Olympus released a new codec which enables Windows Vista to import and display Olympus RAW files. This is a very helpful program especially for the photographers who shoot and store most of their photos in RAW. The codec works with the following Olympus cameras:

• E-1, E-3, E-300, E-330, E-400, E-410, E-500 , E-510 , E-10, E-20
• C-70 ZOOM, C-5050ZOOM, C-5060 Wide Zoom, C-7070 Wide Zoom, C-8080 Wide Zoom
• SP-310, SP-320, SP-350, SP-500UZ, SP-510UZ, SP-550UZ, SP-560UZ
  

Follow the link to download the Olympus RAW codec for Vista:

HP is offering free online digital photography classes. This is a good chance especially for the beginners who wants to improve their skills and learn how to take better photos. You can easily sign up for the classes and make you own schedule.

Some currently available classes are:
· Professional Digital Photography Made Simple
· Beginner’s Guide to Saving, Printer and Sharing your Digital Photos
· Telling a Story with Photos · Creative Holiday Gifts from Photos

More Information and Press Release:

Sony UK announced a new photography competition as a part of their The Sony Alpha Unseen Britain Challenge, where photographers will submit images of Britain to win the latest Alpha series DSLR A700 and full kit.

Besides the competition as a part of the Unseen Britain Challenge, photographer and climber Mike Robertson will capture the photos of six structures in Britain, including Spinnaker Tower (Portsmouth), Blackpool Tower, Newport Transporter Bridge, Snowhill Plaza (Birmingham) and a London site. The best photos from the competition, together with the photos of Mike Robertson will be published on the Sony Alpha Unseen Britain online gallery and will be showcased in an exclusive exhibition in central London in the New Year.

Competition Rules and Details:

Rob Galbraith has published a very detailed in depth review of the Canon EOS-1D Mark III DSLR, focusing mainly on the AF problems. He used sub-mirror fixed 1D mark III updated with latest firmware (v1.1.3) and evaluates the differences with the previous versions. He surely reached some very interesting conclusions and included a comparison of 1D Mark III with the 1D Mark II Nin means of AF performance.

Follow the link to read this article on Rob Galbraith Website:

Sigma announced two fast telephoto zoom lenses, APO 50-150mm F2.8 II EX DC HSM for cameras with APS-C sized sensors and the APO 70-200mm F2.8 II EX DG MACRO HSM for cameras with full frame sensors.

Sigma APO 70-200mm F2.8 II EX DG MACRO HSM

We don't have any info about the pricing yet, but if the claimed performance improvements over the older versions are achieved, the new sigmas will surely stand as very good alternatives to other manufacturers products in this range.

Sigma APO 50-150mm F2.8 II EX DC HSM Specifications:

Nikon released a 472 page manual for the flagship DSLR D3 in PDF format. It is available for public download but if you like to print out the manual, you have to have a serial number which comes with the D3 itself.

Follow the link below to download the manual directly from Nikon USA site:

Digitalrev.com features a new video of EOS-1Ds Mark III - new 21 Megapixel flagship from Canon- where the first impressions of the camera are recorded starting right after receiving the black box. The new 1Ds mark III in my opinion stands as the new milestone for the DSLR world in means of image sensor resolution, and definitely the closest thing to medium format digitals and digital backs in this area. Hopefully Canon won't experience the similar problems of Id Mark III with 1Ds Mark III.

Canon released another firmware update for EOS-1D Mark III DSLR. Canon is surely trying hard to recover the reputation that is lost due to the well known AF problems with 1D Mark III, since the new firmware also claims to improve AF-tracking in certain shooting situations, besides some other improvements and bug fixes.

Improvements and fixes with Firmware V 1.1.3:

1- Increases transmission speed when using high-speed SD cards.
2- Fixes a phenomenon involving not being able to release the shutter.
3- Improves AF tracking in specific conditions.
4- Corrects errors in the Spanish and Korean menu screens.

Follow the link for detailed information and download link:

Nikon RAW Codec 1.1.0, a new version of the NEF plug-in for 32-bit versions of Windows Vista, is now updated to support RAW files from Nikon D3 and D300.

The Nikon RAW Codec is a free software module that enables you to handle RAW image files (*.NEF) under Microsoft® Windows Vista® easily like a JPEG or TIFF image.

Download Link and Supported Cameras:

Nikon made three new Picture Controls available on their website for D300 and D3 users. New oicture controls are aiming to emulate the color reproduction of the previous Nikon flagship DLSR D2x. The new controls will give D300 and D3 the ability of simulating the original color modes 1-3 of the Nikon D2x. This exciting feature will be very helpful for the ones that will upgrade from D2x to one of the two new Nikons, a real time saver indeed.

All you have to do to add this Picture Controls to your D300 or D3 is to follow thelinks below and download the files, and then update your camera.

Download Links: