The judges of the 9th edition of the Sony World Photography Awards have been announced. The 2016 Honorary Jury, judging the Professional competition, includes David Campany, Karen Knorr,Jean Jacques Naudet, Mariko Takeuchi, Dominique Green, Emma Lynch, Julien Jourdes and Fiona Rogers. The Open competition will be chaired by Jael Marschner and the Student Focus competition will be judged by Simon Bainbridge, Mark Murrmann, Mother Jones and Matthew Tucker. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in London on 21 April. Prizes include the latest Sony digital imaging equipment, inclusion in the 2016 awards’ book plus cash prizes of $25,000 for the overall Professional winner and $5,000 for the overall Open winner.

Squadrone System has launched the first autonomous drone to the US market. The Hexo+ flight system can take off, follow and frame its user while filming with predetermined camera movements, and safely land. These processes are entirely automated and simply initiated with the HEXO+ smartphone application. This allows users to capture the moment hands-free, as no bulky remote control is needed. Compatible with most GoPro camera models, the HEXO+ has a maximum speed of 45 mph and an operating altitude of up to 16,000ft. “HEXO+ was built with outdoor adventurers in mind, allowing them to live in the moment and not behind a lens,” says professional snowboarder and HEXO+ cofounder Xavier de Le Rue. “It enables you to capture incredible footage of yourself — by yourself. As a snowboarder, this gives me unprecedented freedom to create and share footage without the expense and constraints of helicopters and a film crew.” HEXO+ is currently available to purchase for $1,349.

Panasonic UK are offering a double cashback on the latest 4K cameras and camcorders. If you purchase an eligible product from a participating retailer between Wednesday 18th November and Sunday 6th December you will be able to claim cashback up to £300 (€400). To claim the cashback on qualifying Lumix, Lumix G camera and camcorder models, participants (aged 18 or over only) must complete an online registration form 28 days after product purchase. The last date for registration will be 7th March 2016. Click through / scroll down for a list of eligible products.

Canon have surpassed a new camera-manufacturing milestone as combined production of the company’s film and digital EOS-series interchangeable-lens cameras surpassed the 80-million mark on 10 November 2015. Introduced in March 1987 as a new generation of AF SLR cameras, EOS (Electro Optical System) cameras were the world’s first to incorporate an electronic mount system enabling complete electronic control not only between the lens and body, but throughout the entire camera system. Following the introduction of digital SLR cameras in the early 2000s, production of the EOS-series cameras rapidly increased, surpassing the 70-million-unit mark in February 2014 and now, approximately one year and nine months later, reaching the 80-million-unit threshold.

The HD PENTAX-D FA645 35mm F3.5AL[IF] lens is now available in the US. The 27.5mm-equivalent prime adds a new wide-angle option to the Pentax 645 digitalmedium-format camera system, and combines a newly designed, high-grade glass-moulded aspherical element with a high refractive index low-dispersion glass element plus a hybrid aspherical element to effectively compensate for chromatic and spherical aberrations. An inner-focus mechanism keeps the lens’s total length the same during focusing, which allows the photographer to maintain stability during handheld shooting. The HD PENTAX-D FA645 35mm F3.5AL[IF] lens is available now for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $1,599.99.

Nikon is developing the Nikon D5 digital SLR camera, which "represents the next generation of professional Nikon FX-format models," the company says. Further details including features,release date and suggested retail price will be communicated at a later time. Alongside the new flagship dSLR, Nikon is also developing a new top-of-the-line flashgun (the Nikon SB-5000) and a wireless transmitter (WT-6).

AOC have announced a new space-saving 23.6" UHD display with a 3,840x2,160-pixel PLS panel. Offering wide viewing angles of 178°/178°, the display exploits 100 % of the sRGB colour gamut and comes with HDMI 2.0, MHL 3.0 and DisplayPort 1.2 connection ports. The AOC U2477PWQ will be available later this month, priced at £289.

Bowens is set to launch a number of new products in 2016, including innovative lighting equipment the company believes will be ‘game-changing’ in the industry. "New product development is the number one target for us," said John Gobby, Managing Director. "Our R&D team is expanding and not only are we going to be launching exciting new products but we are going to be launching them much faster." New technical director John Gass, added: "We are working more closely than ever before with photographers on focus groups and already as a result of this we are planning new and different products that will appeal to diverse segments of our market. Our professional photographer customers worldwide will see that Bowens is in the business of providing genuine design innovation and functionality across its portfolio."

DxO has released DxO OpticsPro 10.5.2, DxO FilmPack 5.5.2 and DxO ViewPoint 2.5.10 for Mac and Windows. These applications now support seven additional cameras - the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, the Pentax 645D, the Panasonic Lumix GF7, Lumix G7, Lumix GX8, and DMC-ZS50/DMC-TZ70 - and add 787 more modules to the DxO Optics Modules library, which now contains nearly 28,000 combinations. DxO OpticsPro, DxO FilmPack and DxO ViewPoint are available in the DxO online store and at photo resellers at a special discount price through 25 December 2015.

Schneider Kreuznach has appointed Klaus Stephan as the distributor of its Exakta branded lens accessories. The Exakta range currently includes UV filters, circular polarisers, fold-up lens hoods, lens caps as well as lens care products. The filters are designed by Schneider-Kreuznach and made with high-quality optical glass and a mount made of black anodised aluminium. Prices start at €24.95 for the UV filters, €59.95 for the polarisers and €7.95 for the lens hoods.

Adorama has joined forces with Canon to support the Heart Gallery NYC and the NYC Department of Homeless Services initiative “Through the Eyes of the Homeless” by providing 25 Canon PowerShot G7-X compact cameras and photography training to homeless. Under the mentorship of professional Canon photographers, 14 currently or previously homeless individuals were asked to photograph the city, capturing their unique perspectives of New York City. The strongest photos were chosen for a gallery presentation that will be on exhibit to the public at the Prince George Ballroom (15 East 27th Street), opening today, and subsequently featured in City Hall.

Magix have released the latest version of their slideshow creating application, Photostory 2016 Deluxe. This edition has a number of new features including beat-based editing, dynamic new editing templates, virtual tours in 360° recordings, improved travel route animation, new title templates, post-capture image stabilisation and compatibility with a range of new video formats. Magix Photostory 2016 Deluxe is available now for £69.99.

Roland Ramanan has been unveiled as the winner of this quarter's theprintspace PhotoVoice Awards. Roland has won a £250 print credit to use at theprintspace, participation in a group exhibition and a feature in PhotoVoice’s quarterly publication for his project Gillett Square. Focused on a vulnerable group of people in a corner of East London that is undergoing rapid change, this project has been ongoing since 2012. Roland's pictures attempt to create an encounter with the viewer that shows them in different lights and raises questions. Roland and the shortlisted artists ‐ Jacek Obloj, Laura Marques, Elisabeth Blanchet, Camille Mack and Piotr Karpinski ‐ have their work up in a group exhibition showcasing their photography. The exhibition takes place at theprintspace Gallery (74 Kingsland Road, E2 8DL) and will continue until Monday 16th November. Admission is free.

Plustek have announced a new 35mm film scanner with motorised film transport for automated batch scanning. Offering a maximum input resolution of 3,600ppi; the Plustek OpticFilm 135 comes with Plustek’s new QuickScan Plus utility which allows users to apply a variety of automatic image enhancement tools as well as preset filters and effects. Users can also upload images directly to Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and Picasa. The Plustek OpticFilm 135 is priced at $399 and is available exclusively through B&H Photo Video and Adorama in the United States. UK availability and pricing to be confirmed.

The University of Derby plays host to INFOT 2015 – a conference for commercial and industrial photographers – this weekend. Taking place at the University’s Markeaton Street Campus, the event includes seminars, talks and practical workshops by some of the UK’s finest commercial and industrial photographers. To book your place at INFOT 2015, visit the website below.