ACDSee Photo Manager 2009 features new tools to help you keep your photos organized and ready for sharing. The new Import tool allows you to rename, back up, categorize and add keywords to images as they are acquired from a camera, card reader, CD/DVD or other storage device. ACDSee Photo Manager automatically saves and preserves the original image file when it is first opened for editing within the software. You can now add a custom border, drop shadow or edge effect, then share favorite images with quick uploaders to online tools like flickr. ACDSee Photo Manager 2009 is available for a free 30-day trial and for purchase for $49.99.

The new Sony Home Share stores your digital video, pictures, music and other data on a 1 terabyte (2 x 500GB) drive array. Transferring data from digital cameras, camcorders and phones can be done via the multi-card reader, USB ports or, using the Remote Home Access function, via your home network or remotely across the internet. “The new Sony Home Share offers our customers a simple proposition,” said Dipesh Sanghrajka, Product Manager, Sony VAIO UK. “Put all your pictures, music, video and files in one place and reach them from anywhere. The sheer amount of personal content many of us have now makes the Sony Home Share the logical next step in the digital home.” The Sony Home Share is available now for £499.

Western Digital ShareSpace is a high-speed network storage system that provides cost-effective, centralized storage for photographers, creative professionals, small offices and personal home networks. WD’s Share Space network-attached storage systems make it simple for small offices and workgroups to centralize storage for easy accessibility, both within the network and remotely via WD’s MioNet remote Web access service. Share Space allows you to establish a centralized network for easy sharing of music, movies and photos anywhere in their home, office or studio. WD ShareSpace with 2 TB costs $699.99, and with 4 TB is $999.99.

Olympus have released a firmware update, version 1.1, for the E-520 DSLR. The new update improves the brightness level of the optical viewfinder AF target points.

Website: Olympus E-520 Firmware Update 1.1

Olympus have released a firmware update, version 1.1, for the E-420 DSLR. The new update improves the brightness level of the optical viewfinder AF target points.

Website: Olympus E-420 Firmware Update 1.1

The world’s biggest photography show, Photokina, has now ended. We’ve just updated our comprehensive Photokina Report. There are 25 in-depth live reports from the show floor, over 100 listings of every significant new product announced before and at Photokina, and our Top 10 pick of the stars of the show. We’ll also shortly be adding a final wrap-up report looking back at what turned out to be a very interesting show…

Website: Photokina 2008 Report

The ATP GPS photo Finder mini is a new geotagging device, with no PC or software required. All users have to do is activate the Photo Finder mini while taking pictures, insert their camera’s memory card into the corresponding slot on the docking station and attach the Photo Finder mini, and then the geotagging process is carried out automatically. The ATP GPS photo Finder mini is universally compatible with any digital camera using JPEG image files. ATP’s GPS photo Finder mini is available now for $149.99.

Canon have announced cashback offers on three of their EOS DSLR camera range. Valid until 12th January 2009, there’s £30 / €40 off the EOS 1000D (pictured) with 18-55 IS kit lens, £50 / €65 off the EOS 450D, and £60 / €75 off the EOS 40D. Participants must be resident in the European Union, and the offer only applies to purchases made between Monday 15 September 2008 and Monday 12 January 2009.

Fujifilm has added four new Secure Digital (SD) cards to its memory card range, including a 16GB SDHC card. Available in October 2008 with pricing still to be announced, the new Fujifilm SD cards will be available in the formats below:

•          Secure Digital – 1GB SD, 2GB SD
•          Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) – 4GB SDHC, 8GB SDHC, 16GB SDHC
•          Micro Secure Digital – 1GB, 2GB
•          Micro Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) – 4GB,  8GB

Perhaps the most bizarre product on display at last week’s Photokina show was the Sony Alpha computer game for Playstation 3. “Harnessing the synergy” between the different divisions of the vast Sony empire, a 20 level version of the Alpha game is apparently available in Japan, although Photokina visitors had to make-do with the 2 levels that had been converted to English. From our brief glimpse of the game, players had to work their way through the Sony Alpha camera ranks by completing a serious of photographic challenges, starting off with a Konica Minolta Dynax camera and going on safari. This largely educational game is based upon a tie-in with National Geographic magazine, featuring stills and video from the NG archives, so is particularly well-suited to the younger members of your family. No word on when or if a full version Sony Alpha game for Playstation 3 will be released outside Japan.

Update: We have a gallery of photos of the Sony Alpha game for Playstation 3 - click the continue link below…

The Kodak Z1485 IS is a new 14 megapixel camera with 5x optical zoom lens. Quietly making its debut at last week’s Photokina show, the Kodak Z1485 IS features a focal length of 35-175 mm with optical image stabilization, ISO 100 to ISO 1600 (with 3200 and 6400 available at lower resolution), new Smart Capture feature which adjusts the camera settings for great pictures in just about any environment, a Manual mode that lets you choose both the aperture and shutter speed, and HD quality video recording. Available in black, blue and pink, the Kodak Z1485 IS costs $299.95 and is available now.

Update: We have a gallery of photos of the Kodak Z1485 IS - click the continue link below…

The 500GB HyperDrive Colorspace UDMA backups photos from memory cards on the go, without the need for a computer. Hyper fast UDMA 40MB/s backup speed ensures short waits between transfers, and ultra long battery performance allows 250GB of backups before recharging. The HyperDrive Colorspace UDMA features a 3.2” QVGA color screen and allows you to playback JPEG and true RAW images. Built-in memory card data recovery tools recover deleted, lost, formatted or corrupted data. When connected to a computer’s USB 2.0 port, the HyperDrive Colorspace UDMA operates like a normal hard drive. The 500GB HyperDrive Colorspace UDMA will be available from October for $599.

Update: We have a gallery of photos of the HyperDrive Colorspace UDMA - click the continue link below…

The Smartparts SP3200WF is the world’s largest WiFi digital picture frame. Fully compatible with Windows Live Photo Gallery, the SP3200WF has a resolution of 1366x768 pixels and is surrounded by a beige museum quality mat and natural wood frame with an espresso finish. “Smartparts is proud to bring WiFi capability to the SP3200,” said Stefan Guelpen, president and co founder of Smartparts. “When we first introduced the SP3200 to the world at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show, a new standard was set in both engineering and design, something by which all manufacturers would be measured. The frame received a lot of praise and was well accepted by the market - we expect the same positive reception to the SP3200WF with its new wireless functionality.” The 32 inch SP3200WF will be available through specialty retailers nationwide in the US.

The 8-inch SPX8WF is the first WiFi digital picture frame from Smartparts. The new SPX8WF boasts unparalleled ease-of-use introducing a pre-assigned email address, one-touch internet setup, automatic image correction, and on-frame photo album organization. Featuring an elegant espresso wood frame, the Smartparts SPX8WF gives consumers the ability to view their digital images in remarkable clarity on an eight inch, 24-bit LCD screen, featuring a resolution of 800x600 and 16.7 million viewable colors. The Smartparts SPX8WF will cost $149.99 and be available in November 2008.

Sony has released a 16GB, high-speed UDMA compact flash card. The 16GB Sony 300x Compact Flash offers a uper-fast 45MB/second write speed. This makes it the perfect partner for UDMA-enabled cameras such as Sony’s ? DSLR range, letting you to record more frames per second in continuous shooting mode. The card also comes with a 5 year warranty and image recovery service. Price and availability of the 16GB Sony 300x Compact Flash to be announced.

Eye-Fi has made the upload of digital photos from camera to computer using its wireless memory cards twice as fast. “Faster wireless uploads and the ability to add new services to your Eye-Fi card are significant advancements in making it more convenient and rewarding to save and share digital memories,” said Jef Holove, CEO of Eye-Fi. “Even better, we’re able to offer this new convenience and flexibility to current users as well as new customers.” Beginning October 5, new and existing Eye-Fi card owners can easily add features that are not already included on their cards and renew annual services.. Eye-Fi has also announced plans to expand its distribution internationally to Japan and Canada by the end of the year.

Leica and Phase One have agreed to enter into a long-term strategic alliance in the technical development and marketing of professional photography products. Close cooperation has also been decided upon for the expansion of effective service and marketing structures. ‘Our two companies are an outstanding match for each other due to the similarity of their corporate cultures, their extraordinary innovative strengths and their dedication to absolute quality. Together with Phase One we will soon be able to begin offering professional customers a new range of products and services.’ commented CEO of Leica Camera AG, Dr Andreas Kaufmann.

FotoTV, the largest online archive of films about photography of its kind, launches its English site FotoTV.com. ‘FotoTV’s unique and qualified online archive offers every enthusiast direct access to a host of artists, photographers and knowledge. What is unique about FotoTV is that viewers have access to a large number of films from just one site’ explains FotoTV founder, Marc Ludwig. FotoTV are offering new registered users 15 films free of charge in addition to a special introductory offer of €29.90 (approximately 42.60 $) for a year’s subscription, including more than 40 films at launch.

Microsoft have released the second version of Pro Photo Tools, a set of tools for photographers to perform various tasks with their images. The highlights of Microsoft Pro Photo Tools 2 include:

- Support for reading and writing metadata to/from XMP side cars so that metadata will interoperate with Adobe products. This is in addition to reading and writing from the file.
- Users can convert from RAW to JPEG, TIFF, and HD Photo using “As Shot” settings. This includes the ability to resize the image.
- Users can view actual RAW image in addition to thumbnails
- Support for 64-bit Windows
- Support for international locales
- Improved UI for geotagging your photos

Website: Download Microsoft Pro Photo Tools 2

The Seattle Sling is a new waterproof camera bag from the makers of Camera Armor. The Seattle Sling features complete protection from the elements, featuring interior dry-bag technology that provides weather-proof protection in addition to impact safety. Zipper-free with a sealed dry bag that is proven to hold air-tight even when fully submerged in water, the Seattle Sling is available now for $149.95.