The Sony World Photography Awards 2009 -a global competition which honours both professional and amateur photographers, with 12 categories for professional photographers and nine for amateurs- is now open for entries.  Last year  over 70,000 entries were received from 178 different countries. For both professional and amateur photographers, the categories cover a broad range of subjects from photojournalism to sport, architecture to fashion, offering an all-encompassing competition for the photographic world.

Sony World Photography Awards Press Release:

Canon Europe has announced cashback offers for three of their EOS DSLR camera range. Participants must be resident in the European Union.

EOS 1000D
£30 GBP, €40 EURO cashback until 12th January 2009

EOS 450D
£50 GBP, €65 EURO cashback until 12th January 2009

EOS 40D
£60 GBP, €75 EURO cashback until 12th January 2009

For full terms and conditions visit http://www.canon.co.uk/eoscashback

Nik Software Announces “Complete Collection” of Award-Winning Digital Photographic Filters including Photoshop® and Aperture™ versions of Dfine® 2.0, Viveza™, Color Efex Pro™ 3.0, Silver Efex Pro™, and Sharpener Pro™ 3.0. The suggested retail price of the Complete Collection is $599 (USD), which represents a savings of $450 (USD) over purchasing each product separately. For more information about the software, including video tutorials highlighting the software running within Photoshop and Aperture and free 15-day fully functional trial versions, please visit http://www.niksoftware.com.

Lensbaby has introduced a new system of selective focus lenses - the Composer, Muse, and Control Freak. The new Muse and the new Control Freak replace the current Original, Lensbaby 2.0, and Lensbaby 3G lenses, which will be phased out immediately. In addition, each of the three lenses features the new Lensbaby Optic Swap system.

Product Specs and Pricing:

Hasselblad has introduced the 50 megapixel H3DII-50,The new H3DII-50 features Kodak’s 50 Mpixel 36×48mm sensor, measuring twice the physical size of the largest 35mm DSLR sensors. Hasselblad also announced a new HCD 35-90mm f4-5.6 lens and the HTS 1.5 Tilt/Shift adapter.

Hasselblad H3DII-50 Key Specs:

• Integrated 50 Mpix capture units with 3″ LCD display
• Ultra-Focus: integral optimization of digital lens performance
• Hasselblad Natural Color Solution
• Integrated CCD cooling sink for lower noise
• Direct ISO/WB control
• Thumbwheel control of digital menus
• GPS accessory option
• Full Digital APO Correction for improved image sharpness and detail

Price and Availability:

Joby has announced the new Gorillapod Focus, another unique, bendable tripod which supports weights up to 11 lbs. This means you can attach SLR cameras with large telephoto lenses or digital video cameras. Gorillapod Focus will be available immediately with a price tag of $150.

Gorillapod Focus Press Release:

Tokina announced that they will be putting autofocus motors to its Nikon-mount version lenses thus enabling Auto focusing with the D40/D40x/D60 bodies. The first lens to benefit from the in-lens AF motor will be AT-X Pro SD 12-24mm F4 (IF) DX wideangle zoom. A motorised version of this lens is being exhibited at Photokina, and more lenses are expected to be updated soon.

Sigma has announced a new HSM version of its 24-70mm F2.8 EX DG lens. Featuring 14 elements in 12 groups, including three aspherical, one ELD and two SLD elements, the new HSM version is more compact than its predecessor. The 24-70mm F2.8 EX DG also promises fast and silent focusing coupled with full-time manual focus, thanks to the new HSM focusing motor. The lens will be available in Sigma, Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Sony mounts.

Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 EX DG HSM Specifications:

Adobe today announced Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop CS4 Extended, the highly anticipated, new editions of the professional industry standard software for digital imaging. We just got used to the CS3 and here comes the new one. Well I don't complain, with every new version of Photoshop, things are getting easier and faster with more options offered. I like Photoshop, what else can I say...

Pricing and Availability
Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop CS4 Extended for Mac OS X on Intel based and PowerPC based systems and for MicrosoftWindows XP and Windows Vista platform are scheduled to ship October 2008. Estimated street price for Adobe Photoshop CS4 is US$699 and US$999 for Photoshop CS4 Extended. Upgrade pricing is also available.

For more detailed information about features, upgrade policies and pricing, please visit: www.adobe.com/photoshop.

Adobe CS4 and CS4 Extended Press Release:

Pretec strengthens its world leading position in CF card size with the introduction of two new CF cards: Pretec 64GB and 100GB CF. These are 233X CF cards with access speed of up to 35MB/s.

Pretec also introduced the fastest CF cards in the world: Super high speed 333X 32GB and 50GB CF cards capable of running up to 50 MB per second of Read/Write speed.

Price, Availability and Press Release: