Live from Japan: Highlights from CP+ 2023

Live from CP+ Expo 2023

Greetings from Yokohama, Japan, where we’re attending the 2023 CP+ Expo, the annual camera industry trade show sponsored by the Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA). Times have changed, and although camera manufacturers have largely moved away from timing major product announcements around trade shows like CP+, there’s still a noticeable sense of excitement when walking the floor, what with the event’s return from a three-year hiatus due to the global pandemic.

As in the past, we’ve been meeting with senior executives from the major camera companies while in Japan, the fruits of which we’ll be publishing in the coming weeks. Until then, we wanted to share some highlights from this year’s show, ranging from big booths to quirky products.

Camera sightings

It’s not unusual to see people with cameras at photo shows, but CP+ takes this to a whole new level. Every shape, size and brand of camera is represented, and I saw everything from antique Leica rangefinders to custom-skinned mirrorless bodies. In retrospect, I wish I had taken photos of them all for a separate article.

The camera in the photo above may be the most interesting one I spotted. As near as I can tell it’s a Fujifilm Fujix DS-5XX camera, a series developed in partnership with Nikon that was manufactured from about 1995–1999. These cameras used 1.3MP, Type 2/3 (8.8 x 6.6mm) sensors, but concentrated the light from Nikon F-mount lenses to improve performance by about four stops and negate the crop factor of the tiny sensor (think of it as a built-in Speedbooster). If you know anything about these cameras, let me know in the comments!

Canon

Canon’s range of imaging products was well-represented at CP+. The camera section of its booth was built around a stunt area for BMX bike riders, giving visitors a chance to put Canon’s latest AF and high speed shooting modes to the test. The EOS R3 was particularly popular, likely because people wanted to experience Canon’s eye-controlled focus, but the new consumer-oriented R8 and R50 models were in high demand as well.

What I wasn’t expecting to find in Canon’s booth was a large area dedicated to virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) products. In 2021, Canon introduced its RF 5.2mm F2.8 dual fisheye lens, designed to capture stereoscopic 8K video using the EOS R5 camera, a harbinger of binocular realities now and to come. While the VR experience at the booth still felt a bit clunky, I found the image quality to be pretty impressive. It’s interesting that Canon sees this area of technology as having a lot of potential, and I’m curious to see how it develops.

Fujifilm

It probably won’t come as a surprise that Fujifilm’s most recent camera models – the X-H2, X-H2S and X-T5 – were the main draw at its booth, with plenty of opportunities to try them out as long as you were prepared to wait in line. There were also the requisite displays of Instax cameras (which seem to grow in number every year), lenses and beautiful prints, but the thing that got people to stop and linger was the wall of film simulations.

For many Fujifilm users, the company’s film simulations are a core part of the Fujifilm experience. A standard set of photos processed across all these simulations, ranging from the good ol’ Provia to the latest Nostalgic Neg, made it easy to compare the look of each one and get a real sense for how they differ, and it wasn’t uncommon for visitors to stop and stare for an extended period of time.

OM Digital Solutions

The OM System brand had a strong presence with a large booth, featuring the usual array of cameras and lenses on display at a trade show. However, two products were the clear stars: the OM-1 mirrorless camera and the new 90mm F3.5 macro lens. Based on foot traffic it seems that OM System has a hit on its hands with that macro lens.

Speaking more generally, I was encouraged by the level of traffic in the booth. There are obviously a lot of people who remain enthusiastic about the Micro Four Thirds system despite the wider industry’s momentum in the direction of full-frame cameras.

Sony

Sony tends to have a large footprint at any trade show, and CP+ was no exception, with products ranging from mirrorless cameras and lenses to Venice cinema products and everything in between. Sony was also one of the few companies to announce a new product (approximately) coinciding with CP+ this year: the FE 50mm F1.4 GM prime lens.

A large balcony overlooking a central plaza provided an opportunity to shoot with a variety of cameras and lenses, and visitors had the chance to see some behind-the-scenes movie magic with the Venice cameras. But it was the new 50mm prime lens that got photographers’ attention, with a healthy line of visitors waiting to try it out.

Nikon

Nikon had its full suite of products on display, but a couple things stood out. First, it seemed like every time I walked past its booth there was a presentation about using Nikon products for video, with words like ‘ProRes’ and ‘Raw’ plastered all over slides in front of packed audiences. Nikon is going all-in with video on the Z9 at CP+, and customers are flocking to it.

The other thing that stood out was a large section of the booth focused on creators: in fact, signs on the walls, and sweatshirts worn by the staff, promoted the tagline ‘Nikon Creators,’ just to make it clear that this area was for, you know: creators. Featured here were Nikon’s Z fc retro-styled camera (in every possible color combination) and its Z30 vlogging camera. Numerous cameras were positioned around a couple of shooting areas with what can best be described as semi-autonomous penguin-shaped robots that provided colorful targets for photos, and a small stage at one end stayed busy with creator-focused presentations. This area was packed, so it seems like the company has hit on a winning formula.

Panasonic

It’s easy to forget just how deep Panasonic’s photography lineup is. Between its Micro Four Thirds and full-frame systems, the company has developed an impressive array of cameras and lenses over the years. Not surprisingly, the lion’s share of attention went to the new S5 II full-frame model, Panasonic’s first mirrorless camera to use phase detect autofocus.

To illustrate how well its new AF system works, Panasonic provided a side-by-side demo featuring the original S5, which uses the company’s Depth from Defocus (DFD) autofocus, alongside the S5 II, while a model walked back and forth doing various things to try to throw off the AF and subject tracking systems. It won’t come as a surprise that the S5 II’s phase detect system provided superior performance, but the DFD system performed admirably well. Certainly well enough that there’s no need for stills shooters to upgrade unless you really need the edge that phase detect autofocus provides (video, of course, is a slightly different matter).

A call for change

I feel compelled to include some editorial commentary about a tradition in the camera industry that we believe needs to change. It’s not uncommon at these photo industry trade shows for companies to feature attractive female models in revealing outfits in their booths. There’s typically a large crowd of middle-aged (or older) men madly fighting for position to take photos of these models, firing away in burst mode like it’s Paris fashion week. To be honest, it’s a bit cringeworthy and doesn’t represent the industry well in 2023. Which is a strange thing to find yourself thinking at a show held under the auspices of the industry’s own trade body.

I get it. Sex sells. But this approach simply reinforces the perception of a male-dominated camera industry, and it doesn’t create a welcoming environment for women photographers. Just about every camera company I spoke with this week talked about the need to grow the market and engage with a new generation of content creators. If they want to engage with women, this probably isn’t the way to do it.

Prints, prints, everywhere!

Every photography trade show has amazing prints on display, the better to convince you that a particular company’s products will deliver the images you want. What’s pretty obvious, though, is that if you removed any of these prints from their booths, you would have no way of knowing what camera was used to shoot what image.

I guess this is a public service announcement of sorts, a reminder that as much as we like to pixel peep, there’s a lot of truth to the statement that, ‘If you can’t take a great picture with any camera manufactured in 2023, the problem probably isn’t the camera…’

Sigma

Sigma has an oversized presence for a company that mostly makes lenses, but The Force is strong with the L-mount alliance and the booth was packed. In addition to its existing lineup, Sigma had a display case with its new Z-mount lenses for Nikon’s APS-C cameras on display, and the attendant staff stayed very busy answering questions from Nikon shooters.

The most novel part of Sigma’s booth, however, was the Sigma Immersive Space, a dark cube-shaped room with moving imagery of Sigma products, technology, product schematics and more projected on the walls around you. It was a very creative way to draw people in.

Tamron

Tamron definitely wins the prize for the most eye-catching booth, thanks to large three-dimensional displays featuring colorful Japanese characters. However, it also gets the nod for the most interesting product display: a miniature diorama of trains made out of Tamron lenses.

It’s probably a safe assumption that these lenses are compatible with the train-detect AF modes found on some cameras.

Boutique films

Every trade show gets part of its flavor in the form of boutique products from smaller companies. Escura Camera, a company focused on analog photography, displayed several unique films. For some reason, I’m feeling a strong need to try shooting a roll of Hello Kitty ISO 400 black and white film. Just because.

Cosina

Cosina’s booth was an elegant affair of glass cases featuring dozens of gorgeous Voigtländer manual focus lenses in M-mount, E-mount, X-mount, Z-mount, and even RF-mount, along with lenses for older SLRs. There’s something beautiful about heavy lenses made from highly machined metal rather than the nondescript metal or polycarbonate tubes covered by silkscreened markings that we often see today. It just makes you want to stare at them. And possibly drool on the glass cases. Which is pretty much what most people were doing: staring longingly through the glass and trying not to drool.

Tokina

We’ve not heard a lot from Tokina since its spate of APS-C prime lens launches in 2021 and an 11-18mm F2.8 for E-mount that we’ve apparently completely failed to add to our database.

These, along with its oddly throwback mirror lenses for mirrorless (try explaining that one to non-photographers), were on display at the company’s booth.

Samyang

Samyang has become a more mainstream brand in recent years, with plenty of solid, budget-friendly lens options available across mounts and increasing inclusion of autofocus. Samyang didn’t have any new product announcements at the show, but its 135mm F1.8 AF lens for E-mount was getting a lot of attention from visitors.

More to come

Stay tuned. Over the next few weeks we’ll be publishing in-depth interviews with executives from the major camera companies to hear their opinions on the state of the camera market, insights into their businesses and what they’re prioritizing in the coming year. Until then, we hope you’ve enjoyed this brief tour from the floor of CP+ 2023.