For those who don’t know, Sony holds an annual event called Kando. Kando is a Japanese word that means “the feeling of awe and emotion you feel when you experience something beautiful and wonderful for the first time.” So does this experience live up to its name?
I’ve had about a week since my last Sony Kando Trip. While previous Sony Kando events had a limited number of tickets available for purchase (in 2020, they even have a virtual event open to everyone), this year’s event is open to those invited. As you can imagine, the list of attendees wasn’t short of industry insiders from National Geographic photographers to documentary filmmakers to TikTok and YouTube stars – around 250 creators are doing well. best in their field.
As I kept getting questions about this event, I tried to think of a good way to explain what it really was. While there are classes and booths, it is not a conference at all. This year, there aren’t even any vendors other than Sony. And while the classes are great, I have to say it’s the least of what Kando has to offer.
Light from a Aputure 1200D with narrow reflector via an 8X8 . instruction set
Instead, Kando feels more like a playground, a place where it feels safe to create with no limits. Every dinner is paired with a variety of high-end production setups full of great models, lighting and backdrops. There are also models available almost every spare hour of the day that you can simply make to create anything you want. And you feel safe doing so because everywhere you look, people are creating. So there’s no “all eyes on you” awkwardness that you can get when talking to the camera in a crowded space.
Creators also feel safe creating whatever they want because no one is brought to Kando with the expectation of creating. There’s no contract that says you have to share material on social media or create a video. People are invited to Kando simply to experience what they have to share. Whether you make something out of it or not is entirely up to you.
You also have little or no limit to what you want to do. Sony has provided an arsenal of weapons for everyone involved in the test. If you want to push yourself and get creative with an unreleased product (at the time) Phone Xperia 5 IV, then you can. If you want to spin with high dollar 400mm f/2.8 GM . lens paired with a camera a1, then you can do that too. They even set up from sunrise all night from sunrise over the lake to astrophotography and light painting classes. They even have pottery classes and goat yoga to help you relax and unwind between photo shoots.
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But Kando is not only a great place to create, it is also a place to connect. And here’s what I feel this event is really about: connecting with fellow creators and industry experts with NFTs paving the way to TikTok’s rising stars. There have been advertising agency experts and even those who have broken new ground with virtual production (they even have a virtual reality studio set up on the site). Wherever you turn, you get an open invitation to chat with someone doing great things.
Ultimately, Kando is a place to be heard. It’s rare to be able to talk to a big brand and show off the things you want to see. It’s rare for that big brand to listen, so much so that Sony has organized a daily office hour where you can sit down and talk to real Sony engineers from Japan. You can tell them all the things you love and more importantly, all the things you want to see changed about their current offerings. You can even express your wish for them to release an updated model for something like Sony RX1.
At the end of the day, Sony Kando is an event that makes you proud to be part of the great Sony family. Not because their equipment is better than the rest. But because of the community and their support is better than the rest. They listen, encourage and help their community grow. They even just released a online forum in an effort to help make this happen virtually and year-round. So even though the previous Kando event wasn’t open to the public, keep an eye out for next year, and hopefully, you’ll be able to find your way to this amazing experience, because this event certainly brings Kando’s name.
