UPDATE: According to Der Spiegel Adobe is investigating the issue since August when a well organised, strategic attack was started against the company’s network. Source code of Adobe products was also stolen. Adobe’s security says they assume that just encrypted credit card data has been stolen, and that they are working to identify all hacked accounts.

For German readers: check Heise.de

This just broke the news in Europe. It appears that hackers broke into Adobe servers and compromised 3,000,000 accounts (source: focus-numerique). Credit card information could have been stolen though Adobe says there is no evidence so far. Adobe states (scroll down for other languages):

Subject: Important Customer Security Alert.

We recently discovered that attackers illegally entered our network. The attackers may have obtained access to your Adobe ID and encrypted password. We currently have no indication that there has been unauthorized activity on your account. If you have placed an order with us, information such as your name, encrypted payment card number, and card expiration date also may have been accessed. We do not believe any decrypted card numbers were removed from our systems.

To prevent unauthorized access to your account, we have reset your password. Please visit www.adobe.com/go/passwordreset to create a new password. We recommend that you also change your password on any website where you use the same user ID or password. As always, please be cautious when responding to any email seeking your personal information.

We also recommend that you monitor your account for incidents of fraud and identity theft, including regularly reviewing your account statements and monitoring credit reports. If you discover any suspicious or unusual activity on your account or suspect identity theft or fraud, you should report it immediately to your bank. You will be receiving a letter from us shortly that provides more information on this matter.

We deeply regret any inconvenience this may cause you. We value the trust of our customers and we will work aggressively to prevent these types of events from occurring in the future. If you have questions, you can learn more by visiting our Customer Alert page, which you will find here.

If you are in Adobe’s Creative Cloud I suggest you check your account and change your password as soon as possible.

The Canon Professional Network Europe posted an article named Inside Lightroom 5 (Pt. 1): modules & importing. Besides being a good introduction to Lightroom, the first paragraph states an interesting fact:

Adobe’s Photoshop Lightroom 5 photo editing software now comes bundled on a DVD with two of Canon’s EOS DSLR cameras: the EOS 6D and the EOS 5D Mark III.

But in Europe only you’ll get Lightroom 5 for free when you purchase an EOS 5D Mark III (price & specs) or EOS 6D (price & specs), sorry friends in the US. TDP asked a Canon Europe executive who confirmed that this is a promotion for Europe only:

“…this is a region specific promotion, only in Europe, which we are running in conjunction with Adobe.”

As for the article on CPN, it is the first of a four part series (there is a video in addition to the article):

In a four-part series of articles and video tutorials Richard Curtis (Principal Solutions Consultant – Digital Imaging, Adobe UK) will explain the key features of Lightroom 5 to give you a good grounding and understanding of how to get the most out of working with the software. In Part 1 of this series Richard Curtis examines the main modules of Lightroom and, in a special video, he explains how to create catalogs and import your pictures.

[via TDP]

EOS 5D Mark III price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA EOS 6D  price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA Adobe Lightroom 5 price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

Press release:

DxO Optics Pro v8.3.2 supports the Canon EOS 70D and the Sony DSC-RX1R

October 2, 2013 – DxO Labs announces the immediate availability of DxO Optics Pro v8.3.2 for Mac and Windows, the new version of its award-winning image-processing software of reference for all demanding photographers. This upgrade allows DxO Optics Pro 8 to provide support for the latest expert consumer DSLR, the 20.2-million pixel EOS 70D, as well as for Sony’s full-format compact, the DSC-RX1R.

Based on an exclusive process of prior laboratory calibration, DxO Optics Pro 8 includes many powerful and automatic tools for processing RAW and JPEG images. The software provides the most advanced lens corrections on the market, the best tool for adjusting light and contrast, and precise and accurate color management.

DxO Optics Pro 8 was awarded the 2013 TIPA prize for Best Photo Software, the 2013-2014 EISA prize for Photo Software, and the 2013 Hot One prize for Capture/Processing from the Professional Photographers of America (PPA).

More after the break.

Yongnuo announced the first ever third party trigger and SpeedLite that are fully compatible with Canon’s 2.4ghz TTL radio triggering “RT” technology. The trigger is the YN-E3-RT, the flash (which will be released in the near future) is the YN600EX-RT. These are great news for all those who do not want to pay or can not afford the high price tag that Canon’s technology comes with.

The YN-E3-RT trigger attaches via the flash hotshoe, it allows photogs to control and set all compatible devices (for the time being the Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT and the upcoming Yongnuo YN600EX-RT). A nice feature of the YN-E3-RT: it has an USB port so you can upload new firmware (that will possibly enable new features); in other words: instead of having to buy a new trigger because of a new feature you could get the feature via firmware update (hopefully).

[lightingroumours via slrlounge]

National Geographic Channel and Canon launched the Explore To Inspire Photo Contest on 1st October 2013. Asia’s best photographers are called. The essential:

Held in celebration of National Geographic’s 125^th anniversary, the two-month-long contest is open to all aspiring young photographers, aged 18 and above, residing in Singapore, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand or Vietnam. To enter the competition, participants are required to submit an original photograph(s) that must showcase what inspires the participants to explore. Each entry must also be accompanied by a description or an explanation (not exceeding 300 characters) of why the image inspires the participant to explore. All entries are to be submitted via the website www.exploretoinspire.com.

The first three prizes:

1. • Canon EOS 5D Mark III (Body)
   • Trip to National Geographic Weekend Photography Workshop in San Francisco, US
   • Winning photo published in National Geographic magazine
2. • Canon EOS 6D (Body)
   • Winning photo published in National Geographic magazine
3. • Canon EOS 70D (Body)
   • Winning photo published in National Geographic

[via photojournalist-tgh]