comes with a number of more general printing features. You can save paper by double-sided printing with the included duplexer. An automatic document feeder allows for convenient faxing, copying and scanning of multiple pages. The auto-selecting A4 and photo sized paper trays means that both A4 plain and photo sized paper is always ready for use, and the PX810FW also has the capacity to print directly onto suitable CDs and DVDs. The innovative greeting card feature allows you to produce a personalised 10x15cm card incorporating your own handwritten message within the photo without even switching on the PC. The Epson Stylus Photo PX810FW will become available on 1 September at an RRP of £299.99.

Epson has also announced the Epson Stylus Photo PX710W wireless, all-in-one, Hi-Definition photo printer. Paolo Marenghi, Product Manager, Epson UK, said: “With its Wi-Fi capability and contemporary design, the Epson Stylus Photo PX710W can be placed anywhere in the modern home. With integrated paper trays it is far slimmer than most printers standing at only 150mm tall.  Whether you wish to print from a PC, Mac or iPhone, the PX710W will print any document you need and produce photos of outstanding quality.” Additional features in the Epson Stylus Photo PX710W include the ability to view and print photos directly from a memory card using the 6.3 cm LCD viewer, printing directly from PictBridge compatible digital cameras and optical character recognition (OCR) software for text scanning.  An Epson Photo Paper Pack is also included, so you can start printing high-quality photos on Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper in 10x15cm, 13x18cm and A4 sizes straight away. Scheduled for release on 1 September 2009, the Epson Stylus Photo PX710W will be available at an RRP of £199.99.

The Canon PIXMA MP990 and MP640 are two new wireless all-in-one photo printers. Both the MP990 and MP640 use the ChromaLife 100+ ink system and have a maximum color resolution of 9600 x 2400 dpi. The inclusion of a gray ink tank on the Canon MP990 helps produce superb black-and-white prints in addition to vibrant color prints. The PIXMA MP990 can also scan both film and slides. The integrated Easy-Scroll Wheel, for easy navigation through menus and images, is further enhanced by a large 3.8-inch LCD screen on the Canon MP990 and a 3.0- inch LCD screen on the PIXMA MP640. The Canon PIXMA MP990 will cost $299.99 and the MP640 $219.99.

Shutterstock has launched Shuttertweet, a new tool for Twitter that empowers stock image and stock footage submitters by instantly sending out tweets announcing when new images and footage clips have been added to their Shutterstock portfolios. In addition, Shuttertweet sends an update regarding submitters’ download counts on a daily basis to share the success of their portfolios with people that follow them on Twitter. To sign up, submitters login to the submit site and click the option under “Make Money” or click here to enable Shutterstock to send tweets on their behalf. Submitters can deactivate Shuttertweet at any time.

Canon today announced 6 new compact cameras as part of their Autumn 2009 Collection, and we attended the UK launch in sunny London.

Here are 24 photos of all the new cameras, including the PowerShot G11, S90, SX20, SX120, IXUS 200 and IXUS 120.

We’ll also have a review of the new SX20 IS very soon…

Canon today announced the launch of the PowerShot G11 digital compact camera, successor to the Canon PowerShot G10, with a host of new features, including a Dual Anti-Noise System. Canon’s new Dual Anti-Noise System combines a high sensitivity 10.0 Megapixel image sensor with Canon’s enhanced DIGIC 4 image processing technology to greatly reduce noise and increase quality equal to 2-stops. The Dual Anti-Noise System allows photographers to capture full resolution images - using up to ISO 3200 - in difficult low-light conditions. The other highlight of the Canon G11 is a high-resolution (461,000-dot) vari-angle LCD screen. The Canon G11 also features a 28-140mm optically stabilised lens, enhanced i-Contrast technology, white balance fine control and raw image capture. The PowerShot G11 can also be used with a wide range of Canon accessories, including the Speedlite 270EX, 430EX II and 580EX II; Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX and Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX flashes for enhanced shooting options; the Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2, Speedlite Bracket and Remote Switch RS-60E3. Underwater photographers can even team the PowerShot G11 with the specially designed Waterproof Case WP-DC34 - an underwater housing allowing full control of the camera at depths of up to 40m. The PowerShot G11 will be available from early October 2009 priced at £569.00 / €659.00 RRP inc. VAT. The US price is $499.99.