富士復刻相機內含高科技----中壢英文補習班－金學堂英語的部落格

【聯合報／By ERIC PFANNER／王麗娟譯）】

New Fujifilm Retro Cameras Contain High-Tech Cores

TOKYO — Like other camera makers, Fujifilm had seen sales of low-end cameras suffer from the rise of the smartphone, which has put a basic point-and-shoot into every owner’s pocket.

Camera makers have tried various things to stem the slide. Some have equipped cameras with smartphone-style features . Fuji-film went the other way, betting on a line that resembles the classic Leica: a boxy, rectangular body and straight, cylindrical lenses. Though they look like cameras from 60 or 70 years ago, Fujifilm X series are actually digital. And while sales of other cameras continue to slump, the Fujifilm X series is selling briskly.

The creation seemed logical for Fujifilm. Over the last decade, as rival Eastman Kodak was descending toward bankruptcy, Fujifilm was transforming itself from a maker of 35-millimeter film into a provider of digital imaging technologies. Fujifilm still makes film, but it now accounts for less than 1 percent of the company’s sales.

“Because of our heritage in film, picture quality was important, but picture quality is difficult to explain, so we needed something else,” said Hiroshi Kawahara, a marketing manager in the Fujifilm camera division, explaining the retro design.

Fujifilm said it has sold more than 700,000 X-series cameras since the first model, the X100, was introduced in 2011.

The name refers to the fact that these cameras do away with the internal mirror that, in reflex cameras, allows the user to compose through the lens while the shutter is closed. With mirrorless cameras, the photographer composes with the LCD screen or a separate viewfinder.

Along with Fujifilm, brands like Olympus, Sony and Nikon have also added mirrorless models to their lineups over the last few years.

Mirrorless cameras are considerably more expensive than point-and-shoot devices, but smaller and lighter than digital SLRs.

The Fujifilm X-E2, a recently introduced upgrade to the X-E1, costs about $1,000. As with the Nikon, that is for the body alone; lenses are extra.

“Someone who is looking at that kind of camera isn’t going to be satisfied with a smartphone,” said Jordan Selburn, an analyst at IHS iSuppli in California.

Masazumi Imai, the chief designer of the X series, explained that the company interviewed professional photographers about their preferences on everything from the pebbled plastic that covers parts of the cameras to the color of the paint on the bodies.

The goal was to give the cameras a certain gravitas, so professionals would give them a try.

“When we were little, when we went into our father’s room or our grandfather’s room, there was an important-looking camera on the shelf, and we were told not to touch it because it was valuable,” Mr. Imai said. “We wanted to create that kind of look and feel.”

中譯

和其他相機製造商命運相同，富士軟片公司也目睹自家低端相機銷售量因智慧手機崛起而下滑，智慧手機將一個基本的傻瓜相機進裝進了每一手機使用者的口袋。

相機製造商試過多種方法，欲以阻止銷售下跌。有的業者讓相機配備手機式的功能。富士則另闢蹊徑，推出一系列外型與經典徠卡相機相似的相機，它有四四方方的矩形機身，直筒圓鏡頭。富士Ｘ系列雖然看似六、七十年前的產品，其實卻是數位相機。在其他相機銷售持續走低之際，富士Ｘ系列卻熱賣。

新產品符合富士的邏輯。10年來，競爭對手伊士曼柯達落得破產下場，富士則從35米釐軟片製造商轉型為數位影像科技供應商。富士仍在製造軟片，但銷售額不到總銷售額的1%。

富士相機部門行銷經理川原浩解釋復刻式設計說：「我們有製造軟片的傳承，影像品質非常重要，但是影像的品質很難說明，因此我們需要其他東西。」

富士說，第一款Ｘ100於2011年問世以來，Ｘ系列相機銷售已逾70萬台。

這個名字意指相機捨棄了內部的反光鏡，內部反光鏡能讓反光式相機的使用者在快門關閉的情況下，透過鏡頭取景。使用沒有反光鏡的相機，攝影者是以液晶螢幕或獨立的觀景器取景。

和富士一樣，奧林巴斯、索尼和尼康這些品牌這幾年也推出無反光鏡機型。

無反光鏡相機比傻瓜相機貴了不少，但比數位單眼相機小巧。

最近富士推出Ｘ─Ｅ1機升級版Ｘ─Ｅ2機，每台售價約1000美元。和尼康一樣，這只是機身價，鏡頭另計。

加州IHS iSuppli的分析師塞波恩說：「會看這種相機的人，是不會滿足於智慧手機的。」

Ｘ系列相機的首席設計師今井雅純解釋道，公司訪問過專業攝影師，詢問他們的喜好，從覆蓋部分相機的粗面塑料到機體色漆的顏色無一不問。