onOne Software has released two fully functional Photoshop plug-ins called PhotoTools 2.5 Free and PhotoFrame 4.5 Free. Based on PhotoTools 2.5 Standard Edition and PhotoFrame 4.5 Standard Edition, these free plug-ins are compatible with Photoshop CS2, CS3 and CS4. PhotoTools 2.5 Free includes 15 effects that range from reproducing classic photographic techniques like Bleach Bypass and Cross Process, to reproducing film stock such as Kodachrome and Velvia, to modern effects including automatic skin smoothing. PhotoFrame 4.5 Free makes it easy to add the perfect finishing touch to images, with 20 professional grade edges, backgrounds, textures and adornments.

Website: onOne

Easy Release by ApplicationGap is an iPhone app designed to replace paper-based model releases with a slick, streamlined application. Founder Robert Giroux, a commercial and editorial photographer who has been working for Getty Images for years, conceived the idea of Easy Release as a way to bring the model- and property-release process into the digital age. “Back then there wasn’t a suitable mobile platform for it. I thought of using bio-metric signatures on an HP device or other PDA, but the bio-metric readers were expensive and uncommon. When it arrived, I knew the iPhone was the exactly right platform”, says Giroux.

Paragon Software has released Hard Disk Manager 2010 for home users. Available in two editions, Suite and Professional, the software provides all the tools you need to manage today’s hard drives, including partitioning, backup & restore, migration, optimisation & defragmentation, hard drive disposal, boot management and system recovery. The Professional Edition includes all the functionality of Hard Disk Manager 2010 Suite plus full maintenance for virtual drives, seamless migration to virtual environments and a built-in scripts language to automate standard maintenance routines. Paragon Hard Disk Manager 2010 is available for £29.95 (Suite edition), £69.95 (Pro edition).

Website: Paragon Hard Disk Manager Versions Comparison

Kubota Image Tools have announced the new and improved Dashboard 3 Pro software, an intuitive way for photographers to enhance their digital images. Dashboard 3 Pro is a floating palette within Photoshop (CS2 or newer) that acts like a mini search engine for actions.“Our new DASHBOARD 3 Pro has been designed to work the way photographers think,” said Kevin Kubota, Idea Man of Kubota Image Tools. “The efficiencies gained from harnessing actions through this one-stop solution will help photographers create stunning images in just seconds. I guarantee it to be the fastest path from original image to finished art.” Priced at $79, Dashboard 3 Pro is available for purchase and download now on the Kubota Image Tools website.

Website: Kubota Image Tools

ArcSoft has announced a partnership with Pentax to provide ArcSoft MediaImpression for Pentax’s compact cameras. MediaImpression provides users with intelligent ways to organise, view, and edit their photo, music and video. It also provides easy access to share the media to popular online sharing sites such as YouTube, Flickr and Facebook. Pentax has recently launched a range of digital compact cameras including the Pentax Optio E90, H90, I-10 and W90 models, and the Pentax X90 superzoom with a 26x optical zoom lens (pictured).

Adobe today announced that third-party application developers now have access to the Photoshop.com Mobile for Android 1.1 editor. A new developer site now allows Android developers to leverage the Photoshop.com Mobile for Android 1.1 editor in the creation of other application workflows. The Web site provides access to Adobe technology and promotes an ecosystem where developers have more creative freedom when developing their software.

Website: Adobe Photoshop.com Mobile Editor for Android Developers

Ohanaware has announced the immediate availability of a free update to its free HDR Photography software HDRtist. HDRtist is easy to use HDR imaging software for Mac that creates high dynamic range photos and tone maps them in a single step. Version 1.2 - allegedly the most stable version of HDRtist to date - resolves a corruption issue with large images, preserves metadata and colour profiles when aligning photos, and makes it easier to organise and store the processed HDR images. Requiring a Power Macintosh G4 or Intel based Macintosh computer and Mac OS X v 10.4 or later, HDRtist is available today as a free download from the website below.

Website: HDRtist

Magix has released Movie Edit Pro 16, its premium video editing and dubbing software.  Movie Edit Pro 16 gives the user effortless video capture, straightforward editing, spectacular 3D effects, a large selection of titles and fades, brilliant dubbing, and the result burned to an interactive CD/DVD or exported to the Internet or a mobile player.  Available in two versions – Classic for beginners and Plus for more ambitious users -, Movie Edit Pro 16 comes bundled with Magix PC Check & Tuning 2010, a tool or intelligent checking maintenance and acceleration for PCs and laptops. Magix Movie Edit Pro 16 Classic and Magix Movie Edit Pro 16 Plus are available now for SRP £49.99 and £69.99 including VAT, respectively, from Amazon and PC World.

Nik Software and a group of its photography industry partners have announced a special attendee sweepstakes promotion for the 2010 WPPI convention and trade show.  The prize package includes a 2010 Nissan Cube automobile and a collection of top-of-the-line products and services from a range of photo industry partners. The prize package, valued at approximately $20,000, will be awarded to one lucky WPPI attendee on the last day of the show, held in Las Vegas, NV, March 8-10. To enter the drawing, attendees will use a free “passport” found in their welcome bag or at each partner’s booth, and then visit each partner’s booth to receive a “passport stamp”. Passports completed with all 10 stamps may then be submitted at the Nik Software booth (#1007) to enter the drawing prior to 1:00 pm on Wednesday, 10 March 2010.

Topaz Labs have released a major upgrade of the Topaz Adjust Photoshop plug-in, which features new presets, a completely redesigned user interface, and upgraded image processing algorithms. “Topaz Adjust 4 uses unique technology that automatically adapts to different image conditions like light, detail, and color,” said Albert Yang, president of Topaz Labs and original designer of Topaz Adjust. “This has important implications. Other tools make the same standard adjustments to every single photo they’re applied to. In contrast, Topaz Adjust 4 tailors the adjustments specifically to the photo in question. This gives it the flexibility to ditch the cookie cutter enhancements and create some truly fantastic and unique photo effects.” Topaz Adjust 4, a free upgrade for existing customers, otherwise retails for $49.99.

Corel has recently introduced CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5. A brand new built-in application named Corel CONNECT synchronises with both CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT to provide quick access to content on a computer, network, or disc. In addition, industry-leading support for more than 100 commonly used file formats ensures users can easily collaborate and exchange files with clients and colleagues. Also, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5 represents a complete change in approach to colour management, assuring users accurate colour representation. The new Document (CorelDRAW) and Image (Corel PHOTO-PAINT) dockers allow users to save project-specific colours and to reuse colours from a previous project. In addition, eyedroppers have been added to colour dialog boxes, colour palettes, and colour pickers throughout the product, providing faster and more convenient colour sampling opportunities. CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5 is available at a suggested retail price of £399 for the full version or £179 for the upgrade.

Creaceed has released a Hydra plug-in for Lightroom 2. The HDR Plug-In is compatible with Lightroom 2 (32 and 64 bits). Hydra is a HDR imaging application, and with the plug-in, you can use the pictures from the Lightroom library to render HDR images. All features of Hydra’s stand-alone version are available in the plug-In. This update is free for all Hydra 2.x registered users.

The Leaf Aptus-II / Aptus digital backs have gained significant workflow options with the extended tethered support in the latest release of Capture One 5.1. This latest Capture One release extends tethered and raw image support to a wide range of Leaf digital backs, including the Leaf Aptus-II 10, Aptus-II 7, Aptus-II 6, Aptus-II 5, AFi-II 10, AFi-II 7, AFi-II 6, Aptus 65S, Aptus 54S, AFi 7, AFi 6, AFi 5, Aptus 75, Aptus 65, Aptus 22 and Aptus 17, in addtion to the Aptus-II 10, Aptus-II 8 (pictured), Aptus II 7, Aptus-II 6, Aptus-II 5, AFi-II 10, AFi-II 7 and AFi-II 6.

Brushed Pixel Software has just released Catapult 1.0.6, a free update to its raw workflow plugin for Apple Aperture. Catapult automates the process of exporting raw files for editing and importing converted JPEG or TIFF files, while stacking the versions together to keep projects organised. Version 1.0.6 adds support for Aperture 3, and is available as a 64-bit Universal plugin.

Website: Brushed Pixel Software

Reallusion has recently launched two iPhone applications. Photo Makeover is a face reshaping and beautification app, while 10x Camera Tools PRO provides a complete camera, album, photo geotagging and interactive photo action centre. Photo Makeover features5 selectable facial regions each with move, rotate and size controls and the ability to make thousands of subtle changes. Reallusion 10X Camera Tools PRO adds 7 camera modes to the iPhone camera, geotags your photos and allows you to record photo notes of up to 500 words. Password lock protection, full size image swipe and zoom preview, multi-photo select, edit and share are also among the app’s features.

Website: Reallusion

Epson has released the free Epson iPrint application for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch. This app lets you print photos directly from your iPhone using a variety of Wi-Fi enabled Epson printers. The Epson iPrint app is available for free from the App Store in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Portugese. Epson iPrint is compatible with iPhone and iPod Touch versions 2.2.1 and later.

Capture One 5.1 is the latest version of Phase One’s raw conversion, workflow and image editing application. The basic version now features both a simplified workspace and ‘pro’ image-editing options; Capture One 5.1 PRO comes with new tools for advanced noise reduction and image editing efficiency. Version 5.1 is free to existing Capture One 5.x/5.x PRO owners.

Tiffen has announced that its award winning Dfx digital filters will be available as a plug-in for Apple Aperture 3. Tiffen Dfx digital filters allegedly represent a technological breakthrough that both complement and expand the creative control Tiffen optical filters bring to imaging. Unlike other software, Tiffen Dfx filters offer effects that truly simulate the extensive range of Tiffen’s world-renowned optical filters. Tiffen invites Aperture 3.0 owners or those considering its purchase to visit Tiffen’s website at tiffen.com to register their name for further details and to be notified when this latest Dfx plug-in becomes available for shipping. The new plug-in will also work with both Aperture 2.1 and above on any Macintosh computer with an Intel chip.

Tiffen has announced Version 3.0 of its popular Tiffen Photo fx creative effects software, for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch. New features include the addition of the Light fx filter group that includes: Ambient Light, Edge Glow, Ice Halos, Light, ReLight and Water Droplets. Tiffen Photo fx 3.0 continues to allow users to enhance their images from photos taken or stored on their iPhone or stored on their iPod Touch. Non-destructive, it saves the new images for display later without overwriting the original image.

Website: Tiffen Photo fx

Bibble has released an update to Bibble 5 Pro. Version 5.0.2 adds support for the Leica M8, M9, X1 and Digital Module R, the Ricoh GX100, GX200, GR Digital II, GR Digital III and GXR, the Sony A230, A380 and A500, and a hsot of older Canon digital cameras, including the D30, D60, G2, G3, G5, G6, S40, S45, S50, S60, S70, Pro 1 and SX1 models. Soft Proofing, a feature that allows you to quickly visualise how your images will appear once printed using your printer’s colour profiles, has also been added.

Website: Bibble Download Centre