Akvis has released a new frame pack for its ArtSuite, with 55 hand-painted designs. "These admirable designs will take you into the world of magic," the company says. The so-called Akvis Fantasy Pack is available for $15. The program itself sells for $69.

TeoreX has updated iResizer, a simple yet capable utility designed to resize pictures and remove undesired objects. Version 2.3 features an interesting method to resize pictures: it virtually “folds” the image so that some parts of the frame overlap others thus making them invisible. This approach allows to easily shorten a space between objects or people, hide unwanted pieces of the composition, exclude certain persons from the photo and many more. iResizer is available for Windows XP or higher and for Mac OS X 10.7 or higher. The price for the full version is as low as $19.99 with minor updates and bug fixes included for free.

Complementing the recently announced free educational Webinar series to introduce new customers to the Capture One Pro workflow, Phase One is now offering 20% off the purchase (or upgrade) price for Capture One Pro 7 until 16th June. And for those purchasing or upgrading to Capture One Express 7, the price is reduced by 50 percent until the end of the month. Click through / read on for the details.

Adobe today released Lightroom 5 for MacOS and Windows. The program is available as an individual licence or as part of Adobe Creative Cloud. Key new features include an Advanced Healing Brush, new Upright tool and Radial Gradients, which enable users to apply off-centre and multiple vignettes in a single image. Smart Previews allow photographers to make edits to their images offline, without bringing their entire library of original files with them. Edits and metadata changes to Smart Preview files are automatically applied to the original images when they are reconnected. Other novelties include new video slideshows and updates to the Book module. Photoshop Lightroom 5 is available now for immediate download for Adobe Creative Cloud members. Standalone software is available at Adobe.com and participating retailers for $149 or $79 for upgrades.

Xara is offering a special discount on their flagship creative design software Xara Designer Pro to "disgruntled Adobe users who want to find a suitable alternative." Xara Designer Pro is billed as a "professional level graphic design tool that offers integrated tools for illustration, DTP, photo editing and web design in a single package." Xara Designer Pro is a one-off purchase - no subscription and no obligation to purchase future versions - normally retailing for $299, but now available to registered users of Adobe software for just $199. In addition to a 30 day money back guarantee, Xara is offering a free upgrade to the forthcoming Xara Designer Pro X9 due out shortly. Xara Designer Pro is available for Windows operating systems.

onOne Software has announced the availability of Perfect Photo Suite 7.5. The update includes a new Quick View Browser, refinements to the Perfect Brush, tested compatibility with the upcoming Lightroom 5, performance improvements, and general bug fixes. Perfect Photo Suite 7.5 is now available from onOne Software. Existing owners of Perfect Photo Suite 7.x are eligible for the update at no additional cost.

DxO Labs today released Version 8.2 of DxO Optics Pro. This update for Mac and Windows allows DxO Optics Pro 8 to support the Canon EOS Rebel SL1, the Sony SLT-A58 (pictured), and the Ricoh GR, as well as to incorporate all of the new features of DxO FilmPack 4 as a plugin. With DxO FilmPack 4, photographers can apply to their digital photos - now including raw image files! - all the characteristic colour, contrast, and grain of various film emulsions. Do note that using DxO FilmPack 4 as a plugin to DxO Optics Pro 8 requires the purchase of a DxO FilmPack 4 licence.

DxO Labs have launched DxO FilmPack 4, a major new version of their popular analog film simulation and creative effects software. Available in two editions, Essential and Expert, a single DxO FilmPack 4 licence can be used as a plugin to Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, Apple Aperture, and DxO Optics Pro, and as a standalone application for Mac and Windows. This update, which adds 65 new renderings and effects, is now available in DxO Labs’ online shop and at photo resellers at a discount throughout June.

Reallusion has just introduced the mobile version of CrazyTalk to iTunes Store. The app lets users animate with the power of your voice, fingers and wrist movements. "Additionally, CrazyTalk marks the beginning of a multi-platform animation ecosystem that allows users to create content on their desktops, upload to a cloud server, to later animate and share on their iDevices," the company says. Powered by the same engine found inside the CrazyTalk7 desktop version, CrazyTalk for iPhone is available as a free download, with an optional in-app upgrade priced at $0.99.

Zoner has released a free Android version of its Zoner Photo Studio software. This comprehensive app allows photographers to view, retouch, filter, save and share photos from their mobile device. “Our new ZPS app is a key component of Zoner‘s goal to offer any photographer unencumbered, complete access and management for all their image files—whether sitting at a desk or on the road,“ says Jaroslav Kucek, vice president and managing director, Zoner USA.“ The app allows image retouch and management from just about anywhere. And when used with Zonerama.com, our online album hosting community, photographers gain a complete solution for working with their photos.“ You can download the Android version of Zoner Photo Studio from the Google Play Store (requires Android 4.0 or higher).

Polagram is a new service enabling you to print your photos directly from your smartphone. Offering prints in different formats such as Classic (10x10), Polaroid Style (Keep the vintage spirit with this style), Regular (10x13), Large Prints (20x20 or 20x27), Polagram has a smartphone app for both Android and iOS devices, allowing you to specify the pictures you want to print, enter your shipping address and order your prints. The service is available throughout Europe.

FocusStacker for iOS is billed as the first-ever calculating tool for photographers using the focus stacking technique. You can specify how sharp you would like your final image to be, set focal length and the distances to the nearest and furthest objects in the scene you’re photographing, and then let FocusStacker determine exactly what you need to know: the minimum number of shots to take, the distances on which to focus, and the aperture to use. Do note, however, that FocusStacker is not suitable for close-up or macro photography.

PearlMountain has released the newest version of Picture Collage Maker for Mac. The application is a powerful yet easy-to-use collage maker that enables users to "make gorgeous collages in seconds," the company says. This update adds support for a range of new photo and text effects, rounded corners; improves the cropping feature, and adds more sharing options. Picture Collage Maker for Mac 2.0.0 supports Mac OS X 10.6 or later and is fully compatible with Mac OS X 10.8. A single-user licence costs $19.90.

PhotoMarks 1.5 is a universal iOS app that adds text comments and logos to photos and easily shares them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or via e-mail. The text marks are fully customisable with a wide selection of fonts, a wide colour palette, and effects like shadow, stroke, or adjustable transparency. PhotoMarks is available now on iTunes.

Phase One announced today a series of webinars to "inform, inspire, and advise" photographers who are seeking a smooth transition from other image editors to Capture One Pro. On Wednesday, 29th May, as part of an ongoing series of free, informative Webinars, Phase One will present “Customising Capture One Pro 7 to work for you.” The second webinar, "Transitioning to Capture One Pro 7," will take place on 6th June. Three more sessions, "New to Capture One? Learn the Highlights," "Learn to Crop, Rotate and Correct Perspective" and "Search for and Locate Your Images," will be held on 12th, 18th and 26th June respectively.

Pictastik is a free, location-based photo sharing app that allows users to see what's happening, right now, in the cities around the world. "We organize all the photos, shared by all users, by cities and countries," the company says. "After you share a photo, Pictastik automatically adds your location to the photo you just took... All your photos neatly organized by cities and countries -- super fast, super easy!" This also means that the app does not permit sharing photos stored in your iPhone Photo Library. "We want you to see what's truly happening anywhere, right now," the developers say. "Take a photo, share a photo." Pictastik is available now on the iTunes App Store.

Topaz Labs have released Topaz Clarity, an image processing plug-in billed as the first software to give photographers the ability to easily adjust various levels of contrast in their photograph without degrading the image quality with halos or artifacts. “Since the inception of Topaz Labs, our philosophy has centered around creating cutting-edge technology that allows photographers to create better images in just a few steps”, said Dr. Albert Yang, president of Topaz Labs. “Topaz Clarity continues that philosophy, allowing photographers to intelligently boost local contrast and clarity, while incorporating a break-through algorithm that eliminates the common problem of halos and artifacts.” Available as a plug-in that works in conjunction with several different host programs such as Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Lightroom, Aperture, and iPhoto, Topaz Clarity retails for $49.99, but is available at a special reduced price of $29.99 until May 31st.

Photodex have released their new Sports & Action Effects Pack for ProShow. The pack includes a dynamic array of "sporty" transitions, edgy photo layouts and titles, and digital 'player stats' cards, ideal for photographers covering an end of season wrap-up, a game victory, or team portrait showcase. "From sports photographers to proud parents on the sidelines, more and more digital photos and videos are being captured at sporting events", said Paul Schmidt president and founder of Photodex. "ProShow makes it easy to turn those digital files into shareable memories. Our new Sports & Action effects pack offers up some fun and energetic animations that can really amp-up sports slideshows." The Photodex Sports & Action Effects Pack is available now for $19.95.

Zoner has added touch control functionality to Zoner Photo Studio 15. The company has incorporated the most common and intuitive motion controls to streamline interaction and operation, including finger swiping for smooth scrolling; pinch-based zooming; tap motion to access options, functions and files; and finger swiping for brpwsing photos in the Viewer. The touch control update applies to Version 15 when installed on any of the newer Windows touchscreen systems. Users who currently have Version 15 and migrate to a touch screen system will be automatically updated.

AKVIS has released version 6.0 of AKVIS Retoucher, an imaging that restores damaged photos by removing defects and imperfections, and by reconstructing the missing parts. This update adds a Batch Processing feature that lets you automatically process a series of images, and fixes bugs. Registered users of Retoucher can upgrade to version 6.0 for free, except for users of the old Business version (Business v.1.0-3.5; they need to pay $19 for an upgrade to the new version).