The Sony a77 II is a new interchangeable lens camera with a 79 point phase detection AF system with 15 cross points. The A77 II delivers ultra-fast, intelligent AF tracking and up to 12 fps burst of up to 60 full-resolution frames, features a 24.3 megapixel Exmor CMOS image sensor with an ISO range of 100-25600, and also boasts an XGA OLED Tru-Finder and 3-way tiltable LCD, magnesium body with dust- and moisture-resistant seals, BIONZ X processor, Full HD 50p video and NFC/Wi-Fi connectivity.

The Sony a77 II is available to pre-order now from www.sony.co.uk and will be on general sale in Europe from Summer 2014.

In conjunction with two Magnum Photos’ exhibitions - Magnum First and Magnum contact Sheets, respectively presented at the Hungarian House of Photography and the Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center from May 26th to August 24th – Magnum Photos will be organising a new 5 day workshop in Budapest led by esteemed Magnum photographers Ian Berry and Chris Steele-Perkins. Taking place from 28th May to 1st June, this exclusive workshop will give limited participants a rare opportunity to refine their photographic practice and sense of authorship. The workshop will end with a public projection of the work produced during the 5 days. The tuition fee is €950. Click through / read on for the details.

From 14th May - 31at July, Magnum London Print Room will be hosting an exhibition of photographs by Gueorgui Pinkhassov. Inspired both by his early mentor, the great Russian film director Andrei Tarkovski, and Magnum’s founder Henri Cartier-Bresson, Pinkhassov is an artist working with photography and within Magnum’s documentary tradition. For this, Gueorgui Pinkhassov’s first commercial exhibition in London, Magnum presents a career overview of key colour works from the early 1990s to the present day.

British institution Birds Eye has appointed Martin Parr to undertake a documentary survey of how Britain eats today. Parr, who has famously captured the personal tastes and habits of Britons for more than 22 years, will work with Birds Eye over the next four months to produce a unique snapshot of what makes up the typical, modern mealtime in Britain. Three members of the public will also be able to win the chance to be photographed by submitting pictures of their mealtime moments to the website below.

Tiffen is introducing three new tripods from its Davis & Sanford brand – Pro Elite 6100-33, Monoped 64 and Steady Stick 3QR. Ideal for ENG cameras with low- or high-profile configuration, the ProElite 6100-33 100mm ENG tripod comes with a head and features a selectable 7-position counterbalance system including zero position for payloads between 13-33lbs. The Steady Stick 3QR (pictured) is a portable camera support designed for use in places where a full-sized tripod or monopod cannot be used. Key highlights include a multi-position handle, padded swivel belt holster and heavy-duty 2" belt, a variable quick-release system that easily attaches to a Davis & Sanford FM18 head, and a maximum load capacity of 20lbs. Last but not least the Monoped 64 is a lightweight and compact 64” monopod with a 12-pound capacity, sturdy folding aluminium leg base, built-in pivoting ball, and a foam handle with strap for easy handling.

Issue 28 of David Noton’s Chasing the Light online magazine is now available. In this month’s edition, David takes his readers to Iceland, where he spent a few great weeks back in March. In Stepping Back, David recalls his foray into wildlife photography as he and Wendy worked their way across Kruger National Park, South Africa in 2008 in a Land Rover. From other contributors, David Taylor continues his Taylor Made series with an article examining the arguments for and against HDR, whilst for this month’s How It’s Done feature, renowned street photographer Ronya Galka returns to pen an intriguing piece on her recent commissioned shoot that took place the City of London. Please note that the full contents of Chasing the Light online magazine is available to f11 subscribers only. Non-members can purchase individual issues of the magazine at a price of £4.20.

F-Stop Gear has just introduced the Loka UL, its first ultra-light bag for photographers working on location. This 37L photo backpack weighs in at a mere 1kg thanks to a lighter rip-stop nylon shell and lightweight internal frame. The Loka UL can be preordered for $249.

Website: F-Stop Gear

Daniel Blau's London gallery will host an exhibition of works by David Bailey. Entitled Bailey: For Real, this exhibition will present a collection of David Bailey's photographs of the everyday, including captivating portraits of anonymous figures in Delhi and stark images of London’s East End. Bailey: For Real opens on 15th May and runs until 28th June. The Daniel Blau gallery is located at 51 Hoxton Square, London, NI 6PB.

With the Sony World Photography Awards taking place next month we’ve teamed up with headline sponsors Sony to give 10 lucky readers the chance to win a pair of tickets to the winner’s exhibition, which will take place at Somerset House, London from the 1st – 18th May 2014.

The lucky winners are: pete williams, Lance Maloney, Miles Thompson, Jon Stroud, Eloise Barnes, Allan Smith, Vanessa Scott, Jolie Kung, Alice Matthews and suzy mallison. Congratulations!

The Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition will showcase the winning and shortlisted photographers from the awards across photojournalism, fine art and commercial photography. The exhibition has been expanded this year, being hosted in both the East and West Wings of Somerset House in London, making it one of the largest of its kind in the UK.

Alongside the winning and shortlisted photographers of the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards, special curations include: A collection of American photographer Mary Ellen Mark, the recipient of the Sony World Photography Awards’ Outstanding Contribution to Photography, plus exclusive Sony commissions of celebrated photographer William Klein and a group show by Panos Pictures photographers.

Sony is committed to providing a camera solution for everyone and every budget – take professional quality pictures, whether an amateur or an expert.

With Sony’s ongoing development of its camera portfolio, choose from the point and shoot Cyber-shot to the entry-level interchangeable lens Alpha range or the new innovative QX lens-style cameras, Sony aims to make photography more accessible to all and educate people in the art of taking pictures.

For further information about the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards and the Somerset House exhibition visit http://www.worldphoto.org/2014exhibition

Just answer this simple question to enter the contest

The Technical Image Press Association has recognised four Sony products with TIPA 2014 awards. The Sony a7R (pictured) has been named this year's Best Professional Compact System Camera, the FDR-AX100 has been chosen as 2014's Best Camcorder, the HDR-AS100V has won the title Best ActionCam, whilst the Sony QX series has emerged as the winner of the Mobile Imaging Device category. 

​The winners of the Sony PROduction Awards 2014 have just been announced. Designed to unearth exceptional filmmakers and give them the opportunity to further their careers, Sony PROduction Awards 2014 invited entrants from all over the world to create or share an existing film of up to five minutes and submit it to the Sony PROduction Awards website. The 2014 winners are Oliver Clubb, UK (Scarecrow in Purgatory, Creative category),  Michael O’Neill, Australia (No Good Deed, Student category) and Benjamin Chesterton, UK (That Time, Factual category) Each winner will receive Sony’s NEX-FS700RH 4K Super 35mm camcorder. The three winning films will be showcased alongside all 15 shortlisted films at the Sony World Photography Awards exhibition at Somerset House in London. The exhibition will take place from 1st May to the 18th as part of a wider celebration of photography and photojournalism.

PicStop has launched a new, free-to-enter photography competition. The theme of the contest is “Water" and each entrant may submit up to three photos, complete with titles and descriptions. Images must be in JPEG format and must not exceed 300 kilobytes in size. The deadline for entries is 30th June. The first prize is £100 worth of SanDisk flash memory products. As always we suggest that you read the terms and conditions before entering your work.

Website: PicStop

Photographers around the world are invited to enter the Epson International Pano Awards to compete for approximately $40,000 in cash and prizes. Now in its fifth year, the competition showcases the work of panoramic photographers worldwide and is the largest competition for panoramic photography. The 2013 competition saw 4068 images submitted from 843 photographers in 57 countries. Early-bird entries to the 2014 contest are open now until Sunday 13th July. Prizes include an Epson Stylus Pro 7900 printer, an Epson Stylus Pro 4900 printer, and an Epson EB-1775 Ultra-Slim Projector.

Apple has updated its MacBook Air with faster processors. Now starting at £749, the new Apple MacBook Air models feature fourth-generation Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors, fast flash storage, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, up to 12 hours of battery life and Apple’s iLife and iWork apps.  The 11-inch MacBook Air comes with a 1.4 GHz processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.7 GHz, 4GB of memory and is available with 128GB of flash storage starting at £749, and 256GB of flash storage starting at £899. The 13-inch MacBook Air comes with a 1.4 GHz processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.7 GHz, 4GB of memory and is available with 128GB of flash storage starting at £849, and 256GB of flash storage starting at £999 inc VAT. Configure-to-order options include a 1.7 GHz Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.3 GHz, up to 8GB of memory and up to 512GB flash storage.

Canon today celebrates the achievement of a new lens manufacturing milestone, with the production of the company’s 100 millionth EF-series interchangeable lens. Over the past 27 years, since the launch of the company’s proprietary EF lenses and EOS SLR cameras in March 1987, Canon has developed a wide range of innovative technologies and world’s firsts, such as the lens-based Ultrasonic Motor (USM), Image Stabiliser (IS) technology, and a multi-layered diffractive optical (DO) element. Recent innovations have seen the EF range extend into new fields, with the launch of the company’s EF Cinema lenses for digital cinematography in January 2012, and EF-M lenses for its Compact System Camera, the EOS M, in September 2012.  More recently, Canon’s EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x (pictured) became the world’s first super telephoto zoom lens to feature a built in 1.4x extender; at least among interchangeable lenses designed for SLR cameras.

Profoto has issued the first firmware upgrade for its B1 off-camera flash and AirTTL system. The B1 was the world’s first cordless monolight with TTL metering, and Profoto vowed to continuously update the AirTTL system. One of the most frequently requested features is TTL metering with Canon’s flagship model: the Canon EOS-1D X. Today, this feature is made available free of charge through an easily installed firmware upgrade. The process is simple: 1) Go to the Profoto support website. 2) Sign in with an existing My Profoto account or create a new one. 3) Register your B1 and your Air Remote TTL-C. 4) Download the upgrade. 5) Open the software and follow the instructions.

Fuji has released a firmware update for its Fujifilm X-E2 compact system camera. Version 2.00 reduces the display lag of the electronic viewfinder to 5 milliseconds, which is less than 1/10 compared tothe current firmware.  Furthermore, the update adds new colour options to the focus peak highlight function, allows face detection and EVF/LCD toggling to be mapped onto the Fn button, adds a 'Suppressed Flash' option to the flash settings, and fixes a bug related to film simulation bracketing.

Website: Fujifilm X-E2 Firmware Update Ver.2.00