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Sony a9 first look videos

20 Apr

With an all-new and world’s first stacked CMOS full frame sensor, the Sony a9 looks to be a force to be reckoned with. Check out our first look video to get yourself up to speed on Sony’s latest sports shooter in our brief first look video.

We got some additional time with the camera, and captured some through-the-viewfinder video showing the new AF system in action. We start off showing Lock-On: Flexible Spot M in action, which does a seemingly improved job of sticking to our intended (initial) subject. Sony claims much improved subject tracking; our initial impressions confirm this, though Lock-on still experiences a delay in initially locking on to your subject. We then take a critical look at AF joystick usage: while responsive, it often misregisters a directional push for a downward one, which activates a completely different function (Center AF-S, by default).

Lastly, we look at the newly added ability to tie a specific AF mode (with or without AF activation) to custom buttons, which is potentially game changing when it comes to quickly adapting to changing scenarios. Unfortunately, you can only ever switch to one other AF mode; but quickly switching back-and-forth between two AF area modes is still fantastic, and one of the things we truly enjoy and use when shooting high-end Canon/Nikon DSLRs.

If you don’t see closed captioning, please enable it for the below video.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Sony interview: ‘Our focus is to increase the overall market’

18 Apr

On a recent trip to Thailand to visit Sony’s Chonburi factory, where all Sony ILC cameras and lenses are assembled, our tech editor Rishi Sanyal had the honor of sitting down with Kenji Tanaka, who is head of interchangeable lens cameras globally. Also joining the discussion was Daisuke Goh, product manager at Sony, and Matt Parnell, senior marketing communications manager at Sony.

Kenji Tanaka, Senior General Manager, Business Unit 1, Digital Imaging Group, Imaging Products and Solutions Sector. Photo: Rishi Sanyal

We discussed a number of topics, ranging from Sony’s intent to stimulate the market overall as opposed to segmenting it or supplanting any one manufacturer, to future sensor developments we can expect, to the role of computational photography and the internet in future cameras. It was an impressively open and honest discussion, and we thank everyone involved for the opportunity.

Please note that this interview has been edited for clarity and flow.

Thank you so much for this opportunity, Tanaka-san. Your recent market share data is quite impressive. What do you see as your widest user base, and what is your biggest target group?

Kenji Tanaka: Our biggest focus is to increase the [existing] market, not to segment it. The overall market is decreasing, and it’s been a challenge to increase the market, overall. We believe we can do so by targeting professionals and enthusiasts.

‘Our biggest focus is to increase the market, not segment it.’

Amongst professionals and enthusiasts, who do you feel you still need to attract to your products?

KT: There are many types of professionals. Our target for the a7R II are landscape and portrait shooters. The a7S II has been adopted by many professional videographers. Right now we are already reaching these professionals successfully. But as of last year (2016), our products have gained significant capability in terms of speed. Therefore, we would like to target sports shooters and photojournalists by continually improving the speed, performance and usability of our products.

What about wedding and events shooters?

KT: Yes, these professionals have been adopting our products as well, and they’ve particularly appreciated Eye AF and the resolution of our products. However, they require more durability. We are actively working to address their needs.

Matt Parnell: In particular, one piece of feedback we frequently get from all of our wedding photographers is that the low light performance of our products has changed the way they can shoot events.

KT: And wedding videographers particularly in Asian countries have invested in our products.

Technologies like Eye AF depend upon close integration between the imaging sensor, processing pipeline and AF algorithms programmed into the camera. Sony’s close integration between the image sensor and camera divisions allow for quick iteration on such technologies. As photographers, we win: the compositional freedom Eye AF-C affords me for (unpredictable) newborn photography is unparalleled. Even with the pocketable RX100 V. Photo: Rishi Sanyal

Which camera do your users gravitate toward in particular for autofocus capability?

KT: Professionals largely use the a7R II for autofocus ability. a7S II for video.

The form factor of an a7S II and FS7 are very different. Do you see a convergence of these products and, if not, how will you target these user bases separately?

MP: We see many professionals and documentarians that use both the FS7 and a7S II to complement one another. A and B cameras, for example.

Daisuke Goh: But they are very different in terms of ergonomics and features, with Raw recording and high-frame rate being core technologies of the FS7. Those who need these gradually step up to the FS7, often from the a7S II.

You’ve stated your intention to re-stimulate this declining market via innovation. How do you think your competitors should do the same?

KT: I can’t comment on other companies, but I can explain our position. The most important thing is the image sensor. As you know well, every camera function is related to the image sensor. For example, the AF sensor and exposure sensor are all based off the image sensor. So the image sensor is key, and we develop it in-house. This means we can customize our future products with more intention [by having our camera and sensor development teams working together]. This is a differentiator compared to our competitors.

‘Every camera function is related to the image sensor… [which] we develop in-house. This means we can customize our future products with more intention.’

Speaking of sensors, are you interested in lowering ISO sensitivities? Particularly by increasing full-well capacities of pixels to increase dynamic range and achievable signal:noise ratios (a la Nikon D810)? I think many landscape and current medium format shooters would be interested in this.

KT: Both high and low ISO sensitivities are important. In case of low sensitivities, we are working on increasing saturation capacities, or well depth, of pixels. In case of high sensitivities, pixel size matters.

The future is certainly bright for Sony, and photography in general. One thing I’d love to see is extended (lower) base ISO dynamic range via higher saturation capacities of pixels, a la the Nikon D810 at ISO 64. While this a7R II certainly did the job perfectly well capturing this high dynamic range scene on my recent trip to Iceland, a lower base ISO that would have allowed me to give the sensor even more exposure before clipping the highlights to the left, yielding an even cleaner image. Technically speaking, an image with higher overall signal:noise ratio – the reason people love medium format images. It’s great to hear that Sony’s sensor division is fully aware of this need for lower, not just higher, sensitivities. Photo: Rishi Sanyal

But your a7R II, which has very similar low light stills performance to the a7S II, suggests otherwise. Could you elaborate?

KT: Think about 8K video. To get that sort of resolution on a sensor, you need larger sensors, otherwise pixel sizes are too small. To get 8K from a micro four thirds sensor, for example, the sizes of the pixels have to be very small, around 2.3 microns. I think larger sensors are important to maintain image quality as we go to higher resolution video and stills.

Right, it’s more sensor size that is key.

KT: Yes, this is why we choose to concentrate on full-frame.

Is 8K video something you’re already working on?

KT: We can’t comment on future product plans; however, we can confirm that we are paying close attention to all trends in the video marketplace, including 8K.

And you already have products that are sampling 6K: the a6500 oversamples its 4K footage by 2.4-fold yielding extremely crisp footage. Meanwhile we have some professional videographers intent on using high-end pro- 6K and 8K products to get oversampled 4K; yet you offer it in a consumer product. I find that interesting.

KT: Yes, we already have 6K sampling.

Are you also focusing on global shutter?

KT: Yes, that is one technique to remove rolling shutter artifacts. However, there are other choices to remove this artifact, like a mechanical shutter.

Increasingly we’re seeing computational approaches to get better imaging performance from limited hardware.¹ When do you feel computational technologies attempting to simulate the effects of larger sensors and optics will truly challenge more traditional approaches?

KT: These approaches work in some occasions, but it’s hard to realize for all scenarios. And a lot of the computational products I’ve seen so far need very large, fixed F-number primes [Editor’s note: presumably to compensate for smaller sensor sizes].

Are you trying to build in any computational approaches into your current cameras today?

KT: No. But speaking of light field, of course we are studying it. But not at a production level.

Do you think that as megapixel counts get higher and higher, it would make sense to devote some of those pixels to light field?

KT: There’s currently too much of a resolution cost. You need to devote at least a 5×5 pixel array just for one output pixel.

Do you benchmark against competitor products when developing your own products?

KT: Of course. We benchmark against the best product for any use-case. We learn from other companies. We must, because we are still beginners. The challengers.

Daisuke Goh, Manager, Product Planning & Business Management, Digital Imaging. Goh-san was product planner on the a7R II, and is pictured here looking out upon the Gulf of Thailand at moonrise during a recent trip to Sony’s Chonburi factory. To say the least, talking directly to these brilliant engineers was a unique opportunity to relay our, and our readers’, feedback for future iterations of Sony products. Photo: Rishi Sanyal

The convenience of the smartphone is a challenge to cameras. I’ll often see friends pick up their smartphone² instead of the ILC sitting in front of them to snap a photo of their child. What is Sony doing to help the parent, the hobbyist get assets off the camera and into a library accessible from all devices?

KT: We have apps like PlayMemories to make things easier for smartphone users. In the future, we cannot avoid making this process even easier via better integration with internet/cloud services. This is a big topic of discussion and something we are investing in. One issue with direct communication from camera to internet services is that regulation, not technical, issues make this difficult. Everyone already has a smartphone, so we want to use the smartphone.

One thing Sony can’t be blamed for is a lack of caring when it comes to quality. From Betamax to Blu-Ray to LCOS displays, how do you maintain a culture of insistence on quality and innovation across such a large company?

KT: For me, Sony’s founders are incredibly important. They are no longer alive, but the founders’ spirits and will are alive and well.

DG: Have you had a chance to read the founders’ spirits? It’s written. It basically says: ‘Always have a playful mind, and do something that others don’t do.’ This is basically in our blood.

‘Always have a playful mind, and do something that others don’t do.’ This is basically in our blood.

That’s a great philosophy. Thank you for your time!

KT, DG, MP: Thank you!

Editor’s Note:

We nab every opportunity we can get to sit down with engineers at camera companies, and are particularly honored when we get a chance to speak with executives like Tanaka-san, who is head of Interchangeable lens (ILC) products globally, and Daisuke Goh, who was product planner on arguably one of the most exciting cameras we’ve seen in recent times: the a7R II.

Recent data over a two month span show Sony to have pulled ahead from #3 to #2 in full-frame ILC market share, based on revenue. Sony stresses this was no easy task, in particular given the shortages it recently experienced in delivering one of its most popular – and most revenue-generating thanks to its price – products due to the earthquake: the a7R II. It was interesting to hear Sony’s response to this (for them) exciting news: Tanaka-san stressed that the overall goal of Sony Digital Imaging products is to grow the (now declining) market, not segment it or pull ahead at the cost of its competitors. Sony believes it can do so through innovation, which should spur the expansion of the hobbyist segment. By offering imaging experiences and quality far above and beyond what is capable with smartphones, Sony hopes to rekindle interest in cameras and dedicated imaging products.

Given their focus on quality, it’s not surprising that Sony is pouring so much effort into their full frame products. It was only a little over 3 years ago that Sony launched the world’s first full frame mirrorless system, just a short year after launching the world’s first full frame camcorder (NEX-VG900). Since then, Sony has seen a remarkable adoption rate: they claim they are #1 in 4K camcorder sales, and hold over 80% of the mirrorless market share in North America. The largest adoption of full frame products has been in China and the US, and Sony’s projections estimate an additional growth of 30% in the full frame market. While some may argue that is optimistic, Sony cites the general market increase with the release of the Alpha 7R II, showing that innovation drives growth.

And Sony is particularly innovating in the image sensor sector, where they claim they are investing more than most. It’s interesting to note that the smartphone industry – the very one threatening dedicated imaging products – itself helps Sony, since Sony is a major supplier of smartphone camera sensors. So when it comes to image sensors, Sony’s return on investment is multi-fold: technologies like 3-layer stacked CMOS for smartphone cameras that allow 4x faster readout speeds than conventional chips for minimal rolling shutter and 1000 fps video capture will not only make our smartphones better, but will also trickle into ILC products and allow Sony to re-invest resulting earnings in even more exciting sensor technologies. It’s not just Sony that benefits from this – like smartphone manufacturers, other camera manufacturers also benefit from Sony sensor advances. What Sony has to offer though, as stressed by Tanaka-san, is the ability to work closely with the sensor team to develop better products and features around the strengths of those sensor developments. Autofocus and subject recognition improvements, for example.

Technologies like incredibly intelligent AF in 4K video with no hunting, or 24 fps Raw stills capture to nail the decisive moment (shown above), not only help professionals and enthusiasts, but arguably kindle the inner spark of us all to capture the memorable moments of our lives. Sony believes that focusing on innovation will bring more people back into photography and videography.

Sony’s approach certainly appears sound: exciting technologies offering new imaging experiences spark the curiosity of not only enthusiasts and hobbyists, but professionals looking to differentiate their work as well. And many others as well: documenting the fleeting moments of our lives is arguably a very human interest. Devices that allow us to do so more easily, more readily, and in higher quality are certain to appeal even to the amateur mother or father capturing the irreplaceable moments of their little ones’ lives. With the iteration we’ve seen in Sony ILCs and premium compacts in just the last 3 years, it’s no surprise that Sony aims to be the #1 premium imaging company. And we will all benefit from its relentless drive.

Footnotes:

¹Lytro for example. More recent approaches include the Light L16, which combines lenses of multiple focal lengths to achieve high-res imagery and a large zoom range. The Google Pixel smartphone uses multi-imaging techniques to get impressive image quality out of a small sensor. iPhone 7 uses two lenses to create a depth map to simulate shallow depth-of-field. Computational approaches of recent are seriously challenging traditional cameras for general users that aren’t too too attentive to the outcome.

²Largely because of the ease of backup, curation, and sharing to services like Google/Apple Photos and Facebook.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Sony is now #2 in the US full-frame interchangeable lens camera market

15 Apr

Sony has announced that it is now ranked second in the U.S. full-frame interchangeable lens camera market, a position formerly held by Nikon. The data comes from The NPD Group, which shows a 23% increase in Sony’s full-frame interchangeable lens cameras and lenses sales this year. According to Sony, its ‘key models,’ including the a7R II and a7S II, were large factors behind this increase.

As the graph above demonstrates, the full-frame interchangeable lens camera market as a whole benefitted from Sony’s success; without it, the overall market would have experienced a 2% decrease year-on-year. Such data is based on NPD Group’s sales figures for Sony from January and February 2017.

Press release

Sony Overtakes #2 Position in U.S. Full-Frame Interchangeable Lens Camera Market

Record Sales from Sony Driving Growth in Overall Full-Frame Market

SAN DIEGO, April 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Electronics – a worldwide leader in digital imaging and the world’s largest image sensor manufacturer, has announced today that their continued growth has vaulted them into the #2 overall position in the U.S. full-frame interchangeable lens camera market. 1

Sony’s interchangeable lens cameras and lenses have seen record sales in 2017, in particular within the U.S. full-frame camera market, where they have experienced double-digit growth (+23%) 2 compared to the same period last year. The popularity of key models including ?7RII and ?7SII has been paramount to this success.

Additionally, Sony’s rapid growth has helped to drive growth of the overall full-frame interchangeable lens camera market compared to the same period last year. Without Sony’s contributions, the full-frame market would be facing a slight decline. 3

“Our commitment to the industry is stronger than ever,” said Neal Manowitz, VP of Digital Imaging at Sony North America. “We are always listening to our customers, combining their feedback with our intense passion for innovation to deliver products, services and support like no other.”

A variety of exclusive stories and exciting content shot Sony ? products can be found at www.alphauniverse.com , Sony’s community site built to educate, inspire and showcase all fans and customers of the Sony ? brand.

1 The NPD Group / Retail Tracking Service, U.S., Detachable Lens Camera, Full Frame, Based on Dollars, Jan- Feb 2017

2 The NPD Group / Retail Tracking Service, U.S., Detachable Lens Camera, Full Frame, Based on Dollars, Jan/Feb 2016- Jan/Feb 2017

3 The NPD Group / Retail Tracking Service, U.S., Detachable Lens Camera, Full Frame, Based on Dollars, Jan/Feb 2016- Jan/Feb 2017

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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CP+ 2017 – Sony interview: ‘We need to offer new imaging experiences’

04 Apr

Yasuyuki Nagata – Senior General Manager Business Unit 2, Digital Imaging Group Imaging Products and Solutions Sector, Sony Corporation. Pictured at CP+ 2017 in Yokohama, Japan.

Earlier this year, we traveled to the CP+ trade show in Yokohama, Japan. At the show, we met with senior executives from several major manufacturers, including Yasuyuki Nagata of Sony. During our interview we discussed the future of the a7-series, Sony’s strategy for growing the 1-inch camera segment, and the new a99II.

Please note that this interview has been edited slightly for clarity and flow.

Nikon recently canceled the DL series, which would have competed with the RX100-series. Is this good or bad for Sony?

It’s both good and bad. If Nikon had achieved a high-quality wide lens camera with a 1 inch sensor, that would have been a very competitive product. So in that sense, it’s good for us. But actually, from the perspective of driving the 1 inch sensor market, we want to stimulate this market and that means multiple manufacturers.

What is your general strategy for FE lenses in the future?

We’re launching products based on customer feedback – especially professionals. When we started the Alpha a7 series we only had three full-frame mirrorless (FE) lenses, but after we launched the a7R II, a lot of professionals started to use it. So their voices [became more important]. For example they wanted a 24-70mm F2.8, which is why we prioritized that model. So basically our strategy is to listen to our customers.

The GM 24-70mm F2.8 was a lens that Sony’s professional full-frame users wanted the company to make, according to Mr Nagata.

In the past, we’ve heard that Sony wants to create some longer sports optics. is that something that is being planned in the future?

If a lot of professional photographers [want those lenses] we will have to create them. But for now, our main professional user base is portraits and landscape photographers.

Do you aspire to having a base of professional sports photographers in future?

Maybe. Of course it’s not just the lens, it’s the body as well.

The Olympics in Tokyo is three years away – would you like to see Sony lenses in the arenas alongside Canon and Nikon?

Of course, that’s our dream. And we won’t give up on that. But it’s hard to make a specific comment on future products.

How long will it be before mirrorless products represent the majority of cameras at large sporting events?

I don’t know! Historically, I believe it took Canon 7-10 years to become the dominant brand at professional sports events. It’s not easy. But a lot of professional photographers have already switched from DSLR to mirrorless. Maybe in some cases, we are already satisfying the needs of some sports photographers.

The Sony a7R II is a capable stills camera, but fits equally as easily into a professional 4K video workflow.

Speaking about the a7-series lineup, how does your customer base divide up in terms of stills photographers versus videographers?

We don’t divide our customers in this way. Most of our customers shoot both video and stills, currently. Until a few years ago, video and stills shooters were totally different, but recently, portrait and wedding photographers have started shooting video too.

We always consider both kinds of users at every stage of development.

Moving on to the RX series, there are a lot of products now, and you’re leaving older models in the lineup – what is your aim with this strategy?

It depends on the region. By adding RX100 models 1-5, we expanded the 1 inch sensor market, and in most regions we enjoy #1 market share. The 1 inch sensor market was developed by Sony, and then other competitors started joining us.

[As such] we started with 100% market share, but even now we enjoy 60-70% market share in most regions. And our high-technology models like the RX100V drives some of that, but for the cost of one Mark V, you can buy three of the original RX100. So the cost factor is also important. With both entry-level and high-end RX models, we hope to be able to drive the 1 inch sensor market and remain at number 1.

The Cyber-shot RX100 V packs a lot of features into its pocketable form-factor, but Mr Nagata insists that older RX models still have their place in the market.

We understand some of the comments we get from dealers, that because of this strategy they have to carry all five models, which might not be efficient for them, but realistically, those dealers ‘cherry pick’ the models they want to carry. Maybe in an area like the US it doesn’t make sense to [sell] all five models, but in developing countries, the Mark I and Mark II are crucial.

The earthquake last May caused a good deal of disruption – what was the effect on the camera division?

From a supply point of view, we had a month or so’s worth of product in stock. So the effect on our supply chain didn’t really kick in until the June, July timeframe, depending on the model. One inch sensors are easier to make than full-frame sensors, which require at least 2 months to manufacture, so the effect was more profound on full-frame sensors than one-inch. But it was all back up and running by the end of 2016.

What kind of feedback do you get from professionals that have switched from DSLRs to mirrorless?

Some professional photographers have said that G Master lenses were a trigger for switching, and also the [new] STF 100mm lens. Thanks to the short flange-back distance, a lot of E mount customers can use their own lenses with a7 cameras. That’s a benefit of the system. And after they’ve switched to an a7 body, people tend to switch over completely and buy Sony lenses.

Smaller body size is a big factor, and silent shooting is important too.

Is the lens attachment rate different from an a6500 to an a7-series camera?

It’s totally different. Even from the a7 to the a7R II, the attachment rate [with the a7R II] is almost double. From the a6000 to the a6500, again it’s completely different.

What are your plans for developing your pro support network?

We’ve started pro support, but we’re still learning. Professional photographers travel all over the world, so how to provide consistent support not just in their home country, but globally is very important for us.

Sony has ambitions to expand and improve its PRO Support network for professional alpha users.

Was the choice of a smaller, lower-endurance battery in the a7 series made deliberately to keep the camera size small?

We are fully aware of this feedback. Right now, we’re not getting any negative commentary about the size of our a6000-series and a7-series cameras, so there’s probably no need to make them any smaller. There’s a balance between the size of the body and lens, too. So just making the body smaller doesn’t make much sense. And I’m afraid I can’t comment on how we will tackle this issue without commenting on future products, so I can’t say anything more.

Is Sony interested in joining the 360 imaging market?

We already have an action camera lineup, and it’s a similar category. The market itself is kind of shrinking, so instead of having one camera for 360, we’d probably prefer to support professional users, making 360 imaging using our a7-series and a rig. Rather than chasing after the consumer segment.

Do you see more growth in the high-end of the market in general?

I believe so. Which is why pro support is getting more important for us. But of course it cascades down to lower-end models too, and we don’t deny the important of the entry-level segment.

What’s the most important thing that Sony has to do to maintain its position in the next few years?

We need to offer new imaging experiences. We made the NEX series – APS-C mirrorless. That was a new experience. The RX100, the full-frame a7-series, G Master lenses – STF, too. It’s a new imaging experience. Sony is by far the number 1 sensor manufacturer, and the advantage of this is that is allows us to work together with sensor engineers to create the best image sensor for a specific model we are developing. so we’re aware of the sensor development schedule for the next two or three years. So we know what kind of future is coming, in terms of sensors, so we can plan ahead – what kind of bodies will be required, and what kind of lenses will required. We can take advantage of that.

When it comes to core technologies, we’re making lenses sensors, we’re making imaging sensors, we’re making LSIs and we have a software division. Some of our customers couldn’t believe we made an autofocus STF lens. It’s not easy. But we know light travels through lenses, and we know how light is detected on the sensor. So the total combination [of these technologies] means we can make that product.

The recently-announced a99 II is proof that the A-mount is still a going concern. According to Mr Nagata, Sony needs to maintain the A mount alongside the E mount.

In the SLT lineup, development is slower than the a7-series. Where will that line go in the future?

Having options is really important, especially for high-end amateurs and professionals. If we just had the same cameras and lenses [as our competitors] the results would be the same. Some people want A-mount, some want E-mount, and depending on the situation, some customers might want both. Having that variety of bodies and lenses is key.

We need both A mount and E mount. Some people thought that Sony was only developing the E mount, until we introduced the a99 II. You’ve seen it, it’s a serious camera. There is a huge number of lenses for A mount, from Sony and Minolta, and we want to maintain a good relationship with those customers by providing great A mount bodies with no compromises compared to the E mount system. But we can start capturing new customers with the E mount. We we need both.

In the long term, do you want those A mount customers to come over to E mount?

That depends on them.

Will we see more A mount lenses, specifically designed to get the most out of the A99 II’s autofocus technology?

We have to prioritize. It’s not easy developing new lenses. Our customers’ expectations are very high, especially after we launched the G Master series. So we can probably only launch a few lenses a year!

Editors’ note:

It was interesting to speak to Mr Nagata in February. This month he is celebrating his 31st year with Sony, and during the course of three decades he has worked in various divisions, from robotics to Handycams. Clearly, he is not afraid of something that Sony has often been criticized for – having ‘too many’ products in the market. Every product has its place, from the high-end a99 II to the old, but still current, CyberShot RX100 Mark I, and Sony appears intent on introducing even more ‘new imaging experiences’ in the future.

Although understandably cautious about giving anything away, it is possible to glean some insights from Mr Nagata’s responses to certain questions. Firstly, it doesn’t look like the Alpha mount is going anywhere for now, although we would expect the relatively slow pace of development to be a continuing feature of that range, compared to the company’s mirrorless ILCs.

Secondly, reading between the lines, we’re optimistic that bigger batteries are coming to the next generation of Sony’s alpha range of mirrorless cameras. As Mr Nagata pointed out (although not in so many words), there’s not much point making a camera really small if you intend it to be used with large, high-quality lenses. And for videographers especially, the limited endurance of the a7R II and a7S II in some conditions is a real frustration – one that Sony is clearly very aware of.

Sony is also aware that it needs to get better at catering to the needs of professionals in a more general sense – not only when it comes to the spec sheet of their cameras. Post-sales support for professionals is something that Canon and Nikon have perfected over decades, and is one of the main reasons why major news outlets and picture agencies still generally stick with one or the other. It’s early days for Sony’s PRO Support network, but we’d expect the company to put a lot of energy into improving and expanding it on the run-up to the 2020 Olympics – when all eyes will be on Tokyo, and Sony will be hoping for some professional representation on the world’s biggest stage.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Sony World Photography Awards Open categories and National winners announced

29 Mar

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The winners of the ten Open categories of the Sony World Photography Awards have been announced alongside National Award winners from 66 countries. The Open competition consists of ten themed categories so there are ten winners in total, each receiving a Sony a7 II kit, who will go on to compete for the overall prize of $ 5000 and a trip to the awards ceremony in London next month.

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Once the 105,000 entries to the Open section had been judged in their themed categories the total entry was re-judged according to nationality so the best images from each of 66 countries could be found. The names of the photographers in the best three from those countries have also been announced today. Winners from these awards will be displayed alongside the Open winners and the winners of the Professional categories at an exhibition to be held in London’s Somerset House from the 21st April to 7th May.

The winners of the Professional categories, and the overall winner of the Open section, will be revealed on April 20th at the awards ceremony. Martin Parr will be presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Photography prize at the event and will be exhibiting a collection of images in the main exhibition.

For more information and to see all the National Awards winners visit the Sony World Photography Awards website.

Press release

The world’s best single photographs revealed by 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

World’s largest photography competition announces winners of its Open categories and National Awards programme
Open category winners competing to win trip to London and $ 5,000 (USD) cash prize

28th March, 2017: Ten extraordinary photographs from across the globe are today revealed as the winners of the Open categories of the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards, the world’s largest photography competition.

The winners were selected from more than 105,000 entries to the Awards’ Open competition, with the expert panel of judges looking for the best single photographs across ten categories.

The ten Open category winners are:
* Architecture – Tim Cornbill (UK)
* Culture – Jianguo Gong (China)
* Enhanced – Lise Johansson (Denmark)
* Motion – Camilo Diaz (Colombia)
* Nature – Hiroshi Tanita (Japan)
* Portraits – Alexander Vinogradov (Russia)
* Still Life – Sergey Dibtsev (Russia)
* Street Photography – Constantinos Sofikitis (Greece)
* Travel – Ralph Gräf (Germany)
* Wildlife – Alessandra Meniconzi (Switzerland)

Each of the ten winning photographs display huge photographic talent and creativity, from a stunning wildlife shot of flamingos in Walvis Bay, Namibia (Alessandra Meniconzi) to the ice blue and white of winter (Hiroshi Tanita) and a beautifully simple portrait (Alexander Vinogradov). Scale is used to stunning effect to capture more than 1300 people practicing Tai-Chi in China (Jianguo Gong) and architecture in Berlin (Tim Cornbill) while a crucial goal-scoring moment in an underwater rugby match is photographed by Camilo Diaz. A subtle palette of color is used in both the Enhanced (Lise Johansson) and Travel (Ralph Gräf) category winners while black and white photography is the choice for the Street Photography winner (Constantinos Sofikitis).

Each winning photographer receives a Sony ?7 II with lens kit and will now compete to win the prestigious Sony World Photography Awards’ Open Photographer of the Year title, a trip to the winners’ awards ceremony in London in April and $ 5,000 US dollars in cash prizes. The overall winner will be announced on the 20th April alongside the winners of the Professional competition (judged on a body of work).

Chair of the Open competition, journalist and photographer Damien Demolder, said of the winning Open images: “It has been a pleasure and an inspiration to be exposed to such a volume of great work, and a privilege too that I could share in the personal moments, the joys, tears, life and losses of photographers from all around the globe who recorded their experiences through their pictures.”

National Awards
The winners of the Sony World Photography Awards National Awards, a global program to find the best single photographs taken by local photographers in 66 countries, were also announced today.

Now in its fourth year, the National Awards is unique in both scope and reach and opened up to photographers from Cambodia, Nepal, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates for the first time this year.

Winners and runners-ups across all 66 National Awards were announced today, and can be viewed here.

Exhibition
The winners of the Open categories and the National Awards will all be shown at the Sony World Photography Awards & Martin Parr – 2017 Exhibition at Somerset House, London which opens on the 21st April and runs until the 7th May.

The exhibition will include all the winning, shortlisted (top 10) and commended (top 50) photographs drawn from more than 227,000 entries from 183 countries to the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards. It will also feature a special dedication to British photographer Martin Parr, recipient of the Awards’ Outstanding Contribution to Photography prize.

Sony World Photography Awards
Produced by the World Photography Organisation, 2017 sees the 10th anniversary of the Sony World Photography Awards and a decade-long partnership with its headline sponsor, Sony. The Awards recognise and reward the very best contemporary photography captured over the last year, and incorporate four competitions – Professional, Open, Youth and Student Focus. The overall winners of the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards will be announced on the 20th April.

About World Photography Organisation
The World Photography Organisation is a global platform for photography initiatives. Working across up to 180 countries, our aim is to raise the level of conversation around photography by celebrating the best imagery and photographers on the planet. We pride ourselves on building lasting relationships with both individual photographers and our industry-leading partners around the world. We host a year-round portfolio of events including: the Sony World Photography Awards (the world’s largest photography competition, marking its 10th anniversary in 2017), various local meetups/talks throughout the year, and PHOTOFAIRS, International Art Fairs Dedicated to Photography, with destinations in Shanghai and San Francisco.

About Sony Corporation
Sony Corporation is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, imaging, game, communications, key device and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. With its music, pictures, computer entertainment and online businesses, Sony is uniquely positioned to be the leading electronics and entertainment company in the world. Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of approximately $ 72 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. Sony Global Web Site: http://www.sony.net/

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Sony Digital Filter camera app merges parts of three images into one

19 Mar

Sony has announced the release of a new camera app called Digital Filter, giving photographers a way to merge parts from two or three different images into a single photo. It adds greater flexibility to a similar existing app called Sky HDR. Digital Filter is priced at $ 29.99 or $ 19.99 as an upgrade to Sky HDR.

Though they offer similar functionality, the biggest feature difference between Sky HDR and Digital Filter is that the new app supports merging sections of up to three different images, whereas Sky HDR only allows for two exposures. Sony merely states that, ‘The Digital Filter application offers functionality, ease of use and image quality that go beyond the features of Sky HDR.’

Digital Filter supports the following camera models:

Alpha a7
Alpha a7 II
Alpha a7R
Alpha a7R II
Alpha a7s
Alpha a7s II
Alpha a6000
Alpha a6300
Alpha a6500
RX100 III
RX100 IV
RX100 V
RX10 II
RX10 III
RX1R II

Sky HDR supports certain camera models Digital Filter doesn’t, including the a5100 and three NEX models.

Via: SonyAlphaRumors

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Lensrentals and the continuing saga of the broken Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM

04 Mar

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Last week we took a look at Lensrentals’ six hour initial disassembly of a broken Sony FE 70-200 F2.8 GM lens (would hate to be the person who dropped it!). In part two, the guys from LR continue to take apart the lens, to see if it can be saved or sent to the scrapyard.

Read LensRentals’ Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM Teardown (Part 2)

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Sony Xperia XZ Premium features 960 fps slow-motion and 4K display

01 Mar

Sony has today announced two new high-end Android smartphones, the Xperia XZ Premium and the Xperia XZs, which both use a 19MP 1/2.3 image sensor that is based on Sony’s recently announced 3-layer stack technology for smartphones. The camera, which Sony calls Motion Eye, also features a 25mm equivalent lens, F2.0 aperture, laser-assisted AF and an RGBC-IR sensor for natural color rendering. In video mode it can record 4K footage and comes with Sony’s very efficient SteadyShot 5-axis digital stabilization. Sony also says it has improved the panorama mode which is now capable of capturing higher resolution images.

Thanks to the 3-layer sensor’s fast readout times the camera’s highlight feature is a 960 fps slow motion video mode that can record 720p footage. The new sensor technology also reduces the rolling shutter effect in both still images and video. The two new models also the same front camera which comes with a 13MP 1/3.06” sensor and 22mm equivalent focal length.

While the camera looks impressive the Xperia XZ Premium offers the best of the best in all other departments as well. The Android 7.0 operating system is powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 835 chipset and 4GB of RAM. Images can be viewed and composed on a 5.5” display with 4K resolution that also supports HDR technology. The phone is completely wrapped in Gorilla Glass 5 and waterproof (IP68). The 3,230mAh battery supports Quick Charge and the power button doubles as a fingerprint reader.

The Xperia XZs comes with the same new camera as the XZ Premium but, with a 5.2″ 1080p screen and Snapdragon 820 processor, is otherwise more or less identical to the current XZ. The Xperia XZs will be available early April at approximately $ 700. The XZ Premium will launch later in spring. No pricing information on the higher-end model has been released yet.

Sony Xperia XZ Premium key specifications:

19MP 1/2.3 CMOS sensor
25mm equivalent lens
F2.0 aperture
ON-sensor phase detection and laser-assisted AF
RGBC-IR sensor
4K video
5-axis digital stabilization
960fps slow motion at 720p
13MP front cam with 1/3.06” sensor and 22mm equivalent focal length
Android 7.0
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset
4GB RAM
5.5” 4K display
Waterproof (IP68)
3,230mAh battery with Quick Charge

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Sony FE 85mm F1.8 sample gallery and first impressions

28 Feb

The Sony FE 85mm F1.8 joins Sony’s full-frame E-Mount lineup as the most affordable native lens that offers a short telephoto focal length. Other full-frame systems have had comparably low-cost 85mm lenses for quite a while, and it’s nice to see Sony filling in some of the gaps for budget conscious users.

The FE 85mm balances superbly on Sony’s a7-series bodies, and though it’s no G Master lens, it feels solid enough. Focusing is silent and fairly quick (contrary to Sony’s ‘nifty fifty’ FE 50mm F1.8), and it has excellent sharpness wide open, even well off-center. It’s even sharper by F2.5, seemingly peaking by F4. There’s an awful lot of purple and green fringing wide open though, as you’ll see in our gallery, but this is to be expected, and is indeed common, in lightweight fast primes (they’re far less distracting by F4.5). Careful software corrections might be able to take care of most of it (remember: it’s lateral CA that’s easy to remove, not axial), albeit typically at a cost to other areas of the image – download a few of the Raw files to see for yourself.

On an a7R II, this lens focuses wide open, quickly and accurately.

Of particular interest is our observation that this lens, currently, focuses wide open* on an a7R II (or, technically, opens up to F2 if you’ve selected an aperture smaller than wide open). This addresses one of our largest complaints with recent Sony lens releases that focus stopped down, often slowing focus in low light or forcing otherwise capable phase-detect AF systems to revert to contrast detect-only. It appears that, at least for now, Sony’s recent 100mm STF and 85mm F1.8 lenses address this issue, and without an image cost to boot: take a look at our aperture series with our LensAlign target here (please choose the option to ‘Open Link in New Window’), and you’ll note no focus shift as we stop down (the lens was focused once wide open, then switched to MF for the series). You can also judge problematic apertures for axial CA in this series, as well as how circular out-of-focus highlights remain as you stop down the 9-bladed aperture.

Oddly, the same doesn’t hold true on other Sony bodies: the lens focuses stopped down at the shooting aperture on an a7 II, a7S, and a6300/6500. Oddly, this sometimes leads to slight front-focus at smaller apertures on those cameras, though it’s not a huge deal as the focus shift is often masked by the increased depth-of-field. It’s interesting from an academic standpoint though – as focusing at the selected aperture should increase focus accuracy, not decrease it. We have our hypotheses, but for now, we’ve reached out to Sony for comment.

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See our Sony FE 85mm F1.8 sample gallery

*Note this only holds true for AF-S and for initial focus acquisition in AF-C, after which the lens stays stopped down, presumably to avoid having to constantly open and close the aperture during continuous drive. We still wish this weren’t the case, as (1) AF-C is often useful even in Single drive mode, and (2) DSLRs are fully capable of opening and closing the aperture in between shots, even at 14 fps. There may be other nuances we’re missing that explain why Sony chooses to focus stopped down, but the inconsistencies between bodies is confusing. Rest assured, we are in constant discussion with Sony engineers about this issue.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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WPO releases short listed winners for Sony World Photography Awards

28 Feb

2017 Sony World Photography Awards shortlist announced

Alex Andriesi, Romania,

Shortlist, Open, Enhanced, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

The World Photography Organisation has announced the shortlisted photographers for what it claims is the world’s largest photography competition – the Sony World Photography Awards. The WPO says that it received 227,596 images in total across categories for amateurs, professionals and students. Photographers from 60 countries are represented among the shortlisted and commended photographs, while entries from 183 countries were submitted.

Professional photographers are competing for the top prize of $ 25,000 plus Sony digital camera equipment, while the best amateur entry will win $ 5000 plus Sony kit and the best student will collect €30,000 of Sony equipment for his or her educational establishment.
The overall and category winners will be announced at a ceremony in London in the 20th April and an exhibition of the winning images will be displayed at London’s Somerset House. Martin Parr has been announced as the winner of the Outstanding Contribution to Photography Prize and will be exhibiting alongside the winners, as well as holding a talk.
For more information, and to see a gallery of all the shortlisted and commended images, visit the World Photography Organisation website.

Press Release

Shortlist revealed for 2017 Sony World Photography Awards, the world’s largest photography competition

Shortlists for Professional, Open, Youth and Student Focus competitions revealed
Awards’ 10th anniversary sees record number of participating photographers
Photographers competing for cash prizes and Sony digital imaging equipment
Overall winners revealed April 20, 2017
Winning and shortlisted images to be exhibited in London April 21 – May 7, 2017

Celebrating its 10th year anniversary, the Sony World Photography Awards is the world’s largest photography competition. The awards recognize and reward the finest contemporary photography from the last year entered into any of the awards’ four competitions.

“There was a truly global reach to the Sony World Photography Awards judging this year- the images were more diverse and broad ranging than I have ever seen before. In its tenth year, I can confidently say that the Sony World Photography Awards and the fine art of photography are doing extremely well.” Zelda Cheatle, Chair of the Professional jury / Curator (UK)

February 28, 2017: The shortlisted (top 10) and commended (top 50) photographers for all categories of the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards, the world’s largest photography competition, are announced today. Photographers entered 227,596 images across the awards’ Professional, Open and Youth competitions – shining a spotlight on the medium of photography and the beauty of its art.

Produced by the World Photography Organisation, 2017 marks the 10th anniversary of the awards and a decade-long partnership with its headline sponsor, Sony.

The Sony World Photography Awards’ shortlist represents the world’s finest contemporary photography captured over the last year, and displays a huge diversity of extraordinary images in terms of genres, styles and subject matter. Forty-nine countries are represented on the shortlist, reinforcing the awards’ international appeal and unique ability to present the greatest images taken by photographers from all corners of the world on a truly global scale. Photographers from a further 11 countries are seen within the commended list.

The shortlisted photographers across the Professional, Open, Youth and Student Focus competitions impressed the judges with solid narratives and strong visual language complementing the subject matters. Within the shortlist are stunning architectural images and subtle landscapes alongside extraordinary series depicting the dominating world events of the last year. Stand out subject matters include a touching insight into the domestic life of women in Saudi Arabia, heartfelt confessions of Chinese school children, Russian body builders preparing to flex muscle on stage and an intimate series of a private battle with a rare medical condition.

Key shortlists facts and stats

Strong increase in entries on 2016 from Asian and South East Asian countries including; China (90 %); Myanmar (183 %) Vietnam (108 %); The Philippines (71 %); and
Hong Kong (73 %).
Youth competition saw a 56 % increase in entries on 2016.
Entries to the Open competition increased 11 % on 2016.
Professional competition saw a 13 % increase in the number of photographers entering their work.
183 countries were represented in the submissions – with the most entries coming from (in descending order): China, United Kingdom, Italy, United States, Germany, Russia, India, Spain, France and Poland.
49 countries are represented on the shortlist, with the most shortlisted photographers coming from Italy (22), Germany (17), UK (15), China (14) and Russia (11)
Armenia, Cuba, Iceland and Saudi Arabia represented for the first time on the shortlist.

To view the commended photographers of the Open competition please go to www.worldphoto.org/winners-galleries

Commenting about this year’s shortlist, Scott Gray, CEO, World Photography Organisation, notes: “This year, more than any other, the entries to the Sony World Photography Awards have shown great integrity and are characterized by their considered approach. Beautiful works of photographic art, not snapshots, have been presented to the judges and I am delighted to see that our esteemed juries have chosen to reward the pure skill, artistic interpretation and thoughtfulness of the photographer, rather than simply the subject matter the photographer has captured.

He continues: “The Sony World Photography Awards has celebrated photographers and photography throughout its ten-year history, we now look forward to ensuring that photography has a global platform and is recognised as the dynamic, exciting and accessible medium it is.”

The Sony World Photography Awards are judged anonymously by internationally acclaimed industry professionals, carefully selected by the World Photography Organisation.

The 2017 Professional competition was judged by Zelda Cheatle (Chair of the Judges), Curator (UK); Aida Muluneh, Founder/Director, Addis Foto Fest (Ethiopia); Allegra Cordero di Montezemolo, Curator & Head of Exhibitions, Centro de la Imagen (Mexico); Denis Curti, Curator and Journalist (Italy); Russ O’Connell, Picture Editor The Sunday Times Magazine (UK) and Françoise Callier, Program Director at Angkor Photo Festival & Workshops (France). The Open and Youth competitions were chaired by Damien Demolder, Photographer and Journalist (UK), and Student Focus was judged by Andrea Kurland, Editor-in-Chief of Huck (UK); Dan Rubin, Photographer & Artistic Director (UK) and Jennifer Shaw, Founder and Creative Director, PhotoNOLA (USA).

Commenting on the Open and Youth shortlists, Damien Demolder said: “It has been a pleasure and an inspiration to be exposed to such a volume of great work, and a privilege too that I could share in the personal moments, the joys, tears, life and losses of photographers from all around the globe who recorded their experiences through their pictures. The Youth competition was a special delight to judge and I was touched on many occasions by the openness and fearless expression of the entries.”

Student Focus judge Andrea Kurland adds: “This year’s shortlist helps cement why awards like these are more important than ever. The work submitted was original, thoughtful and brave – a healthy reminder that talent will always win out and rise above the noise.”

The shortlisted photographers now compete for the latest Sony digital imaging equipment and inclusion in the 2017 awards’ book plus cash prizes of $ 25,000 (USD) for the Photographer of the Year, $ 5,000 (USD) for the overall Open winner and €30,000 (Euros) of equipment for the university of the Student Focus winner. All winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in London on April 20, 2017.

The winning, shortlisted and commended images will all be exhibited as part of the Sony World Photography Awards & Martin Parr – 2017 Exhibition at Somerset House, London. The large-scale exhibition will open April 21 and will feature rarely seen work by Martin Parr, recipient of the awards’ Outstanding Contribution to Photography prize. The exhibition will run in London until May 7 and will then go on a worldwide tour. Exhibition tickets are available via www.worldphoto.org/2017exhibition

NOTES

227,596 images were submitted to the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards across all competitions
Professional competition: 110,270 entries
Open competition: 105,692 entries
Youth: 11,634 entries

Sony World Photography Awards forthcoming announcements
March 28, 2017 – Open and National Award winners announced
April 20, 2017 – Photographer of the Year plus Professional category winners and Open, Youth and Student Focus Photographers of the Year revealed at ceremony held in London
April 21 – May 7, 2017 – Sony World Photography Awards & Martin Parr – 2017 Exhibition at Somerset House, London

SHORTLISTED PHOTOGRAPHERS

PROFESSIONAL CATEGORIES
Rewarding the best body of work across 10 categories. Up to 10 photographers shortlisted in each category. Category winners will be announced April 20, alongside the Photographer of the Year chosen from the ten category winners.

Architecture
Adi Bulboaca, Romania
Alessandro Piredda, Italy
Alissa Everett, US
Diego Mayon, Italy
Dongni, China
Julien Chatelin, France
Marvin Systermans, Germany
Zsolt Hlinka, Hungary

Conceptual
Alexander Anufriev, Russia
Carla Sutera Sardo, Italy
Jeroen De Wandel, Belgium
Joa?o San, Brazil
Sabine Cattaneo, Switzerland
Gao Peng, China

Contemporary Issues
Amber Bracken, Canada
Andrea Foligni, Italy
Danial Khodaie, Iran
Javier Arcenillas, Spain
Li Song, China
Lorenzo Maccotta, Italy
Tasneem Alsultan, Saudi Arabia

Current Affairs & News
Alessio Romenzi, Italy
Asger Ladefoged, Denmark
Ivor Prickett, Ireland
Javier Arcenillas, Spain
Joe Raedle, US
Karl Mancini, Italy
Pas?a I?mrek, Turkey
Sebastian Castan?eda, Peru

Daily Life
Alice Cannara Malan, Italy
Asger Ladefoged, Denmark
Christina Simons, Iceland
Ioana Moldovan, Romania
Majlend Bramo, Italy
Michael Tummings, UK
Nader Saadallah, Egypt
Sandra Hoyn, Germany
Toby Binder, Argentina
Yulia Grigoryants, Armenia

Landscape
Dino Kuznik, Slovenia
Frederik Buyckx, Belgium
Jayanta Roy, India
Kurt Tong, UK
Peter Franck, Germany
Tom Jacobi, Germany

Natural World
Ami Vitale, US
Christian Vizl, Mexico
Esther Whyatt, UK
Felicity McCabe, UK
Mariusz Prusaczyk, Poland
Tommaso Rada, Italy
Will Burrard-Lucas, UK

Portraiture
Craig Easton, UK
Dario Mitidieri, Italy
George Mayer, Russia
Giulia Piermartiri & Edoardo Delille, Italy
Mahesh Shantaram, India
Romina Ressia, Argentina
Ren shi Chen, China
Snezhana Von Buedingen, Russia

Sport
Andrea Rossato, Italy
Eduard Korniyenko, Russia
Jason O’brien, Australia
Mark Gong, US
Yuan Peng, China
Luo Pin Xi, China

Still Life
Ansgar Sollmann, Germany
Julien CAÏDOS, France
Christoffer Askman, Denmark
Grant Hegedus, UK
Henry Agudelo, Colombia
Paul Sanders, UK
Shinya Masuda, Japan

OPEN CATEGORIES
Rewarding the best single images across 10 categories. Up to 10 photographers shortlisted in each category. Category winners will be announced March 28, and Open Photographer of the Year revealed April 20.

Shortlist
Architecture
Barry Tweedy-Rycroft, UK
Claudio Cantonetti, Italy
Frank Machalowski, Germany
Franklin Neto, Portugal
Lester Koh Meng Hua, Singapore
Nick Frank, Germany
Oscar Lopez, Germany
Robert Walker, UK
Tim Cornbill, UK
Ute-Christa Scherhag, Germany

Culture
Beniamino Pisati, Italy
Emrah Karakoç, Turkey
Jianguo Gong, China
Mark Languido Vicente, the Philippines (based in Kuwait)
Michal Plachta, Poland
Pawe? J?drusik, Poland
foley hits, Malaysia
Radu Dumitrescu, Romania
Salvatore Mazzeo, Italy
Vito Leone, Italy

Enhanced
Alex Andriesi, Romania
Andrea Torres Balaguer, Spain
Chun Kin Tong, China
Gil Josquin, Brazil
Harry Botley,UK
John Chen, China
Julian Schievelkamp, Germany
Lise Johansson, Denmark
Sergey Dibtsev, Russia
Yong Lin Tan, Malaysia

Motion
Jimmy Reid, Scotland
Olga Sinenko, Russia
K. W. Hon (OqWing), China
Argus Paul Estabrook, US (based in South Korea)
Gül Y?ld?z, Turkey
Stacy Anguiano Cain, Mexico (based in the US)
Mariusz Stanosz, Poland
Oktay Suba?i, Turkey
Camilo Diaz, Colombia
Luigi Panico, Italy

Nature
Francesco Russo, Italy
Miyono Okamoto, Japan
Hiroshi Tanita, Japan
Christina Roemmelt, German (based in Austria)
Ann Ric Lau, Malaysia
Sorin Rechitan, Romania
Josselin Cornou, France (based in Australia)
Sakuma Masayasu, Japan
Elzbieta Kurowska, Canada
Maximilian Conrad, Germany

Portraits
Dalibor Tomic, Serbia
Carl Jeffers, UK
Saeid Moridi, Iran
Alexey Munich, Russia
Carloman Macidiano Céspedes Riojas, Peru (based in Argentina)
Anisleidy Martínez Fonseca, Cuba (based in the Netherlands)
Alexander Vinogradov, Russia
Tim Topple, UK
Fajar Kristianto, Indonesia
Tadas Kazakevicius, Lithuania

Still Life
Nick Pershai, Belarus
Gijs van den Berg, the Netherlands
Zani Arkadina, Ukraine (based in Germany)
Sergey Dibtsev, Russia
Iwona Czubek, Poland
Maxim Korotchenko, Russia
Wilson Lee, Hong Kong
Esthaem, Austria
Andres Gallardo Albajar, Spain (based in Estonia)
Massimiliano Balo’, Italian (based in the UK)

Street Photography
Caio Vita, Brazil (based in the Netherlands)
Jelena Jankovic Serbia
Jian Seng Soh, Malaysia
Gimmi Corvaro, Italy
Konstantinos Sofikitis, Greece
Ge Wang, China
Dina Alfasi, Istrael
Hendra Permana, Indonesia
Ash, Japan
Tavepong Pratoomwong, Thailand

Travel
Jose Maria Perez Nuñez, Argentina
Stephane Couture, Canada (based in the US)
Rob Wilson, Canada
Placido Faranda, Italy (based in Switzerland)
Zhu Jianxing, China
Vladimir Zhoga, Russia
Ralph Gräf, Germany
Swapnil Deshpande, India
Achim Thomae, Germany
Fanjing Lu, Chinese

Wildlife
Andreas Hemb, Sweden
Alessandra Meniconzi, Switzerland
Jan Ryser, Switzerland
Eugene Kitsios, The Netherlands (shortlisted twice)
Fan Chen, China
Bar Kaufman, Israel
Natsumi Handa, Japan
Nigel Hodson, UK

Commended
For the full list of commended photographers in the Open competition (up to 40 per category) please go to www.worldphoto.org/winners-galleries

YOUTH COMPETITION
Photographers aged 12-19 were asked to respond to a theme of ‘beauty’ with a single image. The Youth Photographer of the Year will be announced April 20.

Helen Kiparissa, Greece
Bella Wong, China (based in the UK)
Andrej Kiripolský, Slovenia
Taciu Rares, Romania
Katelyn Wang, US
Iryna Sylinnyk, Ukraine
Yujia Dou, China
Tanya Chinareva, Russia
Frederik Marks, Germany
Johnathan Chen, US

STUDENT FOCUS
Open to all students worldwide studying photography. The Student Photographer of the Year will be announced April 20.

Shravya Kag, School of Visual Arts, US, (Indian nationality)
Tatsuki Katayama, Kyoto University of Art and Design, Japan
Stewart Main, Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland
Ruby Gaunt, Nottingham Trent University, UK
Cole Ndelu, Stellenbosch Academy of Design & Photography, South Africa
Nursyafiqah Azlan, Multimedia University, Malaysia
Nadine Hackemer, Nuremberg Institute of Technology Georg-Simon-Ohm Faculty of Design, Germany
Sarah Schrimpf, Academy of Fine Arts Munich, Germany
Michelle Daiana Gentile, Motivarte, Argentina
Tayla Martin, Charles Sturt University, Australia

FURTHER NOTES
The Professional competition of the Sony World Photography Awards is judged by an independent panel of industry experts selected by the World Photography Organisation. The headline sponsor of the awards, Sony, is not involved in the image selection of judging of this competition.