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The wait is finally over: The World Photography Organisation has announced the overall winners in the Sony World Photography Awards 2023. Like every year, the jury selected the winners in different categories and the overall winner of the contest.
The Photographer of the Year title has been awarded to Portuguese photographer Edgar Martins this year. His winning series Our War is an emotional homage to his friend, photojournalist Anton Hammerl, who was killed during the Libyan Civil War in 2011.
Sony has added two new image sensors to its product list. Both sensors are full-frame, with one having a resolution of 44.72 megapixels and the other being 61.17 megapixels. Both sensors mention the ability to shoot 8K video, with the 44.72-megapixel sensor specifically talking about “high-speed 8K” capabilities, listing 12-Bit 8K resolution at up to 61.25 frames per second in its max readout speeds.
Sony says that both the Sony IMX366AJK (44.72MP) and Sony IMX455AQK (61.17MP) sensors are destined for “use in consumer use digital still camera and consumer use camcorder”, which means they’re likely coming in future Sony bodies, but may also go up for sale for use in cameras from other brands, too.
Sony has announced new firmware updates for both the Sony FX3 and Sony FX30 cinema cameras. The new updates bring together what Sony describes as “unified operability and common workflow to the Cinema Line”. Sony FX3 firmware v3.0 and Sony FX30 firmware v2.0 both bring the same set of features to each camera, including some that have been highly requested.
First up, both cameras can now shoot true 24.00 fps in 4K DCI resolution using a new video format, XAVC S-I DCI 4K (17:9), allowing them to seamlessly slot into high-end workflows using Sony Venice cameras. Both cameras also see 1.3x and 2.0x anamorphic desqueeze options available. The FX3 also gains a notably missing feature that the FX30 also contained. Focus Breathing Compensation.
Sony World Photography Awards recently published the winners and shortlists of its Open competition. The photos are absolutely stunning, but there’s just one problem – the Creative category winner isn’t a photo at all. The winning image resembles a portrait photo from the 1940s, with a characteristic vintage, nostalgic feel. But on a closer look, you can spot the weird hands – one of the biggest weaknesses of text-to-image generators.
This case sparked some serious debate in the photo community. It also made me think about AI and its place in photography. Should AI-generated art enter and win photography contests? Is it fair? Are there legal issues? I wanted to discuss all of this and more in this article.
Sony has now officially announced the new Sony ZV-E1 (buy here) mirrorless camera. It follows on with the general theme of the ZV-1 and ZV-E10 in that they’re targeted primarily towards vloggers. In many ways, it seems to be just as good as the Sony A7S III and Sony FX3 – at least on paper. It contains the same full-frame 12.1-megapixel sensor capable of shooting 4K video at up to 120fps (in a future firmware), but there are some key differences.
Well, there’d have to be. When the A7S III and FX3 cost $3,499 and $3,899, respectively, and the new ZV-E1 costs $2,198, you know there are going to be some compromises somewhere. Let’s take a quick look at the specs and see where Sony’s skimped to bring the price down as low as they have.
Sony Taiwan has posted a teaser image to Instagram for an upcoming vlogging camera. This is expected to be the recently rumoured full-frame vlogging camera, the Sony ZV-E1. Similar to the Sony ZV-E10, the ZV-E1 will be a camera specifically focused on vlogging – as the slogan above confirms. General video will be secondary, and photography will barely be a consideration. It’ll still shoot photos, but I wouldn’t hold out hope for advanced features.
It’s said to be based around the Sony A7S III, including 4K 120fps with no cropping and no pixel binning, using the same 12-megapixel sensor found in both the A7S III and FX3. The ISO capabilities are also rumoured to extend up to ISO 409,600, although it’s unclear what autofocus system the camera will have yet. It’s expected to be similar to that of either the Sony A7 IV or A7R V, although nothing solid on which.
A recent interview published in Nikkei Business with Sony Vice Chairman Shigeki Ishizuka reveals that Sony once considered joining the Micro Four Thirds camera system. Back in 2007, three years before the Sony E mount was first released in the Sony NEX-3, he says Sony was invited to team up with the pair and join the MFT system.
Back then, the Micro Four Thirds System Standard Group was headed up by Panasonic and Olympus (now OM System). Since that time, they’ve also added Yongnuo, Venus Optics (Laowa) and DJI, amongst others. It sure makes you wonder how the camera landscape would look today had Sony decided to take the plunge.
Sony has announced the DSC-HX99RNV kit, a camera kit that helps visually impaired photographers capture the world around them. It packs Sony DSC-HX99 compact camera and the QD Laser’s RETISSA NEOVIEWER: a viewfinder that essentially projects the image straight onto a user’s retina.
According to recent rumours, Sony is preparing to announce a new camera at the end of the month. It’s reported to be called the Sony ZV-E1. Along similar lines to the Sony ZV-E10, this will be another interchangeable lens vlogging camera. Except, this one is expected to be a full-frame camera. Not only that but it’s said to feature the same sensor as the Sony A7S III and Sony FX3 cinema cameras.
This will be Sony’s first full-frame camera targeted directly towards vloggers in their ZV series. One could argue that the Sony A7c was the first full-frame vlogging camera from Sony but with the higher 24-megapixel resolution and relatively limited video features – it has no 4K60 video, for example – it wasn’t truly dedicated towards vloggers. By the sounds of this one, though, it should be a dream come true.
The World Photography Organisation has announced the category winners and shortlists of the Sony World Photography Awards 2023 Open competition. This contest recognizes the best single shots from 2022, and it’s a truly marvelous collection of images from all over the world.
We’ll have to wait a bit more for the overall winner of the contest. But we bring you a winner of each of the ten categories, plus a selection of shortlisted images. And to be honest, there are so many exquisite images, that I had a really hard time narrowing down the selection.
Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.
Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe
Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.
John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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