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. 

Blurb, an on-demand photography book publisher, has announced the third annual Photography Book Now competition where one lucky photographer will win $25,000 sponsored by HP.  There are three categories for entry, fine art, editorial, and portfolio.  The winners of each category will win an "ultimate camera package" that includes a Sony DSLR-A850 camera and accessories.  There are also prizes for the first and second runners-up in each category.

Earlier this month we mentioned that in order to pay off some creditors, Polaroid was being forced to sell their Polaroid Collection, a collection of instant shots that show the history and creative possibilities of the Polaroid Instant Film, at Sotheby's in New York.  Well, after announcing that they will be re-creating analog instant film, The Impossible Project has also made a bid to keep the Polaroid Collection in the family where it belongs.  Impossible has placed a binding offer to purchase the collection in order to preserve and protect the collection and expand it with their own contemporary extention "The Impossible Collection."

After a delay due to unforeseen problems, the future of the Impossible Project was uncertain and the group questioned whether they would be able to follow through in re-producing analog Instant Film that was used in traditional Polaroid cameras.  At an event held today in New York City, The Impossible Project announced that after 17 months of development, they have indeed succeeded in achieving their goal!

InVisage, a start-up company that is working to enable “high-quality mobile photography,” announced at DEMO Spring 2010 this week that it has developed a higher performing QuantumFilm based sensor for digital photography.  The company claims that the new sensor will be four times better than traditional silicon-based sensors that digital cameras offer today.  

Almost a year and a half after Canon released the high-end EOS 5D Mark II SLR camera, they have upgraded the firmware that expands the video capabilities.  Initially the 5D only supported 30 frames per second for video and customers were wanting more.  Version 2.0.3 to the firmware changes that "to comply with TV production standards" to 29.97 fps, and for cinema standards a 23.976 fps option. 

*Update: The Communication Arts Photography Contest deadline has been extended to Friday April 9, 2010.* For over 50 years Communication Arts has been publishing the best in visual communications from across the globe. To date it is the largest creative magazine in the world in highlighting graphic design, advertising, illustration, photography and interactive design. Entries after the March 26th deadline will be accepted for an additional fee, with the final cutoff to be April 9th. Each year Communication Arts has six competitions that include all aspects of visual communications.

At PMA2010, Sony promoed an ultra-compact DSLR camera concept that featured an interchangeable lens.  The still-unnamed camera promotion did not give away much, but promised to be ultra-compact and feature the power of a digital SLR.  Now Sony has gone beyond their video teaser by leaking screenshots of the concept to GeekyGadgets.com. 

Though they won't disclose any details, Sony has revealed that they are developing a camera that will allow users to create their own 3D content.  Sony is hoping that the 3D camera, along with a family of 3D products, will get consumers interested in 3D technology.   

We've already mentioned Panasonic's announcement of the new LUMIX G2, but Panasonic announced another "world recordholder" yesterday, the LUMIX G10.  The G10 is said to be the world's lightest digital interchangeable lens system camera with a viewfinder.  The G10 is compact and portable, with advanced features that are easy-to-use for beginners.  David Briganti, Senior Product Manager, Imaging, Panasonic said of the G10 "We continue to expand this award-winning LUMIX G Series, and with its easy-to-use features and compact size, we expect the G10 to attract a lot of new users who want to step-up from their point-and-shoots."

Panasonic announced yesterday the launch of the world's first digital interchangeable lens system with a movable LCD touch control screen, the LUMIX DMC-G2.  The successor to the G1, the world's first Micro Four Thirds digital camera, can use any Four Thirds standard interchangeable lens with the use of an adapter.  The 3 inch LCD touch screen is useful for shooting, playback, and photo viewing.