California-based Indeeo today announced Camtastic 1.1.1 for iPhone 4, 3GS, and iPod touch. Camtastic lets users take photos using a variety of film style effects, which range from “Vintage” to “Lomo”. Version 1.1.1 brings several new features including photo geo-tagging, randomization of film and frame effects, a new Facebook sharing interface, and a detailed photo information view.Camtastic 1.1.1 is available for $1.99.

Website: Camtastic

Anthropics have launched Portrait Professional 10, a new version of their popular portrait airbrushing software. Billed as “the world’s first commercially available software that is trained in human beauty”, the program has analysed thousands of photos to “learn” what makes people look attractive or unattractive. Version 10 offers a new UI, improved face beautification, enhanced slider controls, better Saved Slider presets, improved brushes, a new Child mode and a new Enhance Skin Only mode. Compatible with Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2000 as well as MacOS X 10.4 or better, Portrait Professional 10 is available in three different editions priced from $39.95/?29.95/€34.95.

Pictinal today released TrueHDR 2.2, an update to TrueHDR, a high-dynamic-range photography app. TrueHDR enables users to take HDR photos on iPhone 4, 3GS, and iPod touch 4G, with two distinct styles - Natural and Enhanced. TrueHDR’s latest release includes geo-tagging, improved image alignment, and improved light metering for automatically setting exposures. To accompany the new release, TrueHDR has been placed on limited time sale for 0.99$, 50% off of its regular price.

Pad Folio is a simple and elegant portfolio program for the Ipad. It allows users to set up unlimited individual portfolios through an easy-to-use back-end. The back-end is password protected, and the user can sync through their computers or the cloud system dropbox. The program allows the user to set metadata, client information and thumbnail selections. Folios can be turned on and off depending on what you want your client to see. Pad Folio 1.3 is now available on the App Store for $9.99.

Website: Pad Folio

AKVIS has just released Version 12 of AKVIS Sketch for Windows and Macintosh. The software converts photos to colour and black-and-white pencil drawings and watercolour paintings. Version 12 introduces the new Smudging parameter which creates the effect of smearing hatching in midtone areas without affecting the contour lines of the drawing.This technique looks like a result of rubbing across a drawing in soft pencil with a stump tool, smooth paper, or a finger. As the value of the parameter is increased, shading becomes similar to soft graphite. It is a fast and simple way to add a soft and blurred texture to a sketch.  AKVIS Sketch Home Licence sells for $72 or €55.

Capture One 6.1 adds several new features and support for 16 more cameras. Local contrast and brightness adjustments, pen pressure and eraser support, and support for Getty Images metadata and import have been added. Capture One 6.1 now supports the new Phase One IQ189, IQ160 and IQ140 digital backs, plus recent cameras from Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Panasonic.

Adobe has launched Photoshop Express 1.5 for iOS devices. The free program debuts a fast new camera workflow that enables continuous, rapid photo-taking directly in the app, adds multi-tasking and full Retina display support, and offers a better photo uploading experience. Photoshop Express 1.5 for iOS is available immediately on the App store. Note that the new version requires iOS 4.2.

Precorder is an iPhone app that perpetually buffers video so that whenever you start recording a clip, you’ll have a few seconds of footage captured before you hit Record. This means you’ll never miss an interesting moment, be it a fleeting smile on a baby’s face or something cute your pet does (at least as long as the iPhone camera is pointed in the right direction when it happens, of course). The idea itself is not new - we have seen it implemented in some compact cameras as well as camera phones - but apparently Precorder is the first app that offers this functionality for the Apple iPhone. The app is available now for $1.99.

Kubota Image Tools have introduced two new Photoshop ‘Action Paks’, Viva la Vintage & Pow Wow!. The first of these contains 24 time-warping effects to recall the most popular looks of recent decades including cross-process, old paper, and many more. Pow Wow! also contains 24 image enhancements including “BW Museum”, “Pearly Shells” etc. Viva La Vintage and Pow Wow! are available through the Kubota Image Tools website at a price of $109 each or $179 as a discounted bundle.

Website: Kubota Image Tools

AsukaBook USA has announced the free AsukaBook Maker 2 and the AsukaBook InDesign Tool. AsukaBook Maker 2 has a simple and easy to use interface, with many image enhancement tools and the ability to use existing free templates or to save your own design layouts for future use. The AsukaBook InDesign Tool has been created to offer an additional alternative AsukaBook design option and a more efficient workflow for AsukaBook customers who prefer to work in Adobe InDesign. Both applications are free andavailable now as digital downloads from the AsukaBook USA website.

Website: AsukaBook USA

Showtime is an app that allows you to use your iPhone as a remote control as you display your photos on any browser-based device on your wifi network: a computer, internet TV or games console. You can select individual photos or use the navigation controls to move backwards and forwards through your albums. Additionally, Showtime also makes it possible to download a full-resolution version of the current photo straight to your PC or Mac without syncing or cables. Currently retailing at an introductory price of $0.99/€0.79, Showtime will run on an iPhone or iPod Touch with OS4.0 or greater.

Photodex has released a new version of its ProShow plug-in for Adobe Lightroom. The plug-in now supports ProShow Web, Photodex’s new online slideshow service for professional photographers. The service instantly creates video slideshows from any Mac or PC, and the plug-in makes it quick and simple to upload photos to a new or existing show. The ProShow Plug-in for Lightroom is free and can be downloaded directly from the Adobe Lightroom Exchange website.

Bibble Labs have released Bibble 5.2 Pro and Bibble 5.2 Lite for Linux, MacOS and Windows.The new version adds support for 14 new raw file formats, including those produced by the Nikon D3100, D7000, P7000 and the Panasonic LX5, GF2 and GH2, and includes significant improvements to Bibble 5’s Selective Editing capability, and many other enhancements. Bibble 5.2 Pro and Bibble 5.2 Lite are available immediately for $199.95 and $99.95, respectively. Bibble Labs customers who purchased Bibble 4 since September, 2006 are eligible for a free upgrade to Bibble 5. Bibble 5.2 is a free upgrade for all current Bibble 5 customers.

CraftArtist Platinum is a new digital crafting package from Serif. Aimed at “creative types looking to make professional-looking print projects”, the package may be of interest to anyone who wants to easily and quickly make unique photobooks, wedding stationery, cards, scrapbooks etc. at home. The package contains Serif’s CraftArtist Professional software and four creative kits, Baby Photos, Greeting Cards, Wedding Day and Scrapbooks. “CraftArtist Platinum makes the creativity of a craft store accessible to all PC users,” says Gary Bates, Managing Director at Serif. “It offers a fun, easy and affordable way for everyone to create personalised print projects regardless of their age, experience or artistic ability.” CraftArtist Platinum is compatible with Windows 7/Vista/XP and retails at £39.99.

AKVIS has just upgraded its NatureArt software to Version 2.0. Described by its developers as “an excellent tool for imitating the magnificence of natural phenomena”, AKVIS NatureArt lets photographers choose from six nature effects including rain, water, lightning, clouds, fire and Sun. Version 2.0 introduces a new effect, frost, which allows you to adorn an image with an openwork of frost crystals; plus introduces the ability to create new images and to save the selection areas to a file. Users who own previous versions of AKVIS NatureArt can upgrade to Version 2.0 free of charge.

deGeo is a new photo sharing app for iOS that helps iPhone and iPad users guard personal their privacy by removing the built-in geotags when sharing photos. “While geotags can be useful for personal reference, automatically including your real-time location along with each photo is probably not the best idea when sharing online,” the software developer says. “Locational geotag data can potentially disclose some of your most sensitive information including your home address, workplace or daily habits. Revealing your location via a photo can catch anyone by surprise and could potentially compromise your privacy without you even being aware.” deGeo is available through Apple’s App Store for $0.99.

gyroCam is an iPhone app that automatically levels photos in real time, while shooting. The app uses a combination of accelerometer and gyro sensors in camera-equipped iOS devices to frame a level 4:3 sub-image from the scene, with perfect alignment every time. In addition to its unique gyro capabilities, gyroCam is also a full-featured camera app, offering tap-to-focus and exposure, front and rear camera control, focus and exposure activity indicators, and much more. gyroCam 1.0.1 sells for for $0.99 on the iTunes App Store, and works on any camera-equipped iOS device with iOS 4.2 or later, although some functions are available with certain models only.

MoviePlus X5 is an easy-to-use video editor from Serif. Launching on 7th February, MoviePlus X5 offers 200+ video and audio effects, and users can burn their finished films onto DVDs and Blu-ray disks. The latest version provides adanced support for HD videos, an improved user interface and a range of usability enhancements, new tools and effects. Compatible with Windows 7/Vista/XP, MoviePlus X5 retails at £59.99.

WidePhotoViewer is an iPhone/iPod/iPad app that allows users to access their galleries and individual photos stored on Flickr, Facebook and SmugMug. This includes the ability to upload photos directly to these sites as well as download albums for offline viewing. Billed as the most complete photo-viewing app for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, WidePhotoViewer also lets users add captions and titles to their photos, display EXIF data, and view panoramas at full resolution. Note that while WidePhotoViewer is free, some of the afore-mentioned features are available in the premium version only, which is priced at $0.99.

Nik Software announced today Silver Efex Pro 2, a major upgrade to its black-and-white conversion software. Silver Efex Pro 2 includes new features such as the History Browser, Dynamic Brightness, Amplify Blacks, Amplify Whites, Soft Contrast, Fine Structure, Image Borders, and selective colourisation, as well as a variety of speed and quality improvements. Nik Software has worked closely with NVIDIA Corporation and has incorporated GPU-based image rendering to offer the fastest, most efficient processing on systems equipped with dedicated GPU processors, the company says. Silver Efex Pro 2 will be available in February at a price of $199.95. Note that Silver Efex Pro 2 installs as a 32-bit and 64-bit plug-in for Adobe Photoshop CS4, Lightroom 2.6 or Apple Aperture 2.1.4 or later.