'Life in Another Light' infrared photography contest 2024 winners
The winners of the fourth Life in Another Light photo contest have been announced, showcasing unique views captured with infrared photography. The Biennial contest is hosted by Kolari Vision, a company specializing in infrared photography gear, camera conversions, and tips. This year's contest drew over 3,000 submissions across 11 photography categories and a short film category, a first for the contest.
While the main aim of the contest is to highlight infrared photography, Kolari Vision also included some categories focused on traditional visible light, opening up the competition beyond the niche of infrared imagery. Additionally, there was a category for ultraviolet light and categories specifically for Kolari Vision's Candy Chrome Infrared Lens Filter and IR Chrome FIlter.
The contest was judged by seven judges, including guest photographers Pierre-Louis Ferrer and Yann Philippe, who helped judge the filter-specific categories. Kolari Vision explains that each image was evaluated "based on technical execution, composition, and creativity in three rounds of judging before selecting the finalists." The resulting images are otherworldly examples of what's possible with this method of photography.
Landscape infrared – first place
Photographer: Gavin Spooner
Title: Switzerland
Gear used: Panasonic GX85 + IR Chrome Infrared Filter
Type of light: Infrared
Landscape infrared – second place
Photographer: Jonas Hangartner
Title: WA1K345
Gear used: Full spectrum Canon 5D MKII + 720nm filter from Kolari Vision
Type of light: Infrared
Infrared short film – first place
Cinematographer: Lambert Grand
Title: When Earth Took A Breath
Gear used: IR Chrome Infrared filter (camera used not provided)
Type of light: Infrared
Astro landscape – first place
Photographer: Jonas Hangartner
Title: Losing Track Of Time
Gear used: Panasonic GH5
Type of light: Visible light (normal)
Astro landscape – honorable mention
Photographer: Troy Casswell
Title: Luminous Jewels
Gear used: Canon EOS R5 (full spectrum converted) with 365nm UV light to induce fluorescence
Type of light: Visible light (normal)
Black & white – first place
Photographer: Carolyn Hinton Hutchins
Title: Alligator In Morning Mist
Gear used: Nikon Z6
Type of light: Visible light (normal)
IR Chrome – first place
Photographer: Mitja Kobal
Title: Dreams Of Reality, Dream 5: Plaza of Kanagawa, Japan
Gear used: Fujifilm GFX50S + IR Chrome Infrared Filter
Type of light: Infrared
Landscape – visible light – first place
Photographer: Yohan Raintung
Title: Merapi
Gear used: Nikon Z9
Type of light: Visible light (normal)
Aerial – first place
Photographer: Bobby Ritchey
Title: Black Sand Beach
Gear used: Not provided
Type of light: Visible light (normal)
Long exposure – first place
Photographer: Dibakar Roy
Title: People Mixture
Gear used: Not provided
Type of light: Visible light (normal)
Portrait – first place
Photographer: Rob Jemmett
Title: Meg With Scarf
Gear used: Fujifilm X-T2 (converted to full spectrum) + 720nm Infrared Filter
Type of light: Infrared
Ultraviolet – first place
Photographer: Michael Riffle
Title: Magnolia Grandiflora
Gear used: Nikon D750 + UV Bandpass Filter
Type of light: Ultraviolet Reflective
Candy Chrome – first place
Photographer: Ginny Taylor
Title: Bout To Bloom
Gear used: Canon EOS R5 + Candy Chrome Infrared Filter
"DJI Flip features a stunning compact design with exceptional imaging capabilities. It supports palm takeoff without a remote controller, and the AI Subject Tracking feature ensures the main subject stays perfectly framed, so you can set up captivating shots with ease. The innovative design of the Foldable Full-Coverage Propeller Guard seamlessly merges lightweight construction with optimal safety. Whether capturing distant landscapes or close-up portraits, DJI Flip brings visual beauty into every frame."
Adobe has announced that it's working on a feature for Photoshop called Live Co-Editing, which lets multiple people view and edit the same document at once. The concept will be familiar to anyone who's worked in a Google Doc with other people, though applied to photo or graphical editing instead of word processing.
The feature is coming next week as a private beta, so it won't immediately be accessible to everyone. If you sign up for the beta and are accepted, you'll be able to use it via the share button, similar to the existing collaboration feature. However, instead of only one person being able to work on the document at once, you'll have the option to turn on Live Co-Editing.
Adobe's press release details some examples of when the ability to work on the same Photoshop document could be useful. The first is the most obvious one, where there's a big project with several pieces that designers can work on at once. It could also be handy if a teacher is trying to explain a specific process to a student or if you're on a call with a client and want them to be able to see your work in as much detail as possible.
To use the feature, the file you want to collaborate on will have to be saved to your Creative Cloud storage – if you try to turn on Live Co-Editing for a file saved locally, Photoshop will walk you through uploading it to Creative Cloud before sending the invitation. At the end of the process, you'll end up with a .PSDL file, rather than the conventional .PSD.
The announcement is Adobe's latest move to present Photoshop and its other products as services rather than simply applications, along with the increasing number of built-in generative AI features. It may hope that these features will help justify the ongoing cost of a subscription, especially as some tiers of that subscription are getting more expensive. To start, Live Co-Editing will be available on the desktop and web versions of Photoshop.
DJI has announced a new drone, offering a folding design unique to its lineup. The DJI Flip is the company’s first foldable drone with full-coverage propeller guards, maintaining safety in a compact, portable package. The palm-sized drone combines the simplicity of the DJI Neo with the photo capabilities of the DJI Mini 3. Like both the Neo and Mini 3, it weighs less than 249 grams, so it's more accessible to fly than heavier drones since you don't need a license from the FAA. DJI is calling it an all-in-one vlog camera drone with features ideal for content creators on the go.
Photo: DJI
The standout feature of the DJI Flip is its foldable design. The propeller guards are attached to the rotors using carbon fiber string, and each rotor can then fold down for easier storage. Like the Neo, it offers very simplified flight controls, making it an easy option for those who don’t have drone flying experience. That includes one-tap flight, six intelligent shooting modes (Dronie, Circle, Rocket, Spotlight, Helix and Boomerang) and AI Subject Tracking. It also offers automatic braking with the 3D Infrared Sensing System, making it safer to fly.
Photo: DJI
Regarding camera capabilities, the DJI Flip features a 48MP Type 1/1.3 (9.6 x 7.2mm) CMOS sensor behind a lens with an F1.7 aperture. The sensor has a Quad Bayer-style color filter layout, meaning it can either output 48MP photos, or combine pixels to give 2.4μm "4-in-1" output, just like the DJI Mini 3.
DJI also promises "Dual Native ISO Fusion," which appears to be its branding for sensor maker Omnivision's Dual Conversion Gain HDR feature. This claims to sample each pixel's charge twice, using different conversion gain levels to boost DR, while also combining variable exposures. It appears to be for capturing wide-DR video in a standard DR space rather than true HDR footage for playback on high DR screens. We've asked DJI for more information.
The drone can record HDR video up to 4K 60 fps, supports slow-motion recording at 4K 100 fps, and the 4:3 sensor produces vertical crops up to 2.7K. It also supports 10-bit D-Log M color mode for those who want to dive into color grading.
A sample image taken with the DJI Flip
Photo: DJI
The DJI Flip offers up to 31 minutes of flight time, which is quite a bit less than the DJI Mini 3’s 51-minute flight time (provided you use the Intelligent Flight Battery Plus) but substantially longer than the Neo’s 18-minute max flight time. You can control the Flip with Voice Control or the DJI Fly app, and it is also compatible with the DJI RC-N3 and RC2 controllers. It supports up to 13 kilometers (8.1 miles) of 1080p 60 fps video transmission, so you don’t need to be right next to your subject to record or capture photos.
The DJI Flip is available for purchase as of today. You can opt for only the drone only for $439, buy a kit with the DJI RC 2 for $639 or opt for the Fly More Combo with the DJI RC 2 for $779.
TTArtisan is keeping the lens news coming this year with another lens announcement just a few weeks after its last. The company is following up its AF 35mm F1.8 II with another F1.8 prime lens for APS-C users, as reported by PetaPixel. Priced at just $127, the TTArtisan AF 23mm (35mm equivalent) F1.8 is a budget-friendly option that slots nicely into TTArtisan’s existing lineup of affordable yet fast prime lenses. It is available for Fujifilm X cameras now, with Sony E and Nikon Z mount models coming later, though the company hasn't specified exactly when.
Image: TTArtisan
Like TTArtisan’s other lenses, the 23mm F1.8 features an aluminum body, offering better durability than you may expect for the budget price. It’s also very lightweight, weighing 210 grams (7.4 ounces). TTArtisan doesn’t provide additional details on dimensions, but the lightweight design and 35mm equivalent focal length could make it an ideal street, travel, and landscape lens. The USB-C port for firmware updates is on the rear lens cap, so you won't want to lose that after unboxing the lens.
Image: TTArtisan
While the details about the lens size are minimal, the company did provide information on the optical design. The lens is composed of 11 elements in nine groups. It includes two extra-low dispersion elements and a high index element. Additionally, it features a nine-blade aperture diaphragm. There is no aperture control ring (as is expected on a lens of this price), so all aperture control will be done through the camera. The 23mm F1.8 uses a stepper motor for autofocus, which the company says is fast, accurate and suitable for video applications. Finally, it can focus as close as 0.3 meters (11.9 inches).
After losing a lot of sales during the COVID-19 pandemic, the camera market is recovering in the post-COVID era. December sales volume was 123.7% higher than the previous year, showing a booming performance. Unlike PCs and TVs, cameras generally increased year-on-year until around last summer. There were times in the early fall when sales fell significantly below the previous year's level, but they regained momentum in November and December and significantly exceeded last year's level. Compact cameras with built-in lenses showed particular growth. December sales volume was 123.7% higher than the previous year. Meanwhile, sales volume of interchangeable lens cameras, whose momentum has slowed due to rising unit prices, continued to fall below the previous year's level since August, but in December it rose to 101.0%, slightly higher than the previous year.
Canon
Canon led the camera market overall in December with a 25.5% unit sales share. Sales volume increased significantly to 151.4% compared to the previous year.
Fujifilm
Fujifilm, in second place with a market share of 18.6%, maintained its good performance with a 107.3% increase compared to the previous year.
Kenko Tokina
Kenko Tokina, which rose to third place for the first time with a market share of 11.8%, also put up a strong performance with a 256.8% increase compared to the previous year.
Kodak
However, Kodak, which had a market share of 10.4%, was affected and ended up below double digits at 89.7%. Sony, which remained in fifth place with a market share of 9.7%, also fell below the previous year at 92.4%. (bcnretail)
BCN Ranking collects real sales data from approximately 40% of the Japanese retailers - this is not a worldwide market share/sales report. Previous BCN reports from Japan can be found here.
Here are the best-selling cameras for December in Japan, according to BCN Retail:
The previously reported 23mm f/1.8 AF APS-C lens for Fuji X-mount by TTArtisan is now officially announced. The Sony E and Nikon Z mount versions are coming soon. The new lens features a stepper motor with all-metal construction, 11 elements in 9 groups, and 0.3 minimum focus distance.
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Nikkor Z DX 16-50mm F3.5-6.3 @ 16mm | F6.3 | 1/160 sec | ISO 100
Photo: Richard Butler
As part of our ongoing review, we took the Z50II traveling over the Christmas period, to see what Nikon's little APS-C model is like as a day-to-day camera. We found it small enough to take on a madcap 11-day trip to Mexico and the UK.
The gallery was primarily shot on the retractable Nikkor Z DX 16-50mm F3.5-6.3 VR kit zoom but we also took the Nikkor Z DX 24mm F1.7 and the Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN, for a bit of variery.
We've still got some of our more formal testing to do, so the review is still likely to be a few weeks off. But in the meantime you can get a sense of its versatility from our samples gallery.
Please do not reproduce any of these images on a website or any newsletter/magazine without prior permission (see our copyright page). We make the originals available for private users to download to their own machines for personal examination or printing (in conjunction with this review); we do so in good faith, so please don't abuse it.
Sample gallery
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Astrhori will soon release the world's first dual-lens 4K camera with AI features. Here are the details:
The world's first Dual-Lens 4K Camera with AI Features
High-Quality Video: Supports 4K resolution at 30FPS 1/2.55" sensor, delivering ultra-clear and detailed visuals.
AI-Powered Interaction: Human-like dual-lens design enhances emotional value, making it perfect for creators looking to engage their audience.
Three-Microphone Array: Provides superior sound quality, ensuring clear audio during live streaming or video recording.
Stylish and Unique Design
Eye-Catching Aesthetics: Designed to meet emotional needs with a distinct, human-like appearance.
Privacy Protection: Comes with a magnetic privacy cover for added security.
Premium Design: Stands out from competitors with a sleek and differentiated look, making it suitable for creative workspaces.
Tailored for Creators and Streamers
AI Features for Content Creation: Face tracking and gesture control streamline video production and enhance interactive live streams.
High-Performance Audio-Visual Setup: 4K video and professional-quality audio ensure a polished and engaging viewer experience.
Cross-Platform Compatibility: Works seamlessly with major streaming platforms, providing a hassle-free setup for creators.
Two new L-mount cameras are coming soon: Leica SL3-S and Panasonic Lumix S1R II.
The Panasonic Lumix S1R II (not sure about the exact model name) is expected in February for the CP+ show in Japan. Panasonic has already registered three not-yet-announced cameras, so more than one new model is possible. Several Panasonic Lumix S models are already heavily discontinued.
Japan is a street photographer's paradise, but it's the rain that really transforms Japanese cityscapes into something magical. City lights reflect off wet pavement, creating depth and dimension that only exist when it rains, and everyone carries umbrellas, creating captivating shadows and silhouettes. This image, taken in Tokyo during a downpour last year, encapsulates the feeling of wandering through the city's intimate side streets and alleys on a rainy night.
Panasonic S5II X and Panasonic 28-200mm F4-7.1 lens | ISO 1600 | 1/100 sec | F4 Photo: Dale Baskin
We've received numerous requests to host an Editors' Photo Challenge for street photography, so our theme for January is 'B&W Street'.
This is your chance to showcase your best black-and-white street photography! We want to see the city through your lens, whether it's an unexpected scene, a candid portrait, or some other "decisive moment." Our favorites will be featured on the DPReview homepage later this month.
Important: Images MUST include a title and a caption of at least 25 words to be eligible. Viewers want to know the story behind your photo. We will consider both photos and captions when selecting our winners, so make sure to tell us that story! (Hint: the caption for the photo above is a good example.)
Photos can be submitted between Sunday, January 19, and Saturday, January 25 (GMT). This challenge is open to photos taken at any time.
Also, don't forget to check out some of the other open and upcoming photo challenges hosted by members of the DPReview community. Or, see some of the great photos from recently completed photo challenges.
Companies like Viltrox and Sirui have been putting out Z-mount autofocus primes for a while and Tamron has released a few zoom lenses, but it's still easy to be frustrated with Nikon's selectiveness as to which third-party lenses are allowed on its system. And while the Z mount's design lets you adapt lenses from many other mounts, the adapters can be expensive if you want to use autofocus.
Viltrox is looking to change that. Its new E-Z AF adapter lets you mount lenses made for Sony's system to your Nikon camera, and the company says it supports "fast and precise autofocus" and EXIF data transmission. It also says the adapter supports stabilized lenses and will work with cameras that have stabilized sensors.
The E-Z AF adapter supports "AF-S, AF-C, AF-A, AF-F, and MF" modes according to Viltrox, though the company's site recommends "switching to a different focus area setting" if you're using the pinpoint focus mode, warning that "focus efficiency may decrease in pinpoint mode." It also supports lenses with aperture rings.
Image: Viltrox
None of this is groundbreaking; companies like Megadap, FotodioX, and Techart make E-to-Z adapters that support autofocus and other functionality. However, they're usually priced at over $220, though Neewer does make a more budget option that comes in around $150. Viltrox, however, has lowered the barrier to entry even further – the E-Z AF costs $99. If it lives up to the company's promises, it could help assuage some photographers' fears about lens availability on Nikon systems, as long as they're willing to adapt lenses.
The adapter doesn't currently seem to be available on sites like Amazon or B&H, so if you want to pick it up, you'll have to buy it directly from Viltrox. We'll update this story if it becomes available elsewhere.
It's a new year, and we're back with our weekly accessory roundup after taking a bit of a break over the holiday season. It's just in time, too – this week was CES, the Consumer Electronics Show, where many manufacturers show off their latest and greatest tech.
Before we take a look at the accessories unveiled this week, let's see what's on sale.
Sales of the Week
Photo: Dale Baskin
Canon's EOS R6 II, a full frame camera aimed at enthusiasts, thoroughly impressed us when we reviewed it last year. These days its competition is a little stronger following the release of the Nikon Z6III, but it gets a leg up by currently being on sale. You can pick one up for $1,999, around $500 off its MSRP.
Godox's latest products technically came out before CES, but we didn't get to highlight them due to the holidays, so we're doing it now. The company has released three small, on-camera flashes: the iM20 / iM22 – essentially the same flash in different profiles – and the iA32.
The iM20-series are small manual on-camera flashes that Godox says will work with "a wide range of hot-shoe cameras" via its single contact. They feature five brightness levels and a built-in battery that the company says will get you 440 full-power flashes with a 3-second recycle time.
The iA32 is a bit beefier, though it still uses a single hot-shoe contact for syncing. You can adjust the angle of the flash tube from 90° to -7° via a dial on the side, letting you bounce it off the ceiling or point it directly at your subject. It has eight manually selectable power levels but also features an "auto" mode that lets you input your ISO and aperture and let the flash recommend a shooting distance. It uses two AA or LR6 batteries for power, and Godox quotes 490 flashes with a 2.5-second recycle time.
If you're more of a phone photographer, Godox has also announced the MA5R, a magnetic wireless power bank that doubles as an RGB light panel. It has an 18.13Wh battery, which you can either use to top up your phone or to power the 5W array of LEDs if you happen to be taking a video of something. It also has a small selfie light under a screen that displays settings and battery life information, if you don't need the full panel's power.
The ProGrade PG20 adds three Thunderbolt 4 ports, a USB A port, and can charge your computer.
Image: ProGrade
ProGrade's new PG20 Thunderbolt 4 hub puts an interesting spin on the idea of a card reader dock. On its own, it splits a single Thunderbolt connection into three and adds a single 10Gbps USB A port. It can provide the computer you connect it to with 85W of power, which should be enough to charge all but the beefiest of laptops.
It also gives you a place to put two sold separately ProGrade card readers.
Image: ProGrade
Its top, however, is magnetic and looks like it has a tray cut out of it. That's because it's designed for you to put up to two ProGrade card readers on top of it, turning it into a combo hub / photo and video offloading station. Unlike card reader docks with slots that you slide modules into, connecting two card readers to the ProGrade will require taking up two of your three Thunderbolt ports. However, at $170 for the hub itself, it is a substantially cheaper option than those currently made by Sandisk or Lexar, though those options are far more expandable.
Camera bag maker ThinkTank has updated two of its air travel-focused bags. The company says the Airport Navigator V2 and the Airport Roller Derby V2 are both designed to be easily maneuverable, thanks to their eight wheels that can turn and roll in pretty much any direction.
The Navigator is a smaller bag that ThinkTank says can hold two gripped bodies with lenses, along with a few primes and flashes. The Roller Derby, meanwhile, is a bit bigger – it can even fit a 400mm F2.8, provided it's not mounted to a camera. The bags also have the usual suite of photographer-focused features: an included raincover, tripod attachment points, and a security cable and lock.
Satechi has made a combination stand and dock for the new M4-powered Mac Mini, expanding the computer's I/O options, and making it easier to use. While the diminutive desktop has enough processing power for all but the most demanding photographers, it lacks a few features. The dock's most notable addition is a UHS-II SD card reader, which lets you easily offload your memory cards.
It also includes three USB-A ports – two that run at 10 Gbps second and one that runs at much slower USB 2.0 speeds – and has a cutout to make pressing the Mac Mini's bottom-mounted power button easier.
You can also install an M.2 SSD in the base, giving you access to more storage that's more or less permanently attached to your computer. That could be a powerful selling point for the budget-oriented. While the base model Mac Mini includes a fair amount of RAM, it only comes with 256GB of storage, and Apple charges a king's ransom for upgrades – bumping the Mac Mini's internal SSD up to 2TB costs $800 while you can easily get a top-of-the-line 2TB SSD to install in the dock for around $150 – though do note that Satechi says you'll only be able to read and write to it at up to 10Gbps, so it won't have anywhere near the same performance as the computer's internal storage.
The Rapid 90 and Rapid 120 softboxes can fold down into a very compact package.
Image: Nanlite
Lightning company Nanlite's new softboxes have a neat trick: they fold up flat, making them relatively easy to store and transport compared to more traditional designs. There are two sizes: the Rapid 90, which has an 89cm (35") diameter and the Rapid 120, with a 120cm (47.2") diameter.
Once unfolded, it's a standard parabolic softbox.
Image: Nanlite
After you expand the Rapid softbox, which Nanlite says you can do "in just a few seconds," it pretty much acts as a normal softbox. It comes with an egg-crate grid and one standard and one "lite" diffusion layer for modifying whatever light you attach via its Bowens mount.
Ultra-fast standards like Thunderbolt and USB 4 are great when you need to move a lot of data around quickly – something becoming increasingly important in the age of high-megapixel cameras and >4K video – but they do come with a notable downside: the cables are generally quite short. If you want to move data at 40Gbps over more than a meter or two, you're going to need something exotic; the $159 price tag of Apple's 3m Thunderbolt 4 "Pro Cable" seems ridiculous at first glance until you realize it's one of the only options on the market that long.
That capability is getting less expensive, though. At CES, Other World Computing announced its active optical cables, which can carry data at Thunderbolt / USB 4 speeds, along with power, over very impressive distances. The 3m version, which costs $98, is capable of carrying up to 240W of power, and while the 4.5m version can only do 60W, it manages to be longer and cheaper than Apple's top-end cable, coming in at $129.
While that's still undoubtedly a lot of money for a cable, if you need to move a lot of data a long way, there's not much else out there that can match this performance for this price.
A few years ago, Apple built a battery case for the iPhone 11 that had an integrated camera button. Not only did the case let you keep your phone running for longer, but it also gave you a physical control for launching and controlling the camera. Unfortunately, the company didn't revisit the concept when it launched the iPhone 12, and instead started building camera controls into the phones themselves.
This year, though, Belkin has taken that concept even further. The Stage PowerGrip attaches to your phone via MagSafe, and can keep it charged with its 10,000 mAh battery. It's shaped to add a substantial amount of grip to your phone and has a button that looks perfectly placed to act as a shutter release, though Belkin's press release doesn't actually mention what it's for.
Image: Belkin
The Stage PowerGrip has an integrated USB-C cable, a USB-C port, and an LED screen for displaying how much battery it has left. It's price is yet to be determined, but the company says it should come out in May. It'll be available in five colors: "powder blue," "sandbox," "fresh yellow," "pepper" and "lavender."
A 6K display
Image: LG
If you're in the market for a 6K 32-inch display, you'll be getting another option soon. LG has announced the UltraFine 6K 32U990A monitor, which connects to your computer via Thunderbolt 5. Details – including price and when it'll be available – are scarce at this point, but LG promises that it'll deliver "exceptional color accuracy" for "media professionals."
It's not the first display with this size and resolution. Perhaps the most notable is Apple's Pro Display XDR, which sports very impressive brightness levels that come with a whopping $5,000 price tag, not including a stand. For people willing to sacrifice brightness for savings, there's the $2,500 Dell U3224KB, which appears to use a similar panel to the LG UltraFine. However, it's housed in a somewhat strange-looking case with a very large top bezel to accommodate an integrated webcam. The LG monitor, meanwhile, has a design that appears... let's call it 'heavily inspired' by Apple monitors.
Connexion
