AKVIS Magnifier 1.0 is a new software application that resizes images without any noticeable loss in quality. If you attempt to blow up a picture (increase its resolution) using the standard Resize command of a photo editor, you will notice that the resulting photo is blurred and pixelated. The reason is that the input photo didn’t contain enough information for the new size. AKVIS Magnifier copes with this problem and delivers better results. AKVIS Magnifier 1.0 is currently available as a standalone application, with a plugin version coming soon. AKVIS Magnifier 1.0 costs $129 / €99. All registered users who have bought at least one AKVIS plug-in get a 20% discount on AKVIS Magnifier. The customers who have purchased all AKVIS plug-ins get a 50% discount. This offer is valid till August 31, 2008.

The Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2008 has been won by Slovak photographer Lucia Nimcova for her photo project “Unofficial“. Taking her home town as an example, Nimcova documented how time seems to have stood still since the fall of the Communist regime. The central theme of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award, which has been held every year since 1979 in memory of the inventor of the Leica, Oskar Barnack (1879 – 1936), is the relationship between man and his environment. The closing date for entries to the 2009 contest is January 31st, 2009.

The first ever Leica M8 digital camera has been sold to a Russian collector for 24,000 Euro at the 13th Westlicht Photographica Auction. Produced in 2006, the camera bears the striking serial number 3100000. Leica is donating proceeds from the auction to the press freedom organization “Reporters sans frontières – RSF“(Reporters without Borders). The 24,000 Euro bid for the first Leica M8 is the highest ever made for a digital camera.

Luminous Landscape have reviewed the Phase One 645 medium format digital camera.

“If you like the Mamiya 645 design, you’re likely going to love the Phase One 645. It and its twin the Mamiya 645 AFDIII are a definite improvement over previous Mamiya 645 series models. As discussed above, handling has been improved in most areas, and there are numerous under-the-hood changes that make the camera more robust, reliable, and faster responding.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Phase One 645 Review

LAST FEW DAYS TO ENTER! We’ve teamed up with Bogen Imaging to offer three lucky winners the chance to win a Manfrotto Modo 785B tripod and 785 bag, worth a total of £110 / $150. It’s simple to enter - just make sure you subscribe to the PhotographyBLOG Newsletter, and on Tuesday 1st July 2008, three names will be randomly selected to win these great prizes.

Website: Win a Manfrotto Modo Tripod and Bag

Canon have launched a brand new Cashback promotion on the EOS 450D DSLR. Consumers who purchase the EOS 450D in any configuration from 26th June to 4th August 2008 can redeem £50 (€65 ROI) cashback via a promotional claim form. Duplicate claim forms and full terms and conditions of the Cashback promotion can be found at www.canon.co.uk/eos450dcashback . The EOS 450D and Cashback promotion is available from all participating photographic retailers in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Adobe have released a release candidate version of Camera Raw 4.5 for both Windows and Mac platforms. Version 4.5 includes the following changes:

- Newly supported camera models include:
  * Olympus E 420
  * Olympus E 520

Website: Adobe Camera Raw 4.5 (Windows)
Website: Adobe Camera Raw 4.5 (MAC)

The Guardian MAXimus 300GB 10,000RPM is the fastest and most reliable RAID-1 mirror external storage solution available today. Featuring two 300GB 10,000RPM drives and FireWire 800/400+USB 2.0 interfaces, the Guardian MAXimus writes the same information in real-time “live activity” to two 300GB 10,000RPM drives for a “mirrored” copy. The MAXimus 300GB utilizes the Western Digital VelociRaptor, the fastest SATA drive on the market, with data transfer rates up to 100MB/s, The Guardian MAXimus 300GB 10,000RPM is available now for $899.99.

“The Global Tour: Discovering a World of Images” is a new international touring exhibition of winning photos from this year’s Sony World Photography Awards. The newly curated exhibition began its world tour yesterday, 26 June 2008, with a grand launch at BOZAR Centre of Fine Arts, Brussels. It will later visit galleries in the US, Asia, Australasia, Eastern and Western Europe, Africa and South America. A total of ninety-seven images submitted by the eleven professional category winners will be shown.

Jan Kostal of the Czech Republic is the grand prize winner of the Canon Fan Foto online competition. His image “Muddy Playground, Bangladesh” was chosen by a panel of experts from Canon and Getty Images. Jan Kostal was one of 11 finalists selected by the expert panel, all of whom received a VIP trip to a UEFA EURO 2008 game and a Canon EOS 450D digital SLR camera.

Announced two days ago, the Ricoh GX200 is a compact digital camera aimed at all those photographers who want a similar feature-set to their DSLR cameras. The GX200 certainly fits that billing, on paper at least - 24-72mm, 3x optical zoom lens, RAW mode via the Adobe DNG format, 12 megapixel sensor, 2.7-inch screen with 460K pixels, removable electronic viewfinder, optical image stabilisation, all in a well-built body that’s just 25mm thick. We’ve been testing out the new Ricoh GX200 for the past week, and today we’ve published our full review. Click the link below to find out if this is the professional pocket camera for you…

Website: Ricoh GX200 Review

Lee Filters have launched the RF75 Filter Holder System for rangefinder and high end compact cameras. The RF75 Filter System has been designed to offer a high quality precision filter holder that is compact, lightweight and will fit to lenses with a diameter of 67mm or less. The RF75 will fit to adaptor rings from 39 to 67mm, will take 2 filters as standard and can be adjusted to 1 filter to enable use on the widest angle lenses. The LEE RF75 System is equally at home on film and digital cameras and is available as individual components or as sets including both filters and hardware. The RF75 holder costs £79.98 and is available now.

Carl Zeiss has announced the Distagon T* 3.5/18 ZF, a new 18mm super wide-angle lens for SLR cameras. With an impressive field of view of 99°, this new, rectilinear lens provides dramatic perspectives for architectural, landscape and close-range photography on 35mm full-frame cameras. The front filter diameter of 82 mm allows for use of standard screw-in filters when combined with the included lens shade. The Distagon T* 3.5/18 ZF for F-mount cameras will be available in July 2008 for 960 Euros (not including VAT).

The Mercury On-The-Go 320GB 7200RPM is the highest capacity 7200RPM portable bus-powered hard drive on the market. Immediately available and priced starting at $239.99, the Mercury On-The-Go 320GB 7200RPM drive has models available with USB 2.0, USB 2.0+eSATA, FireWire 400+USB 2.0, and FireWire 800/400+USB 2.0 Interfaces. In addition to the 320GB 7200RPM drive, OWC also offers additional 7200RPM models with capacities of 100GB to 200GB, priced from $109.99.

Datacolor’s award-winning Spyder3 display calibration device is now more affordable than ever. Effective from 1st June 2008, Datacolor’s award-winning Spyder3Elite is reduced in price from £175 to £155.99 while Spyder3Print is reduced by £60 to £253.99. “Our Spyder3 range has proved to be very successful among imaging professionals who trust Datacolor to get the best from their work. By introducing new, lower prices for Spyder3Elite and Spyder3Print, we are able to bring Datacolor’s advanced colour management technology to a new audience who are also passionate about colour in their work.” commented Christoph Gamper, European general manager of Datacolor.

The new Phase One 645 Camera is now shipping in volume worldwide. Based on an open platform, designed to support the photographers’ choice of lenses and digital backs or film operation, the Phase One 645 is available in a choice of five different configurations. Each camera system comprises the camera body, one 80mm F2.8 lens, P+ digital camera back, and Capture One 4.1 software.

The new Single Person Chair Hide is an easy to erect photography hide with built-in armchair. Folding into a backpack style carry bag, and erected in less than a minute, the Single Person Chair Hide offers enough space inside for a pro-spec tripod and camera bag. Dismantling and packing takes less than two minutes and the hide is shower-proof, shadow-proof and comes supplied with pegs to fix the skirt when in a breeze. Size when open is just 1.2m by 0.8m and has a height of 1.35m, while the fabric is a heavy-duty polyester coated neoprene. Priced at just £64.95, the Single Person Chair Hide is available now from www.thewildlifestudio.com

The new Delux Beanbag hugs car windows, chair backs, railings, tree branches and lots other objects. The cupped top of the Delux Beanbag gives support but still allows a certain amount of panning movement if required. A set of legs allow cushioning even on hard edges such as glass windows, and a pocket keeps flash cards, lens caps and sunglasses safe from loss. A strong caribiner clips the Delux Beanbag to your belt or camera strap for easy transportation. The Delux Beanbag is priced at £12.95, available now from www.thewildlifestudio.com

Fujifilm have released a new firmware update for the FinePix S1000fd, the world’s smallest 12x optical zoom digital camera. Version 1.03 fixes the following issues:

1. The brightness of the captured images when “EVF/LCD mode” is set to “60fps” is darker than that set to “30f/s”.
2. Some words in some languages which have error of spelling, are displayed on the EVF/LCD screen.

Website: Fujifilm FinePix S1000fd Firmware Update 1.03

“Announced on the 23rd of January 2008, the Sony Cybershot DSC-W130 is one of Sony’s latest W series compact digital cameras, and is the cheapest Sony available with optical image stabilisation. The camera features an 8 megapixel sensor, a 4x optical zoom lens, a 2.5” screen that works in the sun, an optical viewfinder and a VGA video mode. The Sony Cybershot DSC-W130 is available from around £130 which makes it great value for money.”

Website: DigiCamReview - Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W130 Review