Ricoh have launched a creative set of accessories for the GR Digital II compact camera. The new Creative Set includes the camera, wide angle converter 0.75x, lens hood with adapter, new external view?nder and strap. The Ricoh GR Digital II Creative Set is available now in the UK for £599.99 inc Vat.

ACDSee Pro 2.5 is a major update designed to improve digital asset management and workflow. New features include completing digital asset management as photos are imported, embedding custom metadata such as categories and ratings, improved Auto Slide Show, and adding borders, drop shadows and edge effects to images. ACDSee Pro 2.5 is available for a free 30-day trial and for purchase for $129.99 (USD). ACDSee Pro 2 users are eligible for a free upgrade to this new version.

DigitalCameraInfo have reviewed the new Nikon D700, the second full-frame, FX-series DSLR camera from Nikon.

“Is it rational to call a $3000 camera a bargain? It is when it delivers nearly all the features of the company’s revered $5000 pro model, which is precisely the case with the Nikon D700. Basically the D700 takes the best parts of two established cameras and blends them seamlessly. The $5000 Nikon D3 contributes a full-frame image sensor with low-noise performance that makes previously impossible photos as simple as pressing the shutter. From the Nikon D300 comes a nearly unchanged body that’s hefty but nicely balanced, tightly sealed against the elements and nearly 20% lighter than the D3.”

Website: DigitalCameraInfo - Nikon D700 Review

Website: Read our Nikon D700 Review

PhotoReview have reviewed the Olympus mju 1040, a 10 megapixel digital camera which measures just 16.5mm at its thinnest end.

“Photographs taken with the test camera showed most of the characteristics of a small-sensor digicam. Colour saturation was slightly elevated and both highlight and shadow details were lost in shots taken in bright sunlight. The test camera showed a slight tendency in such conditions to expose for shadows, making it difficult to prevent blown-out highlights without resorting to exposure compensation.”

Website: PhotoReview - Olympus mju 1040

The new Sony Vaio AW-Series is an 18.4-inch laptop aimed at photographers. Full coverage of the Adobe RGB colour space offers total accuracy for editing, thanks to the 3LED backlighting system also found on Sony’s Bravia TVs. The AW-Series comes with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom as well as Adobe Photoshop Elements pre-installed. The VAIO AW-Series has an Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 processor, NVIDIA 512MB GeForce 9600M GT graphics card, 128GB Solid State Disk and a 500GB SATA drive. Price and availability to be announced.

Smithsonian.com’s 6th Annual Photo Contest is now open for submissions. Contestants can enter photographs in five categories: The Natural World, Americana, Altered Images, Travel and People. Fifty finalists will be selected, ten for each of the five categories. The winning entries will be published in the print edition of Smithsonian magazine during summer 2009.

X-Rite have announced a trade-up program for the ColorMunki calibration device. For a limited time, you can earn up to $100/ €90/£60 in savings with proof of purchase of a competitive colorimeter or printer profiling solution. “Those who have invested in entry-level solutions can now gain additional color functionality– like monitor-to-print match for photographers and PrintSafe color creation and color control for designers. Now is the time to take advantage of special savings and move to the all-in-one ColorMunki,” states X-Rite Market Manager Photo, Design, Prepress, Thomas Kunz. Read our ColorMunki review to find out if it’s worth investing in.

Practical HDRI is a new book exploring the exciting new frontier of High Dynamic Range Imaging. PopPhoto.com’s Jack Howard guides you from the initial image capture and into the digital darkroom, covering the most popular and effective HDR programs. The emphasis in Practical HDRI is on the creative process and how to make it work for you. Practical HDRI from Rocky Nook costs $32.95 USD.

PCMag have reviewed the Nikon Coolpix S210, a super-thin entry-level camera with 8 megapixels, 2.5 inch LCD screen and 3x zoom lens.

“Nikon’s 8-megapixel Coolpix S210 ($179.99 list) offers a slim profile and good looks, especially when compared with its more-capable Canon counterpart, the bulky PowerShot A590 IS, which fetches the same price. Unfortunately, the benefit of its slick design is completely overshadowed by poor image quality.”

Website: PCMag - Nikon Coolpix S210 Review

TrustedReviews have reviewed the Nikon P5100 camera, offering 12.1 megapixels, 3.5x zoom (35-123mm) and the EXPEED digital image processor.

“As before, the P5100’s main strength is its overall image quality, although the extra two megapixels don’t make a huge amount of difference, with roughly the same overall level of detail despite the slightly larger image size. The distortion control feature does work well, eliminating barrel distortion at wide angle and also cutting down the slight chromatic aberration that is visible toward the corners of the frame when it is not used. There appears to be no negative impact on image quality, although it does slow down shooting speed even more, to approximately four seconds per shot, so you might not want to leave it switched on all the time.”

Website: TrustedReviews - Nikon P5100 Review

Website: Read our Nikon P5100 Review

The Canon PowerShot A2000 IS is a new 10 megapixel camera with a 6x optical zoom lens. The new range-topping model in Canon’s popular A-series of compact cameras, the A2000 IS
replaces the A720 IS, adding a larger 3-inch LCD screen with wide viewing angle, DIGIC III image processing engine, and 17 shooting modes including the new Easy mode for point-and-shoot operation. The Canon A2000 IS is available exclusively from Jessops in the UK for £199.99, and it will cost $249.99 in the US. In the World’s first online review, we find out if the Canon PowerShot A2000 IS is worth considering.

Website: Canon PowerShot A2000 IS Review

The Canon PowerShot A1000 IS is a new 10 megapixel camera with a 4x optical zoom lens. The A1000 IS replaces the A580, adding image stabilisation to help prevent blurred photos, an optical viewfinder, DIGIC III image processing engine, and 17 shooting modes including the new Easy mode for point-and-shoot operation. The Canon A1000 IS is available in Blue, Brown or Silver for £169.99 in the UK and $199.99 in the US. In the World’s first online review, we find out if the Canon PowerShot A1000 IS is a worthwhile alternative to the more expensive A2000 model.

Website: Canon PowerShot A1000 IS Review

The Sony DSLR-A900 is a new 24.6 megapixel, 35mm full-frame digital SLR camera. Featuring a body-integrated image stabilization system and new dual BIONZ processing engines, the Sony A900 also offers a bright, clear optical viewfinder with 100% field of view coverage. The Alpha 900’s newly-developed autofocus system consists of nine wide-area sensors with 10 assist points for improved tracking of moving subjects. High-speed continuous shooting of 24.6 megapixel images at five frames per second and a 3-inch Xtra Fine LCD screen with 921,000 dots complete the headline specs. The Sony DSLR-A900 body will be available in November 2008 for about $3,000 / 2800 Euros / £2100.

Sony has launched 2 new lenses to accompany the A900 DSLR - the 70-400mm f/4-5.6 and Carl Zeiss 16-35mm f/2.8. The new 70-400mm f/4-5.6 is a 5.7x super telephoto zoom lens ideally suited for sports, action and wildlife photography. The Vario Sonnar T* 16-35mm f/2.8 ZA Carl Zeiss Series is a super wide angle 16-35mm f/2.8 constant aperture zoom lens suited for landscape, snapshot and indoor photography. For both lenses, when attached to the Alpha 900 camera body, the AF hold buttons can be customized to activate the camera’s intelligent preview function. The Vario-Sonnar T* 16-35mm f/2.8 ZA and 70-400mm f/4-5.6 G lens will ship in January 2009 for about $1,800 and $1,500, respectively.

The IDP-100 is Sony Ericsson’s first ever digital photo frame. With a sleek dark grey finish, the stylish 7” IDP-100 photo frame will let you display photos in either landscape or portrait format and can be mounted on a wall or sat on a bedside table or office desk. You can transfer your favourite images in a variety of ways, via Bluetooth, USB flash memory, M2 card, micro SD, SD or MS Duo. “The IDP-100 Digital Photo Frame is the perfect companion to your Cyber-shot phone and lets you display your favourite moments easily and in high quality for all to see. However, it’s not just mobile phone users that can benefit from the IDP-100. We are proud that the frame receives stores and displays up to 500 still images through a variety of options. Once uploaded they are automatically rotated, enhanced and re-sized to fit the frame - so that you can enjoy your memories instantly.” said Jacob Sten, Head of the accessories division at Sony Ericsson.

The Lexar Professional UDMA 300x 16GB CompactFlash is a new memory card designed for professional photographers and photo enthusiasts. The new card is speed-rated at 300x, which represents a minimum sustained write speed of 45MB per second. “Our new Lexar Professional UDMA 300x 16GB CompactFlash card allows photographers to think less about having to change cards during a shoot, while giving them the ability to shoot more and download images faster.” commented Jeff Cable, director of marketing, Lexar. Available later this month, the new Lexar Professional UDMA 16GB CF card includes a limited lifetime warranty, free dedicated technical support, and the full version of Lexar Image Rescue 3. Pricing to be announced.

Epson have introduced three new sub-$100 ink jet all-in-ones, the NX300, NX200 and NX100. Joining the flagship Epson Stylus NX400 model, the three newcomers are priced from $69.99 to $89.99. The 4-in-1 Epson Stylus NX300 is Epson’s first ever sub-$100 all-in-one with fax and an Auto Document Feeder (ADF). The Epson NX100 prints up to 26 ppm for black text documents, while the Epson NX200 produces even faster black and color documents at up to 32 ppm. In addition, the Epson NX200 adds card slots and PictBridge compatibility for PC-Free photo printing.

Adobe have previewed Photoshop CS4 at the Photoshop World show in Las Vegas. Adobe’s Terry White has kindly provided a video of the presentation for everyone who couldn’t be there, which includes a look at Photoshop CS4’s new interface and features, plus a glimpse at what Adobe has planned beyond CS4. Adobe Creative Suite 4 will be officially launched on 23rd September.

Website: Adobe Photoshop World Keynote ‘08

Leaf have today announced no less than 6 new digital medium format cameras. The new Leaf AFi-II 10, 7 and 6 are available either as a full camera system, or as the Leaf Aptus-II digital camera backs. The 6x6 format Leaf AFi-II 10 camera uses an exclusive new 56x36 millimeter, 56 megapixel True Wide Frame sensor (also available in the Leaf Aptus-II 10 camera back). The Leaf AFi-II 7 and 10 are the first medium format cameras to sport a 90° tilting touch screen LCD display. All of the new Leaf AFi-II camera systems and Leaf Aptus-II camera backs boast a 12 f-stop dynamic range, 50-800 ISO range and 16-bit color images. Leaf has also introduced a new version of its capture software, Leaf Capture version 11.2. Pricing for the new Leaf product line will range from $20,995 to $39,995.

Digital is dead, long live film - Kodak Professional Ektar 100 is a brand new, smooth-grain colour film. According to Kodak this new film, with ISO 100 speed, high saturation and ultra-vivid colour, offers the finest, smoothest grain of any colour negative film available today. “With our new EKTAR 100 film, we’ve created a film that helps the photographer capture unprecedented detail in remarkably vivid colour. This film continues a Kodak tradition of providing photographers with the highest quality films that expand the range over which they can create outstanding images.” said Mary Jane Hellyar, president, Film, Photofinishing & Entertainment Group and executive vice president, Eastman Kodak Company. Kodak Professional Ektar 100 will be available throughout Europe from the beginning of November, 2008.