National Geographic photographers can find themselves in unusual, extreme and potentially dangerous situations, trying to capture the 'never before seen' images the magazine is famous for. However, contributing photographer Paul Nicklen's story of his close encounter with a huge Leopard Seal (one of the top predators in the Antarctic), shows there's still opportunity for surprises in the job.

A new app from the online photo storage service Snapjoy makes it easy to view your online photo library from your mobile device. With a well-organized timeline view, we imagine photographers may find the tool useful for sharing online portfolios with clients from their iPad.

Color management company X-Rite has announced its latest round of online education sessions. The forthcoming 'webinars' cover a series of topics from monitor calibration to landscape photo editing in Photoshop. The courses tend to be around an hour long and are free (though it seems reasonable to expect some focus on X-Rite's products), but with a limited number of registered places available. Previous events, including those conducted in French, German and Italian, are available in an archive on the X-Rite website.

Canon has issued firmware v1.1.1 for its flagship EOS-1D X full-frame DSLR. The update adds three options for indicating the selected AF point when in AI Servo autofocus mode. This includes red illumination, rather than just darkening the selected point, making the camera easier to work with in low light. The update also allows the central AF point to act as a cross-type point when working with lens/teleconverter combinations that give a maximum aperture of F8. This capability is currently only available with F5.6 (or brighter) combinations.

Sony has announced a series of firmware updates for its cameras and lenses, including the addition of Hybrid-AF compatibility for key E-mount lenses and the option to disable the movie record button on cameras including the NEX-7. The NEX-7 also gets an increase in the range over which you can set exposure bracketing - the ±3EV range it now offers is something a users have been calling for. Firmware v1.01 also promises to improve the responsiveness of post-shot image review. Further updates for the SLT-A37, A57, A65 and A77 also offer the option to disable the movie button and provide lens correction for a broader range of lenses.

GoPro, the action camera maker, has refreshed its entire range, including the addition of the 4k-capable Hero 3 Black Edition. The existing Hero HD and Hero 2 models have essentially been re-housed in smaller cases with updated user interfaces and will sit alongside the Black Edition as the White and Silver Editions, respectively. The Hero 3 Black Edition can shoot at up to 3840x2160 pixels at 15 frames per second. It also has 2.7k mode (2716 horizontal pixels) at 30 or 24fps, and a Protune mode that offers higher bit-rates and a neutral color profile better suited to post-processing.

Japanese camera site DCWatch has reviewed the PQI Air Wi-Fi Micro-SD to SD adapter. The adapter features a built-in Wi-Fi transmitter but, unlike rival FlashAir or Eye-Fi cards, does not feature any internal memory of its own - instead allowing you to swap MicroSD cards in and out. The adapter communicated with smartphones via an Android or iOS app from where you can browse and download images from the camera. The system allows you to swap inexpensive standard MicroSD cards, rather than buying multiple Wi-Fi cards, also allowing you to upgrade the speed or capacity of card without having to replace the Wi-Fi component. (from DCWatch)

The L.A. Times has posted a fascinating time-lapse video, showing the progress of retired space shuttle Endeavour across Los Angeles to its new home in the California Science Center, in Exposition Park. The video spans the entire length of the journey from Los Angeles International Airport, which started on Thursday night and due to delays caused by maintainance issues and obstacles along the route, finally ended 16 hours late, on Sunday afternoon. Click through for a link to the video. 

Updated: We've just added the Nikon Coolpix P7700 to our studio comparison database, and we've taken the opportunity to add three image quallity comparison pages to our previously-published preview. Our final analysis of the P7700's image quality will come later, but for now, you can use our comparison tool to see how Nikon's newest enthusiast compact camera measures up to its competitors in both JPEG and Raw mode. Does the new 12MP BSI-CMOS sensor and revamped lens combination make a difference? Click through to find out. 

While Google's social experiment may not have taken off for other users, photographers have flocked to Google+ and somehow transformed it into one of the most vibrant photographic communities in recent years. What makes it so attractive to photographers and how are they using the platform to interact?

Following the announcement of its 1" sensor, we spoke to Aptina's Sandor Barna, who believes these larger sensors could save the compact camera by offering a leap in quality that smartphones can't compete with. Barna, the Vice President and General Manager of Aptina's Consumer Camera Business Unit, told us about the unfilled gap in the market that 1" sensors can address, explained the freedoms that the larger format gives the company's designers, and why this is currently best exemplified by a product it wasn't involved in: The Sony RX100.

Just Posted: Our Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 review. The latest of our collaborative reviews with Jeff Keller of The Digital Camera Resource Page is of Panasonic's enthusiast compact. The LX7 retains the bright lens and small body that have become the hallmarks of the series but adds more direct control than its forebears, including a dedicated aperture ring. Underpinning it all is a new 10MP CMOS sensor - moving on from the CCDs used in the LX5 and 3. Do all these changes help restore the Lumix to the top of the enthusiast compact pile? Read our review to find out.

'Sony is changing the market through innovation' says Phil Molyneux, President and COO of Sony Electronics. In a recent interview we spoke to him about Sony's relationship with Hasselblad, what the tie-up with Olympus will mean for both manufacturers' product lines and how the company has been 'disruptive.'

When you’re in the field, whether shooting on location or just meeting with your next client, gear that’s powerful and portable is a must. There are plenty of tablets on the market, but some lend themselves better to photo processing and presentation than others.

Since the launch of the original iPad, Apple's tablet has held great appeal for photographers as a way to show off their work on a sleek, portable, stylish device. But, with its high resolution 'Retina' display, does it deserve to be taken more seriously, and given a chance to earn its place in your photographic workflow?

Simple waterproof gear can protect your smartphone while you catch the spray of the surf and actions of the waves for stunning images from the sea. Allan Hoffman offers seven tips for taking your smartphone into the ocean.

Professional photographer Dean Holland recently tried leaving his DSLR at home and only shooting with his iPhone during a two-week-long trip to Vietmam. Holland offers a selection of images from his trip as he asks: An iPhone, a second honeymoon and photography: Can they mix?

We're looking at all aspects of connected photography over on connect.dpreview.com, which includes Wi-Fi capable cameras and wireless SD cards. What are they like to use and how are camera makers working to match the convenience, flexibility and connectivity of smartphones?

Visual Supply Company has announced 'VSCO Keys,' a keyboard shortcut customization tool for Adobe Lightroom 3 or 4. It aims to make working in Lightroom more efficient, but the $125 price tag (only a fraction less than Lightroom itself) is likely to limit its appeal to photographers who aren't profiting from their work. The software comes with two presets, one of which adds shortcuts without clashing with any of the software's native controls, while a more comprehensive one replaces several of them. A 14-day free trial allows you to assess the value of the efficiency savings to your workflow. (via Petapixel)

Just Posted: Sony E-mount 10-18mm F4, 35mm F1.8 and 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 Power Zoom lens samples on the NEX-6. Our last set of images from the Sony press trip is a series shot with the latest NEX camera and the three E-mount lenses announced at Photokina - the E 10-18mm F4 OSS super-wide-angle zoom, the E 35mm F1.8 OSS fast normal prime, and the E 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 PZ OSS power zoom. We've selected ten images shot with each lens and compiled a combined gallery. Full-size images are, as ever, available for download.

Sony has published details of its latest 12MP 1/1.7"-type (7.5 x 5.6mm) back-lit CMOS sensor. The IMX144CQJ offers full-resolution 12-bit output at up to 35 frames per second or a roughly 'widescreen' 17:9 crop at up to 60 fps - allowing 4k video. Sony stresses how well the sensor can receive light from oblique angles, thanks to its large pixel size, making it able to work with 'brighter lenses and high power zoom lenses.' This is interesting, given the recent launch of a group of wide-maximum aperture compacts based around 12MP, 1/1.7"-type BSI CMOS sensors, such as the Olympus XZ-2, Nikon Coolpix P7700 and Samsung EX2F.

Just Posted: Full-size, real world samples from the Sony A99. We've been shooting with Sony's latest full-frame flagship camera down in San Francisco and Monterey, California as part of a Sony press trip - our first opportunity to get hold of a production-standard camera. We've put together a samples gallery taken in a variety of lighting conditions and at a range of apertures and featuring multiple subjects. Click through to see how the 24MP camera performs.

DxO Labs has announced Optics Pro v7.5.5, with support for the Canon EOS-1D X and the Nikon D600. The latest version of the company's raw processing and optical correction software also adds support for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 and DMC-LX7. Support for the two full-frame DSLRs comes only in the 'Elite' edition of the software, while the Panasonic support is also included in the standard edition, that costs around half as much. As usual, the upgrade is free to existing Optics Pro 7 users and recent purchasers of Pro 6.

Today sees the launch of connect.dpreview.com, a mobile, social and connected photography site from dpreview.com. Mobile photography and the ability to share images across social networks have helped foster a vibrant and creative new genre of photographic arts - one that is having a profound effect on the way we all shoot, share, discover and enjoy photography. Connect will explore, explain and embrace the social, mobile, app-tastic, connected side of contemporary photography. Click through for more details and a link to the new site. 

As part of the development of connect.dpreview.com we've created a more advanced, more detailed test scene, which will be launched on dpreview.com soon. The new scene is roughly eight times larger (in area) than the existing test, allowing us to test to even higher resolutions than before, amongst other improvements. Click through for more details.

DxO Labs has announced 'DxOMark Mobile' - its assessment of mobile phone image quality that will support mobile device reviews on connect.dpreview.com. In its first group of tests, DxO has found that the best contemporary mobile devices (in this case the Nokia 808 PureView, with its large sensor) will out-perform a 5-year-old high-end compact camera. And when it comes to video, the Samsung Galaxy SIII will trump last year's Canon PowerShot S100. DxOMark Mobile will analyze 14 aspects of mobile imaging and produce a final score that will be comparable to existing DxOMark figures. We'll be reporting DxOMark Mobile figures alongside our overall scores in connect reviews.

Lytro has announced an update that provides greater exposure control for its Light Field Camera. It will also be offering the 8GB version of the camera in two addition colors - Moxie Pink and Seaglass that will be availble from Target.com/CityTarget stores and the Lytro website respectively. The update, that will be available to all existing customers, adds a manual mode, that provides control over shutter speed and ISO (aperture always being wide open). If you decide to specify both parameters, it becomes possible to apply exposure compensation and apply the camera's built-in ND filter.

Just posted: Sony RX1 real-world sample images - now updated with high ISO samples. We've had the chance to shoot with a near-production RX1 and have started to put together a samples gallery. These are some of the first full resolution independent samples to be taken with an RX1. We've shot a range of subjects, both in good light and in low light at high ISOs. As usual we've included a range af apertures and focus distances too.

Sensor maker Aptina has released more details of its two most recently-announced chips, including a 10MP, 1"-type sensor that uses its dynamic range-boosting DR-Pix technology. The company, which also makes the 1" sensors used in the Nikon 1 System cameras, is making this new sensor available to the wider market. It has also provided more detail about an 18MP 1/2.3" compact camera sensor that can shoot 1080p video with three different crops at up to 120 frames per second.

Getty Images' scheme for licensing images from the photo sharing site Flickr has added its 500,000th image. The half-millionth image was shot by system engineer and photo hobbyist 'Jiangang Wang' for Tianjin, China, of the Minato Mirai development in Yokohama, Japan. The licensing deal, started in June 2010, allows Flickr members to offer their images for licensing by Getty. If Getty chooses to accept the request, the photographer can choose how to license their images, at rates comparable to Getty's other images libraries.

First developed by Ansel Adams and Fred Archer, the Zone System is one of the most enduring methods for understanding - and mastering - exposure. In the fifth edition of his well-regarded book 'The Practical Zone System for Film and Digital Photography' Chris Johnson explains why the Zone System, developed as paradigm for film shooters, can also be easily applied in the digital age. Adam Koplan takes a look.

Alongside its ACR and Lightroom updates, Adobe has extended the specifications of the DNG format, including the creation of a more compact, Lossy DNG option. The format has also been extended to respect in-camera cropping and allow for the inclusion of full HDR data and the non-image areas around merged panoramas. We spoke to Lightroom Product Manager, Tom Hogarty, about the changes made in v1.4 and the reasons behind them.

Updated: We've just added a noise and noise-reduction page to our hands-on preview of the Nikon D600. We've got a production sample D600 in the office, and over the coming weeks we'll be adding test pages to the preview as we move towards the publication of a full review. Our final analysis of the D600's image quality will come later, but for now, click through to see for yourself how Nikon's newest DSLR measures up to its competitors in terms of noise in both JPEG and Raw mode. 

US mobile carrier AT&T has become the first network to announce that it will be offering Samsung's Galaxy Camera - the first truly camera-like device to include a cellular data connection. The version being offered is being described as 4G but AT&T has confrimed it will use an HSPA+ connection, rather than the faster 'LTE' system that is more widely accepted as '4G.' Prices and details of data plans are also unspecified at this point. (via Engadget)

The Nimbus Cloud Dome is a plastic bell-shaped light diffuser designed to allow you to capture evenly-lit images of small objects using a smartphone. Aimed at avid eBayers, online jewelry retailers, Craigslisters and macro photographers, the Cloud Dome provides a surprisingly versatile - and very compact - solution for shooting small subjects with your phone. Click through for the full review. 

We've just deployed the redesigned forum system - the biggest single change we've made since our forums were created, over 13 years ago. As discussed in an earlier news post, the new software will closely match the behavior of the existing system but with a range of additional features and with scope for further expansion in the future. We've sifted through the feedback from the preview announcement we made last week and have developed a list of requested features that we will start working on. Click here to find out more...

Adobe has released the final versions of Adobe Camera Raw 7.2 and Lightroom 4.2. The latest updates bring finalized support for 21 additional cameras, including the Sony A99 and RX100, the Fujifilm X-E1 and the Canon EOS M. Lightroom gains tethering support for 11 cameras, including the Nikon D800 and Canon EOS 5D Mark III. It also adds support for 'Albums' in its uploader to the Revel service. Updates are available through the in-software update systems.

Eye-Fi has launched the Pro X2 16GB, its largest Wi-Fi SD card, and its fastest yet. The Pro X2 retains all the existing capabilities of the existing 8GB version, including upload to a smartphone, direct connection to a Wi-Fi network, auto backup and Raw file transfer. Despite the capacity and speed hike (the previous version was rated as Class 6), the Eye-Fi Pro X2 16GB retains the recommended selling price of $99.99, with existing models having $20 knocked off their prices. Customers in Australia and Japan will be next to receive the card.

We're incredibly pleased to announce the imminent return of lens reviews to dpreview thanks to a joint venture with DXO Labs, involving the establishment of a dedicated DxO lens and camera testing facility in Seattle, and the incorporation of DxO test data into dpreview.com’s class-leading lens reviews. We're currently ironing out the last few bugs in the system, and hope to publish the first review later this week. More after the link...

Just Posted: our preview of the Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm F2.8 OIS. The 35-100mm F2.8 is Panasonic's second constant aperture zoom for Micro Four Thirds and is designed to cover the classic 70-200mm equivalent range. It does so in a relatively compact lens that matches the company's existing 12-35mm F2.8 bright standard zoom. The lens we have isn't ready for the rigors of studio testing, so isn't part of the relaunch of lens reviews just yet, but is 'final' enough for us to be allowed to publish a full-resolution samples gallery.

Sony has announced a two subtle changes to the specifications of its forthcoming RX1 full-frame fixed-lens compact camera. Continuous AF will not be available in stills shooting mode, and the AF-C position will not appear on the front dial. Meanwhile, the camera's maximum shutter speed has been extended, when shooting at moderate apertures. The changes explain Sony's insistence that we leave the 'Not Final' stickers visible on the pre-production unit we used for our preview.

Olympus has released a firmware update for its OM-D E-M5 high-end Micro Four Thirds camera. Firmware 1.5 allows the use of the camera's in-body stabilization during video recording when using non-native lenses on the camera once the focal length has been specified. The firmware also promises to reduce the humming noise generated by the camera's stabilization system when keeping the sensor in its neutral position. The update can be downloaded and installed via the Olympus Camera Updater software. The update also includes the changes promised for the suspended firmware v1.2.

Just Posted: A quick review of the iPhone 5's camera. Apple might not have set out to make some of the most popular cameras on the planet with its iPhone range of smartphones, but that's exactly what has happened. The iPhone 5, Apple's latest model brings a larger screen, faster processor and redesigned camera compared to its predecessor. In this 5-page article we take a look at the iPhone 5's performance as a camera, including comparisons with the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 in a range of different environments, video samples and a full gallery of 'real world' shots. Click through to read (and see) more.

Benro has announced the MeTOTO Transfunctional Travel Tripod, an travel tripod that can be converted to a monopod without tools. The latest addition to the MeFOTO range, whihc sits just below the Travel Angel series, it is available in five colors and can be converted between a 1.5m (61.6") tripod and a 1.62m (64") monopod. It folds down to 40cm (15.4") and weighs 1.6kg (3.6lbs). Despite this small size, it is rated for supporting cameras up to 8kg (17.6lbs). It features an Arca-Swiss style quick release mount and plate and includes a carry case a shoulder strap in its $229 list price. No European pricing is yet available.

It's a question that's been on Michael Zhang's mind, over at PetaPixel, and ours too. If Photokina 2012 had a theme it was definitely connectivity, and recent months have seen several moves by manufacturers to introduce smartphone-type functionality into cameras. As camera manufacturers continue to respond to the rise of the smartphone camera with their own solutions, journalists in the industry are faced with an interesting conundrum: what do we call these things? 

Just Posted: Our quick review of the Manfrotto Solo VI DSLR holster bag. The Solo VI is Manfrotto's premiere holster-style bag, and Manfrotto claims it is big enough to accomodate a full-frame DSLR with a 100-400mm lens attached. The distinctive Solo VI belongs to Manfrotto's 'Stile' range of bags, but is there substance behind the stile? Click through to find out. 

Following months of speculation, Olympus has confirmed it will enter a partnership with Sony. Sony has bought 21.2m shares in Olympus, at a value of ¥31bn ($397m). The deal does not constitute a merger or takeover, but will see the companies work together and exchange technologies. Olympus President, Hiroyuki Sasa's statement explains 'In the field of digital cameras, we will seek to achieve collaboration in a manner that further improves the competitiveness of the two companies.'

Epson has developed a higher resolution, XGA version of its LCD panel used for electronic viewfinders. The latest version of the company's Ultimicron technology offers the same 2.4m dot resolution (1024 x 768 x 3) as the Sony OLED viewfinders used in recent Sony and Fujifilm cameras. SVGA (800 x 600 x 3) versions of Epson's technology are already used in the Olympus OM-D E-M5, along with add-on finders for Olympus, Ricoh and Leica cameras. This additional option for a high-resolution finder can only be positive for the next generation of mirrorless cameras.

In an ongoing effort to improve the performance and user experience on dpreview, we've completely redesigned the forums from the ground up, and will be launching the new version in the coming week. We want to create something you're happy with, so are looking for feedback, positive or critical, as we make the finishing touches. Click through for an overview of the new design.

Updated: We've just added studio comparison images and a gallery of 'real world' sample shots to our hands-on preview of the Nikon D600. Nikon's latest DSLR offers 24MP resolution and an FX format (full frame) sensor, and is Nikon's most affordable full-frame model yet. As well as studio comparison images shot at all ISO sensitivity settings in both JPEG and Raw capture modes, we've also added a new gallery of real-world samples taken using the 'kit' option AF-S Nikkor 24-85mm F3.5-4.5G ED VR zoom. Click through for links to the extra content.