Straight from Japan - Experience CP+ 2012

One does not simply walk into CP+, one has to experience it! Welcome to the third Camera & Photo Imaging Show, where the latest cameras can be found. Join us for the highlights of CP+ like the Fujifilm X-Pro1 and the Canon G1 X, as well as quirky finds and the hardworking booth babes of the show.

By Alvin Soon - 9 Feb 2012

Highlights from CP+ 2012

One does not simply walk into CP+, one has to experience it!

CP+ is Japan's annual Camera & Photo Imaging Show, now in its third year. Created in response to the massive consumer electronics and camera shows held in the west, CP+ showcases the best that the Japanese camera companies have to offer at the start of the year. Both gear and craft lovers will find things to like, as you can handle new cameras and attend talks by photographers at CP+, as well as browse through gorgeous photo exhibits.

The show itself has never been huge, occupying two halls in Pacifico Yokohama. If you browse leisurely without stopping too long at any booth, you can finish the length of the hall in an hour. Even though CP+ wants to shift the center of attention away from the West to the East in regards to camera launches, the event hasn't managed to succeed just yet. Language is a barrier; most talks are given in Japanese and not every assistant speaks English (although more and more seem to speak it very well). Also, announcements of new products are still made way ahead of the event, usually at CES which is held one month earlier than CP+.

Still, CP+ seems to be gaining momentum. More new digital compact camera announcements were made this year at CP+, and Nikon unveiled their big product the D800 at the event (they could have been held back by the tsunami last year which delayed production, but still). One gets the feeling that if the big Japanese companies further co-ordinate their efforts to bump up CP+, it could well become the premier camera product show of the first half of each year.

And CP+ is always a delight to visit, with lots to see. Check out our highlights from the event, as well as interesting sights and a celebration of the hardworking booth babes of CP+.

Nikon's Booth

Nikon was showcasing their brand new Coolpix cameras, the new D4 and the D800 DSLR cameras, all of which you could try for yourself on the show floor . You had to queue hard for the D4 and D800 though, so luckily we already had a sneak peak hands-on session with the cameras the day before!

Want to touch the D4 and D800? Queue up for 45 minutes first.

Always a pleasure to look through are the beautiful sample photos which show what each camera can do.

The brand new Coolpix compact cameras as well as the Nikon 1 mirrorless system cameras were also on display.

Canon's Booth

The spotlight at Canon was really on the G1 X, the 1D X and the C300 professional video camera. We've previously seen the 1D X and the C300 in Singapore (we even chatted with award-winning director Vincent Laforet about the C300). We managed a brief hands-on for the PowerShot G1 X during the CES 2012 show, but we still went ahead to give it yet another shot. It was lighter than we expected for its size (it's 534g) and felt quite comfortable in the hands, but previous G-series users will want to note that the G1 X is bigger than its predecessors due to the larger sensor inside.

The Canon G1 X, successor to the PowerShot G12.

The Canon 1D X. People just loved squeezing the trigger to hear the shutter go clackity-clack at 14 frames per second.

Fujifilm's Booth

Everyone wanted to touch the Fujifilm X-Pro1 (which we also had a hands-on at CES 2012), and another camera you had to queue hard for. Besides the X-Pro 1 which took center stage, Fujifilm also had a couple of the limited edition black X100's on hand. But what caught our attention were the GF670 Professional and the newer GF670 W Professional medium format film cameras. The two-year old GF670 Pro is a folding camera made of die-cast aluminum with magnesium alloy components, and has a f/3.5 80mm lens. The GF670 W Pro, which was released last year, has a f/4.5 55mm lens. Both are absolutely gorgeous.

The camera everyone wanted to see, the Fujifilm X-Pro 1.

A tricked-out X-Pro 1 with flash attachment, additional hand-grip and lens hood.

Looking like but not quite the X-Pro 1 was the limited edition black X100. Nothing besides the paint color is different.

The GF670 Professional is a folding, medium format film camera.

The GF670 W Professional was released last year.

Pentax's Booth

Pentax drew a lot of attention with their K-01 camera, a brand-new mirrorless system camera with an APS-C sensor, which was announced just days before CP+. Sporting a unique design by British designer Marc Newson, who has designed many things, from furniture to yachts, but never a digital camera. It looks like a giant Lego block and handles like a kid's toy. We can't fathom what Pentax is thinking with the design of this camera and who the company wants to target, but let's leave the question out there for now before the camera is actually available.

The Pentax K-01 is rather fat. Its new pancake lens is amazingly thin though.

Panasonic's Booth

At Panasonic, we kept hearing the words "mirrorless, mirrorless and mirrorless". Panasonic, of course, is one of the pioneers of the mirrorless system camera, they released the first Micro Four Thirds camera ever in 2008, the Panasonic G1. Panasonic had a very cool, see-through working version of their electronic Lumix G X 14-42mm lens on demo. Behind glass boxes were the drool-worthy constant aperture 12-35mm f/2.8 and 35-100mm f/2.8 prototype lenses. These would be the Micro Four Thirds equivalents of the classic 24-70mm and 70-200mm lenses for DSLR cameras. We heard from a secret source that the lenses won't be prototypes for long and may be released as early as spring or summer of this year.

A very cool, see-through and working version of the Lumix G X 14-42mm electronic lens.

Want. This is the prototype 24-70mm f/2.8 equivalent for Micro Four Thirds, and the first ever fixed aperture telephoto lens for the system.

The other prototype 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. Together with the 24-70mm these two lenses will cover you from the wide to tele focal lengths.

Even though mirrorless was a clear focus, don't think that the Lumix compact cameras were left out!

Olympus' Booth

Olympus is bringing retro back (again) with the new OM-D E-M5, which we just recently previewed. With the original OM cameras on display, it's easy to see where the E-M5 gets its looks. That's it for the highlights from the major manufacturers, check out the next page for the quirky and interesting finds of CP+ 2012.

Oldies but goodies, the original OM film cameras from Olympus.

The first OM camera was actually the M-1. It was later renamed to OM-1 after a dispute with Leica which also had a M series of cameras.

It's not hard to see where the OM-D E-M5 gets its looks.

What's Cool at CP+

CP+ isn't just about the big brands, smaller companies also show and sometimes you'll find something interesting straight out of the blue. We could tell you about them but it'd be much easier just to show you.

Pentax's new rugged Option WG-2 camera looks like it was made by Klingons. Waterproof, shockproof, cold proof and crushproof, it even has six LED lights around the lens.

Behind the glass was a pink Pentax Q with a Loewe bag. Be still, my fashionista heart.

The wee little Pentax Q - it's the world's smallest interchangeable-lens camera at only 98 x 57 x 31mm and 200g - is coming out in limited edition silver.

Just because you can do a thing, does that mean you should do that thing? That's a small Sony NEX-7 at the end of a large 70-400m G lens and mount adaptor.

You could try any of Sigma's lenses at the booth, and the helpful booth girls would both help you with the lenses and help you test them by posing for you!

Sigma loves bringing their gigantic 200-500mm f/2.8 and 400-1000mm f/5.6 lenses to CP+ every year and we love looking at them. The huge submarine-like lenses make even a full-frame DSLR camera look small.

Borg Oasis Studio (no resemblance to the ones from Star Trek) makes these telescopes which attach to cameras for very long-ranging shots.

Available in Japan since November 2011, Epson's Moverio projects a 3D movie onto these glasses, so you can watch a movie while still keeping in touch with your surroundings. We can't imagine watching Avatar with these goggles on the train to work, but it's an interesting gadget worth experiencing.

Cokin had a whole host of filters which you could just pick up and try. This one produced a dreamy effect (see below).

One of our favorite booths was the Digital King booth where lots of cute and quirky gadgets could be found. This cat-shaped camera is based on a video game character.

Little cameras not much bigger than a name-card. Why not?

This Bonzart Ampel is a new invention with two lenses. The red lens shoots a normal digital image, the green lens produces a miniature-like looking image.

The booth also sold lots of lens convertors for the iPhone.

Retro isn't dead, it's just expensive. Admiring the beauty of Carl Zeiss lenses on Zeiss Ikon rangefinder cameras.

Also on display is the delicious Voigtlander Nokton 17.5mm f/0.95 lens for Micro Four Thirds. The price tag says 118,000 yen which is a cool US$1528.

And finally, it's historical displays like this which make us appreciate how far cameras have come. Imagine if you had to sit for this if you wanted a portrait done of yourself!

The Girls of CP+ 2012

If there was an alternate name for CP+, it'd probably be the 'free model shooting event'. Booth babes are everywhere, they're pretty, friendly and open to having their photos taken. If that's not enough, there are hourly stage shows where models pose for you. Every stage has their organizer's new cameras laid out in front, and you're encouraged to try shooting the models with them, but you can just as well stand back and shoot from afar.

Personally, I have to hand it to these hardworking girls. I walk the floor for half a day and my feet are sore, but some of them are standing the entire day, some in heels. Legions of photographers descend upon them every five seconds (not an exaggeration) to shoot their portraits, and they oblige with a smile and a pose every time. It doesn't matter how many times they have camera flashes exploding in front of their eyes and how many strangers try to chat them up, they still manage to keep up a positive front.

Here's to the lovely ladies of CP+ 2012.