Pixel Magazine - Issue 962

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ISSUE NO. 962

www.pixel.co.uk

INSIDE

LP_Pixel_Ears_46x53mm.indd 1

April 2016

LP_Pixel_Ears_46x53mm.indd 2 30/09/2014 11:47 THE 30/09/2014 PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW: A ROUNDUP, SPRING INTO ACTION, IN:PRINT ROUNDTABLE EVENT, DISCOVERING NORITSU DRY LABS, TIME FOR CITIZEN, THE LATEST NEWS AND MUCH MORE...

This Issue Includes...

• The Photography Show: Pixel attended the four day event in its entirety, and reports here. P10.

• Spring Into Action: Read part 1 of Pixel’s action & extreme sports feature. P12.

The Big Interview:

Theo Georghiades As announced in the February edition of Pixel, Fujifilm UK have a new General Manager: their very own Theo Georghiades. We sat with the man himself to congratulate him on his promotion and to learn about his past, present and future at the company

• In:Print hosted it’s first roundtable event. Filmed from start to finish, read on for the transcribed edit. P19.

Panasonic announce Firmware Update for DMC-GH4 Panasonic has announced a new firmware update for DMC-GH4.

Ver.2.5. includes the following updates: Post Focus: enables users to select the in-focus point, after shooting and change perspectives or choose best in-focus shot in macro shooting situations.

4K PHOTO modes: 4K Burst / 4K Burst (Start/Stop) / 4K Preburst are newly available on LUMIX GH4.

External Flash Burst: consecutive shooting with flash burst is available when an external flash that is capable of continuous emission is attached.

The new DMC-GH4 firmware Ver 2.5 is scheduled to be released end of March 2016 at the LUMIX Customer Support website.

PHOTO -

IMAGING -

Hi Theo. I want to start by saying huge congratulations on your new title – General Manager is a fantastic step! I’d like to first go back to the start though, so take me back to when you first started at Fujifilm. What led you onto this path?

How far back shall I go? Well, my passion for photography really started when I was 8 years old when my Dad bought me my first film SLR: a Practica. It was his hobby and he passed it onto me.

Continued on page 6...

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AUDIO

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FOR 48 YEARS AND COUNTING

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NEWS

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NEWS

WELCOME To Pixel Magazine The throes of Springtime are firmly upon us. With intermittent sunshine and showers both encouraging punters through the doors and keeping them firmly indoors respectively.

It is a time of year, when hobbyist photographers savour the prospect of getting out and about once more with the promise of better weather ahead. With that in mind, we introduce part one of our two-part feature on the burgeoning ‘action’ market. A segment that can, and should not be ignored by photo specialists, we explore the brands, trends and potential in the market with a fine-tooth comb over this (pp12) and our next edition in May. The Pixel team are also fresh, back from the Photography Show in

Industry News Bites Find out more info on this month’s news bites at Pixel.co.uk

Birmingham, where all manner of exciting things were happening, including the reassuring vision of the tens of thousands of photo enthusiasts and pros that wandered the halls for the four days of the event.

During the show this year, Pixel hosted the very first and hugely exciting Industry-Focus group on the Monday of the event. A panel of experts from the print sector joined Editor, Simon Skinner for a collaborative and in-depth conversation on the topic of photo-printing. A transcription of this can be found in In:Print from pages 19. Film edits of the event can be found by clicking through from the digital edition of the magazine, or by logging in to Pixel.co.uk All of this and much, much more in your April edition of Pixel:

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The new 4V range of Premium Italian ‘Cuoio’ leather camera straps includes twenty-nine carefully selected products and straps to fit most cameras from compact cameras, to high end DSLRs. The design boasts a pre-curved cut for fit and comfort, military grade buckles and polyamide herringbone webbing for strength and durability, anti-scratch leather pads and ultragrip surface, which is water-proof and washable.

ALA Top Leather straps – SRP £109.00 LUSSO LARGE - SRP £79 LUSSO Medium Neck Straps SRP £92.25 LUSSO Slim Neck Straps – SRP £88.50 CLASSIC Neck Straps – SRP £72.50 Classic Camera Straps – SRP £72.50 Ergo Wrist Straps – SRP £42.50 Watch Wrist straps - SRP £38.50

The new line-up includes: ALA Canvas Straps – SRP £89.00

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NEW SIZES ADDED

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also minimise ghosts and flare, enhancing shooting performance and maximising results.

To offer optimal performance of autofocus in fast shooting and 4K-modes, the lens incorporates an inner focus drive system and stepping motor, delivering a focussing speed of up to 240 frames per second (fps). This ensures smooth, silent operation with the LUMIX G’s high speed, high precision contrast AF. The lens incorporates a 5x zoom range of 24-120mm (35mm camera equivalent) and a 0.54x magnification capability.

Simon, Editor Jenny, Deputy Editor

Ricoh Imaging Europe has announced the launch of a limited edition model of the PENTAX K-3 II (launched in May 2015) to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Ricoh Company, Ltd. Treated with a special silver coating, this exclusive model will be available in a limited quantity of 500 units worldwide.

Photo Panel

Panasonic’s new LUMIX G VARIO 12-60mm lens (35mm camera equivalent – 24-120mm) is built to the Micro Four Thirds System standard, and provides a maximum aperture opening of F3.5 at the wide angle and F5.6 at the tele end, as well as Panasonic’s POWER O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabiliser).

It is compact in size, dust and splash proof and built to excel in a range of environments. Comprising of 11 elements in nine groups, the lens system features three aspherical lenses and an ED lens element.

The multi-coated lens elements

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Panasonic’s New LUMIX G VARIO 12-60mm/F3.5-5.6 POWER O.I.S.

The JetMaster Photo Panel creates effortless impact for your images. A lightweight alternative to solid MDF display blocks, this photo panel has a pressure sensitive adhesive face and is available in a range of sizes. JetMaster Photo Panels are simple to create and can be wall mounted or used as an attractive addition to any desk.

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www.pixel.co.uk 3

NEWS

The RICOH WG-M2 Action Camera Ricoh Imaging Europe is pleased to announce the launch of the RICOH WG-M2 4K action camera with a number of advanced features, including 4K video recording and the use of an ultra-wide angle lens to capture dramatic and detailed movies.

Designed for outdoor enthusiasts and adventurers, the RICOH WG-M2 is the latest camera to join the popular WG-series, and builds on the performance from RICOH’s original action camera, the RICOH WG-M1 (launched in October 2014).

It is waterproof to a depth of 20 metres, shock-resistant from a height of two metres and cold-resistant to temperatures as low as -10°C. A first for RICOH digital cameras, the RICOH WGM2 features 4K video recording, coupled with an ultra-wide angle

lens at approximately 204°, a vibration function to indicate the start and end of video recording; LCD auto-orientation to record video clips in an upright position regardless of how the camera’s mounted; seven image effect modes; and an array of video editing functions.

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY: RRP: £269.99 Available: End of March

All-new Range of Nikon DL Premium Compacts

Nikon shakes up the premium compact market with three models in the all-new Nikon DL range: the Nikon DL24-85 f/1.8-2.8, the Nikon DL18-50 f/1.8-2.8, and the Nikon DL24-500 f/2.8-5.6.

Each camera boasts a fixed NIKKOR zoom lens with highperformance optics to match those found in Nikon DSLR lenses, and a fast 1-inch CX-format sensor. Each Nikon DL camera can capture 20.8 MP stills in JPEG or NEF (RAW) format, and 4K/UHD movies at

30p/25p, and all employ Nikon’s acclaimed Advanced Hybrid AF system. An EXPEED 6A processor with no less than four CPUs is the engine behind each camera’s shooting speeds: up to 60 fps with focus fixed at the first frame, or up to 20 fps with continuous AF. Nikon’s Dual Detect Optical VR (Vibration Reduction) system delivers enhanced shake detection and correction and each camera features an ISO 518 hot shoe.

RRPs Nikon DL24-85 f/1.8-2.8: £549.99 Nikon DL24-85 f/1.8-2.8 EVF Kit: £669.99 Nikon DL18-50 f/1.8-2.8: £679.99 Nikon DL18-50 f/1.8-2.8 EVF Kit: £799.99 Nikon DL24-500 f/2.8-5.6: £749.99 Available June 2016

New From Daymen Pixel recently braved the weather to visit Daymen International in their sparkling new, open plan offices in Wolverhampton, where we caught up with Loraine Morgan, Head of Marketing.

4 www.pixel.co.uk

After an (extremely) wet drive from the Sussex coast, we arrived to possibly the best cup of coffee and the opportunity to look

CANON EOS 1300D Canon has unveiled a new entrylevel EOS DSLR – the EOS 1300D, including Wi-Fi and Dynamic NFC to make sharing simple. The EOS 1300D has a large APS-C sized 18 megapixel sensor and responsive handling, plus Canon’s DIGIC 4+ processor. The camera has more than than 80 EF lenses, a range of other accessories to choose from and a choice of creative filters to add to the responsive auto focus system to aid easy and fun shooting for beginners.

The camera hosts an ISO between 100 and 6,400 – which is expandable to ISO 12,800 and provides the ability to take

professional-looking footage in Full HD quality. Using Video Snapshot mode, the user can also record a series of short clips, which can be automatically joined together in a video sequence to be shared.

Pricing and availability The EOS 1300D is available from early April with the following RRPs: • BEOS 1300D body only – £289.99/€ 399.99 • EOS 1300D + EF-S 1855mm f/3.5-5.6 DCIII kit £329.99/€459.99 • EOS 1300D + EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II kit - £369.99/ €519.99

Kenro Launches New Nissin Receiver Air R Range Kenro Ltd, the exclusive UK distributor for Nissin is delighted to announce the launch of a series of new products from the Nissin Air System range.

The Nissin Receiver Air R range is one of the new additions to the Nissin Air System (NAS) 2.4GHz radio transmission wireless flash system, providing high-speed sync up to 1/8000 seconds, zoom and manual power output.

One Commander transmitter can control up to 21 separate Air R receivers, which can be programmed into three groups.

The Nissin Receiver Air R range is available now:

over the entire Joby and LowePro ranges, including the new and rapidly evolving drone case range, and the new concept range, ‘Echelon’. A super highend range of bags that are being trialled in the

NFG014NR: Nissin Receiver Air R Nikon – SRP £59.94 inc. VAT NFG014N/AP: Nissin Commander Air 1 + Receiver Air R Nikon – SRP £109.98 inc. VAT NFG014SR: Nissin Receiver Air R Sony – SRP £59.94 inc. VAT NFG014S/AP: Nissin Commander Air 1 + Receiver Air R Sony – SRP £109.98 inc. VAT NFG014CR: Nissin Receiver Air R Canon – SRP £59.94 inc. VAT NFG014C/AP: Nissin Commander Air 1 + Receiver Air R Canon – SRP £109.98 inc. VAT Contact Kenro on 01793 615836 or sales@kenro.co.uk US market before (hopefully) making an appearance here in the UK. We will be catching up with Daymen and their new range of drone bags in our May ‘Extreme’ focus.

Contact the team at Daymen International: 0845 250 0790

“THIS NEW X-PRO2 CAMERA BRINGS THE ORIGINAL X-SERIES CONCEPT BANG UP TO DATE, AND I’M IMPRESSED” DAMIEN LOVEGROVE, X-PHOTOGRAPHER CAMERA: X-PRO2 LENS: XF90mm EXPOSURE: 1/125SEC AT F2.0, ISO 400

#XPRO2 #5YEARSOFXSERIES WWW.FUJIFILM.EU/UK/X-PRO2 www.pixel.co.uk 5

THEO GEORGHIADES

The Big Interview

Continued...

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hen I joined my secondary school, I found they had a photography department and an after school club, which I joined. My teacher at the time recognised my passion and we formed a really strong relationship. There were no specific photography lessons until it got to GCSE stage – so for a good few years I simply attended the photography club and treated it as a hobby before embarking on the more academic level.

I then took A Level Photography, and started to think I wanted to become a professional photographer; to follow my passion and perhaps dabble in a bit of sports photography.

However, at the time I left secondary school, the age of digital was truly simmering (in 1995), and I thought to myself, ‘I don’t want to do a basic art degree in photography – I want to do something a bit different.’ So, I pursued and completed a degree in Electronic Imaging at Westminster in Harrow. The degree was fairly modular in the sense that it allowed the student to break up their studying into different interests. I fixated on learning as much as I could on digital photography. For a period of time during university, I worked at a dealer called Leonard Moore & Co, based in Ealing. Unfortunately, they’ve now gone out of business, but there, I learned so many things about photography: cameras, hardware, lenses and also how to sell them. When I graduated in 1999, I found an advert for a customer service

6 www.pixel.co.uk

position at Fujifilm UK, and in September of that year, I joined the company.

Was Fujifilm an obvious choice for you?

It was, as Fujifilm was such a big and diverse photographic brand. I looked up to Fujifilm generally because I used a lot of their film.

When I started working at Leonard Moore & Co, the owner had a whole backdrop of different types and brands of film. So, to learn them all, I had to try them out over the weekend, and I quickly got a flavour of what I liked to use most. That ended up being the Velvia and Astia films: both from Fujifilm. So I certainly respected Fujifilm as a company.

I just wanted to get my foot in the door and see where it took me; at the time I never had a really clear path as to what division or type of role I wanted to end up with, but I knew Fuji would open up those doors for me.

So what happened next?

I joined the customer services team, which dealt with professional products, including medium format cameras, film, paper, chemistry etc. I did this for almost a year but soon into the role realised that digital hardware is what I wanted to get into. I ‘spread the word’ round the office, selling my knowledge of digital cameras, their hardware and the market itself.

At the time Dixons were king, with a huge market share, but we were growing all the time

to become number one in digital compact cameras, in which we had 35% plus market share. From 1996 to around 2006-2007, compact cameras were absolutely flying off the shelves, and it was really the only way of getting quality photographs. I could sell compacts in my sleep; they were that popular.

During my first year at the company, I got to know David Honey quite well and he eventually created a position for me as an Internal Sales Executive. For about six months, I would build relationships and sell to those who sold IT equipment around the country – it was realised that year that cameras had an affiliation with IT that we could use to our advantage. That’s when I first started a relationship with Internet Cameras Direct, who were the first internet-only reseller of digital cameras in the country. They had grown astronomically; from a small startup in the owner’s bedroom to this huge company in 10,000 square foot premises - all within three years. This relationship really put me on the Fuji map.

That was what I really enjoyed in the beginning. To take something from nothing, to build relationships from scratch and to try and understand the businesses took skill. It was a challenge, but it was also more rewarding.

I had to sell myself as much as the service or product, and I think that’s what got me noticed within the company and the industry.

From 2003, I started working on the bigger

RECENT LAUNCHES multiple companies; if I could do this with smaller accounts, why not the larger ones?

Within a year, as digital cameras continued to grow, Adrian Clarke had to expand the team and he wanted a Product Manager. Although on paper this seemed like a sideways step, taking the role was the right decision for my long-term future. Adrian then gave me the chance to take over the digital department between 2004 and 2007, at which point the Fujifilm offices moved from London to Bedford.

Between 2007 and 2010, I became Senior Product Manager and in 2012, also looked after the sales division. I’ve spent the past four years until now proving myself; demonstrating that I can manage the entire UK business.

You must feel very proud to call yourself General Manager of Fujifilm UK, with all that history with the company and understanding of the market as a whole?

Of course! Fujifilm UK Digital Cameras is one of the biggest subsidiaries pound for pound in the world and very important to our Japanese HQ. The UK is the second biggest digital camera market in Europe to Germany, and we are an important part of the Fuji Empire. The German market as a whole is very, very big; possibly because they’re a lot more hobbyist than the UK. Historically they have always sold more despite having roughly the same population; it’s also a different landscape in terms of independent retailers. However, from a revenue and profit point of view, we’re not far off. The UK has always delivered a lot of success from market share, revenue and profit point of view.

Adrian, now the Senior VP of Europe, has done an amazing job since the mid 1990s when digital cameras first started, so it’s an honour and privilege to follow in his footsteps.

Fuji is a friendly brand – down to both What other changes have been made in product and the people that buy or sell. the business recently?

The brand seems to have stuck to the Lucy Edwards is on maternity leave, and my old school way of doing things – with a brother, Andreas - who had moved to Sony - is personal touch. Is that the key to Fuji’s now covering her as Marketing Manager. Katie ongoing success, and something that’s Teesdale-Ward has set up Teesdale PR and is going to continue? doing really well, but the I think one of the most big thing for the digital important things in department is really the business - if not the most change of our business “I think one of the most important - is people. structure and logistics.

People buy into people; important things in For instance, as of the those they like, they trust business - if not the most 1st February, the Digital and those that listen. important - is people.

Camera business is now You cannot treat every part of FEIE, which is our customer or business in People buy into people; European HQ for Digital the same way because, those they like, they trust Cameras. From a local as much as that would be and those that listen” level I will be in charge of easier for brands, they’re Sales & Marketing but the all different. It should deliveries themselves will be about you wanting come from a warehouse in a particular business to Germany straight into the UK retailers. Rather grow with your brand and therefore you must than holding our stock in various places, it’s listen to what they need, so you can best now all managed centrally, meaning we can accommodate that need. That’s one area that strip a lot of cost and more importantly, be I don’t want to stop. Can we always do what more efficient. they want? Of course we can’t, but what gains The cooperation from the German team has us the most respect and credibility is the fact been amazing, as has the team here. It’s gone we always listen, meaning there are times when as well as we had expected, but as with any we are able to say yes. That’s what builds and change it will take time for things to adjust. strengthens relationships.

Fujifilm X-Pro2

As a company, we also have the capacity to always be flexible, which is an important asset to any business in ensuring success.

That’s what has allowed us to be so successful and also helped us to change our business model. For years and years, we only sold compact digital cameras peaking at 1.2 million units in one fiscal year, which was phenomenal. Now, we are selling much higher end products. Our X-Series is absolutely flying, and we’ve just celebrated our 5 year anniversary of X-Series, which is a massive milestone.

Fujifilm’s success comes down to innovation and understanding what the photographer wants. As a photographic brand, we are always very mindful of the output image, but building a community is also essential, and another thing that sets Fuji apart from other brands. There are a lot of companies who really engage with consumers on a personal level, and others who simply don’t. We take all of the positive and negative feedback and deal with it – that’s what gives us a strong brand presence in the community and what creates such a loyal following. People will buy products over a period of years without swaying, and that’s fantastic because ultimately, they are the guys who will sell your product for you. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

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RECENT LAUNCHES

of the design; fundamentally, the reason Do you take feedback from that they still used it four years on is because community in order to produce better they loved the way it handled. They said, products? ‘do not revolutionise what you’ve done We will take any feedback. The unique thing with the X-Pro1’. Therefore, we didn’t really about our products is just how many firmware change the materials we used, but we did updates we do, and these are just as important want to change the style. The big change as the hardware in a lot of cases. We’ve is of course the sensor. The X-Pro1 had the managed to improve and add features to older original 16 megapixel X Trans 1 sensor, and products and listen to consumers about what the X-Pro2 has the 24 megapixel X Trans they do and don’t like - then if we can do it, 3 sensor, It also has a new processor: the we will. These things take time, money and X Processor Pro. These upgrades mean resources, but in the long-term, people have increased resolutions, better signal to noise, that warm feeling towards our brand or product improved speed, improved because they know we autofocus, uncompressed haven’t forgotten about raw file capability, and them. just generally a lot more If I compared X-Pro1 “If I compared X-Pro1 versatility. Plus, it brings cameras that came cameras that came out in it into the modern age. out in 2011 to X-Pro1 2011 to X-Pro1 cameras When the X-Pro1 came cameras now, it’s like now, it’s like two completely out, there was very little two completely different competition, and in cameras, and that’s different cameras, and that’s essence even the X-Pro2 because we take the because we take the time to doesn’t have much in time to revitalise our revitalise our older products” the way of competition – older products, for the nobody else does a true community of users who rangefinder style high-end still buy into them. We camera, except for Leica. don’t want to create But expense is often a barrier to the general products that go out of date as quickly as enthusiast and we cater for that barrier whilst technology is developing. providing the quality. The viewfinder is what makes the X-Pro2 truly unique. It’s the only What was the driving change between the camera in the world that has a multi-hybrid X-Pro1 and the X-Pro2? viewfinder, which means you have an optical A lot of it came down to what not to change. viewfinder and an electronic viewfinder. You We spent a lot of time talking to photographers can also switch it so you can have a digital who were existing X-Pro1 users. We asked overlay. Again, that makes the camera so them what they loved about the X-Pro1; what versatile, especially in demanding shooting they used most and didn’t want changing. conditions. One thing I love hearing from The majority came back to us with their love

8 www.pixel.co.uk

Fujifilm X70

photographers is that they feel that Fuji put the soul back into photography.

They’re a bit of a fashion statement now too aren’t they? Does that ‘soul’ come from the style or the output?

Beyoncé shoots with the X-Series, as does Brooklyn Beckham, Simon Pegg and Prince Harry, so yes, a lot of it isn’t just the output; it is also the sheer style of the cameras. Celebrities and fashion icons such as these people know what they like, and they wouldn’t be seen dead with something that didn’t look good.

Yes, we’re a photographic brand, and we’re not Apple or Google, however we must have something that makes these people use our cameras. They’re also easy to use, and I put that down to the fact that we actually speak to photographers all the time, and understand their needs. A lot of them want simplicity – if it’s second nature to get that shot, users will take more pictures, and better pictures too. Another big thing is that the photos straight out of the camera are almost perfect: no need for heavy editing on Photoshop. It’s a magnificent thing to create something near perfect out of the

RECENT LAUNCHES camera with that immediacy, without having to sit for hours and tweak it on your computer.

So, as you mentioned, this year was the 5 year anniversary of X-Series and you brought out a fair few products, not just the X-Pro2, didn’t you?

Yes, the X-Pro2, the X70, the X-E2S, the XF100-400mm zoom lens and a new compact camera called the XP90. The compact camera market is still quite buoyant, and we do very well with our tough range of cameras (the XP range), and a lot of that is down to families. Families are again realising they do want and need a camera that’s going to take lots of pictures and endure a beach, pool or adventure holiday. So, these waterproof cameras have been brilliant in that market, and we’re still growing and developing that side of things.

Ultimately though, X-Series is our future.

Do you feel like Fujifilm has attained its aim for the X-Series over the past 5 years?

I think our focus has changed over the past 5 years. When we first announced the X100 in September 2010, no-one expected the kind of response that it received. It was fantastic and we were all very excited about it, but we’ve never seen our Photokina stand flooded with people like it was that year. In the next couple of days after the announcement, the X100 became the 60th most Googled item in the world, and that was truly amazing.

There are a lot of photographers we speak to now who still have the X100 in their bags because it was a very unique and high quality product. Even now in its third generation with the X100T, it still consistently sells well for us.

That was the catalyst for the X-Series. We initially wanted to focus on the enthusiast but we didn’t envisage the true professional would take it on like they have. We expected about 90% enthusiast, 10% pro and we’re now looking at more like 70% enthusiast versus 30% pro. The professional appreciates the benefits of compact system cameras more than the enthusiast because it’s an ideal

balance between moderate size and weight, and DSLR quality. That pro segment has developed a lot quicker than most expected.

How significant is the X-Series as an addition to the market as a whole?

We’ve had our ups and downs in terms of market share, a lot of which is driven by new products. For instance, we find that the CSC market is very much dependent on timing and product launches from various brands. For example, Sony had a very strong year last year with a lot of great product launches, and we’re hoping that this is our year with the launch of the X-Pro2.

There was a time, very recently, when people were claiming that Smartphones have ruined the market completely. What are your thoughts on this? And how has Fujifilm adapted to the changing market?

We’re all now hobbyist photographers; we all have smartphones, we all have the ability to take photos. Of course, some do more than

others, some take better photographs than others. Ultimately though, whether you’re an enthusiast or a professional, photography is now a huge part of our lives. So, for a brand like us, who are so involved in the ecosystem of everybody’s picture-taking and picturemaking, we always have to see these trends ahead of time, and react accordingly. We did this with the growth of digital, the decline of film, the demise of compacts and now with the growth of smartphone photography.

We’re not always ahead of the game, but we do identify what is and isn’t going to work as soon as possible, and adapt accordingly.

We’ve also never been complacent, in terms of our position in the market or the future, which is essential in this fast-paced and competitive business.

The market doesn’t get ‘ruined’, it simply changes. And we make the most of that change.

Thank you for your time, Theo. Is there anything else you’d like to say on the topic of your promotion?

I want to say a huge thank you to all my seniors and my peers. There are people here who really believed in me in the early years and gave good advice on my path. With that support and belief, I feel like this is home.

I’ve been allowed to show what I’m good at and develop my roles over the years, and because of that freedom, I have been able to be successful.

That family atmosphere is fantastic at Fujifilm, which is a big plus point to being here. The turnover rate is very low across the whole company, and that’s a testament to the business. I have an amazing and passionate team, which helps, and they spend their own time and money to learn about and invest in the product. We couldn’t be successful as a brand without the Fujifilm UK team.

So, thank you to all those people – you know who you are.

www.pixel.co.uk 9 Fujifilm X-Pro2

THE PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW

The Photography Show: A Roundup

The NEC in Birmingham opened its doors to thousands of enthusiasts in late March, with manufacturers, distributors and dealers from the industry attending in considerable numbers. Pixel attended the four day event in its entirety, and reports here, on all the best bits

T

he Photography Show closed its doors on the 22nd March for its third year, after welcoming thousands of professional and enthusiast photographers across four actionpacked days. Leading manufacturers and retailers ended on a high, reporting positively across all days of the event and visitors seemed equally as inspired and impressed, firmly establishing the show as the UK consumer event for anyone interested in the world of imagery.

New releases on display at the show included the highly anticipated Canon EOS 1D-X Mark II, at the top of Canon’s DSLR range, plus the new EOS 1300D and EOS 80D and the PowerShot G7 X Mark II. For the first time, Canon showcased new releases and gave expert talks on their own live stage at the event, making this the year of their biggest presence ever at The Photography Show.

Product Marketing Manager at Canon UK, Daniel Benjamin said: “We’ve seen a huge number of visitors to our new stand location and there has been much excitement for our new products, including the EOS-1D X Mark II and EOS 80D – it’s great to show them to so many visitors for the first time. Our live stage has also been really popular, with people interested in hearing how pro’s such as Lara Jade and Andy Rouse use our cameras.

The show is an important platform for us to showcase our latest products and technologies and it’s also a great opportunity for us to speak directly to people buying our kit and using our products and hear their thoughts.”

An interactive Nikon stand housed the all-new Nikon D5 and D500 plus a range of DX and FX D-SLR models, products from the Nikon 1 range and selected COOLPIX models and NIKKOR lenses. Central to the stand was the Nikon School Stage, where a host of Nikon UK Ambassadors, gave insightful talks on a range of photography topics to inspire and educate.

Group Marketing Manager at Nikon, Jeremy Gilbert also said: “We’ve seen a constant stream of people, including broader reach in terms of demographic, giving us a fantastic mix of customers but it has also been a great opportunity to show off core DSLR products to our core audience. The show has been superb and we will be back next year.”

Ricoh Imaging had the Pentax K-1, plus the Pentax K-3 II Silver Edition and GR II Silver

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Edition on-stand; both launched as limited quality of visitors and this year has been better edition to commemorate the 80th anniversary than ever – we’ve really enjoyed it.” of Ricoh. The Ricoh Imaging Ricoh WGThe Panasonic TZ80, the TZ100 and the M2 action camera also accompanied these 100400 lenses were available to purchase models. Alongside reported industry growth onsite or for pre-order on the Panasonic stand. in the action camera, CSC and mirrorless Technical Product Specialist at Panasonic, technology category, new launches at the show Mark Baber, said: “This has been our best also included the new show ever! It has exceeded Fujifilm X-Pro2 and the all of our expectations in Fujifilm X70, the Olympus terms of sales, footfall and PEN F and Sony’s CSC, the customer reaction to “There is something the A6300. our products. We feel like marvellous about the In line with changes to customers have listened to interaction at The content and marketing to our messages over the last attract a new audience year, and have used The Photography Show and to the show, Head of Photography Show to try the quality of visitors and Imaging for Sony UK & and buy our products; the this year has been better Ireland, Frederik Lange show is and will continue to than ever” said: “This show is getting be a great platform for us.” better year on year and Event Manager for is important to the UK The Photography Show, market. Visitors are Cassandra Grant, rounded becoming more diverse and we have seen up this year’s event, saying: “We are ending more interested young customers, which for the show on a high after a successful and us, is key.” exuberant four days. Combined with the National Marketing Manager for Olympus hugely positive comments from our exhibitors, UK, Mark Thackara, also spoke of a successful this highlights the fact that the photography show experience for the brand this year. He industry is still very much an exciting place and said: “There is something marvellous about the we are already looking forward to developing interaction at The Photography Show and the the show further for 2017.”

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Spring Into Action

Spring has sprung in the Pixel offices and it’s around this time of year that we, along with most other people, tend to think about dusting off our outdoor gear for some fresh air and a multitude of sporting activities that have been long since shelved through the winter months

B

ikes are being dusted off, tyres pumped, skate bearings oiled and heaven forbid, some are even contemplating getting back into the sea!

This time of year is a ripe time for the [now] well-established action camera market to switch up a gear or two, and for the dealer channel to consider what’s hot, what’s not; what accessories have joined the party for this year and most importantly, what to stock.

The market leader for some time has, unsurprisingly, been the huge success story that is GoPro, although they themselves are causing a little confusion as to the shape of the market, dropping their range as they are, to just three ongoing models from spring of 2016.

GoPro are, however, launching their first drone product; footage from which we were all treated to late last year. This must surely be significant of a shift in general consumer appetite?

With drones forming such a significant and growing part of the ‘action’ space in 2016,

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USA, the UK has one of the highest levels of we’ve taken it upon ourselves, to split our action camera ownership globally.

Pixel focus study over two editions, with the According to information shared with Pixel first, [this issue] being focused on traditional from Futuresource Consulting, in July 2015 ‘tough’ and ‘action’ cameras, along with all the worldwide action camera market grew of the stats and data that you would expect by 44% year-on-year from the from a Pixel report. same period in 2014, reaching The second will 7.6 million units and with a retail provide more of an “In terms of action camera value of 3.2 billion dollars. overview of the newer volumes, the UK is the We certainly saw these technologies, [4K, second largest market in facts reach fruition over 2015, drones etc] giving a with an abundance of action comprehensive look Europe, behind Germany. camera releases, by a range of at the opportunities After the USA, the UK has brands – some more expected that are out there; one of the highest levels of than others. In the first half of just in time for the action camera ownership the year, the worldwide market shoppers to descend globally” volume for action cameras grew in-store, intent on by approximately 55% and the capturing the next forecast for 2016 is expected YouTube hit. to remain on track for strong In terms of action growth too, having already seen some big camera volumes, the UK is the second largest names releasing some big products since the market in Europe, behind Germany. After the year began.

When Pixel spoke to Arun Gill, Market Analyst at Futuresource Consulting about how the action camera market has developed over the past year or so, what trends are arising, who is on top and what the future holds; he said: “The UK action camera market grew 8% in volume terms to reach an estimated 490,000 units in 2015, while retail value reached £94m, which was down slightly year-on-year due to aggressive pricing and a higher proportion of entry-level models.”

Currently consumer sales, mainly for extreme sports, has accounted for the vast majority of worldwide demand, however, professional sales have been set to accelerate, driven mainly by TV production, emergency services, and security applications.

The popularity of social networking sites such

as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram, has been and remains as one of the major drivers of the action camera market today, with users sharing images and action videos online in vast volumes.

GoPro have been the kings of action video/ photography in recent years, with their Hero cameras kicking off the massive trend that is extreme/action image capture today. However, it was recently reported that GoPro may not in fact be retaining their throne at the top of the ladder, with other brands catching on to the growing consumer demand. Arun commented: “GoPro remained the market leader with an estimated two thirds of UK volumes in 2015.

Vivitar was the next best performer due to its success with models in the sub £100 space, followed by Sony. TomTom are a relatively new entrant in the action space and have received impressive initial results for its Bandit model.

Points of difference with the Bandit include built-in sensors such as an accelerometer and also allow simple/instant playback of exciting content e.g. when there was a sudden spike in user speed or heart rate.”

Arun added: “Brands appear to be placing more emphasis on improving video/ content editing and we expect to see further developments related to post capture moving forwards.” It is Pixel’s opinion that these are the real technological steps that need to take place for the market to truly explode.

Fred Lange, Digital Imaging Marketing

Manager at Sony UK gave us an insight into Sony’s offering within the action camera market: “Sony’s products are renowned for providing a great user experience and our Action Cam range has been known for this since the launch of our first Action Cam in 2012, the HDR-AS15. As the range has developed we have offered HD and now 4K recording. By providing consumers with an affordable 4K Action Cam their adventures can be just as thrilling on screen as in real life and can be shared by playing back on their 4K TV.” As Arun pointed out, the emphasis seems to have changed to not only allowing consumers to shoot anywhere anytime, but also edit and share anywhere anytime. Fred Lange commented: “You can shoot and create impressive movies

anytime with Sony Action Cams’ technology and convenient features including: SteadyShot boosting image stability by almost 3 times, time-lapse effects, high-speed recording and water scene selection. Footage can be instantly shared to a smartphone or tablet via Wi-Fi with the option to then edit content using Sony Action Cam Movie Creator to produce the perfect final cut.”

However, Futuresource suggests that the user profile of action cameras has widened slightly in recent years, from extreme sports to more casual usage (e.g. family capturing a holiday by the pool, friends capturing footage from a night out). But, as Arun explains: “The vast majority of demand (over two thirds of sales) is likely to exist/remain within sports, followed by evidential usage (e.g. cyclists wanting to protect themselves in the event of an accident, motorists protecting themselves from other fraudulent drivers).”

With the quality of action cameras everincreasing, as well as the flexibility and applicability of their features, we wondered if the professional demand had also increased.

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SPRING INTO ACTION

Arun said: “Consumer sales now account for just over 80% of overall UK action camera demand and professional sales represent almost 20%. We are definitely seeing a rise in consumer image capture devices being used by professionals. Although the video quality of action cameras is not deemed ‘broadcast standard’ by many, the devices’ small form factor and extremely low cost makes them extremely useful across all areas of professional video production.

“Organisations often have a large number of cameras and use them in diverse applications as on the dashboards of cars, on presenters’ heads or mounted on drones as well as disposable “crash cams”. As such, Action Cams aren’t seen to compete directly with other professional acquisition devices, but instead offer different creative options to content producers.

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“Consumer demand for action cameras is beginning to slow down, particularly in early adopter markets such as the USA and the UK. Industry feedback suggests that the majority of sports enthusiasts already own their second or even third action camera, following product/ technology developments in recent years, such as the shift from HD models to 4K.” Such is the problem with having a good quality product to begin with – the replacement rate is low and, most often, consumers only have room in their action capturing lives for just one, high quality, robust camera, rather than two, three or four. Cost, of course, also contributes to this. Futuresource expect sales to depress due to lengthening replacement cycles, shifting from an average 2 year to 3-4 year replacement moving forwards, and reaching 6-7% household ownership by 2019 (compared to 4-5% now). Arun added: “Despite other industry analysts expecting the action camera market to continue witnessing rapid growth and become popular amongst the mass market, we have always maintained the view that this will predominantly remain a niche segment.”

So, what does the future hold for the market? Arun gave us Futuresource’s predictions: “Moving forwards, we expect the action camera market to grow 3% CAGR from 2015-2019 and reach approximately 550,000 units, and 2% CAGR in retail value to reach £101m. Consumer sales are set to flatten within the next 1-2 years while professional sales are estimated to grow

25% CAGR and account for over one third of volumes by 2019.”

“The Action Cam market is growing, and Sony wants to provide consumers with the best experience in the best quality,” says Fred Lange. “Sony places an emphasis on providing an experience rather than simply a product and consumers are demanding that their electronics experiences become personal and convenient, and the Sony Action Cam range does this.”

360-degree single-unit action cameras accounted for approx. 0.5% of overall worldwide volumes in 2015 but growth should accelerate following the launch of new models (including Nikon’s KeyMission) and developments within VR. Futuresource estimate around 0.4m units to ship globally this year (out of 11.5m action cameras), of which North America is likely to account for over half of this.

Futuresource expects the vast majority of demand for single-unit 360-degree cameras

SPRING INTO ACTION (e.g. 360fly, Kodak SP360) to be driven by consumers (initially early adopters and sports enthusiasts). Increased competition throughout the forecast period should see prices fall and lead to rising demand from casual users. A more aggressive uptake is expected to be inhibited by the additional cost/hassle of purchasing additional hardware (memory/storage), accessories (dedicated mounts) and software (for editing/viewing content).

We spoke with a number of brands, producing action products and some who have been in the more traditional, ‘tough compact’ market for some time, including Mark Thackara from Olympus. He said: “2016 is the 10th anniversary of our pioneering first Tough - we invented the concept. It is seen as a key differentiator to smartphones so is very important this year.

We feel there is still a divide between a stills first and video first camera so we have not ruled out producing a Tough in that area.”

Mark continued: “The ‘stills first’ Toughs are a more familiar format; more familiar to use like a normal camera or phone with better screens and ultimately, we believe will deliver better images in a wider range of conditions. We do see growth in this space though, and between Tough and Action cameras, this sector is a good one to be in for Olympus.”

Andreas Georghiades from Fujifilm UK told us: “You can see from our current range that tough cameras fit a very unique area. We have almost moved exclusively away from small sensor compact cameras - the new XP90 is the exception to the X-series migration. Our main focus as a brand is on compact system cameras and premium compacts. We aim to utilise unique technologies like our sensors, lenses and heritage in film, which have translated into film simulation modes.”

Andreas continued: “Action/adventure photography/videography are definitely areas that are growing with lots of innovation in recent years. Tough cameras are a more mature element of this sector, but not an area we see as growing. We think that you can see that from the number of other manufacturers developing new products and the total number of models currently available.”

Perhaps an unusual stance from Fujifilm, given the volumes coming through; especially in the low end of the action market.

We spoke with a brand new player in the market, Activeon, who are producing a range of full-HD and solar powered action cams.

Lesley-Anne Garland, Sales Director UK & IE said: “Activeon is an American

company, HQ in San Diego and the European office in Amsterdam, Holland. Established in 2004 in the States where we started life as a TV manufacturer, we developed our passion for technology and our Activeon Action Cameras, now rank 6th – 4th depending on promotion and season. Since 2014 we have been establishing the brand in Europe and this year we are actively focused on penetrating the UK and IE markets.”

We asked Lesley-Anne where Activeon are aiming for over the next 24 months or so. She said: “Position as number 2 to the market leader in that time-frame is no easy task but the response from retailers and end users to the look, feel and functionality of our products has been overwhelming. This confirms that Activeon is a brand to be reckoned with and will find our space in the channel with confidence. We have a lot of work in the first 24 months. Brand establishment is a methodical

process and one to build relationships and trust in our brand. We are passionate about providing our customers with an unrivalled experience. With the UK market expected to be around £70m in 2016, we aim to achieve circa 10-12% share in the first 12 months.”

During the recent Photography Show in Birmingham, we saw a vast number of new and exciting products entering the space, including a wall of ‘action’ equipment from Manfrotto; ranging from walking stick/ monopods, to GoPro adapters, to specialist bags. This seems to only further demonstrate the commitment from the accessory brand, that there’s a ripe market to tap in to.

In the May edition of Pixel, we will publish part 2 of our action & extreme feature. We will look further into the sector and unearth the trends and opportunities in the drone market.

Licensing, consumer and enthusiast markets and the brands, making waves in the UK.

www.pixel.co.uk 15

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For more information on the new XQD, as well as the card readers please visit http://www.sony.net/Products/memorycard/en_eu/xqd/

5

YEARS JAN FEB MAR

www.pixel.co.uk 17

IT’S HERE

ADVERT Your Next Step in Communication and Information in the Imaging Industry Head to Pixel.co.uk to request your log in today or contact elliott@lifemediagroup.co.uk

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www.pixel.co.uk www.pixel.co.uk 99

in print

RETAIL SOLUTIONS FOR THE PRINT PROFESSIONAL

ROUNDTABLE

THE EVOLUTION OF THE UK RETAIL PRINT MARKET DURING THE PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW, IN:PRINT BROUGHT TOGETHER A PANEL OF EXPERTS IN PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINT TO DISCUSS EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES, CONSUMER APPETITES AND ISSUES SURROUNDING THE MODERN PRINT MARKET. FILMED FROM START TO FINISH, READ ON FOR THE TRANSCRIBED EDIT

Simon Skinner: Welcome to the first panel discussion from Pixel & In:Print magazine, where we will discuss various issues affecting the photographic trade. We are kicking off today, exploring the topic of photographic printing and joining me today for this discussion is our selected panel of industry experts. So we will start by discussing the overall trends in the photographic printing sector, and the contributing factors in the alleged decline of photo printing over the last couple of decades.

Continued on page 20...

STRIP FOR ADVERTISERS mitsubishielectric-printing.com

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ROUNDTABLE COVER FEATURE: CEWE

THE EVOLUTION OF THE UK RETAIL PRINT MARKET

CONTINUED...

1. Trends In Photographic Printing

back over the past few decades, that really was the trend from the year 2000.

Ron Kubara: I would like to begin by going Simon Skinner: Of course, we know that back a couple of decades to 1981 when Sony the obvious contributing factor to that has introduced the Mavica camera. I was working been the growth of technology and mobile in the wholesale photofinishing lab at the time devices largely – but over and then I realised that time, there has been a this would have a huge resurgence of interest impact; I didn’t know in analogue and instant what it was, but knew “The headline from market photography. Pierre, it would be a really big research is that there’s an what do you have to say deal. It wasn’t until overall decline in photo-print, on the topic?

1987 that there was a really big impact – when but in the case of instant Pierre Darnton: As we hit 1 megapixel. I printing, it is growing and has a company, we have believe Fuji brought out been since 2004” definitely seen a rise a 1.3 megapixel, and in sales: last year, we then it really started - Gary Andrews produced a million to change because films. When I joined the at 1.3 megapixel, you company in November, can make a 4x6 print they gave me an old 90s camera and a couple – and it looked pretty good. However, it really of films, then I went home and showed my was the year 2000 that was the peak of film. four year old son who within 20 minutes knew But that was also the start of the decline of exactly how to use it. That is really important, photofinishing products, when there was a and I think there’s a generation that’s missed cross over between digital prints and analogue out on it – the younger generation have got printing. That was when digital prints started to smartphones and are so used to just snapping take over from film printing. So, when we look

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away with them. Printing those pictures out is often something they don’t even think about, but the moment you do show them a real picture – whether it’s an instant or printed – I think they really appreciate it and keep it. It’s tangible and real, and a memory to keep.

Peter Wigington: I would like to point out that I don’t think there’s ever been a loss of interest in the printed image. That’s always been a common feature of our industry. The fact that film levels have started to decline and the fact that mobile devices and other means of printing came along, just meant that you didn’t have to process a film to see the image anymore. That changed the way people viewed printing and in turn how many they printed. So, now people still want a printed image and, as we’ve mentioned with Polaroid and Instax, we know that people will print the images and they’ll do it regardless of how many digital copies they have on their phone. You can see that clearly from the generation that are buying both a mobile phone and a camera. Everybody wants a print, it’s just how do we encourage people to do that printing? That’s where we’re at right now as I see it.

in print Duncan Midwood: I think the thing for me which has changed a lot is that it used to be very much a case of taking photos on a camera whilst always thinking about composition and the quality or detail. Firstly, because you didn’t know if it was going to look right till you had it processed, but secondly because that process cost a lot of money. Digital printing has introduced much more free photo taking and I think a lot has been lost with that because people just take pictures whenever without thinking about the composition and lighting, or quality of it.

People say to me that the public aren’t printing photos like they used to and what I say to that is that people are taking far more photos than they ever used to. As a proportion, far less do get printed, but as a number, as many photos are being printed today than ever before, albeit in different formats. Either way, photography and taking photos are two very different things now.

Gary Andrews: That leads nicely into my business – the headline from the market research is that there’s an overall decline, but in the case of instant printing, which is my business, it is growing and has been since 2004. Citizen is one of the largest photo manufacturers in the world and we can see it’s not slowing down, in fact it’s increasing year on year. My numbers from last year are more than 20% on the year before, so it’s not all negative at all – in certain areas it’s increasing.

Wendy Gray: I have noticed, especially with the younger generation – we’re talking about 20 year olds here – that it doesn’t matter if the print is technically bad, for instance out of focus, because that to them is a really cool print. I have a young lad who works for me in store and he will take shots to which most of us would say are appalling, but he says that’s art! We have customers coming into the store with images on their phones where the lighting is awful but they still want that printed – they’ve captured it and want it on a piece of paper.

The quality of the image isn’t the issue with them, as they just want that memory or to try the idea of printing.

Ron Kubara: At the time that we were counting photographs in 4x6, we had four major manufacturers of paper and film, so it was very easy to count as all of those manufacturers would report all their volumes into one governing body and they would in turn share it. Now, we have no idea. CEWE provides numbers of photobook sales and the numbers are astronomical! So, if someone says that photobooks aren’t that popular, I tell them they should see the numbers for themselves. But, they are seeing data that suggests that there’s a decline in printing, so I always wonder if they’re asking the right questions – if you ask how many 4x6 prints are being made, of course you will see a decline, but if you ask how many images are put to a hard copy (including gift merchandise like mugs or pillows), that is answered very

Pixel Round Table Event: Meet the panel

Pierre Darnton, Managing Director UK and Ireland, IMPOSSIBLE London Ltd

Gary Andrews, EMEA Business Manager, Photo Printers, Citizen Systems Europe

Wendy Gray, Retail Marketing Support Consultant & Owner of Frosts Photo Centre

Ron Kubara, Director, WorldWide Strategic Sales & Planning, Noritsu Precision Co. Ltd

Peter Wigington, Marketing Manager, PhotoImaging Group, Fujifilm UK Ltd

Simon Skinner, Editor, Pixel Magazine

Duncan Midwood, Managing Director, CEWE Ltd

differently. Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing what that count really is. But I think overall, people are printing photos and just archiving them in a different way. You go to a university dorm and you will see photos all over the walls, but they do often get thrown away. We want consumers to keep and archive them further but at the end of the day, who are we to tell the consumers what to do with their images? We should be letting them know how they can archive them if they want, but not pushing the issue of what they should or shouldn’t be doing with their images.

Simon Skinner: In conclusion, I think what we’re saying is that the decline in photographic printing is in fact an illusion.

It’s not in decline and perhaps it’s even growing now, which is a great thing.

2. Images in Print

Simon Skinner: The next topic on our agenda is the different products and formats that are out there for printing images. Also, what trends do we see in store? What are people buying?

Perhaps Wendy, you could start us off?

Wendy Grey: The biggest change that we’ve seen in, I would say the last 12 months of our business, has been that the individual print count when a customer comes in has decreased – they don’t order hundreds of prints but one or two. We would then explain to the customers that there’s a lot more you can do with the images you have. Montage is our biggest seller where they will have 180 odd prints that they’ve chosen, and they want them to be created into wall art. I would say that is our main industry – creating something for our customers. Photobooks have grown massively for us too. I can say that two years ago, we would probably do one in a blue moon, but now we will process maybe 5 or 6 a

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PHOTO-ME COVER FEATURE: CEWE

week in some way shape or form. And we have regular users now that will come in and use that service, whereas before that just wouldn’t happen. So, we’ve seen a huge change in large-format and photobook printing.

Simon Skinner: Let’s face it, photobook technology has come a long way. Sticking 6x4 images into an album with glue, where, inevitably a few years later they will fall out, isn’t a thing anymore. I guess there’s an appetite for having that better system now – people are starting to recognise that and are making the most of what’s there.

Wendy Grey: Yes, especially when it’s something for a special occasion. We also find that, although they can do it online with us, they actually choose to come in and ask us to create something perfect for them. We are there to do that. They don’t want to sit at home and have to organise all those photos into date order and put comments in. So, we have an order sheet now which organises the layout, the quotes, the images etc and we can make a really good margin as a retailer, but also we know the customer will come back the next time they have a special occasion – we have such amazing repeat business from it and the same goes for montages as well. A lot of the images that they use are from mobile phones too, even taking pictures on their phone of other pictures in order to print them.

Ron Kubara: You made a very good point.

There’s a lot of data that suggests that two thirds of people that start a photobook simply walk away from it and don’t conclude it, so it’s very important to have easy-to-use software and accessibility to that. At Noritsu, we realise that duplex printing is extremely important in our product range, and what has to drive that is really efficient software. What we do recommend to our customers is an entrylevel book – and we suggest square format.

Consumers are generally dealing with a portrait or landscape image – and a lot of people are

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shooting vertically with their phones – and putting it into a book that’s horizontal, so they’re getting a degree of frustration over the fact that their vertical image doesn’t look good in the book. So, we suggest square format and limit it to one image per page with no text. It takes the pressure away from that person and they don’t have to worry about putting text in.

It’s a lower cost, entry-level book but the next time they want to do a photobook, they will then add text and put multiple images on the page. So, the baby steps approach works well.

What we know is that there is a large market for photobooks.

Duncan Midwood: Absolutely, we have done quite a lot of research on this. There are two types of photo: ones about documenting every moment of your life and sharing it, and the photos that represent special moments that you’d like to do more with. As a company, we’ve really focused in on the latter.

Consumers don’t delete the photos on their

phone, but they’re not going to spend a lot of money on print. So our message really is about telling the story of what you did in that special moment and about convincing someone to spend the time sorting through their photos and tell that special story. It’s about separating out two types of photo instead of two types of consumer, I think.

Peter Wigington: To amplify that point, from our point of view, it’s about the ease, but also about showing and merchandising – you have to be much better now at merchandising than ever before. You have to have as many different ways of showing an image as possible. Then, the technology that you use to help you get that has also got to be as easy as possible with as few steps as possible. Delaying and making it overly technical will just destroy people’s drive to print entirely because everything now can be done within two or three swipes on your phone. Why shouldn’t that be the same when you print?

CONGRATULATIONS to all the 2016 Fujifilm Business Endeavour Award Winners Fujifilm Business Endeavour Award

Cartridge & Personalised Print World, Andover L to R: Wendy Gray, Mark Simmonds, Lesley-Ann Simmonds, Neill Harris, Peter Wigington

Razzaq Digital, Harrow L to R: Hassan Bhanji, Sumi Hassan, Neill Harris,Peter Wigington

Treorchy Photolab, L to R: Wendy Gray, Hazel Nash, Maggy Corkhill, Jasmine Lawry, Neill Harris, Peter Wigington

FDIS Shop of The Year

Razzaq Digital L to R: Wendy Gray, Hassan Bhanji, Sumi Hassan, Neill Harris, Peter Wigington

For more information on becoming a Fujifilm Digital Imaging Service member

call Peter Wigington on 01234 572138

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ROUNDTABLE

Wendy Grey: I also think that customers can come into our store not knowing what they want at all. All they know is that they’ve got some images and they want to do something with them, so I think it’s down to the retailer and the industry to let those people know what you can do with that image.

3. Merger of Digital and Analogue Technologies Simon Skinner: Now, let’s take a look at the part of the print sector that’s really about a merge of analogue and digital technologies.

This seems to be happening an increasing amount, particularly with mobile applications.

So who would like to comment on that?

Ron Kubara: I would like the industry to stop referring to the word ‘video cameras’

24 www.pixel.co.uk

and ‘camera phones’. In reality, they’re all cameras. I don’t think there should be such a divide between SLRs, point and shoots and camera phones. My camera phone is a 41 megapixel Nokia that uses Zeiss lenses and a Xenon flash, so I’d like someone to tell me that it’s not a good camera! It’s amazing! So, camera phones have come an awfully long way: the iPhone 6 is 401 pixels per inch on a retina display that blows away the SRGB. The Samsung Galaxy 6 is 577 pixels per inch on their display. In the industry, we say 300 dpi is what we need for printing and, well, camera phones are above and beyond. The Samsung Galaxy 6 exceeds the colour gamut of Adobe RGB. Consumers are being inundated with vivid colours and very sharp images on their everyday phones, computer screens and televisions, so they want to see that in a print.

We have to change our thinking to be able to meet the market’s needs. 80% of images right now are being captured on camera phones, and the statistics are there – data suggests that in the last year, there were more pictures captured on a camera phone than the rest of history. As far as I’m concerned, camera phones are cameras, and there’s an opportunity to make prints from them.

Duncan Midwood: I think the initial reaction in the industry has been, ‘big change equals threat’. I think the people and industries who have been successful are the ones who see these changes as more of an opportunity and, for me, mobile technology is absolutely part of that. Even the words ‘mobile technology’ I think is an interesting one because it’s not just the device you have, but how it’s linked up with the infrastructure.

It’s about matching with the consumers’ lives and finding out what they want, how they want it, when they want it and how much they’re prepared to pay for it. If prints were as expensive as mobile phones, nobody would

in print

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ROUNDTABLE

print any, but the fact that prints are cheap means there’s a disposable element.

Simon Skinner: And different people are doing it in different ways. I know that you, Gary, have got a product that’s clearly serving a specific sector and particular consumer need. Tell us a bit about that.

Gary Andrews: I think it’s about convenience.

All these images are stored on smartphones and there needs to be a convenient way of getting them off that device. I’ve seen the lack of convenience in retail myself, observing consumers. Although my new product isn’t in the retail space, it’s in the event photography space, it does make it extremely easy to get the images that are captured at an event to a print. As we were saying earlier, it’s tangible – people can share their screen image but they would prefer to have the printed memory of the event, be it a wedding or party and take it home. They will usually print more than one, and for my business that’s perfect as it’s about paper, so solutions like that which make it very easy to get the image from the device to a print is what we need to be focusing on.

Peter Wigington: Of course, that’s exactly true. We talk about not wanting to think about 6x4 or 6x8 prints, and that’s very true as well, but actually if you have a photo retailer who is surviving and who is growing, no matter what that’s because of, we’ll be glad that they’re doing so. That’s where we come in, in terms of the technology and software. I mean, phones do have cameras in but they’re actually computers as well – they store everything – so it’s the apps that everyone uses. There’s been an app created that can manage your photos, one that can edit your photos, share your photos, so that’s the way that we’re going forward. But it’s not only on your mobile – it’s online as well. The online experience has to be as fluid as your in-store experience, so you

26 www.pixel.co.uk

create a solution that looks and feels like you’re in the store itself, but you’re at home doing it in your own time and out of store hours, when it’s convenient for you. Then, when you go into the store, you’re faced with the exact same experience, so your platforms have to be everywhere that customers also are at the time they are and when they want to be using it. It’s that 24 hour service, and that’s where we’re coming from with the development of our software and kiosk solutions for the photo retail market.

Simon Skinner: Moving beyond that point, considering mobile photography, Wendy you were saying that a lot of customers actually come in and want to print their pictures from their mobile devices and don’t care about the quality. But, some do, don’t they?

Wendy Grey: Yes, of course some do. I find that it’s the younger generation that use snapchats or a quick picture they’ve taken as a printed image. From the customers that come into our store specifically, the quality isn’t the issue – they just want it printed and they want it now. We don’t have a 24 hour service now because everything is on immediate demand, and 24 hours is just too long, even with photo gifting. I have a young lad who comes in with film, and he fobs his film on purpose, stretching it to get light marks so that he can create ‘art’ from it.

Simon Skinner: From the customer who wants perhaps the slightly more refined image from their photography, what’s being done for them to make that process simple and straightforward?

Photograph by Can Dagarslani, Amy Heaton, Harriet Browse and Mikah Manansala

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ROUNDTABLE

ourselves has been the instantlab which is Ron Kubara: Instagram is a really good a small portable unit where you put your example of what the consumer is telling us. smartphone on the top, you get the image and Instagram takes a perfectly good image in it shoots out a Polaroid Impossible image for a perfectly good file and destroys it with the you straight away. It’s one of our best selling filters. The consumers look at that and say products – stores like Urban Outfitters sell it it’s what they want, and a lot of them want like mad and we sell out all the time. Why? to make prints. At Noritsu, we find it easy to Because it bridges that gap and it’s fun! That’s make a good print from a good file and I know just another end of the market. our competitors do too, but the challenge is to make a good print from a bad file. The 4. Promoting the Printed Image images coming from camera phones, we find aren’t good files – they Simon Skinner: Now let’s have a lot of noise, come to our final point of blurry elements or they “It’s easy to make a this roundtable session, are out of focus. So, about the promotion of the R&D department good print from a good the printed image. The has really worked on file, but the challenge awareness of print, the making good prints products that are available from poor files. We is to make a good print and elaborating on some have taken noise of the points we’ve made and removed it and from a bad file” so far in terms of how we we have used super - Ron Kubara can reach people. Pierre, grain suppression to if you could start, as your look at the file and company’s take on this interpret whether there has been fairly different so are enough pixels. It’s far in the way that you reach your end users. amazing, and here at the show we are showing 640 x 488 x 12 with absolutely no noise or Pierre Darnton: Okay, well it’s also my grain in the print. Our focus is to take all images personal opinion, coming from a different and make very good prints. background and travelling all over the UK that what is important is customer experience. You Pierre Darnton: We come at it from the walk into a store in Tokyo and there’s product other end – we want the imperfections, the everywhere and it’s amazing. They demonstrate weirdness and the beauty of those ‘faults’. the products for you and engage the customer.

The only piece of hardware that we’ve made

28 www.pixel.co.uk

There’s a select few retailers that I think are doing a very good job here, and we can count them on one hand – they’re the ones that invest into their businesses. What I personally am trying to get across to retailers when I meet those who are a bit stuck in their ways is this engagement – they’re all a bit closed to the idea of sharing and giving out the products but when they do it, it works and they sell products. We should be promoting something real. Another point is the type of retailing this is. In the digital market it’s all about selling the biggest camera, the best memory card etc, but you won’t see that customer again for the next 20 years or so. However, when you talk about the print and film market, you get that customer loyalty and they come back time and time again. So, it’s adding something to the marketplace and it’s also just the fundamentals of retailing: knowing that customer, caring for that customer, having a relationship with them.

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ROUNDTABLE – engaging customers on a modern level, showing people how to have fun with it and how to create art with their photography.

Duncan Midwood: When I came into the industry six years ago what surprised me is that the photography world seems to be this defined world, but in reality, particularly with gifting and – more so now – with wall art, it’s part of the personalised world that’s developing. People want things to be individualised to them. So, we actually don’t really know how big the market is now because a lot of it is in the personalised world. We launched a MoonPig me too about three years ago and what was interesting is that, even though we had all these wonderful designs and license properties, the best selling design was the plain one where you had your own photo on it as a design. I think, in the next 5 or so years there will be a big draw to the personalised market and it’s where photo and personalisation collides that there’s a huge opportunity.

Gary Andrews: That is a key point. In my own opinion, I think perhaps the UK photo retail industry is a bit tired. Having travelled the world and seeing photo retail in most countries, for me, Germany tends to lead the way because they engage with their customers. They run training sessions for their staff so that when customers come in and don’t know what they want, there’s someone there that can suggest something and help them through the process to, in the end, a purchase. And those customers come back.

album. Part of that is about the marketing and advertising in the UK, which tends to Ron Kubara: What those retailers, particularly focus on how cheap you can get it rather than in the German market are doing is displaying educating. the products that they sell. This is what I am also seeing as I travel worldwide, the Simon Skinner: I think that’s something you successful retailers in the photofinishing world guys at Fujifilm have been quite prolific in doing show the products that they manufacture recently, haven’t you?

- on the walls, the counter, the shelves, showing the wide variety that they have. The Peter Wigington: First ones that do mention of all, Wonder Photo to me that they don’t shop is one of the things get a call from making photobooks don’t even “The photography world seems that we’ve created in Barcelona in Spain and show a photobook in to be this defined world, but in in Japan, where we their stores! CEWE does reality, particularly with gifting are trying exactly that: a great job at introducing showing the product and photobooks to the and, more so now, with wall allowing the consumer world but the retailer art, it’s part of the personalised to take part. Here in the can’t just expect the world that’s developing” UK, for a long time we customer to come in have had the retail brand, the door and ask if they - Duncan Midwood Fuji Digital Imaging do photobooks without Service and that is where seeing it for themselves. we help our retailers The retailer must tell to promote. Everyone people and that message is interested in the photo market, but we all should be about the vast array of products work independently with how we promote it, offered. so I think that at some point we all have to get together to work to grow this business.

Duncan Midwood: The awareness of Working together for the consumer, the whole photobooks in the UK is actually incredibly market can benefit as the consumers are low still, with just over 50% knowing what educated and that’s what we miss now. it is as they get in confused with a photo

30 www.pixel.co.uk

Ron Kubara: The next generation of kiosks we see at Noritsu are going to have video clips, and there’s going to be a free frame capture. The kiosk will ask where the video is stored – on the camera, on Facebook – and you can run the video, pick the frame you want out of it, connect to the printer at the retailer and they will want to get a good print from that file. I was at CES earlier this year and I thought 4K was going to be the big thing but now they’re talking about 8K video cameras. I’m not interested in 8K video, but I am interested in the still captures that can come from that.

Wendy Gray: From an independent point of view, we have a little shop with 5 staff. We work incredibly hard and it’s very successful. When I am out and about looking at other stores with FDIS, they always moan about their competitor – which is usually a big supermarket of some sort or Boots or Jessops. I love the multiple companies and I would hate to see them come out of this industry, because the best thing for me was when Boots put their advert on for photo gifting. The sales on my own photo gifts then went sky high. So, for promoting the services, if companies got together – especially the big retailers – and did some national advertising, it would be brilliant for the industry as a whole.

To view the conversation, search Life Media Group & Pixel on YouTube.

DISCOVERING NORITSU DRY LABS THE PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW PROVIDED A SOLID PLATFORM FOR NORITSU SERVICES TO SHINE, WITH PHOTOXPORT LEADING THE WAY FOR CONSUMER INSPIRATION Photobooks are often presented as a great un-tapped source of potential revenue for photo retailers and minilabs. Debuting the new Noritsu Green duplex machine at the show, A4 photobooks were produced on the stand on a regular basis in order to show its versatility and capability. In producing a Quick Service System Photobook, Noritsu aims to dispel the myth that photobooks are difficult to create: “Everybody likes photobooks but they don’t know how to get them and perhaps perceive the process involved as difficult. Whereas, if a photo retailer has a bank of kiosks that people can go on to and make themselves a book and hit the button and 10 or 15 minutes after they can walk out the shop, we believe there’s a market there!”

Adding new solutions like its Green QSS (Quick Service Systems) series drylab line up, Noritsu introduced a new multi platform HPT kiosk solution which helped tell the story of the journey ‘from image to print’ for those in attendance. The Windows and iOS compatible HPT kiosk will officially launch in Japan in June, but PhotoXport will start rolling it out before then.

“Noritsu has probably the most accessible, workable connectable system on the planet – and now we’ve got a great kiosk as well to bundle with the system to make the installation easier,” PhotoXport MD Derek Fieldhouse told us. “It’s beautiful too; state of the art.”

Noritsu’s Director of WorldWide Strategic Sales & Planning, Ron Kubara, interviewed Noritsu President Michio Fujimoto about recent developments including the fact that Noritsu Koki Company transferred their

PhotoXport showed just how easy it is to produce a QUICK Service System Photobook at The Show

shares for Noritsu Koki Works to a private company last month. He said: “Noritsu has witnessed a name change to Noritsu Precision Company – this independence provides more opportunity to focus on future imaging products.”

PhotoXport’s Derek Fieldhouse explains: “Fujimoto-san’s vision of where Noritsu are going is very clear and concise. We have now got a re-invigorated Noritsu - they’re on fire and are going for it. They’ll have twice the floor space at photokina, for example. This is Noritsu back on form! What we wanted people to grasp at The Photography Show was that Noritsu hasn’t just popped up; they’ve been at it for quite a number of years. We wanted to show the timeline of innovation on our stand as the backdrop, from 1979 to present day, with three or four key milestones leading up to the ‘perfection’ of the Green II dry lab.”

Noritsu’s Green labs, are utilsed by many big name multi site operators in the photo retailing market in the UK. Derek

www.photoXport.com

added: “The equipment’s been around a long time; it was always leading edge and is leading edge again.”

Noritsu’s President Michio Fujimoto commented: “That is the focus of every Noritsu representative worldwide: to listen to our Noritsu customers, as well as our competitors’ customers; to understand their current market challenges. We watch consumer behavior worldwide and when we see a pattern forming we target this developing need.

“We ensure our hardware and software is leading edge technology balanced with simplicity, to ensure tomorrow’s market requirements are met.”

If you missed PhotoXport at the Photography show, but would like to know more, the man to call is Derek Fieldhouse on 0116 2675907. www.photoXport.com

www.pixel.co.uk 31

TIME FOR CITIZEN

FOLLOWING ON FROM THE PIECE WE RAN IN THE JAN EDITION OF PIXEL, EXPLORING THE HERITAGE AND TECHNOLOGY BEHIND THE CITIZEN BRAND OF PRINT SYSTEMS; EDITOR SIMON SKINNER MET WITH GARY ANDREWS, EMEA BUSINESS MANAGER FOR CITIZEN SYSTEMS EUROPE, TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BRAND, THE CURRENT RANGE OF PRINTERS AND OF COURSE, GARY HIMSELF.

S

imon Skinner: Hi Gary, great to see you again. So can you remind us a little of Citizen’s heritage as a manufacturer in the photo business?

Gary Andrews: Sure, well some people will be aware of the fact that Citizen is one of the most prolific manufacturers in our industry, producing in excess of 40,000 photo printers each year.

Much of the technology required in watch making can be transferred to making professional printers. Citizen is already a well known brand in the POS, label and barcode industries.

Photo printers have been manufactured by Citizen since 2004, mainly for OEM partners. That is why the brand is less well known in the photo industry.

SS: So what has led to Citizen’s decision to reach out to the trade channel under their own banner?

32 www.pixel.co.uk

GA: Around three years ago, HQ in Japan made the decision to drive their own brand. I’m now at the point of rolling out the range across the whole of the EMEA territory.

SS: Can you talk us through the products that make up the range currently?

GA: Of course. Well to start with, we have the entry-level CY printer. The CY has a large capacity (up to 700 prints) and is very easy to use. It’s good value too, which has made it very popular with end users.

Then we have the CX-W Printer, which is the ‘wide’ version of the CX printer. It can produce 8x10” (20x25cm) and 8x12” (20x30cm) prints; either matte or gloss.

The CX Printer has become a real industry standard under its OEM guises. It takes up a small footprint in-store and also works well for event photographers as it’s portable and basically bullet-proof. Citizen will

continue to produce this excellent model even though it is being discontinued through OEM. That just leaves the OP900II. This is the Rolls Royce of photo printers.

Those readers who read the independent test results (Pixel/In:Print Jan 2016), will remember that the OP900II exceeded the performance of other printers of a similar specification. We focused on visual density (Dmax), and tonal neutrality and we came out tops in both areas. It’s a premium product for those who want to offer quality dye-sublimation printing to their customer base.

Gary Andrews

SS: Is the OP900II a product that we will see going through the OEM route?

GA: It’s unlikely as it is our point of difference.

There is a place for the ‘work-horse’ machine and that’s absolutely fine for the mass market, but there are retailers and photographers out there who want to offer a higher quality print, perhaps to a more discerning customer. The OP900II sets us apart from other manufacturers in the market and proves our ability to lead the pack with regards to quality.

SS: Excellent, thanks Gary. So you’ve been working in and around the photo market for many years now, maybe you could give our readers a brief reminder on what brands you’ve been involved with and the various projects that you’ve worked on.

GA: In July of 2006, I joined Sony, having previously working for 3M and FujiFilm in the printing industry. I studied print technology & business at university which was a great primer for me as it included training in colour management, print science and a lot more to boot. I was familiar with dye-sub printing long before it was seen in the photo industry. Dye sub technology was originally used for print proofing, with the printers costing £15k or so!

SS: Weren’t you in the team behind the Snaplab at Sony?

GA: I was. I was the EMEA Product Manager for the original CR10 Snaplab but the CR20 was my baby. I was involved with that project from the drawing board right through to production, sales and distribution. It was a real success for the brand.

SS: What else were you involved with there?

SS: What did you do then?

GA: I have connections (and a passion) in the automotive industry, so I switched for a while and had a great time doing something completely different. Then I was contacted by Di Support GmbH and asked to set up a UK office, which I duly accepted. I then went back to the coal face, with a spell helping Veritek with a massive Boots kiosk roll out. I did this whilst still running projects in the motor industry and in 2015, I was contacted

by Citizen and here I am today! is the Rolls

GA: We had the UPX C-300 camera and printer, an ID solution, which was also a big hit during my time there and another 6” printer, “The OP900II the DR200, which was Royce of photo printers. a print engine inside the It’s a premium product for CR20 Snaplab.

those who want to offer

SS: Wow, a real case of running around the houses. So, how has Citizen been performing in these early stages?

SS: It was shortly premium dye-sublimation after photokina 2010 printing to their customer that Sony announced that they had sold GA: We’ve achieved a base” the division, along 22% increase in turnover with brands and all in 2015 and most of this technology to DNP occurred in the second (Dai Nippon Printing half. We’re expecting Co, Ltd); where did that leave you? similar results this year and our forecasts are looking achievable as recognition of the Citizen GA: It affected all the professional photo brand grows and people begin to realise just employees at Sony. We were offered how robust and high quality our products are. severance, so I opted to leave. It was then We’ve also recently announced our new that I set up my own business. I worked with a software application, ‘Event Photo’ which variety of clients including 18 months or so with is a superb event photo printing solution for DNP Europe. smartphones. It’s really easy to setup and is the

perfect solution for all kinds of events. It offers a new revenue stream for photographers and will potentially open a new market for Citizen with hotels and venues etc.

SS: Onwards and upwards then. We’ll have to go into more detail next time with the Event Photo solution as we’re out of time and space. Until then though, we wish you the very best of luck, Gary. Can you tell us where our readers should look if they’d like to trial Citizen products or would like to find out more?

GA: Of course. Citizen’s photo products can be found at www.citizen-systems.com We have a great relationship with Photomart in the UK territory and they do an excellent job of distributing our products into both the professional channel and into the retail sector too. You can get them on 0208 527 6006 or sales@photomart.co.uk, and their website is www.photomart.co.uk Photomart are currently running some excellent bundle deals with Citizen, so take a look whilst they are still live - free flight casing, boxes of media etc. Not to be missed.

SS: Thanks Gary, we’ll speak again soon for an update.

www.pixel.co.uk 33

NEWS BITES BITES NEWS

NEWS BITES

FIND OUT MORE INFO ON THIS MONTH’S NEWS BITES AT PIXEL.CO.UK

ILFORD PHOTO ULF, CUSTOM & SPECIALIST FILM MANUFACTURE 2016 Buoyed by the fantastic response from the film photography community around the world, HARMAN Technology Limited are offering film photographers the opportunity to place orders for a range of specialist film products for the 11th consecutive year.

By consolidating orders HARMAN Technology can supply

products that would not normally be viable to manufacture.

“This program enables us to further support the world of film photography that uses and values our conventional products.” said Giles Branthwaite, Director of Sales and Marketing at

HARMAN Technology. “Through running the ULF program each year, we are able to satisfy the strong demand for specialist film formats. Whilst manufacture is not easy, we have been rewarded by increased demand year-on-year ensuring we will

continue to address and care for this market.”

Films available for this year are ILFORD FP4 PLUS, HP5 PLUS, and DELTA 100 PROFESSIONAL. Not all films are available in all formats.

Orders must be placed with the listed ULF reseller partners no later than Friday 27 May.

FDIS 2016 Conference & Awards Report This year, the FDIS National Conference was held on Saturday 19 March, just a stone’s throw from the NEC where The Photography Show was taking place. Pixel reports on the annual event, including announcing the winners Neill Harris, General Manager for Photo Imaging at Fujifilm began by welcoming everyone, following with a presentation that focused on the state of the photo industry. The latest FDIS marketing schemes and results from Peter Wigington were announced, along with an update on software support. Neill revealed the findings of the latest print market report from Futuresource Consulting and commented on the emergence of the smartphone market: “The UK smartphone market is expected to grow to 56 million units during 2016, generating some 33 billion images,” says Neill. He added: “The emergence of more photo related apps is seen as a contributing factor in helping to reverse the recent

CREDITS & CONTACTS

in print

RETAIL SOLUTIONS FOR THE PRINT PROFESSIONAL

trends in consumer photo printing behaviour.”

Fujifilm has now launched over 60 apps to stimulate the market to print. The European photobook market continues to show good growth and the UK market is also set to grow.

Marketing Manager Peter Wigington’s presentation revealed that FDIS group membership currently stood at 175. He also provided an update on current FDIS promotions and the range of new POS materials as well as introducing the brand new FDIS member section integrated into the Swains website.

Software Product Manager Julia Tiller then talked about the roadmap of updates planned for Fujifilm’s Imagine software and launch at TPS16 of the new Airprint feature.

After being informed, inspired and entertained by the day’s talks, including a motivational talk by keynote speaker Jim Steele, the 100 or so delegates moved on for the Gala dinner which included

presentations for the Shop Assistant of the Year, Fujifilm Business Endeavour Award, FDIS Shop of the Year and the inaugral Outstanding Contribution to Independent Photo Retail Award.

2016 Awards Winners at a Glance: FDIS Shop of The Year: Razzaq Digital Fujifilm Business Endeavour Awards: Cartridge & Personalised Print World, Andover Razzaq Digital, Harrow Salisbury Photo Centre Treorchy Photolab FBEA Highly Commended: 1st Digital Cameras, Newcastle Under Lyme CC Inks, Nottingham Enniskillen Photoshop Great Western Cameras, Swindon

Managing Director: Lee Mansfield 01323 819007 lee@lifemediagroup.co.uk

Features Editor: Thomas Allen 01323 819007 tom@lifemediagroup.co.uk

Sales: Geoff Diamond 01323 819007 geoff@lifemediagroup.co.uk

Group Director/Editor: Simon Skinner 01323 819017 simon@lifemediagroup.co.uk

PR Account Manager: James Marchant 01323 819007 james@lifemediagroup.co.uk

Production Manager: Harriet Weston 01323 819010 harriet@lifemediagroup.co.uk

Operations Director: Clare Fermor 01323 819016 clare@lifemediagroup.co.uk

Title Manager: Elliott Mansfield 01323 819012 elliott@lifemediagroup.co.uk

Production Designer: Amy Watson 01323 819018 amy@lifemediagroup.co.uk

Deputy Editor: Jenny Ardagh 01323 819011 jenny@pixel.co.uk

Sales: Lou Dobson 01323 819007 lou@lifemediagroup.co.uk

Accounts: Amelia Wellings 01323 819016 amelia@lifemediagroup.co.uk

34 www.pixel.co.uk

Please refer to page 23 for more images and information on the 2016 FDIS awards winners.

Subscriptions: Linda Grace 01323 819015 linda@lifemediagroup.co.uk Published by: LMG SE LTD (Life Media Group) 1 Swan Business Centre, Swan Barn Road, Hailsham, East Sussex, BN27 2BY Printed by: Gemini Press Unit A1 Dolphin Way, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex BN43 6NZ

Kevin Thomas Pharmacy, Swansea King Print, Kingsbridge McFarlanes Pharmacy Plus, Larne McGlaughlins Pharmacy, Magherafelt New Milton Photographic Prestwich Pharmacy Staveley Photo Centre FDIS Shop Assistant of the Year: Tom Fletcher, J&A Cameras, Barnstaple Outstanding Contribution to Independent Photo Retail: Nigel Trigwell, Fotobox, Seaford

All material in this publication is strictly copyright and all rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. The views expressed in Pixel Magazine do not necessarily represent the view of Life Media Group LTD. Every care is taken in compiling the contents but the publishers of Pixel Magazine assume no reponsibilty for any damage, loss or injury arising from the participation in any offers, competitions or advertisment contained within Pixel Magazine. All prices featured in Pixel Magazine are correct at the time of going to press.

Copyright Life Media Group LTD 2016©

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