Nik Software has released a Color Efex Pro 3.0 update for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3 and higher. The update is free to current owners of Color Efex Pro 3.0. Currently the update is available for the Color Efex Pro 3.0 Complete Edition; the updates for the Select and Standard Edition will be available soon. Color Efex Pro 3.0 installs as a plug-in for Lightroom 2.3. Photographers using Lightroom can utilise Nik Software’s unique Color Efex Pro filters and take advantage of their U Point technology to selectively apply enhancements without the need for any complicated masks.

Camera Armor have just unveiled the Seattle Solo DSLR bag, which is the latest addition to their dry bag Seattle Series. The Seattle Solo DSLR bag provides watertight transport for one camera body with lens attached, keeping dirt, dust, sand and water out. Other features include an adjustable, padded shoulder strap and an external accessory storage pouch for memory cards and other small accessories. The Camera Armor Seattle Solo DSLR bag is available now, with the price hovering around the £60 mark.

Imagenomic announced today the commercial release of Portraiture 2 for Aperture. Features of the new Apple Aperture plugin include Automatic Skin Tones Mask generation and “One-click” skin retouching through a new Preset Manager, Advanced Skin Masking controls for selecting, feathering and refining the retouching area, Enhancement Sliders and settings custom control, Non-destructive Editing and data integrity image preservation, Extended Output Options, and Batch Processing. The suggested retail price of Portraiture 2 for Aperture is $199.95, and a free trial version is available for download.

Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. is set to sell Popular Photography and American Photo, among other titles. Hachette is looking to sell a whole group of enthusiast magazines, and the two photography periodicals are part of this group, Advertising Age reports. Whether the titles are available for purchase individually or only as a group remains unclear at this point.

Website: Advertising Age

J. D. Power have published the results of a customer satisfaction survey conducted among digital camera owners in Japan. The findings are based on data collected from nearly twelve thousand respondents. The survey covered five segments: Digital SLR, High-end compact, Superzoom, Stylish and Standard. In the DSLR segment, Nikon acquired the first place with a score of 711 (out of 1000), trailed by Pentax and Canon (both scoring 697 points), Panasonic (679), Olympus (665) and Sony (653). Among owners of high-end compacts, Ricoh came out on top, with a score of 713, followed by Canon (704) and Panasonic (660). Each of these brands had a strong point of its own, with Ricoh being the absolute knock-out in the design and handling departments, Canon rated highest for capabilities and Panasonic seen as delivering the best quality. Among superzooms - cameras sporting a fixed-mount zoom lens with at least a 10x zoom ratio - Canon (660) just trumped Sony (659) and Nikon (657). In the Stylish segment, Sony took the lead (657), with Canon a close second (656), and Nikon third again (654). Among standard compacts, Panasonic was the clear winner with 625 points, followed by Canon (619) and Nikon (611).

Website: J. D. Power Press Release (in Japanese)

Adroit Photo Recovery is a new program that can reassemble digital photos you thought you had deleted. Nasir Memon, professor of computer science and engineering at Polytechnic Institute of NYU and co-founder of Digital Assembly LLC, has developed this piece of software to rescue fragmented image files, even from a formatted memory card, pendrive or HDD. Adroit Photo Recovery uses the trademarked SmartCarving technology that “looks at a deleted file as a giant jigsaw puzzle where each block of the file is a piece of the puzzle”. Currently, Adroit recovers photos stored either as JPEGs or PNGs, but future versions will add support for a number of raw image formats.

Adroit Photo Recovery costs $79.99, but there is currently a limited-time offer of $39.99. A free trial version is available for download.

Website: Digital Assembly

Nikon have released a new version of ViewNX, a file browser which ensures quick access to images for instant viewing. In version 1.3.0 of Nikon ViewNX, the Quick Adjustment palette is compatible with both NRW and NEF RAW images, and Google Maps can now be used with the GeoTag function, plus there are a larger number of more minor changes and improvements.

Website: Nikon ViewNX 1.3.0 (Windows)
Website: Nikon ViewNX 1.3.0 (MAC)

Nikon have released a new version of Nikon Transfer, a download utility which allows images to be simultaneously downloaded to two locations. Version 1.4.0 of Nikon Transfer includes 5 minor fixes and improvements.

Website: Nikon Transfer 1.4.0 (Windows)
Website: Nikon Transfer 1.4.0 (Mac)

Wacom Intuos4 is a new professional pen tablet that delivers new features and unparalleled performance to photographers. The Intuos 4 is capable of capturing the slightest nuance of pen pressure against the tablet surface, as well as offering 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity. Other innovative product enhancements offered by the Intuos4 include a refined and intelligent industrial design, customizable shortcut and modifier keys with accompanying OLED displays, and a user-defined Touch Ring capable of controlling up to four different functions in any application. The Wacom Intuos4 is available now and comes in four sizes - small ($229 / £199.99), medium ($369 / £329.99), large ($499 / £429.99) and extra large ($789 / £699.99).

Pentax have just announced the Pentax K20D Titanium Colour Premium Kit. The K20D is Pentax’s flagship DSLR, boasting 14.6 megapixels, in-body Shake Reduction, a Dust Alert System and Live View in a weather-sealed body. The limited-edition Pentax K20D Titanium Colour Premium Kit consists of a K20D body and a D-BG2 vertical grip, both finished in titanium colour. Just like the Pentax K-m Olive, also unveiled today, the Pentax K20D Titanium will only be produced in a batch of 1000 units, with availability slated for October 2009. Pricing is to be confirmed, and it is unclear whether this limited-edition kit will be sold anywhere outside Japan.

Website: Pentax Japan Press Release (in Japanese)
Review: Read our Pentax K20D review

Pentax have just announced an olive version of their entry-level DSLR, the Pentax K-m. Olive green must be the hip colour of 2009, as Leica have also released an olive version of their M8.2 digital rangefinder camera, dubbed the Leica M8.2 Safari Edition. Just like the Leica, the Pentax K-m Olive is also a limited-edition model, which comes bundled with a similarly painted smc Pentax-DA L 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL zoom lens. Only 1000 kits will be produced, with shipments commencing in October 2009 in Japan. Currently, there is no information on pricing or international availability.

Website: Pentax Japan Press Release (in Japanese)
Review: Read our Pentax K-m review

Picmeta Systems have just released Picture Information Extractor (PIE) 5.0, an image browser and viewer with extensive metadata functionality. Version 5.0 of the software offers a number of improvements over its predecessor, including a reworked user interface, lossless rotation and cropping of JPEGs, metadata editing for some raw formats such as Adobe DNG, support for XMP and IPTC plus automatic creation of a folder structure when downloading photos.

The full version of Picture Information Extractor 5.0 costs $35, including lifetime free updates. A free evaluation version can be downloaded from the Picmeta Website. Supported operating systems include Windows 95,98,ME,2000,XP and Vista.

The Nikon Coolpix S225 is a new digital camera exclusive to UK retailer Jessops. Offering a very similar specification to the recently announced S220 model, the entry-level Nikon S225 has 10 megapixels, 3x optical zoom and a 2.5 inch LCD screen. Other key features include Electronic Vibration reduction to reduce camera shake, 4x anti-blur technology, Smile and Blink Proof Mode, Face Detection, Auto scene selector, and Best Shot Selector (BSS). The Nikon Coolpix S225 is available now in silver, priced at £149.

The Pentax 645 Digital camera looks like it will finally arrive in 2010. An official press release on the Pentax Japan website provides a target release date for both the 645D and the smc PENTAX-D FA645 55mm F2.8 lens. It also reveals that the 645 Digital will feature an image sensor with at least 30 megapixels. The Pentax 645 Digital has been shown in prototype form at various photography shows over the last few years.

Website: Pentax Japan

Pentax are ending production of the 67II and 645NII medium format film cameras. Pentax “has reluctantly decided to stop production” of the 67II and 645NII from next month because of “difficulty in sourcing electronic components”. The Pentax 67II was first released in 1998, and the Pentax 645NII in 2001. Both cameras were discontinued in Europe back in 2006, due to EU legislation on the use of lead solder.

Website: Pentax Japan

Tamron has just announced the development of a 60mm f2 macro lens for APS-C DSLRs. The Tamron SP AF 60mm f/2 Di II MACRO 1:1 offers 1:1 magnification at a working distance of 100mm (which translates into a focusing distance of 230mm from the sensor plane) and is a full stop faster than most other macro lenses manufactured today. With a diagonal angle of view of just over 26.5 degrees, it also doubles as a fast portrait lens. Other standout features include the employment of two low-dispersion elements to compensate for various aberrations, Broad-Band Anti-Reflection multi-layer coatings to enhance the light transmission factors in both the short and long wavelength ranges, internal focusing and full-time manual focus override. The Tamron SP AF 60mm f/2 Di II MACRO 1:1 lens is designed exclusively for APS-C sensors and is not meant to be used on full-frame DSLRs.

Price and availability date to be confirmed.

The Tokina AT-X 16.5-135 DX is a new ultra wide-range zoom lens for DSLR cameras with APS-C sensors. Offering an equivalent angle of view to 25-200mm, the Tokina 16.5-135mm lens is well suited to scenic and travel photography. Three aspherical elements, one all glass precision-molded element and 2 compound elements yield high contrast. Additionally two Super-low Dispersion (SD) glass elements correct chromatic aberration. The Tokina AT-X 16.5-135 DX will be available in the US for Nikon cameras in June and Canon in July.

Leica Camera AG have just released a firmware update for the Leica D-Lux 4 digital camera. The version 1.20 update offers the following improvements:

1. Optimised auto white balance performance.
2. Optimised auto focus performance.

Website: Leica D-Lux 4 Downloads