Microsoft and Nokia has announced that they are partnering up. Nokia will now release phones with Windows Phone 7 and share several types of platforms and services. See press release below for more information.

I find this interesting as Nokia has reputation of making good camera phones. With Windows Phone 7 they should be able to making some killer phones with both great cameras and great photo software. I welcome this move from Nokia!

Press release:
Nokia and Microsoft Announce Plans for a Broad Strategic Partnership to Build a New Global Mobile Ecosystem

Companies plan to combine assets and develop innovative mobile products on an unprecedented scale.

LONDON – Feb. 11, 2011 – Nokia and Microsoft today announced plans to form a broad strategic partnership that would use their complementary strengths and expertise to create a new global mobile ecosystem.

Nokia and Microsoft intend to jointly create market-leading mobile products and services designed to offer consumers, operators and developers unrivalled choice and opportunity. As each company would focus on its core competencies, the partnership would create the opportunity for rapid time to market execution. Additionally, Nokia and Microsoft plan to work together to integrate key assets and create completely new service offerings, while extending established products and services to new markets.

Under the proposed partnership:

• Nokia would adopt Windows Phone as its principal smartphone strategy, innovating on top of the platform in areas such as imaging, where Nokia is a market leader.

• Nokia would help drive the future of Windows Phone. Nokia would contribute its expertise on hardware design, language support, and help bring Windows Phone to a larger range of price points, market segments and geographies.

• Nokia and Microsoft would closely collaborate on joint marketing initiatives and a shared development roadmap to align on the future evolution of mobile products.

• Bing would power Nokia’s search services across Nokia devices and services, giving customers access to Bing’s next generation search capabilities. Microsoft adCenter would provide search advertising services on Nokia’s line of devices and services.

• Nokia Maps would be a core part of Microsoft’s mapping services. For example, Maps would be integrated with Microsoft’s Bing search engine and adCenter advertising platform to form a unique local search and advertising experience

• Nokia’s extensive operator billing agreements would make it easier for consumers to purchase Nokia Windows Phone services in countries where credit-card use is low.

• Microsoft development tools would be used to create applications to run on Nokia Windows Phones, allowing developers to easily leverage the ecosystem’s global reach.

• Nokia’s content and application store would be integrated with Microsoft Marketplace for a more compelling consumer experience.

“Today, developers, operators and consumers want compelling mobile products, which include not only the device, but the software, services, applications and customer support that make a great experience,” Stephen Elop, Nokia President and CEO, said at a joint news conference in London. “Nokia and Microsoft will combine our strengths to deliver an ecosystem with unrivalled global reach and scale. It’s now a three-horse race.”

“I am excited about this partnership with Nokia,” said Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft CEO. “Ecosystems thrive when fueled by speed, innovation and scale.The partnership announced today provides incredible scale, vast expertise in hardware and software innovation and a proven ability to execute.”

Please visit www.nokia.com/press for press materials.

Artensoft has released a piece of collage photo software called Artensoft Photo Collage Maker 1.0. Tho program is able to automatically generate mosaic pictures of smaller pictures.

The Artensoft Photo Collage Maker 1.0 is available from December 2010 and costs about $80.

Press release:
Software Generates Photo Collage à la Steve Jobs Mosaic Portrait

New computer program makes impressive photo collages in the manner of a famous photomosaic of Steve Jobs from Apple icons, products and logos

December 20, 2010 – Artensoft today announces Artensoft Photo Collage Maker 1.0, the first and only Windows application that can automatically generate high-resolution photographic collages in the manner of a mosaic portrait of Steve Jobs composed of small pictures of Apple’s gadgets. To create a photo collage, there is no need to have any knowledge of design and mosaic techniques.

“A while back I saw an article in Forbes, which had a portrait of Steve Jobs made out of hundreds of tiny Apple icons and gadgets and decided to write a mathematical algorithm that could allow ordinary Windows users to create a photo collage like that automatically,” says Eugene Baryshnikov, the program’s chief developer, Artensoft. “As a result, we have developed a unique technology that was derived from the analysis of the Steve Jobs photomosaic. Now anyone with Windows PC can create an exclusive photomosaic with a push of a button”.

The program offers a wizard that makes it a matter of a few minutes to create a photo collage. The first thing is to choose a source photograph to make into a mosaic, and then add a collection of pictures that will be used as source material for the collage. For producing good results, it is recommended to have between 500 and 1500 images (picture sets are supplied with the program). Similar to a human artist, the program examines a source image and then recreates it as a hand-made mosaic automatically. The output can be saved to JPEG, BMP, TIFF or PNG.

Artensoft Photo Collage Maker gives a full range of options to produce a coherent collage. For example, the user can specify types of tiles to be used for generating a mosaic (mirrored images, 90 degree image rotation to the left or right, or 180 degree rotation). Besides, it is possible to set a radius for eliminating neighboring duplicate tiles, increase or decrease the number of large pictures, and select areas to be filled. When the first mosaic is generated, the user can manipulate a collage to individual preferences by replacing some tiles.

With Artensoft Photo Collage Maker, home users can create a one-of-a-kind mosaic portrait of relatives and friends and present it as a gift. The program can also be used by professional designers and advertisers, who can, for instance, create a mosaic ad banner from the products of a company or photos of happy employees.

Read more about the program at: http://www.artensoft.com/ArtensoftPhotoCollageMaker/
Screenshots of the interface: http://www.artensoft.com/ArtensoftPhotoCollageMaker/screenshots.php
Photo mosaic gallery: http://www.artensoft.com/ArtensoftPhotoCollageMaker/gallery.php
Demo: http://www.artensoft.com/ArtensoftPhotoCollageMaker/download/ArtensoftPhotoCollageMaker-Setup.exe

Pricing and Availability
Artensoft Photo Collage Maker 1.0 is available immediately from Artensoft, its online shop, and through a network of authorized resellers worldwide. For new customers the program is available for $79.95 (US). Upgrades are available for free. More information on the product can be found at http://www.artensoft.com

About Artensoft
Founded in 2007, Artensoft develops software tools for editing images and creating photo collages. The company has launched two popular programs: Artensoft Photo Mosaic Wizard, a software tool for creating photo mosaics, and Artensoft Photo Editor, a photo editor. For more information, visit http://www.artensoft.com

Adobe has announced the release of two new release candidates of their products. The release candiditates are Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.2 and Adobe Camera Raw 6.2. The updates adds support for Raw files from 12 new models, improved lens correction profiles and over 50 new lens profiles.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.2 and Adobe Camera Raw 6.2 can be downloaded for free for Lightroom customers and Photoshop CS5 customers.

Press release:
Adobe Posts Lightroom 3.2 and Camera Raw 6.2 Release Candidates on Adobe Labs

Adobe today announced the Lightroom 3.2 and Camera Raw 6.2 Release Candidates, available for immediate download on Adobe Labs. The updates extend raw file support to 12 new popular camera models, improve on several of the lens correction profiles introduced as part of the Lightroom 3 and Camera Raw 6.1 releases, and add over 50 new lens profiles to help photographers automatically correct for undesirable distortion and aberration effects.

In addition, the Lightroom 3.2 Release Candidate now allows Lightroom 3 customers the ability to publish their photos directly to Facebook from within the application, and addresses issues reported by customers on the Lightroom 3.0 release. Adobe continues to encourage the community to provide feedback on the updates so it can ensure the highest quality experience for customers working on a variety of hardware and software configurations.

Lightroom is the essential digital photography workflow solution, helping serious amateur and professional photographers quickly import, manage, enhance and showcase all their images from one application. The Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in provides fast and easy access within Photoshop to the raw image formats produced by many leading digital cameras.

Pricing and Availability
The Lightroom 3.2 Release Candidate is available as a free download for Lightroom 3 customers, and the Photoshop Camera Raw 6.2 Release Candidate is available as a free download for Photoshop CS5 customers. For more information and to test out the updates visit http://labs.adobe.com/uk. Feedback can be provided on the Adobe User to User forum at http://forums.adobe.com.

*Please visit the Lightroom Journal for more information on these Release Candidates and a full list of the improved and newly added lens profiles: http://blogs.adobe.com/lightroomjournal

Newly Supported Camera Models
Panasonic DMC-FZ100, Panasonic DMC-FZ40 (FZ45), Panasonic DMC-LX5, Pentax 645D, Samsung NX10, Samsung TL500 (EX1), Sony A290, Sony A390, Sony Alpha NEX-3, Sony Alpha NEX-5

Also, this update improves the colour and noise profiles for the following cameras that utilise the DNG raw file format already supported in previous versions of Lightroom and Camera Raw: Casio EXILIM EX-FH100 (DNG) and Leica S2 (DNG).

Adobe has updated their famous image-editing software Photoshop to version CS5 (Creative Suite 5). It seems like Adobe releases a new version of Photoshop quite frequently so it can be expensive for us photographers to follow track. The big question is if it is worth the money to upgrade from earlier versions of Photoshop since the price tag is pretty high. Among the updates in CS5 we find 64-bit support for Mac, new HDR tools, Content-Aware fill and improved masking. Let us hear what the reviewer over at Photography Blog finds out.

Photography Blog ends up giving the Adobe Photoshop CS5 image-editing software a “Recommended” overall rating with a score of 4 out of 5 stars. The software scores highest on features, a bit lower on value for your money and lowest on ease of use. Compared to CS4 CS5 contains lots of useful features and upgrades, but if you are happy with CS4 (or earlier versions) you might want to download a trial version before spending a good amount of money on the newest Adobe Photoshop.
Read the full review of Adobe Photoshop CS5 image-editing software here.

Trusted Review has tested Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3. This photo editing program is the newest edition of the famous PaintShop series that are seen on as a cheaper competitor to Photoshop. In 2004 Corel bought the software developers so it is interesting to see if Corel is able to keep the quality standard that PaintShop is known for.

Trusted Reviews ends up giving Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3 a “Trusted Reviews Award” with a great overall score of 9 out of 10 points. PaintShop get a top score on value while almost getting the same on features and usability. Overall the latest version of PaintShop seems like a very capable piece of software and in most cases it will be as good as Adobe Photoshop. If you are a professional that need all the features that Photoshop has, PaintShop might not be your software, but for most users the software from Corel should be covering their needs.
Read the full review of the Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3 software here.

Photography Blog has reviewed the RAW image processing program DxO Optics Pro 6. This piece of software is workflow based like Adobe Lightroom and Apple Aperture which should suit photographers working with a lot of RAW files (or JPEGs). As I have mostly used Lightroom myself it is interesting to see how competing programs are able to perform. DxO Optics Pro 6 is available for $109 for the standard edition and $199 for the Elite edition (the prices will raise after December 31st).

Photography Blog ends up giving the DxO Optics Pro 6 a “Recommended” 4 out 5 stars rating. The reviewer find the noise handling the best he/she has seen in any programs and the workflow is pretty good. DxO Optics Pro 6 is also very good at correcting fringing and the most important part: the end result is very good. One downside is that the program lacks support for keywording, but not everyone needs this. Overall DxO Optics Pro 6 seems like a pretty good program for photographers who need a good workflow program.
Read the full review of the DxO Optics Pro 6 software here.

Notebook Review has tested the latest edition of the photo editing program Elements. The latest version is called Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 and has some new features like the Organizer which lets you, unsurprisingly, organize your photos.

Notebook Review ends up giving Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 a bit of a lukewarm review as version 8 does not contain many useful upgrades compared to Elements 7. The software itself is very good as it based on Adobe Photoshop and you get many good features, but the reviewer does not like the new Organizer and the sharing option is a bit quirky. Seem like Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 might be a better choice as it costs less and give you about the same features.
Read the full review of the Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 software here.

Adobe has announced a new beta version of their popular photo processing program Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. Version 3 of Lightroom has several new features and improvements including more intutive importing which I find very intersting as I have been having a hard time explaining the importing system to new Lightroom users. We also get “unparalleled” noise reduction and sharpening tools, and the slideshow function has also been improved.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 beta is availble as a free download for everyone using Mac and Windows

Press release:
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Beta Now Available

New Lightroom beta delivers faster performance and refined image processing

London. — October 22, 2009 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today introduced Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 3 beta software for Macintosh and Windows®, a public preview of new and improved functionality to be delivered in the next major release. Lightroom is the essential digital photography workflow solution, helping serious amateur and professional photographers quickly import, manage, enhance, and showcase all their images from one application. Available as a free download on Adobe Labs, Lightroom 3 beta delivers a preview of new tools that will be in Lightroom 3, including more intuitive importing, unparalleled noise reduction and sharpening tools and enhanced slideshow capabilities. Adobe encourages photographers to test this early selection of new features and provide the product team with their feedback.

“We are extremely fortunate that a strong community of photographers have rallied around Lightroom, helping to evolve the application and making it a meaningful part of their photographic workflows,” said Kevin Connor, vice president of product management for Professional Digital Imaging at Adobe. “While we’re still hard at work on Lightroom 3, we recognise the value our customers bring to the development process and want their input so we can deliver the best final product possible.”

New in Lightroom 3 Beta
Lightroom 3 beta has been completely redesigned with under-the-hood efficiencies to better handle growing image libraries and improve responsiveness with a higher-quality processing engine. In the Library module, a rebuilt import system makes bringing photos into the software more intuitive. Users can easily specify the source and destination of their images, and save common processing, metadata or destination settings as easy-to-reuse presets.

In the Develop module, an overhauled processing engine allows users to create the highest quality images. Improved Capture Sharpening and Colour Noise Reduction tools provide superior results while still preserving an image’s edge detail and contrast. A new Grain tool adds a film-style grain to images, and two new Vignette modes help photographers get a more natural look.

Lightroom 3 beta also offers advanced output options, including the ability to export slideshows as videos with audio and title screens that can be posted to video-sharing sites or optimised for mobile media. New watermarking capabilities enable photographers to embed text or graphic information directly on an image and then adjust the size, position and opacity. In addition, photographers can customise print layouts and save settings for future use, giving them refined control over their images.

Adobe Photoshop Family
Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop CS4 Extended software are at the heart of the Photoshop family, joined by solutions for users at every level who want to bring out the best in their digital images. Photoshop Lightroom addresses the workflow needs of serious amateur and professional photographers, helping them manage, find, enhance and showcase images in impactful ways. Adobe Photoshop Elements software provides exciting tools and sharing options for photo enthusiasts. Lastly, snap shooters can access Photoshop.com for free to simply fix and enhance photos, and quickly share those images on Photoshop.com or on social-networking sites.

Pricing and Availability
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 beta is available as a free download to anyone on both Macintosh and Windows platforms. Visit http://www.labs.adobe.com/downloads to learn more and download the beta. Feedback can be submitted on the Lightroom forums: http://forums.adobe.com/community/lightroom. Users also can connect with Adobe at http://www.facebook.com/lightroom or http://www.twitter.com/AdobeLR, and can add the tag #AdobeLR3 to tweets about the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 beta.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe revolutionises how the world engages with ideas and information – anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit http://www.adobe.com/uk.

Corel has announced Corel Digital Studio 2010 software for editing of images and videos. The special thing about this piece of software is that you can use touch operations (if you got hardware support) to edit the digital files.

Corel Digital Studio 2010 lets you organize and edit photos and videos, and even upload them to the net. You can also create slideshows and make homevideos with soundtracks and voice over.

Corel Digital Studio 2010 is available now for download and cost $99.99 USD or £59 GBP.
Press release:
Introducing Corel® Digital StudioTM 2010

Finally, Photo and Video Come Together in an All-New Creative
Experience on the PC

London, UK – 2 September 2009 – Corel Corporation (NASDAQ:CREL) (TSX:CRE) today introduced its all-new photo and video product Corel® Digital Studio 2010. Now TM it is simple, fast and fun for everyone to enjoy and share their favourite photos and videos all within one integrated and engaging environment.
Offering an elegant design and intuitive tools, Corel Digital Studio inspires creativity and confidence by making it easy for anyone to create beautiful photo and video projects with no previous experience
required.

While the average family takes hundreds of digital photos and video clips each year, various research indicates that less than half edit their photos and fewer still edit their videos. As a result, digital memories sit dormant on family computers without ever being enjoyed or shared. Why? Because most people just haven’t found photo editing and video editing on the PC to be the simple and rewarding experience they’re looking for. Corel Digital Studio 2010 responds to this need by bringing together photo, video, DVD burning and playback, all within one easy, fun and engaging environment.

With Corel Digital Studio 2010, all your photos and videos come together in one simple creative experience. Whether you are making one-click fixes to your photos and videos, creating a photo book, making slideshows or home movies complete with your own soundtrack, or burning high-definition DVDs, you’ll enjoy the same elegant look and feel across the Studio. In this integrated and intuitive environment, once you learn how to do one task, you’ll quickly know how to do them all.

“With Corel Digital Studio, PC users finally have a simple, fast and fun way to enjoy their photos and videos, and create something amazing that they can share with others,” said Daniel Weisbeck, Corel’s Vice President, Global Product Marketing. “With its simple, elegant design and intuitive, all-in-one approach, Corel Digital Studio removes barriers, inspires creativity and gives everyone the ability to create and share something memorable in just minutes.”

Corel Digital Studio 2010 is designed to take advantage of the latest Microsoft® Windows® 7 advances including the natural, hands-on experience offered by Windows Touch. The product also offers a great creative environment for customers using Windows® XP or Windows Vista®. Corel Digital Studio 2010 is just one example of the design innovation that resulted in Microsoft naming Corel its Global ISV Consumer Partner of the Year in June 2009.

“There is no other creative software application on the market that offers consumers new and unique ways to experience creative multi-touch features complementing Windows 7 in the way that Corel Digital Studio 2010 does. Windows 7 & Corel make new things possible” Christian Georgeson, Windows Consumer Product Manager at Microsoft.

Corel Digital Studio 2010: Create Amazing Photo and Video Projects in Minutes
You don’t have to master overly complex software programs or spend hours working on your projects. Corel Digital Studio is designed specifically for users who value simplicity and want results fast.

Movie Making Made Easy: Finally, movie making is something everyone can enjoy. With its simple interface and intuitive controls, Corel Digital Studio offers a groundbreaking, visual approach to video projects that makes it easy for anyone to enhance and share favorite video memories — even in HD.
Creative Photo Projects: Thrill friends and family with beautiful photo books and calendars that you can create in just minutes from within Corel Digital Studio. There’s no lengthy online uploading process to slow you down when you want to get creative. Instead, you can focus on your memories, create your project and when you’re done, print at home or have your creation professionally printed using Corel’s online service.*
All Your Media in One Place: The Media Organizer brings all your photos and videos together so you can more easily search, find and organize your favorite memories. You can also access your music library to add your own personal soundtrack to slideshows and home movies. The Media Organizer is the starting point for all your projects, making it easy to move from one task to another.
Online Sharing Has Never Been Easier: Share your files and projects any way you choose. Use email, Flickr , Facebook and YouTube , or send to your TM TM TM mobile device. With Corel Digital Studio, connecting with friends and family is just a few clicks away.
Simple Backup and Burn: Backup and protect your photo and video memories, burn a professional looking DVD complete with Hollywood-style menus, or create audio CDs and MP3 discs by simply dragging and dropping. It’s never been this easy.
Pricing and Availability
Corel Digital Studio 2010 is now available globally in English, German, French, Italian, Dutch, Spanish and Chinese Traditional as an electronic software download (ESD) at a SRP of £59 incl. VAT. Corel Digital Studio 2010 will also be available at leading retailers around the world starting in mid-September 2009. For more information, to purchase an ESD or download a free, fully featured 30-day trial, please visit www.corel.com. The individual photo and video components of Corel Digital Studio 2010 can also be purchased as standalone products. Corel® PaintShop Photo Express 2010 is available TM at a SRP of £29 incl. VAT and Corel® VideoStudio® Express 2010 £39 incl. VAT.

*Online printing services available starting mid-September 2009 in the US, Canada, UK,Germany, Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands. Online printing services to follow in other regions.

DxoMark has released a new version of their DxO Optics Pro software. The new version is called DxO Optics Pro 5.3.4 and adds support for seven new cameras. The new supported cameras are
Canon 500D, Fujifilm S100FS, Nikon D5000, Pentax K200 and K-m, Sony A200 and A300.
The new software also future 155 new DxO Optics Correction Modules and it now supports more than 1400 camera body/lens combinations.

Press release:
New DxO Optics Pro 5.3.4 adds support for 7 new cameras including Nikon D5000 and Canon 500D along with 155 new DxO Optics Correction Modules

This new release coincides with the publication of data and rankings for Nikon D5000 and Canon 500D on http://www.dxomark.com.

Paris, France – June 10, 2009 – DxO Labs is pleased to announce the release of its new DxO Optics Pro version 5.3.4, which supports the two latest models from Canon and Nikon — the EOS 500D (Digital Rebel T1i or Kiss Digital X3) and the D5000, respectively. These two new cameras have generated a lot of attention among photo enthusiasts.

Along with the new Nikon and Canon cameras, DxO Optics Pro 5.3.4 supports five additional models among the ones most frequently asked about by our customers — the Fuji S100FS, Pentax K-m, and Pentax K200, Sony A200 and Sony A300.

With these seven new models DxO Optics Pro 5.3.4 adds 155 new DxO Optics Correction Modules and now supports more than 1,400 camera body/lens combinations!

The release of DxO Optics Pro 5.3.4 is accompanied by the publication of RAW sensor data and DxOMark Sensor rankings for the Canon EOS 500D and the Nikon D5000 on the dxomark.com website, along with reviews for both.

As a bonus, an in-depth “Insight” article is also available online that analyzes the RAW sensor data for these two cameras as an example of how to use the dxomark.com database to make comparisons between sensor models.

“This new release of DxO Optics Pro 5.3.4 reflects our determination to provide the highest-quality RAW image processing support for new camera models just as soon as we possibly can, as well as our desire to listen to our customers about the cameras and lenses they want us to support,” said Cyrille de La Chesnais, Director Sales & Marketing, DxO Labs Consumer Business. “As a further demonstration of this commitment, our imaging scientists have gone the ‘extra mile’ to give the photographic community timely and in-depth RAW sensor data for these two cameras that have just appeared on the market,” he added.

DxO Optics Pro prices and availability

* DxO Optics Pro 5.3.4 Standard: $169 / 124 € ex VAT and sales taxes
* DxO Optics Pro 5.3.4 Elite: $299 / 249 € ex VAT and sales taxes

All customers who bought DxO Optics Pro since 1st August 2007 are entitled to a free upgrade to version 5.3.4.
For other users:

* Upgrade to DxO Optics Pro 5.3.4 Standard: $95 / 69 € excl. VAT and sales taxes
* Upgrade to DxO Optics Pro 5.3.4 Elite: $125 / 89 € excl. VAT and sales taxes

Each DxO Optics Pro license includes a stand-alone application, an Adobe Photoshop plug-in and an Adobe Lightroom plug-in, and allows installation on two computers.

For more information, visit DxO Labs website at http://www.dxo.com