September 4: Canon fills out D-SLR line with impressive EOS 50D: At 15MP and 6fps and chock full of other pro features including lower high ISO noise than the 40D, the 50D does a great job of going head to head with the Nikon D300. Read Chuck Westfall's interview in PDN about the 50D and Canon's thinking. The 50D will be available in October for $1399 or $1599 with a new 28-135mm lens.

September 3: Strut your Stuff--Advice on Great ways to Share your Images is the feature article in the latest issue, DPS 6-08, of our Free DigitalPro Shooter online newsletter.

September 1: New "Checkpoint-Friendly" Laptop bags. A Gimmick or a godsend? TSA is now allowing laptop sleeves to be used when sending laptops through security. This is good news for those worried about their machines getting cracked or dinged. However, the sleeves can not have any pockets, straps or other obstructions so we're very sceptical about the rush to new bags like the very popular one from Skooba since a sleeve with pockets & a strap is really much more useful the rest of the time.

August 28:Nikon agrees to pay Microsoft to cross-license patents, allowing both companies to share and use each others innovations. This is pretty standard practice for computer companies, and mostly just goes to show how much the photo & computer industries have converged.

August 27: Nikon introduces the exciting D90: A break-through in "convergence" the D90 can capture both 12MP still images and HD video clips (in 720p which Nikon calls D-Movie Mode). Like the D300 it also features Live View, 11-point AF & a high-rez 3" LCD. At 4.5fps the camera is quick, and it comes with the new 18-105 AF-S/VR lens. MSRP will be $999 for the D90, $1299 for body plus lens--both available in September. The D90 will work with the new GP-1 GPS unit, available in November. See NikonUSA for more details.

August 14: DPS 6-07 is now online: "Back to Africa" Safari Notes & Announcement, Nikon's new Raw file Format, plus update on Nikon D700 & SB-900

August 7: Nikon introduces flagship Coolpix P6000--featuring integrated GPS, optical viewfinder and tons of other features and a new Raw format (NRW) for use with Nikon ViewNX software & in-camera Picture Control. It will be available in September for $499 MSRP. Read all the details on the Nikon Coolpix P6000.

August 7: Nikon Inc. today announced the launch of six new COOLPIX digital cameras. New to the COOLPIX product line and present in each of the new cameras is the Scene Auto Selector Mode, which automatically selects the right scene mode for the image you are shooting for carefree photography. Also "Smile Mode" for portraits, which automatically triggers the shutter when a subject is smiling [ED: We've got to see this!] and Blink Warning, which displays a message when it detects that a subject has blinked. Some models also feature technologies such as a TOUCH-SCREEN interface, Wi-Fi transmission and GPS capabilities. Models include the Coolpix P6000 (above), Coolpix S60 (Touch Screen), Coolpix S610c (Wi-Fi & Wayport Integration).

August 1: Double your D3 buffer with the newly announced $500 memory upgrade from Nikon.

July 30: BibbleLabs releases 4.1, This update includes support for the new Nikon D700, New lenses and addresses a compatibility issue with upgraded firmware on the Pentax K20D. A free dowload for registered users. Also Bibble has also unveiled a preview video for Bibble 5.

July 22: nik Software releases ColorEfx Pro 3.1, adds support for newest version of Aperture, Nikon Capture NX 2, and 5 new filters. A free upgrade for registered owners of 3.0, and a nice way to get the filters for both NX2 and Photoshop (including Elements) in one package.

July 8: Data Robotics Announces next generation Drobo: Features Firewire 800 Interface, Faster Processor (they claim 2x throughput) and a larger quieter case fan. Price remains the same (which means the current version has been instantly discounted). You can Read all the Details for yourself.

July 2: Updated firmware for Nikon D300 & Nikon D3. Lots of important fixes and some new menus and features in v2.00 for the D3, and a fix for the "battery indicator blinky" problem in v1.03 for the D300.. D300 for Windows, D300 for Mac, D3 for Windows, D3 for Mac.

July 1: Nikon introduces the Full Frame D700 D-SLR: With features similar to those found in the popular D300 but a full frame sensor like that found in the D3 the D700 will appeal to those looking for a full-frame "pro/prosumer" camera without the size, price and weight of the D3. Read the Full Release. The D700 also keeps the helpful sensor cleaning function of the D300 in a full frame camera. It is expected to be available in late July for about US$3000.

July 1: Nikon Introduces SB-900 SpeedLight Flash: Faster, more powerful and with an awesome 17mm-200mm zoom range the new flash also features improved control layout, upgradeable firmware and an optional "Water Guard" for waterproofing. List price is $499 and it is expected to ship in August. A new SD9 battery pack takes 8 AA batteries and reduces recycle time for a full discharge to 1 second. We suspect these will be "must haves" for many pros. Read the full press release.

July 1: Nikon Introduces two new Perspective Control Lenses, the PC-E Micro NIKKOR 45mm f/2.8D ED and PC-E Micro NIKKOR 85mm f/2.8D lenses, expanding a series of lenses that allow photographers to effectively correct perspective and/or depth-of-field to push creative boundaries. These new Perspective Control (PC) lenses correct linear distortion in order to better replicate images as seen by the human eye, including straightening the converging lines of rectilinear objects such as buildings, while also introducing welcome command over depth-of-field. Lenses are expected to ship in August for just over $1700 each.

June 26: B&H has a great deal on the D300. You can get a D300 for only $1624.

June 24: New versions of PhotoRescue available for download: Added new raw file formats, improved movie recovery, and variable sized thumbnails. Download for Windows or Download for Mac. Current users can install the update over their existing version. New users can register the download for the bargain price of $29.

June 13: Treat your Images to a Backup for Father's Day: Seriously, if you're not already making an online backup of your images, it's worth thinking about. External & Network Attached Storage has never been cheaper. High-end options are Netgear's ReadyNAS (now under $1000 for 1TB) & Drobo(now under $500 empty) but there are even a few bargain basement options as well. June 6: DxO releases Optics Pro 5.1: Mac Users Can now get the features of Version 5, and the Windows version is updated with new Cameras including the D60 and 1DS Mark III. Upgrade is free to users of 5.0. June 5: DPS 6-06: New Product Round-up: Lexar Dual Slot UDMA Reader, WRP MP-7 Photo Bag/Backpack, Samsung 320 GB Laptop Internal Hard Drive, Nikon Capture NX 2 June 3: Nikon introduces Capture NX 2: Chock full of great new editing features, including an Auto Retouch brush & Shadow/Highlight command as well as dual-monitor support. There is a 60-day trial version available from Nikon USA. NX 2 retails for $179 or $109 for current users of Capture NX. We're particularly curious what readers think about the upgrade policy, so let us know.

May 23: DPS 6-05: Special Issue on the Burma (Mynamar) Cyclone Nagris Disaster, Photos of the Area & Relief Effort, and a Way you can Help

May 20: Orphan Works Copyright Legislation is once again heading towards a potential Train Wreck for Photographers. Read Lawrence Lessig's analysis & interesting alternative, or catch up on what the ASMP thinks the effect could be on photogrpahers. Then hop over to our Photo Business forum and let us know what you think about Lessig's proposal or about the legislation in general.

May 5: Stock Artists Alliance (SAA) Speaks Up on proposed Orphan Works Legislation.

May 1: Canon releases firmware 1.2.3 for Caon EOS-1D Mark III. Improved AF & several custom function enhancements.

April 27: Orphan Works Copyright Bill is in Congress again. Will it further damage photographers' dwindling image licensing revenues. Some editorials are convinced the sky is falling. Let us know what you think or hear what others think in our Photo Business forum.

April 26: Practically Free Compact Flash Offers: B&H is selling 8GB 300x Lexar CF cards for $169 with an $80 rebate. That is $89 net for one of the world's fastest cards. Offer only good until April 30.