Photography News 06

Profile

INTERVIEW

BIOGRAPHY

Theo Georghiades

AGE: 37 YEARS IN THE PHOTO INDUSTRY: 14 CURRENT LOCATION: Bedford LAST PICTURE TAKEN: Photos of people using our kit at

the Photography Show HOBBIES? Photography

WHEN YOUWERE YOUNGER, WHAT DID YOUWANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREWUP? A sports photographer or footballer DOGS OR CATS? Neither TOAST OR CEREAL? Cereal EMAIL OR PHONE CALL? Phone call In addition to the X-series, Fujifilm’s bridge cameras seem to be enjoying great success among keen photographers preferring to travel light. Was this as predicted? We’ve had fantastic feedback from professional and enthusiast travel photographers who were accustomed to using a big digital SLR. They’ve been able to switch to our system and are no longer hampered by a weight issue. If you are a travel journalist for example, you want to be able to travel light but equally you don’t want to compromise in any way on image quality. We’ve also had a great response from people switching over from bulkier systems to the lighter, but equally as responsive, X-series. We’ve worked with travel, street and portrait photographers amongst others who we’ve gone to directly for feedback about the systems that we’re producing. What in your view has been Fujifilm’s most successful technology of the past few years? The X-Trans sensor without a doubt; it has enabled us to make some phenomenal, significant technological improvements, all in smaller camera bodies. Are compact cameras doomed with the camera phone playing such a big part in people’s photography now? I think everyone is aware of how quickly and significantly the compact camera market has declined. Everyone has a camera phone of some level and they have their role in photography for instant sharing of everyday life experiences. People still want to take superior quality photos and that’s why compacts are still relevant in photography today. What has been your personal highlight during your time at FujifilmUK? I went to see the Fujifilm factory as part of the training for the X10 where I also met the R&D testing team in Japan. That was a particularly memorable and insightful experience for me. What are your future ambitions for FujifilmUK? To be the number one CSC brand in the UK in the next three to five years, that is our ambition. Do you still find time to indulge in much photography yourself? I’m a keen photographer so I’m always testing out and shooting with the new cameras and lenses when they come in. Everyone at Fujifilm has a real passion for photography and imaging, so when we create something like the X-T1, it feels like it’s part of a family system that we can all enjoy.

Fujifilm senior business manager Theo Georghiades fields PN’s questions, revealing how the firm has weathered the storms to remain successful

Can you introduce yourself to PN readers please? I’m the senior business manager for electronic imaging in the UK. I joined Fujifilm as a photography graduate and I’ve been here ever since. Fujifilm is 80 years old this year; it started off as a photographic film manufacturer and has remained very successful. One imaging brand (Kodak) has virtually vanished, yet you both faced the same challenges with the emergence of digital. What do you attribute this longevity to? Fujifilm has constantly been innovating and has been very quick to evolve with the market. Although our heritage is film we reacted quickly to the emergence of digital technology and adapted our range early on. We respond to changes in the industry and monitor consumer demand, an example being that when digital started to decline in compacts, we gradually shifted our focus to other product lines such as our X-series. We really can attribute our longevity to flexibility, innovation and creativity. Fujifilm has launched six X-series cameras and 12 X lenses since 2012. That seems a very short time to introduce so many products. Was this the plan when the original X-Pro1 was launched or has the company just reacted very rapidly to the system’s acceptance in themarketplace? We wanted to make sure that when we announced the X-Pro1 we were transparent with our planned lens road map – this was really important to us. Being new to the CSCmarket, we wanted to reassure people that we were entirely committed to it and that we weren’t just dipping a toe in. We’ve consistently updated our lens roadmap as newCSCs have come into the range to ensure that we have a suitable line-up for different types of consumer from entry-level interchangeable lens camera users through to pros. We have indeed launched a series of CSCs very quickly, but it’s time to slow down now and see what customers are buying and react accordingly. Every X-series camera has caused a stir when launched, but the X-T1 seems to have set a new precedent and every keen photographer seems to want to get their hands on one. What do you think the reasons are for this massive interest? We’ve worked really hard to listen to consumer feedback. With every camera we release we try to make sure that we improve based on that feedback. The X-T1’s form factor has been a massive plus, people just love the way that it looks and handles! I think because we’ve established ourselves in the CSC market now people are more confident about investing in the range. People can easily read reviews from the photo press and see how well our CSC cameras are being received by other

consumers. Image quality as well really resonates with photographers who are interested in this camera and the X-T1 delivers on all fronts. The X-Trans CMOS sensor is unique with its ‘random’ pixel array. Why did Fujifilmdevelop this technology when, apart from Sigma, everyone adopted the Bayer array? Because of our heritage as an imaging brand, we understand photography from the guts of a camera through to the lenses and body form. We make our own lenses and sensors and being able to do that has been really important in allowing us to uphold the message that we understand imaging and we understand what photographers want. The X-Trans sensor is used in X-series cameras. Do you see that technology cascading down to Fujifilmcompacts and bridge cameras? It is important for us to be able to make people aware that top-of-the-range technology is being incorporated into both our CSCs and our compacts. The X-Trans sensor can be found in the slimline XQ1 and the 4x zoom X20 compacts on the market today. Image quality from the X-Trans is said to be comparable to full-frame. So is there an opportunity to use the technology in a full-frame sensor,perhapstomarkettoothermanufacturers? When we say X-Trans output is comparable to full- frame we are talking about the fact that our sensor resolves to a higher resolution, due to the removal of the optical low-pass filter. At the moment we’re focusing on the APS-C format sensor but in the longer term, after we’ve completed our lens line-up, who knows! With the sensor comes software issues to get the most from the Raw files. Is Fujifilm working to minimise the time from camera launch to having an Adobe compatible Raw converter for Photoshop and Lightroom? We are doing all we can. Fujifilm recognises its history with the Velvia and Provia filmsimulationmodes.With somanyusers not having even shot film, how relevant do you think these settings are now? I think the filmsimulationmodes resonate in particular with older photographers, those who know about our history with film – it allows us to re-engage with those users. Fujifilm was globally respected for film colour reproduction and that has given us a great deal of authority when it comes to launching new cameras. It is important for us to celebrate and share our heritage with consumers and by including the film simulation modes we can achieve that.

The X-Trans sensor has enabledus to make some phenomenal, significant technological improvements, all in smaller camera bodies

π To find out more, go to www.fujifilm.co.uk.

Photography News | Issue 6