This month saw Fujifilm celebrate 5 years of Fuji X Series – their flagship compact system camera range.

Paul Edmondson, Director at Wilkinson Cameras was invited to Japan to join the celebrations and attend the launch of the much-anticipated Fujifilm X-Pro2. We also spoke to Paul to find out about his role within the business & 23 years with Wilki - as well as his report on the trip and the new kit!!

Warning: this feature contains details of gorgeous new cameras, Japanese hospitality & may create much travel envy…

PME-HS‘Before I’d even left school, my career in photo retail had already begun, with a part time job in the Dixons store in Burnley,’ said Paul Edmondson.

‘As soon as I left school, I went straight into a full time retail position – and joined Dixons. I was there for a year when I decided I wanted to concentrate on just selling photographic products. I spent a further seven years working in the independent photographic retail sector before I joined the Wilkinson Cameras team as manager of the Blackburn store. Ten months after joining the business, I was asked to manage the flagship store in Preston – staying there for a good number of years before becoming area manager. I then moved to work along David Parkinson (Wilki MD) at our head office, which is where I am today. I became a Director of the company in 2014. I assist with the buying along with many other roles.

‘Being invited to Japan was really exciting (especially with the product launches planned) and certainly a lovely break from the awful weather in the North of England in January!’

 

 

Destination Tokyo

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‘It was a very wet Tuesday night on the platform of Wigan North Western Station, where my long Journey to Japan was to begin. Armed with my X-T10 & 18-55 I was off half way around the world with the team from Fujifilm, fellow retailers and key photo journalists, to attend the Fujifilm 5 year anniversary celebrations in Tokyo.

‘The celebration marks a change in the direction that Fuji had to take due to the rapid decline in sales of compact digital cameras. Back in 2011 Fujifilm introduced the X100 premium compact camera and then later in 2013 the X-Pro1 was launched along with several lenses. An excellent range of small high quality lenses soon followed which paved the way for more models such as the X-E1 and X-T1.

‘So after 5 years Fujifilm was to celebrate its success by launching not one, but five, new products - including the long awaited X-Pro2.

‘As the snow capped Mount Fuji scrolled past the aircraft window I knew it wouldn’t be long before we landed at Haneda international airport and after checking in at the New Otani Hotel, we soon left to visit the Skytree Tower. Standing at 634 metres tall the tower hosts a 360 degree viewing platform giving spectacular views of Tokyo. The elevator took just 50 seconds to take us up the observation deck and the weather couldn’t have been better - clear sunny conditions made for some great pictures.

‘We then made a short journey by taxi to visit an old Japanese temple. We walked through the Kaminarimon Gate where we were greeted by a market. There was a vast array of market stalls selling a variety of Japanese food, gifts and touristy type products. The X-T10 was great in this environment, small and unobtrusive, it easily allowed me to get some shots of the local market traders.

‘On the first evening the jet lag was kicking in, but we still managed to enjoy dinner in a traditional Japanese restaurant. After removing our shoes, our dinner was cooked in front of us by ladies in traditional Japanese outfits. The cuisine is called Shabu Shabu and is very thin slices of marbled beef cooked in a broth. The beef only takes 5 seconds to cook and is then served in a little bowl along with rice and soy sauce. Heads were really dropping at this stage, so not too many food blogging pictures!!!

Friday the 14th January: Launch Day

4‘We arrived at midtown Tokyo around 1.00pm for the launch of 5 new products from Fuji. The presentation would be delivered simultaneously to 400 people from all over the world.

‘At 13.30 prompt the conference began. The Senior Vice President of Fujifilm Corporation Mr Toru Takahashi explained why they had to change direction and then went on to thank the photographers and the retailers for all their support in making this new system a success.

‘He also went on to say how Fuji helped millions of families restore their images which were damaged in the tsunami, which was quite a moving moment.

‘Then for the new products! Toshi Iieda, Fuji’s Sales & Marketing General Manager went through the new products and features:

X-Pro 2was first, followed by X-E2s, X70, XF100-400 and the EF X500 Flash. Toshi invited on to the stage Fuji X-Photographers David Alan Harvey and Jeff Carter to discuss their own photography and what they liked about the new X-Pro2.

‘Toshi revealed some huge images suspended from the ceiling that had been taken on the X-Pro2 and we then went to view many more images taken on the new camera. The gallery was stunning; attention to detail was 1st class. On route to the gallery we visited the Fuji museum, where you could go back in time to see many of their earlier cameras, again the content was superb.’

Saturday 15th January: Getting hands on with the X-Pro2 in Kyoto

‘We took the Shinkansan Super Express - better known as the bullet train - to Kyoto. This was an amazing journey with top speeds of over 280kph! Once in Kyoto we received our X-Pro2 equipped with the XF 18-55 lens, complete with a 32 GB storage card.

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‘Within ten minutes of checking into our hotel, we were then on a bus to Kinkaku (The Golden Temple). A beautiful location with the Temple situated in the middle of a lake, the lighting was perfect. Late afternoon sunshine broke through the clouds and illuminated the Temple itself. This was a great opportunity to try some of the various film modes on the camera. Most of my shots were taken using the Velvia film mode, however I shot some using the classic chrome setting and was amazed at just how much the effect resembles a certain type of slide film!

‘As the sun dipped it's head and the temperature dropped we headed back towards the centre of Kyoto, but not before more photography - we were off to another market, street photography here we come!

‘As we entered into the market there was a distinct smell of fish. There were hundreds of stalls selling fish, cooking fish, there were fish swimming in buckets and you could even buy squid on a lollipop stick, if it involved fish they were doing it! The crowds were fantastic and this added to the atmosphere. As the hot air from the stoves hit the cold air, steam rose from the stalls creating fantastic opportunities for some great photography.

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‘I really enjoyed using the X-Pro2 camera in this environment; unobtrusive and small it allowed me to capture images without anyone knowing I was there. I've never done this type of photography before, but it was really fun. I used the black and white mode here and it brought back fond memories of when I used to print my own black and white pictures. These film modes can really enhance the look of a picture.

‘Dinner that night was at a very traditional Japanese restaurant - no guesses what was for dinner tonight? You got it! FISH. With the smell of the market embedded in my nostrils it made the food tricky to eat. Let’s just say I left feeling rather hungry!

‘The next morning we set off to visit Nara Park in south-central Honshu - where the deer roam freely - if you purchase some of the biscuits from one of the stalls, the deer will bow, in order to receive a treat. Situated at the park is the Todai-Ji Temple, Great Buddha Hall. This is quite simply photographic paradise - so picturesque and with many different lighting conditions to really put the X-Pro2 through its paces.

‘We also visited another area of the park where we visited a shrine at Kasuga Taisha. All the paths leading up to and around the shrine had lanterns made from stone, which are lit up in the evening. Some of the lanterns had vivid green moss growing on the top of them. The images I took here really show just how well the Fuji lenses perform.

‘Then it was back on to the bus for our Journey back to Kyoto Station for our onward journey back to Tokyo. I can’t believe how big the railway stations are in Japan, they are enormous, full of shops and restaurants. Our train, as you can imagine, arrived bang on time and we were soon speeding towards Tokyo.

‘After a quick shower to get that fishy smell out of my head once and for all, dinner tonight was on the top floor of our hotel. The restaurant had a 360 degree view and as we were seated I realised that the whole restaurant rotated delivering stunning views of Tokyo by night. I had a wonderful meal that night which finished off a truly brilliant trip and an experience I won’t forget. Sadly we had to hand back the cameras, but I did get to keep the SD card - which has the most important bit - the images and memories!

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‘It was another early start the following morning as we set off to the airport for our flight back to London. At the hotel reception we were greeted by six inches of snow! We had been told we might see snow and sure enough we did! In true Japanese style the taxis arrived as normal and whisked us off to the airport without any delays.

‘If I had to say what made the trip to Japan memorable - I would have to say the Japanese people and their culture, it’s amazing! And of course, the new cameras & lens – huge thanks to Fujifilm for an amazing trip.’