British Photographic Industry News June 2020

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JUNE 2020 • £3

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IN THIS ISSUE…

PHOTO NEWS

TRADE VS COVID-19

TIPA AWARDS 2020

SIGMA LENS TRIO

CEWE to partner with Boots to provide photo print fulfilment for its nationwide chain of stores, plus new gear from Sony, Pentax and more

We survey the UK photo industry’s leading lights to find out how they’ve coped with the crisis & how to protect your interests going forward

Once again the editors of the leading tech titles have gathered en masse to compile a ‘best of ’ the past 12 months’ worth of photo products

Discover why you should be stocking the specialist lens manufacturer’s latest Canon EF-M mount lenses – and how to pitch them to customers!

BPI News, your tool to educate and communicate.

Over the past 35+ years we’ve enjoyed with you the successes and weathered the storms that have affected the photo trade.

In this issue we’ve attempted to address the biggest one of our lifetimes; a pandemic that is affecting us all, big and small, along with the economic challenges that will follow once the immediate health crisis has subsided. No one business – or magazine – can do it all however, so we want to know how we can best help you, how we can better communicate with our industry – and how our industry can best help itself.

Get in touch now via gavin@bpinews.co.uk or info@bpinews.co.uk

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Editorial | June 2020

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EDITOR Gavin Stoker Tel: 020 8274 0578 Tel: 07990 974 367 ART EDITOR Michael O’Connell EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES Please direct all editorial requests, news and press releases to info@bpinews.co.uk ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES Please direct all advertising enquiries and sponsorship opportunities to gavin@bpinews.co.uk Publisher’s Office: 31 New Road, Richmond, Surrey TW10 7HZ. Legacy Media Ltd accept no ultimate responsibility for accurate reproduction of digital artwork created by third parties.

Insurance and carriage of products submitted for inclusion in reports rests with the owner. News, data, prices, interviews and opinion are printed in good faith E&OE. Content including advertising artwork created by Legacy Media Ltd or its agents is ©2020 Legacy Media Ltd. ISSN: to be advised.

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n enforced pause to your life and work schedule provides the opportunity to take a step back and reassess things. It can highlight strengths and weaknesses in your own business, normally drowned out by the demands of (pre-Covid-19) daily life. BPI News is no exception. Having endured the trade’s advertising ‘taps’ Gavin Stoker, being turned off these past 10 weeks Editor and seen our only source of income dry gavin@bpinews.co.uk up – the revenue that normally allows @GavinStoker us to mail you out a high quality print magazine each month for free – we’ve been left facing some hard choices, to which we’re seeking solutions.

While an easing of lockdown restrictions this month should see some retailers re-opening and life slowly returning to something functional and hopefully sustainable, we’re not out of the woods yet. So, even if frozen budgets begin to thaw, for BPI News’ survival we’ve been looking at additional ways of funding.

The most obvious and immediate solution is to charge you for receiving this magazine. Simply put, if everyone on our subscription list paid our modest £3 per issue cover price (£30 per annum) – the equivalent of buying less than one cup of coffee per month – then our long-term future us to, help rd would be secure. o f f a an he If you c ublish t p o e t ic e r he p continu ating t by don e in end us z s a mag ffee. To o c f o p ad to of a cu ore, he £3 or m pinews l.me/b a p y a www.p

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So, the question is: do you value us continuing to produce this magazine – and the UK photo trade having a united voice and forum – for the price of a brew? If a coffee is all you can afford right now, then I direct you to our newly set up PayPal donate page where you donate £3 and ‘Buy BPI a brew’: www.paypal.me/bpinews Alternately, if you can support us with a £30 yearly subscription, then you can pay the full amount via the same link.

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News

CEWE FINDS BOOTS FITS Print specialist CEWE has announced an exclusive partnership with the Boots chain across the UK and Ireland to provide online and in-store photo services. It claims that under the banner of ‘Boots Photo Powered by CEWE’, consumers can now order CEWE products via the Boots website.

In addition to photo prints, cards, calendars and a photo book option, items being offered by Boots for the first time include hexagonal wall art, memory boxes, jigsaws and a kids’ photobook. Plans for later in the year include rolling out 2,500 CEWE photo stations across 1,000 stores, and the launch of a new Boots Photo app, it says.

CANON DRIP-FEEDS FULL FRAME FACTOIDS CEWE UK MD Fabian Sparer adds that the ‘omni-channel’ partnership “brings together Boots’ long history of providing photo services and 50 years of experience from CEWE in delivering outstanding print quality and giving people endless possibilities to make more of their photos.” www.bootsphoto.com

The photo stalwart continues to eke out specification announcements for its forthcoming EOS R5 full frame mirrorless, already extensively teased in these pages – the latest tidbits including the fact that the camera will make an ideal partner to Canon’s brand new (and very high-end at £10.5K cost) EOS C300 Mark III, a next generation modular Cinema EOS System camera.

Fujifilm focuses on home solutions cushion or personalised blanket. At the time of writing it was also offering a 20% discount off all photobooks until June 15th, with customers additionally receiving a code to exchange for 30 free prints. photoshop.fujifilmhouseofphotography.com

While its London House of Photography store was shuttered a week before lockdown officially began and has remained that way these past two months, Fujifilm UK has been inviting ‘Brits’ to join the ‘home décor revolution’ – by expanding its online photo printing options to include tutorials and inspiration for interiors. Those stuck at home have been invited to ‘tick a task off your list’ and turn a favourite photo locked on a smartphone into a poster, acrylic panel, aluminium print, photo

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In related news, Fuji also tells us that with increased numbers of people working from home, its engineers in Japan have developed software which converts some X series and GFX cameras into webcams. Presently the Windows PC compatible Fujifilm X Webcam software will, once installed, allow users to connect a supported camera via USB cable and create a web conferencing environment with much higher image quality. Go to the below URL to download the software. https://fujifilm-x.com/global/support/ download/software/x-webcam/

This is chiefly because the EOS R5, when it surfaces, will boast noncropped 8K Raw internal recording up to 29.97fps. There’s also the option to capture non-cropped internal recordings in 4K up to 119.88fps, while the manufacturer’s muchtrumpeted Dual Pixel AF is available in all video modes at all resolutions and frame rates. We also get five axis optical stabilisation and dual card slots, allowing for the use of one CFexpress card and one UHS-II SD card.

“With its ability to record in cinema industry-standard formats and codecs, the EOS R5 is an ideal lead camera for many productions. Given its compatibility with cinema workflows, it will also shoot comfortably on high-end production sets,” reckons Canon’s Pro Product Marketing Senior Manager Richard Shepherd. www.canon.co.uk

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PENTAX ‘FLAGSHIP’ & LENS TRIO ON WAY While two months of near global ‘lockdown’ has resulted in a paucity of product launches, Pentax brand owner Ricoh has divulged three new lenses – the latter two still with tentative product names – in the HD Pentax-D FA* 85mm f/1.4ED SDM AW, the HD Pentax-D FA 21mm ‘Limited’ and the HD Pentax-DA* 16-50mm f/2.8.

In addition, the company has confirmed a new flagship DSLR remains on its product roadmap, which a video released by its Japanese HQ promises will be the ‘best APS-C SLR ever produced by Pentax’. The clip reveals that it aims to

raise the magnification of the unnamed camera’s optical viewfinder to 1.05x to provide a viewing angle as wide as the Pentax K-1 and K-1 II – and closer to what users would expect if they looked through the viewfinder of a full frame sensor camera. While the exterior design pays homage to past Pentax SLR flagships, the manufacturer has also sought to give the new model its own ‘personality’ via curved ridgelines, it says, with a new battery grip also featuring.

In terms of release dates, obviously the pandemic has

SONY UNDER THE INFLUENCE Manufacturers are increasingly excitable about the role of the online ‘influencer’.

So no surprise Sony’s introduced a new pocket sized ‘vlogging’ camera in the ZV-1, described as ‘perfect for any content creator at all skill levels.’ It features a one inch CMOS sensor and Zeiss branded 2470mm lens, along with Bionz X processor and side opening vari-angle LCD touchscreen, which its maker claims is a first for its compact range. Video recording to 4K and in-body image stabilisation

A MESSAGE TO YOU

round out the offering, which has an SRP of £700 and a June release date.

Also new is a compact FDRAX43 4K Handycam with built-in gimbal mechanism.

Described as ideal for holidaymakers and content creators alike, here we get a 20x optical zoom, 1/2.5inch Exmor R CMOS sensor and again Bionz X processor. Availability is from July at £600 SRP. www.sony.co.uk

Red Dot marks Nikon win Nikon has revealed it has won two Red Dot product design awards for 2020, for both its APS-C sensor incorporating Z 50 mirrorless camera and its compatible Nikkor Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct lens.

The Red Dot design award claims to receive more than 6,500 entries from across 60 countries, with the award winning designs presented in Red

introduced a few variables. But what we do know for now is that the 85mm prime lens is scheduled for launch in late 2020, the 21mm option will be out for 2021, while the aim is to still make the new DSLR available by the end of 2020. www.ricoh-imaging.eu

Dot Design Museums across the globe.

The Nikon products were due to be showcased in Essen, Germany from June 22nd – pandemic permitting of course. www.red-dot.org

Citizen Systems has partnered with My Photo Messages, a new web-based platform allowing consumers to automatically send photographic prints embedded with personal messages to loved ones. What’s more, with the launch taking place during the 2020 global health crisis, Citizen has pledged to offer thousands of photo print messages free of charge to those with friends and family in hospitals or care homes, on a first come, first served basis.

Developed with simplicity in mind, the platform invites users to send photo messages in what it describes as three simple steps. First, choose either a landscape or portrait format for the print, next upload or capture an image to personalise using various tools and almost 1,000 fonts, and finally proceed to the checkout to enter the recipient’s details. Citizen claims its association with the My Photo Messages platform demonstrates a commitment by the brand to deliver innovation in the photographic sector, its reseller channel and end users alike, with initial fulfilment being offered by PhotoXport. Beyond the initial rollout it says the platform will be opened up to every single Citizen photo printer user, allowing them to register and fulfill orders based on geographical proximity to the recipient’s address. myphotomessages.com

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Business Advice

TRADE UNITE IN COVID-19 FIGHT

As 10 weeks of lockdown restrictions ease as we head into June, we take the temperature of the photo trade by quizzing its leading lights on how they’ve coped with lockdown, and just as importantly, how we deal with whatever comes next…

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ith the news that non-essential retailers (including those dealing in electronics) in England can re-open from June 15th as long as social distancing is observed, we appear to be turning a corner in the fight against Covid-19.

However, as the financial implications and effects of shuttering or mothballing the majority of our businesses for two and a half months gradually becomes clear, we’re not out of the woods yet.

Feeling it important to chronicle these unprecedented times

Paul Reynolds, Sigma UK General Manager

and our own industry’s reaction to them – who knows, some of the ideas and opinions here may benefit your own business and show that whatever concerns you have are not just yours alone – we’ve asked leading lights in the photo trade to, essentially, write this article for us. So we’ll take a step back here and hand you over to your colleagues and peers. How has lockdown been for them and what can we learn from the situation to be able to better respond to and reassess whatever this ‘next stage’ brings?

Mark Baber, Sony UK Technical Marketing Manager, Photo Channel

“We have been working with all those retailers who are open and supporting them where we can with free dropshipping, special offers and online activity. It all helps! Clearly a strong online presence has been crucial over the last couple of months where retail shops have been forced to close. These strange times give us all a good indication of our strengths and weaknesses and how fast we can adapt to a new way of working and what we should be putting in place to be stronger if we ever find ourselves in a similar situation again.”

“Since lockdown the Photo Channel sales team have supported our UK retailers, including Wex, Park, Wilkinson, LCE and Jessops, with online marketing support. The team set up their homes as working studios including setting up our modular event stand in my house. We have been and continue to create content for product videos, become virtual assistants, carry out 121 customer sessions, Q&A webinars – both live and recorded in advance – wrapped up with advocate webinars highlighting their workflow and why they switched to Sony.”

We are all at the heart of how photographers document these times. Our way of working may have changed, but we all still play a part in providing great products which shape how amateurs and professionals create images.”

Jeremy Martin, Transcontinenta UK

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Emerging from lockdown special Barnaby Sykes, Head of Category Marketing, Panasonic UK

Jason Mitchell, Cameraworld Managing Director

“Despite our three shops being closed, our online presence has escalated with the help of a web development company. The first few weeks were troubling with low sales but we have grown our business to a level that we are happy with and that is manageable for the 10 of us remaining in the business. With 70% of our workforce on furlough, I’m having to work hard again!

“We have also been able to streamline

our inventory and focus on what customers actually want during lockdown, which has been a mixture of macro photography products including lenses, extension tubes and continuous lighting. Binoculars have also been popular as well as entry level DSLR and mirrorless. Hiking backpacks and travel tripods have been a disaster however and we are over stocked!

“We are all seeing people ignoring the rules and rushing to the coast so I think people have had enough of being cooped up and the period of lockdown has ended. When will we open our shops? Not for the foreseeable future, especially London which I think will be the last…”

“The imaging industry, like many others, has had to adapt to this unprecedented situation and find new ways to keep photographers, videographers and creators inspired at home. Many have utilised their strong online presence in order to do this, and others have taken this as an opportunity to further expand this side of their business to continue interacting with an engaged audience. I’m sure this online evolution will continue in the future to suit the needs of the customer as demand recovers and continues to grow.

“The Lumix UK team have been keeping customers inspired at home through online events with our retailers, regular ambassador Q&A sessions on our social channels, and educational tips and tricks to get the most of out of your camera.”

Jeremy Martin, Category Manager Transcontinenta UK

Derek Fieldhouse, PhotoXport Managing Director With most of the photo retail business mothballed during the pandemic, an upbeat Derek has cleverly pivoted towards selling facemasks, hand sanitizers and even temperature detecting camera systems during the pandemic. He adds: “We’re very grateful that all our customers have stayed loyal and despite the difficulties that have arisen from this unprecedented situation

they’ve all paid their bills, so we’ve been able to pay our own. Our plan is to gradually re-open the business from June 1st and work towards having everything 100% operational in July. Our entire customer base has been loyal and supportive in that.”

“We’ve stayed operational and have been supplying the UK trade throughout the Covid-19 period.

Whilst its consequences have been far reaching, and this has been both a tragic and difficult time for many, the virus can’t kill our passion for photography and imaging, which is what brings news alive and tells stories of times both good and bad.

“We are all at the heart of how photographers document these times. Our way of working may have changed, but we all still play a part in providing great products which shape how amateurs and professionals create images for others to look back on and re-live these moments long into the future.”

The first few weeks were troubling with low sales but we have grown our business to a level that we are happy with. We have also been able to streamline our inventory and focus on what customers actually want during lockdown.”

Jason Mitchell, Cameraworld

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Business Advice Julian Harvie, Head of Marketing Nikon UK “Nikon has seen a significant sales impact due to the effects of worldwide lockdown measures.

Our priority continues to be the health and safety of our employees, customers and consumers, clearly involving change to our usual business operation.

“However we have been amazed by the adaptability of our employees and many retail partners during these challenging times. Though overall sales are down, online sales have increased and, most excitingly, engagement in photography looks to be at an all-time high. At the onset of lockdown we launched a Europewide campaign to educate and inspire photography from home. In just a couple of months we’ve seen over 15,000 uses of the hashtag #CreateYourLight.

“In the UK specifically, we’ve made Nikon School available for free online and have been blown away by the response. We now have almost 2,000 delegates booked onto courses and nearly 600 attendees to date. All this is to say that, though our supply chains and retail environments have been momentarily compromised, the passion and enthusiasm among our consumers has never been stronger. We’ve reopened our service centre and, whatever downturns we might currently be experiencing, this huge appetite for our industry gives us great hope for the future.”

Clearly every business has been impacted and the retail photographic trade is no exception. However, despite our shop being closed, with all the extra social media activity that we are engaged in, our online sales and telephone orders are higher than each preceding week, six weeks in a row.”

Gray Levett, Grays of Westminster

Gray Levett, owner Grays of Westminster

“Whilst we have never before closed our doors in 34 years, whatever the circumstances, our purpose has always been to give our customers ‘a sense of the joy of creation through photography’, and this single founding principle informs and guides everything we do.

“With this in mind we have attempted to raise smiles and spirits through our Live Streams and Webinars. Through these, as well as our YouTube channel and e-newsletters, our clients can be certain that when all this is over they will have more photographic knowledge than before it started. Even in these extraordinarily challenging times, many people have contacted us to thank us for what we have been doing and it is very uplifting to hear how much people appreciate it.

“Clearly every business has been impacted and the retail photographic trade is no exception. However, despite our shop being closed, with all the extra social media activity that we are engaged in, statistically our online sales and telephone orders are higher than each preceding week, six weeks in a row.

“As the country moves towards easing Covid-19 restrictions, the health and well-being of our customers and our employees remain a primary concern.

When this passes, and it will pass, we will be able to open the shop’s doors once again. I hope that we will, assuming Government guidelines approve, look to reopen in June.”

Danny Williams, Swains, Managing Director

“We have taken a number of precautions to safeguard our staff.

Currently we have 50% on furlough with 50% working from home from Monday to Thursday. In order to support those customers who are active online we have a small team that currently come into the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays to both take in goods and ship out much needed stock to customers. This has proved to be popular and those accounts that have been trading very much value our service. Our plan from June 1st is to extend this to include Mondays. So please help us by placing orders on a Monday, Tuesday or Thursday before 1.30pm and we will do our level best to get these shipped out the same day. Thank you to all our customers for their ongoing support and please stay safe.”

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Emerging from lockdown special Jason Heward, MD Leica Camera UK “The start of the pandemic was incredibly challenging, not just from a sales point of view. Leica is present in many touch-points of the customer journey – through our stores, gallery, Akademie and events – and we had to quickly adapt to digitally enabling a ‘new journey’. Our focus has been engagement and maintaining contact through our virtual programme #LeicaAtHome, including: tutorials, conversations with photographers, takeovers and setting creative challenges. Participation levels exceeded expectations and the adoption of all things virtual has been exciting; it has allowed us to diversify our audience. A crisis always presents opportunities and during this pandemic we have seen creativity flourish. We will open again from June 15th, albeit in a reduced way to begin with.”

Paul Kench, Kenro MD “Kenro has been in the fortunate position of being able to remain open throughout lockdown, supporting our customers who trade online. Our office staff have been able to work from home whilst remaining linked in to the Kenro software systems, and our warehouse staff have been adhering to strict social distancing guidelines and observing additional cleaning procedures. We’re looking forward to the high street reopening and we’re here for the retailers, ready to help them bounce back.”

Adrian Deary, Marketing & Communications Manager London Camera Exchange

“When we had to shut all the branches it was a massive shock to our system as our marketing is geared to driving customers in store, as we feel that is the best place for customers to make their purchase decisions. Thankfully once we got our act together we found online sales reaching new heights.”

“We felt it was important to keep in contact with our customers and having one person in each store ensured that a customer could speak to somebody local rather than having to deal with a centralised call centre. We are very grateful to our loyal band of shop managers who rose to the challenge and have endured 8 or 9 weeks of working in solitary confinement, dealing with every call, email, order or delivery that has arrived. Fingers crossed we can soon embark upon a slightly more normal way of life and they might have someone to talk to other than their own shadow.

“We also ratcheted up our social media and instigated a 21-day photo

challenge to keep people engaged and inspired. A number of suppliers have been very good in arranging Q&A sessions, 1-2-1’s and Facebook Live events which have run in conjunction with us on our platforms and have been very well received.

“Secondhand and macro lenses have been popular; increased sales of long lenses and binoculars is perhaps more of surprise. The range and depth of accessory sales has been interesting and one can imagine customers with a bit of time on their hands going through their gadget bag and ordering things to fill the holes they find. Or are they responding well to the soft-sell customer engagement initiatives? Who knows.

“We are assessing the possibility of re-opening and are doing risk assessments in the stores. Our drive will be to offer all our usual activities online and in store, as conditions permit, but ‘normal’ trade will be some way off.”

Participation levels exceeded expectations and the adoption of all things virtual has been exciting; it has allowed us to diversify our audience.

A crisis always presents opportunities and during this pandemic we have seen creativity flourish.”

Jason Heward, Leica UK

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Business Advice Paul Genge, MD PhotoTEQ

“It’s time to turn the cameras on ourselves via livestreams, video tutorials, product unboxings and explanations.

Stores are already full of the kit they can utilise to drive engagement and stimulate awareness. We all need to take on the position of spokesperson, and whilst some retailers have attempted this with their own channels, and some brands have done the same, until now it was largely piecemeal. I would go so far as to say that retailers need to prepare their own two minute explanatory videos and have them as part of their website listing for every product!

“Retail will not be the same again, as few dealer locations afford two metre clearance between perusing consumers.

Currently, leaning against the counter and chewing the fat on a new camera and lens combo, passing the camera between you, is a complete no-no.

Instead you need embedded in your website a ‘book a consultation slot’. Then have your expert store staff call the customer via Skype or similar platform, and talk them through it. That’s the best you’re going to get for a while without having to put your frontline staff in a position of risk of infection.

“Thirdly we all need to get smarter with our already GPDR reduced databases and segment them to be able to deliver more tailored,

relevant emails to our customers. I am inundated by emails generically produced to hit the entire database, yet only featuring one brand. If I get too many it begins to become white noise and risks being deleted without opening, or worse still unsubscribed.

“These past few weeks there has been a distinct shift in the approach taken by UK versus EU retailers’ communications. The former has bombarded me with big savings on expensive hardware, expecting people to spend huge sums, when I believe few can justify such a big expense.

The EU messages, meanwhile, have focused on a particular subject, being informative and inspirational in order to sell complimentary kit to what the customer already owns.

There’s a lower basket value, but a more approachable and motivational message to encourage spending.

“We can also encourage add-on sales online. We all know store staff are primed at the point of retail to mention the extra battery, the case, the filter and the memory card. This now needs to be done online, and extended further with follow-up emails that are triggered automatically within a timeframe after the initial purchase.

Given we can’t rely on folks returning to store anytime soon we need to keep them engaged at arm’s length. We all know the power of Amazon’s “customers who viewed this item also looked at these” or eBay’s “recommended for you” and “because you searched for”.

Tracey Fielden, Marketing Director Canon UK and Ireland “As we adapt to a new sense of normal, our aim is to support both our customers and retailers through multi-channel activity during these difficult times. In April, we launched Canon Connected, a brand-new free-to-access European content hub for photography enthusiasts, with exclusive video content produced by some of our world class ambassadors and a community of filmmakers, experts and influencers. The platform is designed to inspire, inform and entertain our community, whilst providing educational content that will help them develop new skills during the current lockdown period and beyond.

“Locally we also launched Canon Live, a microsite promoting key initiatives including Canon Live Chat.

This enables our community to connect directly with us to get the advice they would previously have received in-store from our team of experts. And, working with our retailers we’ve hosted a number of free webinars on vlogging, macro, lifestyle and portrait photography; as well as advising on setting up new cameras and general support. The current situation has certainly challenged us to think differently about the way we do things, not only in the short term, but in the long term too.”

Clare Voyle, Marketing Product Specialist, Olympus UK “We are having a very busy time at Olympus, keeping photographers engaged through social media workshops and videos. We are doing everything we can to keep photographers inspired and improving their skills. We’re sharing all our expertise, advice, tips and tricks to help them get the most out of their Olympus cameras and use this time creatively.”

Working with our retailers we’ve hosted a number of free webinars on vlogging, macro, lifestyle and portrait photography; as well as advising on setting up new cameras and general support.The current situation has certainly challenged us to think differently about the way we do things.”

Tracey Fielden, Canon UK & Ireland

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Emerging from lockdown special Gary Sutton, MAC Group Europe MD

Theo Georghiades, General Manager Fujifilm UK “Business has been improving steadily. New products like X-T4 and X100V are in high demand and it’s encouraging to see that consumers are still willing to invest in new technology. We’ve also implemented some interim promotions on the X-T3 and X-T30, which have been quite successful. Combining our 48hr Free Loan service to allow customers to get hands on with some keen offers we’ve managed to sustain a good level of business during these past couple of months. Now the Government has advised non-essential retail can re-open from the 15th June, we are working on an outlined plan to open safely for both staff and customers. We haven’t set a reopen date as yet.”

Abi Symons, Marketing Executive, The Imaging Warehouse “The Imaging Warehouse – including PermaJet, Premier Ink, On-Line Paper and Nova Darkroom – has been working hard throughout lockdown to provide business as usual, whilst generating more online content than ever to keep customers engaged and entertained. We’re also running promotional offers and still meeting our Next Day Delivery guarantee. This is a concerning time for everyone and our priority is to ensure our customers can continue to get the print and darkroom materials that they need.”

“Zoom, no not the Fat Larry’s Band hit from 1982, but the video conferencing platform, has, along with Teams and Slack, been a key feature of our working lives at MAC Group since the middle of March. Obviously, I take the wellbeing of our staff very seriously and had been closely monitoring the spread of Covid-19 since the beginning of the year. Before the Government’s directive, we were preparing for people to work from home and video conferencing was identified as a key way to keep in touch. It has not only been used for meetings with the staff in the UK, but with our colleagues in the US and our many customers overseas.

“As the company has 53 distributors in 44 countries, lockdown measures are impacting our customers at different times. The Benro factory in China had only just returned to full production in mid-February, when the virus hit Europe, so since the beginning of the year our business has been affected, and, like many, we took advantage of the Job Retention Scheme and initially furloughed all but four employees. However, we found that sales were better than expected and needed to bring an employee back to work to manage the orders.

“To support our customers, we

have reduced our minimum order value and introduced a drop-ship delivery for end users, as well as offering some additional promotional activity. Fortunately, our warehouse in the Netherlands is operating as usual, so we have been able to maintain our delivery service.

“As at MAC Group, many people are having to adapt to a new way of working and we have seen a huge increase in demand for our Saramonic products as people are needing high quality mics for their vlogging, online yoga, fitness and music classes, as well as video conferencing. Demand for tripods and camera bags whilst down, is generally better than expected and from the emails we are receiving, photographers are using their newfound time to research their next purchase. Whilst the lockdown has seen a reduction in sales, the appetite to create content has not diminished and it is likely there will be a need for better quality online content in the future. Consumer behaviour has changed over the past few weeks and as an industry we must be more innovative and adapt to cater for this.”

“Nobody knows what the post covid-19 world will be like, however with the measures put in place, and the fact that I have a truly dedicated team, I am sure the business will get through this crisis and be in a good position to return to face the new challenges that lay ahead. Anyway, I have to leave it there as another Zoom call beckons! Take care everyone.”

Like many, we took advantage of the Job Retention Scheme and initially furloughed all but four employees.

However, we found that sales were better than expected and needed to bring an employee back to work to manage the orders.”

Gary Sutton, MAC Group Europe

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BPI News | June 2020 11

BPI News Extra

TIPA REWARDS USUAL SUSPECTS Another annual event passing with less fanfare than usual because of lockdown was the TIPA – Technical Image Press Association – Awards, announced after our previous BPI News had gone to the printers. Let’s examine this year’s victors…

W

hile there were unprecedented events happening around the globe last month, some very familiar names were popping up on this year’s annual TIPA Awards list.

A case in point: Canon’s EOS 90D was named Best Advanced DSLR, its EOS1DX Mark III took best Professional DSLR, and a new category of Best Vlogging Camera was won by the PowerShot G7 X Mark III (below). The Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM was declared Best Mirrorless Telephoto Zoom lens, while Best Professional Portrait Lens went to its RF 85mm f/1.2L USM.

BPI News’ supporter Sigma bagged three TIPAs. The 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN Art was named Best Mirrorless Wide Angle Zoom Lens while its 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art was Best Mirrorless Standard Zoom Lens. Its Sigma fp (above) meanwhile took the accolade of Best Expert Full Frame Camera.

Two awards was Panasonic’s tally, with the Lumix DC-S1H (below) named Best Full Frame Photo/Video Camera and its Leica DG Vario-Summilux 10-25mm f/1.7 ASPH named Best MFT Lens.

Its arch rival was also well represented, with the Nikon D780 (below) taking Best Expert DSLR and the Z 50 named as Best Advanced APS-C Camera. Its AF-S Nikkor 120-300mm f/2.8E FL ED SR VR was singled out as Best Professional DSLR Lens while the Nikkor Z 58mm f/0.95 Noct was garlanded with Best Mirrorless Prime/Standard Lens.

SMART PRODUCTS, SMART TECHNOLOGY Also not forgotten was the Fuji X100V, which bagged Best Premium Compact Camera, while its GFX100 (right) took Best Medium Format Camera and the X-Pro3 was awarded Best Professional APS-C Camera.

Best Portable Photo Printer also went to Fuji, for its Instax Mini Link.

In terms of accessories, the SanDisk Extreme Pro CFexpress 2.0 Type B memory cards were named Best Imaging Storage Solution and the spotlight shone on the Nissin MG80 Pro as Best Portable Flash. The CEWE Photobook (below) picked up Best Photo Service and best Photo lab was WhiteWall Masterprint. Best Inkjet Photo Paper meanwhile went to the Hahnemühle Natural Line, as recently advertised in these pages.

Third party manufacturers also represented in the awards included Best Prime DSLR Lens going to the Tamron SP 35mm f/1.4 Di USD (right), while the Tokina atx-I 11-16mm f/2.8 CF took Best DSLR Wide Angle Zoom Lens and the Samyang AF 14mm f/2.8 RF bagged Best Mirrorless Prime Wideangle Lens.

Lastly, the judges decided the Sony RX100 VII warranted Best Expert Compact Camera and its Real Time Tracking technology Best Photo Innovation. Best Full Frame Professional Camera according to the pundits was the Sony A7R IV, while Best Expert APS-C Camera was won by its A6600.

For the full list and judges’ comments head to: www.tipa.com

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BPI News Product Focus

SIGMA’S CANON EF-M TRIO MAKES FOR EASY SALE Offering retailers a great chance to make an additional sale to Canon EF-M mount mirrorless users, Sigma has a trio of compatible 16mm, 30mm and 56mm fast-aperture lenses you can push…

A

BOKEH GLORY It’s worth noting that when coupled with Canon EF-M mount cameras, an exclusively developed control algorithm for Sigma’s lens trio optimises the camera’s autofocus drive and maximises data transmission speed. The lenses also offer compatibility with Servo AF and lens aberration correction, and, crucially in this day and age, Face + Tracking AF functionality. Their smooth and quiet autofocus performance, thanks to in-built stepping motors, means they are also the ideal choice for photographers shooting video as well as those capturing stills.

“Canon is still the biggest camera brand in the business and this trio of EF-M mount lenses are the perfect fit for any photographers beginning their

Three lenses, one fit: inspire your Canon EF-M mount owning customers to get up close and/or go wide with Sigma’s great value, high quality lens line up, ranging from 16mm through 56mm, and all with fast/bright f/1.4 aperture

mirrorless journey,” promises Sigma UK General Manager Paul Reynolds.

“Offering the ability to cover the most common focal lengths, from wide-angle to medium telephoto, and with bright f/1.4 apertures delivering beautiful ‘bokeh’ effects, these should be an easy sell for retailers seeking to equip their customers with all they need to get out there and start shooting great images.”

Should users of other camera mounts want to use these same lenses too, don’t forget to direct them towards Sigma’s Mount Conversion Service that, as it sounds, converts the mount of Sigma lenses to those of a different camera body.

So if your customers are looking for affordable third party lenses capable of delivering outstanding resolution when twinned with their Canon EF-M mount mirrorless camera bodies, speak to your local Sigma representative or contact head office NOW via sales@sigma-imaging-uk.com or 01707 329 999.

© Images courtesy of Sigma Corporation

broad range of exceptional quality yet affordable lens options to suit an equally broad range of photographers and videographers – that’s Sigma’s proposition to its retail partners in a nutshell. As part of its comprehensive ‘Contemporary’ line-up, three new Sigmabranded options for Canon EF-M mount APS-C camera owners, originally unveiled last October, are available right now.

Given that a lot of users of these cameras will be making their first forays into interchangeable lens mirrorless photography, it makes a lot of sense for dealers to pitch Sigma’s compact, lightweight, high quality and affordable lens options to them.

As observant retailers will be aware, the manufacturer is here offering a triple whammy of creative choices. The 16mm DC DN, 30mm DC DN and 56mm DC DN primes, each offering the advantage of an ultra-wide f/1.4 aperture, cover wide to mid-telephoto lengths. Sigma claims users are finding the trio a very welcome alternative to Canon’s own EF-M lens line-up, which has only seen eight optics in as many years, and only one with an f/1.4 aperture. All three are also available in Micro Four Thirds and Sony E-Mount fits, for the dealer who wants to maximise the chances of a sale.

www.sigma-imaging-uk.com

All of Sigma’s Canon EF-Mount lenses come with the benefit of a three-year limited warranty. Visit www.sigma-imaging-uk.com NEVER MISS AN ISSUE! Read BPI News online at issuu.com/bpinewsonline

BPI News | June 2020 13

Product of the Month

PRODUCT OF THE MONTH: NIKON D6

The brand’s behemoth DSLR aimed at sports, action and newsgathering photographers lands on the BPI News test slab in the midst of lockdown. Is it sufficiently different to its D5 predecessor to direct customers to upgrade?

M

uch hyped and anticipated, the flagship full frame Nikon D6 is finally here at a £6,299 bodyonly price – though in circumstances its engineers would never have anticipated. Originally it was hoped that photographers would be shooting with this substantially built beast at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics this summer. And then…

While circumstances may have changed, not much outwardly has here, the 20.8 effective D6 being nigh identical to the four-year-old D5 in terms of looks, layout, huge handgrip and robustness of build. Not much here has changed inwardly either, except for the ability to now shoot up to 14fps in Continuous High (CH) mode compared with its predecessor’s 12fps, or a still respectable 10fps in Continuous Low (CL) mode, both options selectable via a twist of the top plate mode dial, and the former resulting in that machinegun like clatter as shots are captured.

Given its audience, speed is what it’s all about here, as well as reliability, with Nikon claiming the shutter unit has been tested for up to 400,000 cycles.

A DISPLAY OF PROFESSIONALISM This being a professional newsgathering tool, its manufacturer is also trumpeting its potential to deliver a faster workflow for photographers, thanks to built-in

A D6 in the hand... is worth several signets.

The build and price of this camera means it is very much the professional’s tool

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. There’s also wired LAN support for hooking the camera up to a PC that way if so desired, with transfer rates claimed to be 15% faster than its D5 forebear. However, those with drawers full of SD cards may lament that this model is compatible with super fast XQD and CFexpress cards only, for which two slots are provided. But an opportunity here perhaps for the switched on retailer to sell their customers a fast, high capacity card plus a new card reader to go with it, for around £200. We used a 64GB Sony XQD series card provided

by Nikon with the D6 over our five-day test period that, thanks to boasting read and write speeds of 440 MB/S and 400 MB/S respectively, provided a fluid and seamless response – avoiding the camera being rendered inactive while a sequence of shots or video finished writing to card.

Our lens of choice here was Nikon’s own F-mount compatible 70-200mm f/2.8 – which will set potential users back another £2K+. When combined with the camera’s sensor it’s capable of capturing some rich detail and incredible death, even if resolution isn’t the over-riding selling point of this specific model. A

large sensor not over-burdened with pixels also allowed us to get some great results in lower light conditions – with a steady and flat surface to hand naturally, as the DSLR doesn’t offer built in image stabilization; this is provided by the Vibration Reduction enabled lens only.

With full frame mirrorless cameras having tipped the market in their favour these past few years, the D6’s housing and operation feels like a bit of a throwback to traditional, less complicated times. The camera is also something of an evolution over the previous model, rather than a burn-downthe-barricades revolution. Nevertheless what we’re still very likely looking at here is its maker’s best ever DSLR. www.nikon.co.uk

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