KAZA has introduced handcrafted, full-grain leather camera cases for the Olympus E-PL1 and the Olympus E-PL2. Each case has a classic, vintage look and “is expressly intended to offer the utmost in security and ease of access in a full case”, the company says. Both of these cases have a smooth, soft flannelette lining that cushions the camera and protects the lens and LCD screen from scratches without adding unnecessary bulk, keeping the cases slim and easy to bring anywhere. KAZA’s Olympus E-PL1 and E-PL2 cases are available now at $59 apiece. For more information, check out the website below. Note that buyers are required to specify whether they need the E-PL1 or the E-PL2 version as they are slightly different in size.

he second phase of the Manfrotto Imagine More Contest has begun. The time has come for consumers living in France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, the UK and the United States to upload a single, unique, creative or inspiring photographic interpretation of what “Imagine More” means to them, to Facebook, Flickr or the Manfrotto Imagine More website. The best shots will be combined with the winning tweets from the first phase of the manifesto to create the Imagine More Manifesto a short film directed by acclaimed photographer and director, Bill Frakes. Winners of both phases of the contest will be rewarded with an exclusive trip to Venice for the 2011 Venice Film Festival. The submission deadline is 14th July. As with every competition, we suggest that you read the rules before entering your work.

Jessops has announced the unveiling a brand new shop in the heart of Manchester. “At over 3000 sq.ft this Centre of Excellence located at 107 Market street, Manchester, M1 1WN is the second to be launched this year and showcases a new customer friendly layout enabling customers to test and trial a vast portfolio of interactive cameras, camcorders, accessories and Jessops photo products,” the company said in a statement. Key features of the new shop include three a free camera set-up service, a 3D demonstration area, a separate Academy room, a low-light demo area, a designated bag room, a photo finishing demonstration area, and more.To celebrate the opening of the Manchester Centre of Excellence, Jessops has announced a number of exclusive deals on various cameras, with savings ranging from £50 to £160. These are limited-time offers valid period between Friday 3rd and Monday 6th June.

X-Rite has announced a number of free webinars for the month of June. On the 9th, you can attend the Raw Colour Power webinar (at 11am and 1pm EDT). On the 15fh, X-Rite will be presenting a Wildlife and Nature Photography webinar featuring photographer Juan Pons, who will share some of his best techniques and tips for making exciting nature and wildlife photographs (at noon and 3pm EDT). On the 23rd, X-Rite and onOne Software invites you to take control of your colour and unleash your creativity with Brian Matiash (3pm EDT). Finally, on 29th June, you can learn how to put a colour managed workflow in place from image capture through printer output including creating custom profiles and learning how to use them correctly to produce prints that match a display every time (11am and 1pm EDT). To learn more, visit the website below.

Billed as a “photo presentation tool that provides users with a diverse variety of beautifully themed slide show templates to use to share their mobile photos with friends and family”, Amoveo by Eternal Empire is a new app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices running on iOS 4.1 or later. Amoveo’s slideshow templates utilize an innovative “Quick Scroll” interface to help viewers navigate through the pictures they receive with ease. The program supports both 3G and Wi-Fi internet connections, and gives users the option of sending out photo slideshow through a variety of different methods including e-mail, Facebook and YouTube. Available on iTunes, Amoveo sells for $2.99.

Pentax has just announced the Pentax O-GPS1, a versatile GPS unit providing basic location data and offering an array of original features. Designed for use with Pentax digital SLR cameras, the Pentax O-GPS1 records the latitude, longitude, altitude, coordinated universal time (UTC) and aspect of the location they are shooting, and additionally offers applications like ASTROTRACER, Simple Navigation and an Electronic Compass. The ASTROTRACER functionality, available with the unit mounted on the Pentax K-5 or K-r, couples the Pentax O-GPS1 with the camera’s magnet-driven Shake Reduction system to compensate for the Earth’s rotation, enabling photographers to capture stars as you see them, rather than as star trails. Thanks to its “simplified weather-resistant construction”, the Pentax O-GPS1 can also be used in light rain, making it a perfect companion to the K-5 camera and WR lenses. The unit will be available mid-June 2011, at the RRP of £229.99. In the USA, the Pentax O-GPS1 is expected to ship in July, for $249.95.

Having recently won the TIPA Award for Best Premium Camera, the Fujifilm Finepix X100 now received the prestigious award of Editors’ Choice from the 2011 Camera Grand Prix of Japan. Adrian Clarke, Director of Fujifilm’s Digital Products said “To win two of the camera world’s most prestigious awards is a fantastic achievement… The Awards are the highest recognition that with the X100, Fujifilm has created a camera with truly outstanding qualities”.

Review: Read our in-depth review of the Fujifilm FinePix X100 camera

Kenro has announced the UK launch of the Reflecta x4plus-Scan film scanner. The x4plus-Scan features a nine-megapixel area-array CMOS image sensor which utilises Instant Photo Capture technology (as in a digital camera) for quick digitisation of 110 and 135 format negatives and slides. This new addition to the Reflecta range features a 2.4” LCD display, an integrated SD/SDHC card slot and a lithium battery that allows the scanner to be used independently from a computer or power supply. The scanner comes supplied with film holders for three framed slides up to 3.2mm thick, film strips up to six exposures and for 110mm film strips up to eight exposures. The Reflecta x4plus-Scan is available now with an RRP of £160.

The fourth edition of the online Landscape Photography Magazine is now available for download. This issue features articles on ten-stop neutral density filters and long exposures, orange nights, Mupe Bay, colour and composition, choosing the best tripods, and more. The magazine also includes a number of photographers’ portfolios including Natalie Garvinez, Bruce T. Smith and Tony McGarva.

Website: Landscape Photography Magazine

The winners of the May 2011 Photography Blog Competition have been announced. The theme for May was “Babies” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 5 winners:

1st Place
Babies by Vab

Prize: X-Rite ColourChecker Passport
Kindly donated by X-Rite
http://www.xritephoto.com/

Nikon has unveiled that its latest DSLR commercial was shot entirely on a Nikon D5100. Award-winning cinematographer Matthew Libatique, who filmed the ‘Man of Action’ TV spot for the Nikon D5100 in Full HD, said: “The D5100 is a consumer camera that delivers excellent HD video quality. It was fun working with it on a commercial shoot and it delivered on giving the piece a new look.” In the USA, the D5100 campaign will air on the ABC and FOX networks. The commercial, starring Ashton Kutcher, can also be seen on a number of prime cable networks, including Bravo, Food Network, History Channel, National Geographic Channel and HGTV. Additionally, you can check it out at the website below.

Sigma has announced that the updated Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 EX DG OS APO HSM telephoto zoom lens is now available for purchase in the USA. Unveiled at Photokina 2010, the lens features one SLD and two FLD glass elements for maximum correction of chromatic aberrations. The OS (optical stabiliser) function offers the use of shutter speeds approximately 4 stops slower than would otherwise be possible. The super multi-layer coating reduces flare and ghosting. The Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 EX DG OS APO HSM is available for the MSRP of $4,700.

The Wedding Photographer’s Toolkit is an iPad app packed with photography tips, tricks and how-to’s for the modern wedding photographer. “Learn poses from the pose guide, get lens selections from the lens guide and learn retouching, composition and complete lighting all in one easy to navigate app,” the developer says. “Use the toolkit section to learn about online resources, conferences that include sample contracts, shotlists and business forms.“The Wedding Photographer’s Toolkit is $12.99 and available now on iTunes.

The OptimumCS-Pro iPhone app is an optimum camera settings tool for photographers, cinematographers and videographers. Designed for any kind of photography where maximum sharpness over a large depth of field is required, OptimumCS determines the camera settings that will result in the sharpest photographs “the laws of physics will allow”, developer George Douvos says. This approach is quite different from practices based on the international depth of field standard, which have the goal of finding the largest aperture that will provide acceptable sharpness on relatively small prints. Additions versus the original OptimumCS application include several different distance scales, emphasising near or far distances, circles of confusion for film sizes up to 8x10”, and optimum sharpness data for longer focal lengths. OptimumCS-Pro is available now on iTunes for $3.99.

Mary Walker, the driving force behind Focus on Imaging has picked a new team of creative professionals. The new members include Editorial Photographer Matt Sills, independent film maker Ross Casswell and imaging expert Jonathan Briggs. Mary Walker explained: “With growth and development constantly taking place in this marketplace, it’s always been essential for Focus to embrace and represent it - by trend setting as much as following. This annual reinvention keeps the show fresh, and ensures that it continues to meet the needs of the industry, both in terms of suppliers and end-users.” Focus on Imaging 2012 takes place from 4 to 7 March 2012 at the NEC Birmingham.

Kenro has released the Benro Flat Traveller tripod range. Tripods in the Flat Traveller series incorporate dust and water resistant leg-locks and an anti-rotation leg system. They also feature a centre column which allows the user to make fine vertical camera adjustments. These ultra-lightweight camera tripods are available in either aluminium or high-strength carbon fibre and come with either stainless steel spiked or rubber feet. There are three models available in aluminium, with varying maximum loads of 6, 8 or 12 kilograms. They range in price from £109.99 for the smallest to £130 for the medium model up to £160 for the largest. The carbon fibre versions come in the same sizes and cost £319.99, £359.99 and £394.99 respectively.

The World Photography Organisation (WPO) today announced that the Sony World Photography Awards 2012 are now open for entries. The awards include a Professional competition, which invites entries from the world’s leading photographers and ‘serious enthusiasts’, and an Open competition for everyone with an interest in photography. For the 2012 awards, a ‘Nature & Wildlife’ category has been introduced to the Professional competition and there are no less than three new categories in the Open competition including ‘Enhanced’, ‘Split Second’ and ‘Low-light’. The submission deadline is 4 January 2012. For full details, visit the website below.

CyberLink has released a public Beta of PhotoDirector 2011, an innovative photo workflow software for photography enthusiasts. Photo Director offers a raw converter, a photo editor and a photo sharing tool in a single package. Any user who downloads the Beta version and provides “valid feedback” of their experience by June 20th will receive the official release version for free. For more information, visit the website below.

Update: Beta testing is over, the final version is out now (21 June 2011).