Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-12-14)

6 14 December 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113

Fujifilm’sflagshipLondonstoreopened
itsdoorstothepublicon3 December.
Thefirstof itstypeanywherein theworld,
andbilledasa ‘photographyexperience
centre’,it’sonLongAcrein CoventGarden.
VisitorscantryFujifilmproductsincludingits
Instax,X-series,andGFXmediumformat
mirrorlesscameras.Printingservicesare
availableandit’sevenpossibletobuyfilm.
APwasgivena sneakpeekbeforethe
officialopening,andcameawayimpressed.
Themainproductsareonthegroundfloor,
andthespaciousupperlevelincludesa
photogallery,FujifilmSchoolseminarspace
anda free-to-usestudioarea.Membersof
FujifilmProfessionalServicesbenefit from
theirownlounge,whilelargestudiosare
availabletohirein thebasement.Allthe
latestinformationwillbeavailableviaa free
appforAndroidandiOS.If you’rein London
it’s worth a visit, even for non-Fujifi lm users.

Fujifilmopensdoorsto

House of Photography

Jessops board mulling

sale of company

JESSOPSis in theearlystagesof

discussionswithpotentialbuyers,

accordingtoRetailGazette, SkyNewsand

others.Theyciteunnamedsourceswhoreveal

thatdiscussionswiththebuyers,whoarealso

unnamed,is oneof theoptionsthatis currently

beingconsideredbytheJessopsboardasit

struggleswithchallengingtradingconditions

onthehighstreet.

Thislatestdevelopmentcomestwomonths

afterthecameraretailerfileda ‘noticeof

intention’toappointadministratorstohelpsort

outthedebtsof itspropertyarm,JRProp

Limited.Thenoticehasbeenextendedaspart

of effortstopersuadelandlordstosupporta

CompanyVoluntaryArrangement(CVA),which

mayleadtorentcutsandevenstoreclosures.

CurrentownerPeterJones,whois a

householdnamethankstohisappearanceon

Dragon’s Den, bought Jessops Group Ltd when

it wentintoadministrationin January2013,

andrelaunchedit thefollowingMarch.The

companywasoriginallysetupasJessopsof

LeicesterbyFrankJessopin 1935. More

updates as we get them.

For the latest newsvisit http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

© ANDY WESTL AKE

Visitamateurphotographersubs.co.uk/APH9,or seep46.

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INA bidtoquashinternetrumoursthatits

camerabusinessis in trouble,Olympus

hasupdateditslensroadmaptorevealthe

nextopticsthatit intendstorelease.Firstupis

theM.ZuikoDigitalED12-45mmF4PRO,

whichwillpresumablybea small,lightweight,

weatherproofstandardzoomthatshouldbea

naturalcompanionforitslatestOM-DE-M

MarkIII MicroFourThirdscamera.Secondis

theM.ZuikoDigitalED100-400mmF5-6.

IS,animage-stabilisedlongtelephotozoom

that’llslotintothefirm’sconsumerline-up.We

expectthistobea muchsmallerandmore

affordable alternative to the high-end ED

150-400mmF4.5TC1.25xIS Prothathasa

built-in1.25xteleconverter,whose

developmentwasannouncedin February

alongsidethelaunchof theflagshipOM-D

E-M1X,butwhichhasn’tyetmadeit tomarket.

Thethirdupdatedentryis listedpurelyasa

‘telephotozoomlens’withintheProline-up.

Buttheindicatedzoomrangesuggeststhatit

couldwellbea lightweight40-150mmf/4to

complementthe12-45mmf/4.Alsolistedon

theroadmaparea widezoomlensanda

couplemoretelephotozooms,plusbright

primes,allin theProrange.Wewillbringyou

full details as soon as the lenses are available.

Olympusrevealsupdatedlensroadmap

PeterJonesin happiertimeslastyear, opening the

refurbished Oxford Street branch

© GEOFF HARRIS

On its new roadmap, Olympus has revealed that three new zoom lenses are on the way

Fujifilm’s impressive new store is worth a visit