The LaCie Data/Share is a new way to access the data from SD and microSD cards. It converts SD card and microSD information into the more accessible USB format, instantly creating a USB-ready storage key. The two sides of the Data / Share allow you to keep personal data on one side, while using the other side for shared data. Both sides have the advantage of High-Speed USB transfer rates of up to 480MB/s. The LaCie Data/Share is available now for £9.90 / $9.90.

Lenovo and Microsoft have announced that the Shutter Sisters, otherwise known as Jen Lemen and Stephanie Roberts, are the winners of the Name Your Dream Assignment competition. Over 1,300 people voted for the Shutter Sisters to fulfill their dream - “Picture Hope.”  The Shutter Sisters will soon be traveling around five continents to capture hope in surprising places. As winners, Jen and Stephanie receive a Lenovo W700ds, Microsoft Vista, Microsoft Expression Media 2, and $50,000 to live out their dream. The two runners up, The World in a Bubble and The Travelling Poet Project, each receive a Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds and Microsoft Expression Media. The 20 finalists all receive a copy of Microsoft Expression Media 2.

Website: Name Your Dream Assignment

Nikon has released a new version of its RAW codec, which lets you view NEF files within Windows. Version 1.7.0 now supports NEF (RAW) images taken with the D5000 DSLR camera (pictured).

Website: Nikon RAW Codec 1.7.0

Nikon have released a new version, 2.5.0, of Camera Control Pro. This software allows photographers to control a camera remotely from a computer using either a wired or a wireless connection. Changes in this version include added support for the new Nikon D5000 DSLR camera.

Website: Nikon Camera Control Pro 2.5.0 (Windows)
Website: Nikon Camera Control Pro 2.5.0 (Mac)

Canon USA have issued a service notice for the PowerShot G10 camera. Lines may appear in images captured by some units of the Canon G10. This phenomenon does not occur in all images, is not caused by the camera settings, and the length of lines that appear in images differs depending on the subject. Images that exhibit this phenomenon cannot be fixed. Products whose fourth and fifth digits from the left indicate the following numbers may be affected:

***50*****, ***51*****, ***52*****,
***53*****, ***80*****, ***81*****,
***82*****, ***83*****

Free repairs will be provided by Canon USA for affected products.

Website: Service Notice: PowerShot G10: Lines Appear in Captured Images

The standalone version of Noise Ninja has been upgraded to 2.2.0. Noise Ninja Standalone now has a Sidekick Mode. While Noise Ninja is in sidekick mode any files sent to Noise Ninja from external applications, drag and drop or the file open dialog will be automatically processed and saved without user interaction. This is particularly useful when using Noise Ninjas as an external editor for hosts like Lightroom. Noise Ninja 2.2.0 also improves external editor support and batch processing and fixes a bug with profiles folder preference on Mac OS X.

Website: Noise Ninja

Sigma Photo Pro Software 3.5.1 for Windows and Sigma Photo Pro 3.3 for Macintosh are now available. Sigma Photo Pro is an exclusive software package for displaying and manipulating your Sigma digital camera images on your computer. This latest version of Sigma Photo Pro software for Windows has improved the display speed of thumbnails in the Main Window and performance when in the Review Window from “SIGMA Photo Pro 3.5” enclosed with the DP2 camera. Regarding the Macintosh version, it has improved the stability of the software’s operation from “SIGMA Photo Pro 3.3” bundled with the DP2.

Website: Sigma Photo Pro 3.5.1 (Windows)
Website: Sigma Photo Pro 3.3 (Mac)

Panasonic has released new firmware updates for three cameras - the DMC-FT1 / DMC-TS1, DMC-TZ6 / DMC-ZS1 and DMC-TZ7 / DMC-ZS3. Version 1.1 adds AVCHD playback support for the FT1 / TS1 and TZ7 / ZS3, reduces the auto-focus noise in Quick AF mode for the TZ7 / ZS3 and TZ6 / ZS1, and improves the playback quality of still images for the FT1 / TS1 and TZ6 / ZS1.

Website: Panasonic DMC-FT1/DMC-TS1 Firmware Update 1.1
Website: Panasonic DMC-TZ6/DMC-ZS1 Firmware Update 1.1
Website: Panasonic DMC-TZ7/DMC-ZS3 Firmware Update 1.1

A UK retailer is now taking pre-orders for the Voigtländer Bessa III medium format folder. The Voigtländer Bessa III 667, which is marketed as the Fujifilm GF670 in Japan, is now listed at Robert White’s website for £1,650 + VAT. The Bessa III 667 / GF670 is a folding bellows camera that uses 120 and 220 format roll film. With a special selector switch, you can specify whether you want it to shoot a 6x6 or a 6x7cm frame (the actual dimensions are 56x56mm and 56x69mm, respectively). The Bessa III features a HELIAR 80mm f/3.5 lens, whose angle of view is 53 degrees for 6x6cm frames, and 57 degrees for 6x7cm ones. The camera is expected to ship next month.

Website: Voigtländer Bessa III at Robert White’s Website

Genius has announced a new pocket-sized high-definition digital video camera that can also capture 11-megapixel still photographs. Videos are recorded in MPEG-4 format using the H-264 codec. The Genius G-Shot HD520 weighs only six ounces and features a fixed 7.1mm lens and a 2.5” LCD that can rotate up to 270 degrees. Furthermore, G-Shot HD520 comes equipped with Face Detection and an Electronic Image Stabiliser. Its internal memory is a meagre 32 megabytes, but it accepts SDHC cards too. The Genius G-Shot HD520 has an MSRP of $149, including an HDMI cable.

Seagate Technology LLC has announced the Seagate Replica PC backup system. The Seagate Replica continuously stores up-to-date copies of everything on your PC, including the operating system, programs and settings – without you doing any of the work. The device connects to the computer via USB, and requires no installation or configuration. In the event of a computer crash, users can restore their PCs quickly and effortlessly, without having to spend countless hours manually installing and copying files. The storage capacity is 250GB. A Multi-PC version is available for homes with two or more PCs. The Multi-PC version has twice the storage space (500GB). Plus, the Multi-PC version includes a convenient dock to hold the Replica backup system vertically, which saves valuable desk space. The 250GB solution costs $129.99 (MSRP), whereas the 500GB Seagate Replica Multi-PC will set you back $179.99.

Cosina has announced the Voigtländer VM adapter, which allows M mount lenses to be attached to Micro FourThirds bodies. It is a simple spacer with no electrical contacts of any kind. The Voigtländer VM, which will cost ¥19,800 according to the Japanese Cosina site, is apparently not the first such adapter, as CameraQuest has, for some time, been selling what seems like a different one to us.

Website: Voigtländer VM Adapter at Cosina’s Japanese Site
Website: CameraQuest M to Micro FourThirds Adapter

Panasonic has announced that it would start developing a professional 3D Full HD production system. The system, which is expected to be the first of its kind in the industry, consists of a twin-lens P2 professional camera recorder and a 3D-compatible High Definition Plasma display. While this system is obviously aimed at Hollywood studios, it will be interesting to watch if any part of this technology trickles down to consumer products, especially given that another company, Fujifilm, already announced the development of its own Finepix Real 3D system back at Photokina.

Easypano has released Panoweaver 6.00 Professional and Panoweaver 6.00 Batch, which offer the ability to stitch both cylindrical and spherical panoramas from single-row/multiple rows of normal digital photos or fisheye photos. The main features include support for both auto- and manual stitching, automatic recognition of lens type, support for the creation of HDR panoramas, batch stitching and batch export (in Panoweaver 6.00 Batch) and support for stitching Camera Raw files. Panoweaver 6.00 Professional costs US$499.95 / 499.95€ (upgrade for Panoweaver 5.00 Professional users is US$200.00 / 200.00€), whilst Panoweaver 6.00 Batch can be yours for US$999.95 / 899.95€.

Notwithstanding the temporary insolvency of Franke & Heidecke, a specialist retailer is now taking orders for the Rolleiflex Gold Edition. This collectors’ edition - which comprises a Rolleiflex 4.0 FW with a Schneider Super Angulon 4,0/50 mm HFT, a Rolleiflex 2.8 FX with a Zeiss Planar 2,8/80 mm HFT and a Rolleiflex 4.0 FT with a Schneider Tele-Xenar 4,0/135 mm HFT, all gilded in 14-carat gold - was originally announced at photokina 2008 and planned for release this year, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the twin-lens reflex (TLR) camera’s debut in 1929. In light of Franke & Heidecke’s recent financial problems, it seemed that this special edition was gone with the wind. But a German retailer called Spürsinn rushed to the rescue. The three gilded TLRs and an exclusive presentation box can be yours for just… 29,500 euros!

For this price, which includes 19% VAT, the cameras will of course be made to order, and every stage of the manufacturing will be documented in an exclusive illustrated book that ships along with your cameras. The presentation box with all three cameras is delivered free of charge and worldwide personally by the management of Spürsinn.

Website: Rolleiflex Gold Edition at Spürsinn

Via photoscala.de

Pentax have launched a teaser campaign for a new K series DSLR, which is to be unveiled on 21 May 2009. The official product name has not been disclosed, and the company remains tight-lipped about the feature set as well (though as usual, rumours abound). What seems - at this point - unlikely to break new records is the pixel count, at least if the words of Gabriele Remmers, Marketing Communication Manager of the Division of Imaging Systems of Pentax Europe, are anything to go by.

Photozig has introduced Pepcast, a new way of sharing and enjoying online digital photo albums and slideshows in a community. The Pepcast technology offers easy upload, browse, organise, personalise, and email features. The Pepcast website www.pepcast.com is now open to the public, after initially hosting pictures related to NASA Research Park. Pepcast was designed to work with Photozig Albums, a free slideshow software and digital photo organiser that transfers photos and clips from digital cameras, creates and organises albums, produces slideshows with photos, movies, and music, generates screensavers and emails photos.

Website: Pepcast

The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today a new endowment fund and promised gift of artwork in memory of the great American street photographer Helen Levitt, who died on March 29, 2009, at the age of 95. The Helen Levitt Memorial Fund has been established through a generous planned gift of the artist’s sister-in-law, Mrs. Robert O. Levitt, and will support the Museum’s acquisition of photographs by Helen Levitt and other mid-20th-century American photographers working in her tradition. Mrs. Robert O. Levitt has also made a promised gift to the Metropolitan Museum of 12 of the artist’s photographs. To celebrate Levitt’s life and work, a selection of a dozen of her photos from the Metropolitan’s collection will be on view in the Museum’s Robert Wood Johnson, Jr. Gallery from May 11 through August 30, 2009.

Photodex ProShow: Visual QuickStart Guide is a new book by Jon Canfield. This is the first book that covers both versions of ProShow 4, ProShow Gold and ProShow Producer, in detail. The book leads readers through the process of creating stunning slide shows that can be viewed on computers, televisions and other devices, and over the Internet. The full-colour Photodex ProShow: Visual QuickStart Guide has a list price of $29.99, but is available now for $21.59 from Amazon.

Website: Photodex ProShow: Visual QuickStart Guide at Amazon