The latest dxomark.com updates include RAW sensor rankings for medium format cameras. Measurements for the Hasselblad H3DII, Leaf Aptus 75s, Mamiya ZD, and Phase One P45+ cameras are now available. “Adding our measurements on this first set of medium-format cameras to our database demonstrates our commitment to our goal of building the most comprehensive database of RAW image information available,” said Nicolas Touchard, Vice President of Marketing, DxO Labs Image Quality Evaluation.

Olympus have released a new firmware upgrade for the Olympus E-3 DSLR camera. Version 1.3 includes the following changes::

- select the AF target by pressing the arrow keys
- improves AF accuracy when using fast lenses with f2.0 aperture
- improves C-AF performance
- improves battery life when using the HLD-4 battery holder

The firmware can be updated through the Olympus Master software.

The speed of the LaCie d2 Blu-ray Drive has now been doubled to 8x. The increased speed to burn files applies to both single and dual-layer discs. The LaCie d2 Blu-ray Drive packs up to 50 GB of data on a single Blu-ray disc. “With the doubling of the speed to burn Blu-ray discs, video professionals will be able to spend more time creating content and less time on production,” said Christelle Dexet, Multimedia Product Manager for LaCie. “And for those who need to safely store large quantities of information for extended periods of time on secure removable media, the LaCie d2 Blu-ray Drive is an ideal solution.” The LaCie d2 Blu-ray Drive is available now for $449.99.

Portraiture 2 is a new skin retouching plugin for Adobe Photoshop from Imagenomic. Portraiture 2 intelligently smooths and removes imperfections whilst preserving skin texture and details such as hair, eyebrows and eyelashes. The built-in Auto-Mask feature quickly identifies most of the skin tone range of the image automatically, saving you time and effort. Portraiture 2 supports both Mac OSX and Windows XP/Vista operating systems and is fully compatible with Photoshop Elements and Photoshop (32 and 64-bit versions). Jon Canfield finds out if Portraiture 2 is worth $199.95 in our latest review.

Website: Portraiture 2 Review

The winners of the January 2009 PhotographyBLOG Competition have been selected by a panel of judges. The theme for January was “Birth” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 5 winners:

1st Place
One day old by Igor

Prize: 1 x 24x24” or 24x18” Canvas Print of a Photo of Your Choice
Kindly donated by Photo Artistry.
http://www.photoartistry.co.uk

The Pentax Optio E70L is a new 10 megapixel entry-level camera. Featuring a 3x zoom lens (32-96mm), 2.4 inch LCD screen, ISO 80-6400 and face recognition and smile detection, the Pentax E70L is powered by widely available AA batteries. The Pentax Optio E70L will be available in March 2009 for £99.99 including case and batteries.

Canon has launched the EOS Professional Network (EPN) across the UK and Ireland. Consisting of EOS Professional Centres and EOS Professional Stockists, the Professional Network has been developed to provide the very best retail experience within the professional imaging market. “We are delighted to launch the EOS Professional Network which will give photographers greater access to Canon imaging products.  It has been developed to equip our retailers with the very best tools, to support, demonstrate and supply the complete Canon solution to photographers”. commented Lee Bonniface, Special Retail, Sales Director CCI UK & Ireland.

Microstock image website Pixmac are offering $500 for every 500 pictures uploaded and approved. From 1st February 2009, all contributors who upload their pictures on Pixmac will get a $500 sales guarantee for 2 years for every 500 approved pictures.If you want to get the cash immediately, you can choose the option to get $100 for every 500 approved pictures - before having had any sales. This promotion runs until 28th February 2009.

The JOBO photoGPS is now compatible with the Mac operating system. The JOBO photoGPS is a small and lightweight GPS receiver that fits directly on any digital camera’s hot shoe. Suggested retail price for the JOBO photoGPS is $159. The optional Hot shoe adapter for Sony cameras is $49.90.

UK photographic retailer Jessops has reported a loss of £19.1 Million for 2008. This follows a loss in 2007 of £9.3m. Like for like sales for the year ended 30 September 2008 were down 6.5% year on year. The compact camera market was up 7.3% in volume but down 5% in value and the DSLR market was up 16.1% in volume and 19.3% in value. David Adams, Executive Chairman, said: “It is not clear when economic conditions will improve but the combination of our strong market position, solid relationships with suppliers and continuing cost reductions should ensure that Jessops is in the best position operationally to deal with the very difficult economic conditions in which we are operating.”

Kodak is cutting upto 4,500 jobs during 2009, after reporting a fourth-quarter loss of $133 million. Fourth-quarter sales were $2.433 billion, a 24% decline from the year-ago quarter. Digital sales for the fourth quarter were $1.779 billion, a 23% decline from the year-ago quarter, and traditional revenues were $652 million, a 27% decline from the year-ago quarter.

“The second half of 2008 will go down in history as one of the most challenging periods we have seen in decades,” said Antonio M. Perez, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Eastman Kodak Company. “We built significant momentum following the completion of our corporate transformation and our business results were on track through most of 2008, with digital revenue up 10% in the first half of the year, following double-digit growth in the second-half of 2007. However, during the last three months of the year, we experienced dramatic declines in several of our key businesses due to the slowdown in consumer spending and significantly reduced demand for capital equipment.”

Website: Kodak Press Release

Panasonic is closing two factories in Malaysia and the Philippines with the loss of 560 jobs. Blaming a “a rapid change in the global electronics market,” workers at the electronics parts plant and battery factory are affected. In a separate development, the Nikkei paper has reported that Panasonic will report a a net loss of about 100 billion yen ($1.1 billion) for 2008/9, its first loss for 6 years.

Website: Panasonic to cut 560 jobs, close Asian plants

The GigaPan Epic capture detailed panoramas with almost any point-and-shoot digital camera. The Epic is a small robotic mount that automates the picture taking process, includes fully integrated software and works seamlessly with GigaPan.org. The GigaPan Epic, complete with the GigaPan Stitcher software, is available now for $379. The GigaPan Epic 100, available soon for $449, is a second model designed for larger point-and-shoot digital camera models.

The Hoodman HoodEYE is a new accessory eyecup for DSLR cameras that seals out ambient light for improved viewfinder viewing. HoodEYE is a rubber camera eyecup which easily replaces your digital SLR camera’s rubber eyepiece surround and provides improved viewfinder clarity by preventing stray light from entering. Currently available in the UK for Nikon cameras, the H-EYEN22R HoodEYE for Nikon round eyepieces (D3 and D2X) retails at £ 26.99. The H-EYEN22S HoodEYE for Nikon Square eyepieces for all other Nikon’s and the Olympus E3 retails at £ 26.99.

LG’s “Your moments. Shared” website aims to celebrate photography with regular competitions for the best football photographs. Each week the £1,000 prize will go to the person who takes the most memorable match-day image as voted for before by other users. To add an extra dimension to the competition, members are competing against a Pro Sports Photographer as part of Loop’s ‘Pro V Joe’ challenge. The Pro’s shots are submitted anonymously to avoid any favouritism and add excitement to the competition.

Website: LG Loop

Want to be able to shoot video on your DSLR, but don’t have the money to buy a Nikon D90 or Canon EOS 5D Mark II? Then some enterprising programmers might have just the (completely unofficial and at your own risk) solution for you. Canon Rumors has linked to a downloadable Russian program that apparently enables video on any Canon DSLR that has Live View, whilst Olivier Giroux has captured video using the Nikon D700 (pictured). The catch? (of course there’s a catch). The camera has to be connected to a computer via the USB port, which then captures the signal from Live View mode and converts it to video. So it’s not exactly the most portable video camera in the world. Still, it is free (and as we said before, completely unofficial).

Canon,the world’s biggest digital camera manufacturer, has just reported an 81% decline in quarterly profits, blaming the strong yen and slowing demand for cameras and office equipment. “A substantial recovery in the economy is unlikely in 2009. Our operating environment will be even harder this year than it was last year,” commented Canon’s Managing Director Masahiro Osawa. Digital camera sales are expected to fall by 7% from a year earlier to 23.9 million units in 2009. Canon now predicts that its operating profit will fall 68% to 160 billion yen in 2009, the lowest in the last 14 years. Canon is aiming to cut costs by 70 billion yen in a bid to cope with the current economic crisis.

Website: Reuters - Canon profit tumbles, predicts further slide

Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate will be available for just £57 at this year’s Focus on Imaging show. “With the current economic environment putting additional pressure on finances, customers are looking for even better value for money than ever before. Visitors to the Corel stand at Focus on Imaging will be able to see for themselves that our products offer exceptional value,” said Chris Boba, product manager for Corel. Focus on Imaging takes place at the NEC, Birmingham, UK on February 22nd-25th.

The California Sunbounce Pro is a new reflector system for sports and action photography. The 51”x74 inch (130x190 cm) size Sunbounce Pro reflector can illuminate a space of 20x27 ft (6x10 meters) using only bright sunlight. The 3-dimensional frame is handcrafted in Germany and made from best aluminum,weighing less than a professional camera. Pricing for the California Sunbounce Pro starts at $364.00.

The 20 winning images in National Geographic’s “Visions of Paradise” photography contest have been selected. Each winner receives a customized edition of the National Geographic book “Visions of Paradise,” with their winning photograph as the cover image.