The Impossible Project seems to be on a roll!  In just one short month, the group has announced that it has finalized the process to manufacture a new instant film compatible with classic Polaroid Cameras, released two versions to the market, and started its own “Impossible Collection” in homage to the original Polaroid Collection.  And now The Impossible Project is opening its first Project Store here in the U.S.!

Last week the Sony World Photography Awards were announced at the awards ceremony held at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France.  A total of 12 photographers won in various categories and the prestigious L'Iris d'Or Photographer of the Year was also awarded.  The winners were chosen by 12 World Photographic Academy members and the winners were flown to Cannes, treated with accommodations, and will receive a gift from Sony.  The Photographer of the year was awarded with $25,000 and will become a member of the World Photographic Academy.

Celebrating its 47th year, the Bievres International Photo Fair will take place this year on the 5th and 6th of June in the town of Bievres, 12 km south of Paris.  The photo fair is a free event that allows photographers and photography enthusiasts to buy and trade equipment, learn through meetings, showcase art, and attend conferences on the latest technologies. 

In a move that appears to be becoming a trend, a Sony employee seems to have left the new mirrorless camera inside a bar in Asia long enough for someone to take a picture of it and leak it to the press.  An anonymous sender forwarded two pictures to SonyAlphaRumors.com which show that, indeed, the name of the new camera will be the NEX3, and that the lens is a chrome finished, 16 mm f/2.8 pancake lens that the website had speculated on days earlier.

A couple of months ago it was announced that Sotheby's in New York would be selling a group of artistic photos known as the Polaroid Collection in order to pay off built up debt to creditors.   Later it was also announced that The Impossible Project, a group bringing back instant film, had put in an offer to save the collection and keep it, while also starting their own collection.  Now, a group of 56 artists are fighting the sale, saying that the collection is not meant to be broken up, and needs to stay together, where it belongs - with Polaroid.

Just three months after Kodak sued Apple and Blackberry manufacturer Research in Motion Ltd. for patent infringement, well Apple is returning the favor by countersuing Kodak for allegedly infringing on two digital-processing technology patents and continuing to use the patents in a range of Kodak products.  Apple is asking for a trial with jury and an unspecified "compensatory damages."

At the beginning of March, Panasonic announced that they will be adding two new "record-breaking" cameras to the LUMIX G-Series Digital Singles Lens Micro Four Thirds Camera product line this quarter, but did not let us in on the release dates or the pricing.  Well, yesterday Panasonic finally announced a timeline and prices for the two groundbreaking LUMIX cameras, the G2 and G10. 

Two photographers were awarded with Pulitzer Prizes for photography this week for "feature photography" and "breaking news photography."  The feature photography Pulitzer is awarded for "a distinguished example of feature photography in black and white or color."  The breaking news photography Pulitzer is awarded for "a distinguished example of breaking news photography in black and white or color."  Each photographer has been awarded $10,000 for their achievements.

In a press release sent out today, The Impossible Project announced that only four weeks after they released the PX100 Silver Shade instant film for Polaroid cameras, they are already debuting the next generation, PX600 Silver Shade.  The PX 600 is said to be more for everyday use versus the PX100, which is more for artistic use.  The film can be used on the Polaroid SX70 cameras and Impossible claims that the new generation is "astonishingly precise and sharp."

Last week, Canon announced their 2010 workshop schedule for EOS users to learn more about the capabilities of the Canon EOS products.  Today Canon announced some even bigger news regarding their educational offerings.  Canon has added cinematographers to their list of professionals who make up the Explorers of Light program.  Until now, the program has mainly been comprised of influential still-image photographers who educate and inspire photography enthusiasts through appearances, seminars, and gallery showings.  The addition of cinematographers is a clear statement that EOS video products are now revolutionizing film and television.

Canon released their 2010 Live Learning educational workshop schedule on Wednesday and this year they are including some "exciting" new video workshops geared towards the professional film and video users.  The workshops are all taught by leaders in the industry and travel across the United States.  The workshops are all based on EOS cameras and video technology and are a hands-on way for photographers and videographers to improve their skills. 

Adobe Labs, Adobe's site that brings consumers early access to new technologies, has announced release candidates for Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw 5.7 and Lightroom 2.7 on Monday.  A 'release candidate' is a plug-in that is well tested, but requires some more consumer testing before being formally released.  Adobe is asking for customers to download the new releases and verify the quality of the upgrades.

In a move that's sure to excite tween girls everywhere, Sony has announced the availablility of the DSC0W350D camera.  What will excite these girls so much about it?  It's pink, and it's got rhinestones.... every 12 year old girl's dream!  The cases to carry these cameras also bring on the bling, with rhinstone decorations and fun patterns on the inside.  The DSC-W350D will be available in silver also, and both color options have a shiny material around the lens ring to add that extra flair.

We've already mentioned that SquareTrade has revealed an evaluation of 60,000 digital cameras covered by the warrantee company to determine the reliability of top brands.  SquareTrade reported that Panasonic beat out the competition when it came to reliability at any price point.  But how, exactly, did they score compared to the other brands?

Independent warrentee provider, SquareTrade, did an evaluation of reported failure data of over 60,000 new digital cameras to keep their customers informed about the reliability (and failures) of common digital cameras.  SquareTrade examined the reliability in two ways, by manufacturer defects and accidents and by camera reliability and price point.  The data was gathered from SquareTrade consumer failure reports from warrentee claims that covered accidental damage as well as hardware failures.