News / Other Product News

Sony has launched second-generation 'S' series XQD memory cards capable of sustained read-write speeds of 168MB/s, making them the fastest cards of any format. A 64Gb card will be available from July 2012, with a 128Gb version following in September/October. Sony talks about sports photographers achieving their best performances this summer - suggesting the company isn't an Olympic sponsor and hence isn't allowed to associate itself with the games. Prices have not been announced.

Apple has issued a Raw Compatibility Update that includes support for Canon's Rebel T4i (EOS 650D) and the Sony SLT-A37. The update provides support in iPhoto, Aperture and third-party software such as ACDSee Pro2 that uses the operating system's Raw decoding. Raw Compatibility Update v3.14 is available from the Apple website immediately.

DxO Labs has released DxO Optics Pro v7.5.1, adding support for four extra cameras to both the Elite and Standard editions of the software. The Elite edition also gains support for the Nikon D800E, with fine-tuning to optimize the performance of the Remove color moiré tool. Both versions can now also process files from the Nikon D3200, Sony SLT A35 and A57, and the Panasonic DMC-GX1. As usual, a 30-day free trial is available, along with roughly 40% discounts available if purchased before June 30th. The update is free for recent Optics Pro purchasers.

ACD Systems has launched ACDSee Pro 2 for Mac, a combined file management, photo editing and workflow tool. The latest version is designed to make handling and processing large numbers of files as simple as possible - with shortcuts provided to allow your existing workflow to be sped up, rather than imposing a new way of working on you. These include the ability to create import presets that rename, move and apply metadata as you add them. There's also full integration with the company's online storage and sharing service, which includes 10Gb of storage in the $139 price tag.

Apple has announced Aperture v3.3, which features a series of updates including sharing its catalogue with the simpler iPhoto program that comes with iOS. Other improvements include support for AVCHD video, a revised Highlight & Shadows tool and more sophisticated white balance options. The software has also been designed to make use of the MacBook Pro's 'Retina' display. Aperture v3.3 is free to existing v3 users or can be bought for $79.99 from the Mac App Store.

Corel has announced Service Pack 2 for PaintShop Pro X4, the company's photo editing solution. With this update Corel has added bug fixes, Raw file support for 18 additional cameras and improved support for PSD files. Click through for a link to the download and a full list of the newly supported cameras.

Woven, a free app for iOS, Android, Kindle Fire and Nook allows you to browse all of your photos from services such as Flickr, Facebook, Picasa and Smugmug in a single place. Once you've logged into each of the services, through the app, it downloads thumbnail versions to your mobile device, allowing you to scan through all your pictures. The app maintains the folder or grouping structures from each service, so you can easily find images and work out where you uploaded them to, even when you're offline.

Adobe has launched final versions of Photoshop Lightroom v4.1 and Adobe Camera Raw v7.1 that include support for the Fujifilm X-Pro1. Both versions include the advanced defringing tools introduced in the Release Candidate versions they replace as well as promising to address 'performance issues.' Both versions include support for the Fujifilm X-Pro1 non-Bayer color filter array. They can be downloaded from the Adobe website now. Adobe Camera Raw 7.1 works with Photoshop CS6.

Facebook has announced a free app called Camera that focuses on viewing and sharing photos. Instead of showing what your friends are doing and thinking, it just dives straight to their photo galleries. The app also allows you to share multiple photos at a time, including descriptions and tagging. There are also tools for cropping and applying filters to your images. The app allows Facebook to be used in a much more Instagram-like manner (and it seems too soon for this to be a product of the Facebook buyout). Updated with first impressions.

Fujifilm has officially unveiled its promised adapter to allow the use of Leica M-mount lenses on the X-Pro1. Unlike third-party versions, the adapter has electronic contacts for communication with the camera body, and a Function button that allows quick setting of the lens in use. To make full use of the adapter, a firmware update for the X-Pro1 (version 1.10) will be made available in June 2012. This will allow the user to create up to six lens profiles to correct distortion, vignetting and corner colour shading (in a similar manner to the Ricoh GXR Mount A12). The camera can show framelines in its unique hybrid viewfinder for 21mm, 24mm, 28mm, and 35mm lenses; for other focal lengths the electronic viewfinder or rear screen will show a preview with 100% coverage of the field of view.

Accessory maker NEX-Proshop has launched its ISO hotshoe adapter for Sony's NEX series of mirrorless cameras. The adapter screws into the NEX accessory port and adds a standard hotshoe and PC-Sync socket. It is designed for use with radio flash triggers (as the NEX accessory port is not designed to support a full-size flashgun), allowing much more flexible flash use with the NEX cameras. The adapter is available now for a cost of $79.99.

Apple has issued Digital Camera Raw Compatibility Update 3.13, adding compatibility for six extra cameras, allowing their Raw files to be opened by software on the Mac, including Aperture and iPhoto. The latest update brings support for the Canon EOS-1D X, Nikon D800E, Nikon D3200, Olympus OM-D E-M5, Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 and Sony SLT-A57. The update means Apple is the first major software maker to support some of these models.

DxO Labs has updated DxO Optics Pro to v7.5, which now runs natively as a 64-bit application for both Mac and Windows. The latest version can handle larger images than previous versions - the 200 megapixel limit means the addition of D800 support prove no challenge. 60 of the extra 200 lens/camera profiles are for the Nikon. The latest version is available for free to existing DxO Optics Pro v7 users, with a 33% discount available for new customers until June 30th.

Fujifilm has announced the WCL-X100 wide-angle adapter lens for its X100 large sensor, fixed-lens compact. The 0.8x adapter extends the camera's 35mm equivalent field of view out to 28mm equivalent. It is designed to match the X100 in terms of both appearance and quality, sharing the camera's Fujifilm's Super EBC coating and made-in-Japan construction. The WCl-X100 will be available from June at a price of around $350. To enable use of the converter, the company has also issued firmware v1.30 which adds a function for its use as well as fixing two minor operational bugs.

Adobe has confirmed that it will fix the security problems with Photoshop and other CS5.x packages, having originally suggested that a paid upgrade to CS6 was the only solution. The security concerns, raised by the company on May 8th, were rated as 'critical,' meaning it could 'allow malicious native-code to execute, potentially without a user being aware.' Despite this, the original solution raised in the company security bulletin was to upgrade to CS6, leaving CS5.x users vulnerable. The bulletin has now been updated.

Adobe has announced a release candidate version of Adobe Camera Raw 7.1 and DNG Converter 7.1. The latest near-release version of the Raw processing plugin only works with Photoshop CS6 and brings support for the same 21 cameras that were added to Camera Raw 6.7 in the most recent update. This includes the Nikon D800m Canon EOS 5D Mark III, Olympus OM-D E-M5 and the most recent releases from Samsung.

Novoflex has announced a range of mount adapters for the Fujifilm X-Pro1's X mount. The adapters allow the use of a wide range of non-XF lenses with the 16MP mirrorless camera. The range supports a broad cross-section of current and legacy lenses, including Canon FD, Nikon, Contax, Olympus OM and Minolta MD and AF mounts. There is also an adapter to allow use of Leica M-mount lenses, if you can't wait for the one Fujifilm said it is developing. The adapters will be available from the end of May 2012 at prices range from around €89 to €169, depending on the complexity of the adapter (there are also adapters for medium-format lenses that can cost as much as €350). (via Photoscala)

Accessory maker LockCircle has announced it will offer its 'LockPort' durable HDMI socket bracket for the Nikon D800. The LockPort800 combines a mounting plate that secures to the base of the camera with a miniHDMI-to-standard HDMI adapter that bolts onto it. This provides an easy-access full-size HDMI connector while also protecting your camera's miniHDMI socket from damage. The mounting plate is designed so that the camera can still be used with other mounts, tripod plates and accessories, in tandem with the LockPort. The LockPort800 will be available from June 2012 at a cost of $199/€99.

Bag maker Think Tank has announced an update to its Airport series of camera bags. Designed to meet the restrictions imposed by airlines on carry-on luggage, the series includes a model designed for international flight as well as smaller versions for space-limited short-haul flying. The three bags are all designed with room for an iPad and increasingly large laptops, and give clear indications of the camera bodies and lenses they will accommodate. All three come with a seam-sealed rain covers.

Adobe has released the finalized version of Adobe Camera Raw v6.7, the last update that will work with Photoshop CS5. The final version include support for Canon's EOS 5D Mark III, Nikon's D800 and the Olympus E-M5, as part of a list of 21 cameras added. The update includes the most recent NX cameras from Samsung as well as coverage for a range of Fujifilm models. No support is yet included for the Fujifilm X-Pro1, however.