Pixel Sunscreen 2.0 from Think Tank Photo is a collapsible sun shade for laptop computers that completely blocks peripheral light. This portable spring loaded sunscreen instantly pops open for quick access, with an overhead cover that extends beyond the top of the sunscreen. Pixel Sunscreen 2.0 folds down into a small, round portable package that is easy to transport and deploy quickly. The Think Tank Photo Pixel Sunscreen is available now for $69.

FotoInsight Designer 4.5 is a new photo book application that integrates with Flickr, Facebook, Picasa and geotagging site “locr”. Users can complement their photo albums with additional pictures from photo sharing sites, straight from within the FotoInsight Designer software. This latest release also features new photo book formats and new features like fading frames and festive templates. Compatible with Windows XP, Linux and Mac OS 10.5 Leopard and above, version 4.5 of the FotoInsight Designer software is now available to download.

Transcend’s new SDHC HD Video memory cards are designed specifically for recording, storing, and playing back high definition video content. A 16GB Transcend SDHC HD Video Card can store 2 hours and 40 minutes of video content when recording high quality 1920x1080 AVCHD footage at 13Mbps. If slightly lower quality settings are used, the same 16GB card can record up to six full hours of high definition video. Transcend’s SDHC HD Video Cards are also fully Class 6 compliant, providing fast data transfer speeds (guaranteed minimum write speed of 6MB/s), and are backed by a Lifetime Warranty.

Nikon’s EDG fieldscopes are a new Nikon Sport Optics brand that can be used with Nikon’s DSLR and compact cameras. The Nikon EDG 85/85-A and EDG 65/65-A models offer unparalleled optical and mechanical performance and a compact, stylish and waterproof design. A combination of a Nikon DSLR, Digital Camera Zoom Attachment FSA-L2 and an EDG Fieldscope enables super-telephoto photography or digiscoping. Seven new compatible eyepieces have also been introduced making it possible to use the fieldscopes in a variety of applications under various climatic conditions. Nikon EDG Fieldscopes will be available in Summer 2009, prices to be announced.

Blurb are running a free webinar tutorial that will take your bookmaking skills to the next level. Taking place at 6pm PDT on Wednesday 18th March, this intermediate webinar explores several design ideas you can use in your books, providing you with some great tips straight from Blurb’s designers. There will also be time for questions at the end of the webinar.

The 44 winners of the 2009 Sony World Photography Awards have been announced. Each of the photographers on the list will be exhibited and honoured at the Sony World Photography Awards ceremony at the prestigious Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, on Thursday 16 April. Of the 12 professional category winners, one photographer will be the recipient of the L’Iris D’Or, the Sony World Photography Awards Photographer of the Year. On the night they will be awarded $25,000 along with Sony camera equipment. The winning amateur photographer, selected from the eight category finalists, will receive a $5,000 cash prize and Sony camera equipment.

You could win $20,000 in Microsoft’s Future Pro Photographers student photo contest. Returning for its second year, the Microsoft Future Pro Photographers Photography Contest provides a unique opportunity for college and university student photographers from around the world to showcase their artistic talent and photographic style. A Grand Prize of US$20,000 cash and a digital workflow prize package is on offer, plus three First Place winners in the following categories: Nature & Landscape; People & Portraits; and Sports & Photojournalism who will each win US$3000 cash and a digital workflow prize package. The submission period is from March 1st until April 30th, 2009.

Website: Microsoft Future Pro Photographer 2009

OmniVision’s OV9810 image sensor combines 9 megapixel photography with 1080p HD video on a single chip.  The new 9 megapixel sensor is designed specifically to address the ‘sweet spot’ of both digital still camera and high-definition camcorder market segments. Featuring OmniVision’s high-sensitivity 1.75 micron, the OmniVision OV9810 delivers best-in-class low-light sensitivity. The 1/2.3-inch OV9810 is capable of operating at 8.9 fps in full 9 megapixel resolution, and offers true HD quality (1080p) video at 30 fps. The OV9810 is immediately available for customer sampling with volume production slated for the second half of 2009.

Sinar have issued a positive statement following the news that Franke & Heidecke, which manufactures the body for the Hy6 camera system, is insolvent. “We hereby firmly declare that we continue to stand by our renowned Service for all the products of our company. We are convinced to fulfill all our commitments.” states the press release. Apart from the Hy6, the demise of Franke & Heidecke has absolutely no effect on the core business of Sinar.

The Vivitar VC8027 is a new retro styled 8 megapixel digital camera. Based on the VC8025, the new VC8027 model features a silver and red leatherette finish, 3x zoom lens (36-108mm), 2.4 inch LCD screen, anti-shake, red-eye reduction, 640x480 movies and 32Mb of internal memory. No word yet on the Vivitar VC8027’s price or availability.

Website: Vivitar VC8027

QOOP is a new website that gives artists, authors, photographers, designers, and publishers a free and simple way to monetize their digital content. “We provide simple tools to directly upload images to QOOP or import images from flickr with associated titles, tags, descriptions, and EXIF data so you don’t have to repeat all the effort already put into properly describing your images. It just takes a few steps from there. You choose the products you want to sell, set your royalties, and you’re all set. Your stores live on QOOP, and your listings are easily discovered by searches on Google, Yahoo, and Live.com. It’s a great way to get started making some money on your images,” said Tin Hoang, QOOP’s Art Director.

American Society of Media Photographers members can now use The Copyright Registry for free. ASMP members can use The Copyright Registry to display their contact information, to link each image to its official registration at the U.S. Copyright Office, and to connect potential licensors to the e-commerce or licensing process of the photographer or their agent for each image. The registry also locates online uses of duplicates of each photographer’s images.

PhotoFreebies 2 is a free collection of 12 Photoshop-compatible plugins for performing simple but useful photo adjustments and effects. PhotoFreebies 2 includes a new Color Blind plugin for simulating red/green color blindness, and is now available in a 64bit version. Available to download for free now, PhotoFreebies 2 is compatible with Windows only.

The Nikon Coolpix eXtreme is a new all-weather compact camera that’s…sadly only a design concept. Born from the imagination of designer Camillo Vanacore, we’re hoping that the radical styling of the eXtreme will have some influence on the next range of Nikon Coolpixs. The Yanko Design website has more pics and a quick YouTube video.

Website: Yanko Design

Fujichrome CDU II and Fujichrome T64 Professional films are to be discontinued. The specialist duplicating film, Fujichrome CDU II, will be discontinued from April, followed by the tungsten film Fujichrome T64 Professional in July. One other change to Fujifilm’s range of professional films is the end of 24 exposure rolls of Neopan 400 135.

DxO Optics Pro 5.3.3 adds support for the Nikon D3x and Sony Alpha A900 DSLR cameras. 43 new DxO Optics Correction Modules for a variety of cameras have also been added. DxO Optics Pro 5.3.3 includes multiple improvements, including automatic reading of the focusing distance for Canon 5D Mark II images. DxO Optics Pro v5.3.3 and upgrades are available immediately for Mac and Windows. All customers who purchased DxO Optics Pro since August 1, 2007 are entitled to a free upgrade to version 5.3.3.