The National Press Photographers Association of the USA has announced the winners of ‘The Best of Photojournalism 2009’ award in eight categories. With no less than 53,000 entries submitted by 3,700 press photographers from 147 countries, picking the best must have been tough - and it’s not over yet. So far, the winners of the Sports Action, Sports Feature, The Art of Entertainment, Conceptual Photographic Illustration, Olympics Action, Olympics Feature, Natural Environment, and Sports Picture Story categories have been named, but judging will keep the jury busy for the rest of the week, right up until Friday, when the ‘Photojournalist of the Year’ and the ‘New America Award’ winners will be announced.

The European price and launch date of the Voigtländer Bessa III medium format rangefinder camera have been confirmed. The Bessa III, announced last autumn, now has a confirmed MSRP of 1999 euros. Availability is slated for May 2009. The Voigtländer Bessa III 667 (marketed in Japan as the Fujifilm 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. Click through for more specs.

This year’s Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day will be held on April 26, and the organisers invite everyone who uses a pinhole camera to participate. Anyone who takes a pinhole photograph on the last Sunday of April (26th) and scans it can upload it to www.pinholeday.org where it becomes part of a public gallery. Pinhole cameras are the oldest photographic tools, which are used to create photos without a lens. So if you as a photographer are looking for routes to your roots, Pinhole Day may be just your ticket.

Kodak and LG have just signed a contract enabling LG to use Kodak’s OLED technology in a number of electronic devices, ranging from cell phones to television sets. According to a report by Engadget, neither company has issued an official press release yet, but if the story is to be believed, you might soon see LG branded computer screens and TVs featuring OLED (organic light emitting diode) displays. This could be beneficial to both editing and viewing digital photos, as Kodak claims OLED screens have “unsurpassed contrast and luminance”, offer “lifelike colour reproduction, vibrancy and brightness”, and are “easier to see in changing ambient light contitions”. On the other hand, OLED screens have historically been criticised for having a much shorter lifespan than other types of display.

Website: Engadget

Canon has released a new firmware update for the PowerShot SX1 IS camera. Version 2.0.0.0 firmware newly incorporates a RAW image recording function. A new version of Canon’s Digital Photo Professional software which can be used to develop RAW images is also available.

Website: Canon PowerShot SX1 IS Firmware 2.0.0.0

The Hot Shoe Diaries is a new book from Joe McNally that focuses on using small hot shoe flashes. Using Nikon Speedlights, McNally demonstrate how he makes his pictures with these small flash guns. The Hot Shoe Diaries is now available for $39.99.

The TrekPod GO! PRO is a new all-in-one monopod, tripod and hiking staff. “The TrekPod GO! PRO is a multi-tool for photographers on the go,” said Jim Clark, CEO of Trek-Tech. “It offers photographers the capability to do more and carry less. Because of its size and footprint, it can get into places large tripods can’t go, like soccer games and museums. It also takes you outdoors and travels easily.” Weighing 28 ounces, the TrekPod GO PRO comes complete with the MagMount PRO quick release ball head system which is rated for cameras up to 13.5 lbs. The TrekPod GO! PRO is available now for $229.99 / £149.99 inc vat.

Landscape and architectural photographer Tom Mackie is running a new landscape and architectural workshop in Andalucia, Spain. You will get the opportunity to learn from Tom in a very small team whilst shooting amazing images of Andalucia’s famous whitewashed villages. Tom will share the secrets to his success and show you how to keep your creative-eye looking for those unique shots that he achieves time after time. This event takes place on 19th - 26th May 2009.

Online storage provider Wuala has announced that it has merged with LaCie, manufacturer of external storage devices. Since its launch in August 2008, Wuala has grown rapidly thanks to its ease of use and the unique way of protecting its user’s privacy. “LaCie has a strong vision for where the future of storage is headed. This merge has allowed us to acquire a very innovative online storage solution that will transform our company from a leading hardware manufacturer to a comprehensive digital storage provider,” said Philippe Spruch, founder and CEO of LaCie.

Network giant Cisco is buying Pure Digital Technologies, creator of the Flip Video brand. Pure Digital’s Flip Video has sold more than 2 million units and quickly demonstrated market appeal in the United States by making video simple, accessible and fun. “The acquisition of Pure Digital is key to Cisco’s strategy to expand our momentum in the media-enabled home and to capture the consumer market transition to visual networking,” said Ned Hooper, senior vice president of Cisco’s Corporate Development and Consumer Groups. Under the terms of the agreement, Cisco will pay approximately $590 million in stock in exchange for all shares of Pure Digital.

Ricoh have released a new firmware update for the R10 compact camera. Version 1.17 modifies the LCD color balance to reduce a reddish tint. Use this adjustment file only if you feel that there is a red tint in the LCD monitor of your Ricoh R10 (you can go back to the previous firmware version if required).

Website: Ricoh R10 Firmware Update 1.17

Google’s Street View project has arrived in the UK and the service is now available for 25 cities. Street View, which was first released in the USA two years ago, provides 360-degree street-level panoramic views of cities and towns, making it possible to take a virtual tour of places before you actually visit them. The photographs used to create these panoramas are captured using specialised cameras mounted on Google branded cars. When Google announced last year that Street View would come to the UK, there was an outcry that it would violate citizens’ right to privacy. Google responded to this by saying that it would blur out any car number plates and human faces - you can check whether they have kept their promise by visiting the website below.

Website: Google Maps

Epson GS Canvas Gloss is a new fine art paper for the Epson Stylus Pro GS6000 printer. The GS Canvas Gloss is a stretchable, polyester/cotton blend canvas that provides a consistent and smooth glossy printing surface that allows for a wide color gamut and deep rich blacks, while still offering the traditional look and feel of artist canvas. Epson GS Canvas Gloss is available mow in a range of roll sizes from 24 inches by 75 feet, up to 60 inches by 75 feet, starting at $199.

The Mamiya DL33 is a new medium format camera that offers 33 megapixels. At 36 x 48mm, the DL33’s sensor is twice the size of full frame DSLR cameras, with a pixel size of 7.2 microns. The Mamiya DL33’s 3.5-inch touch screen, the largest in the industry, offers a bright, high-contrast display ideal for outdoor or indoor work. 16-bit capture, 12-stop dynamic range and an ISO range of 50-800 are the other headline features of the $19,999 Mamiya DL33, which will be available in April.

Picaboo now allows you to create photo books with “lay flat” pages, which lay flat no matter how many pages there are. These photo books are made with a special post binding system and hinged paper. Picaboo 2.5, a new version of its free downloadable software, provides five new book styles, custom cover stamping, and black and white or sepia photos. Picaboo is currently offering a promotion until March 31th, 2009 (CODE: PCBBGF)* where customers who purchase certain photo books can receive an additional copy for free. Photo book pricing starts at just $9.99 and shipping is additional.

Geo-tagging community website locr has released a plug-in for Aperture. The new plug-in simplifies uploading several photos or complete albums to locr. Photos can be placed into existing locr albums or put into a new album. Keywords and descriptions as well as previously added geo tags will be transferred directly to locr along with the photos. Locr for Aperture 1.0 is available for free download now.

Nikon have released a new firmware update for the Coolpix S60 camera. The following improvements have been made in version 1.1:

- The speed at which the displayed image changes with dragging in full-frame playback mode has been increased.
- The method used to enable playback zoom (enlarge image display) in full-frame playback mode has been modified.
- After using the HD Pictmotion function, sound did not begin immediately with playback of a movie. This issue has been resolved.

Website: Nikon Coolpix S60 Firmware Update 1.1 (Windows)
Website: Nikon Coolpix S60 Firmware Update 1.1 (Mac)

Hoya is to reduce its Japanese digital camera division from 800 to less than 400 employees. Hoya’s sales, production management and development departments will be affected, as the company who merged with Pentax last year tries to halt nine consecutive months of losses. Hoya also intends to cut its international digital camera workforce later this year.

Website: Reuters