Photo of Pentax's new entry level DSLR ,has surfaced and is expected to be sold at €499 for single kit with DA L 18-55 and €599 for twin lens kit with also DA L 50-200. K-m. K-m uses the 10.2 MP Sony sensor, same as the ones that are used in K200D. No live-view and top LCD as far as we know, it wll be hard for Pentax to compete with the other entry levels with live view for sure.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II is available for pre-order at Amazon.com. And if you don't have any full frame Canon lens to start with, I strongly recommend you to consider ordering 5D Mark II with the 24-105 L IS USM kit lens.

Canon 5D Mark II Body Only for $2700

Canon 5D Mk II + EF 24-105 L IS USM for $3500

Mamiya has announced the ZDb 22 MP Digital Back; which is a revised version of its ZD model. Below are the main specifications of the new Zdb:

• Image Sensor: 21.70 mega pixels 48x36mm DALSA full-frame transfer CCD
• Interchangeable: IR cut filter (standard)
• 1.2 fps (burst rate: 22 frames)
• ISO Range: ISO 50 to 400
• LCD: TFT 1.8”
• Weight and Dimension:470g, 106(W) x 90(H) x 62 (D) mm
• Compatible with Mamiya 645AFD/II/II, RZ67Pro-SD, RB67Pro-IID

Pricing and delivery will be announced in the fall of 2008. For more information: Mamiya

Adobe has released a Adobe® Photoshop® Camera Raw 4.6 plug-in release candidate on Adobe Labs. The ‘release candidate’ label indicates that the plug-in is well tested but would benefit from additional community testing before it is distributed automatically to all of our customers. This latest version includes coverage for the Nikon D700, D90 DSLRS, Fujifilm FinePix IS Pro and Nikon Coolpix P6000. Also Canon XS (EOS 1000D), Canon EOS 50D, Sony DSLR-A900, Olympus SP-565 UZ and Sigma DP1 receive preliminary support by this version.

Click here for the download link and installation guide of Camera RAW 4.6

Canon's has announced the new flagship camera in its PowerShot range; PowerShot G10, successor to the highly popular G9. G10 sports a 14.7 megapixel CCD sensor, a new 28-140mm wide zoom, 3.0” PureColor LCD II (461k dots) and the new DIGIC IV processor.

The Canon PowerShot G10 will be available from October priced at $500 in US, £499.99 in UK and €649.99 in Europe.

New PowerShot G10 Main Features:

• 14.7 Megapixel CCD sensor
• 5x wide-angle (28mm) optical zoom lens with optical Image Stabilizer
• RAW image recording plus support for Canon Digital Photo Professional
• DIGIC 4 for clear, sharp images, high-speed AF (including Servo AF) and fast response times
• Targets all the main causes of blur with High ISO Auto, optical
  Image Stabilizer, Motion Detection Technology and Auto ISO shift
• Great people shots with improved Face Detection AF/AE/FE/WB plus
  Face Select & Track and FaceSelf-Timer
• 3.0” PureColor LCD II (461k dots resolution) with wide viewing angle and optical viewfinder
• i-Contrast boosts brightness and retains detail in dark areas
• Dedicated Exposure Compensation and ISO dials
• 26 shooting modes with manual control and custom settings
• Accessories include tele-converter, Speedlite flashes and waterproof case
• Smooth, 30fps VGA movies

Now we have a small and lightweight GPS receiver which can be mounted to any digital camera hot-shoe which lets you record the GPS data and time of every photo you take.

After transfering the data from photoGPS to your computer, you can even receive historic GPS satellite information corresponding to the times the raw GPS data was recorded which is used by JOBO’s software to calculate the locations, reverse geocodes them, and geotags the photos with the resulting location information such as Country name, Region and District, City, Postal code, Street name, and nearby points of interest (POIs) such as tourist attractions, beaches, mountain peaks, museums, opera or theatre houses, concert halls, sport stadiums, parks, etc. in addition to latitude, longitude and altitude are also available. Look quite useful to me. The photoGPS for Windows operating systems will be available in October 2008 for €159,0.

photoGPS Specs and Press Release:

Carl Zeiss launched the Distagon T* 2.8/2, 1a new 21mm super wide angle lens for both digital and analog full-format SLR cameras with EF (ZE), F (ZF) and K (ZK) bayonets. The Distagon T* 2.8/21 is modernized version of the the Contax system. Distagon T* 2.8/2 is scheduled for delivery for the ZF and ZK mounts by the end of this year with an expected selling price will be €1,399.

According to Carl Zeiss, the lens is ideal for architectural, journalistic and landscape photography.

Sony issued a firmware update for the A700 DSLR. Improvements that comes by the new firmware includes noise-reduction 'off' option which has been criticised since day one, changes to bracketing, white balance and dynamic range optimization. Son's processing software has also been updated. Some of the users hve already downloaded and installed this firmware before the official announcement and reported improved High ISO image quality, even very close to Nikon D300 which shares the same sensor base with the A700. This is very good news for the A700 users who have been complaining about the high ISO performance of the A700. I would like to know if it is possible that the Intelligent Preview feature that is coming with the FF A900 can be implemented to the A700 by a new firmware, then that would be one hell of an update.

Click here for the Sony A700 Firmware Download Page

Improvements and solved issues:

Below is the quick reviews of 10 Bestseller Photography Books which I strongly recommend you to read.

A new Leica compact camera, the D-Lux 4, was spotted in the pages of French print magazine Chasseur d'Images.

Priced at approximately $980, the new Leica D-Lux 4 is physically almost identical to the old D-Lux except the hotshoe on the top and the wider and faster 24-60mm ƒ2-2.8 lens(D-Lux 3 had a 28-112mm ƒ2.8 - 4.9 lens). 10.1 MP image sensor has slightly lower resolution and sensor size compared to D-Lux 3 (10.1-MP vs 10.4-MP, 1/1.65" tvs. 1/1.63").

The official announcement by Leica is expected to be during Photokina 2008.