Nikon buffs up D3 shooting

Nikon has announced a memory upgrade for its flagship D3 DSLR. The service, which is already available, will increase the continuous shooting buffer from 16 to 36 shots for those people shooting 14-bit lossless NEF raw files. In most filetype/compression permutations, users can expect to see around a doubling of shooting buffer. Owners wishing to upgrade are advised to contact their local service center. The price will be £300+VAT in the UK, and $500+tax in the USA.

Pentax Optio E60

Pentax has announced the Optio E60 digital compact camera. This entry-level model comes with a 10.1 megapixels sensor and sports a 3x zoom lens (32-96mm, 35mm equivalent). It uses widely available AA batteries and should therefore appeal to those amongst us who tend to forget their battery chargers at home when going on holidays.

Pentax launches Optio M60

Pentax has launched the Optio M60, a 10 megapixel compact camera with a 5x optical zoom. It's got all the features you'd expect, including revised face detection technology that can locate the faces of the best part of a coach-party. The lens covers a range equivalent to 36mm - 180mm, so lacks any wide angle. The camera does offer an Auto Picture mode that automatically selects the scene mode it thinks most relevant for the shot being taken, helping to make the most of its 8 scene modes.

Tamron announces 15x zoom lens

Superzoom specialist Tamron has today announced the development of its most ambitious lens yet, the characteristically snappily-titled AF 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical (IF) Macro. Designed exclusively for digital SLRs with APS-C sensors, this optic offers a 35mm-equivalent range of 28-419mm, perfect for owners of megazoom compacts looking to upgrade to an SLR, and incorporates the company's 'Vibration Control' optical image stabilisation system. To achieve the spectacular zoom range (billed as the longest in the world),Tamron has used all its design nous, including the use of aspheric elements and low dispersion glass to keep chromatic aberration under control.

Adobe green lights Lightroom 2

Adobe has launched version 2 of its Lightroom raw processing and workflow tool. The result of feedback from professionals and a public bate process, version 2 of the software follows the basic structure of its predecessor but with a variety of tweaks and additions. The most obvious change is an increased ability to make localized changes. This include a gradient tool that allows alterations to be applied selectively across an image.