japanese

The Changing Fortunes of Japanese Camera Manufacturers

Earlier this month Olympus revealed some of the thought process behind the 2020 sale of its camera division in which the company jettisoned it in order to pursue greater stability and profitability from its broad portfolio of medical technology. This is in stark contrast to Nikon, which has wiped the slate clean and started again. What is going on with Japanese camera manufacturers and are there any lessons to be learned?

Photography as a Zen Art

Sometimes you know about two things in completely different parts of your brain, and then one day, for no reason, you put them together and your head explodes — a cascade of understandings like the last scene in “Usual Suspects”. After 40 years of taking pictures, that happened to me. One idea changed me overnight. And if you have a camera it will change you, too.

This Japanese Smartphone Uses AI to Keep Users from Taking Nude Photos

Japanese company Tone Mobile has released a very... special... new smartphone. Aimed at parents who want to keep their kids from making bad choices, the TONE e20 has an AI-powered "Smartphone Protection" feature that prevents users from shooting or saving "inappropriate" photos (read: naked pictures).

Photos of Japan’s Unusual Playgrounds at Night

Japanese photographer Kito Fujio has captured a series of photos of his country's playgrounds at night. The Japanese playground structures play straight into the stereotypical robots and creative designs that we might associate with the country, but under artificial lighting at night, they take on a new dynamic.

I Found 100-Year-Old Glass Plates in an Abandoned Japanese Home

Abandoned places are an alluring subject matter for many photographers. Japan is a treasure trove of abandoned places, or "haikyo", due to a perfect storm of an ageing population, a burst economic bubble in the 80s, and land tax loop holes.

Japan’s First Female Photojournalist is Still Shooting at the Age of 101

Tsuneko Sasamoto is a renowned Japanese photographer who is considered to be her country's first female photojournalist, documenting pre- and post-war Japan since becoming a professional shooter at the age of 25.

Sasamoto also has the distinction of being one of the oldest photographers on Earth: she just turned 101 years old in September, and she's still making photos.

Photo Booths In Japan Will Quietly Retouch Your Face to Fix Your ‘Flaws’

In Japan, purikura refers to a photo booth in which you can pose for a photo with friends and decorate the portraits before receiving little printed versions.

One interesting thing that sets many of these machines apart from their Western world counterparts is the fact that they will quietly do beauty retouching on photos in an attempt to fix subjects' facial "flaws."

Canon to Return Camera Production to Japan as Yen Value Tumbles

The value of the Japanese yen has tumbled in recent months, and that could mean changes to where Japanese camera companies choose to manufacture their products. Canon is one company that is making changes in response to the changing economic landscape: it says it plans to bring more of its camera manufacturing back to Japan.

Photog Loses $7,000 of Gear On Japanese Bullet Train, Gets Every Bit of It Back

News in the photo world isn't always uplifting -- what with all the layoffs and copyright scandals -- but once in a while you stumble onto one of those 'renew your faith in humanity' stories that just make you smile.

That's the uplifting story told by Imaging Resource Editor-in-Chief Dave Etchells, who recently lost $7,000 on a bullet train in Japan, only to have it found and returned to him with nary a piece missing.

A Japanese Dad’s Imaginative Conceptual Portraits of His 4-Year-Old Daughter

Japanese photographer Nagano Toyokazu is a dad much like all dads in that he loves his daughters, Miu and Kanna. Unlike most, however, he's managed to get his daughters a good bit of attention through his imaginative and cute photography ideas.

Kanna in particular has taken to the camera, and in addition to her part in the Kiss Me Please Project photo series, she now has her very own series title simply My Daughter Kanna.

This 870-Megapixel Monster Camera Has 116 Sensors and Weighs 3 Tons

If Optimus Prime ever decided to retire from saving Earth and take up photography as a hobby, this is one camera he might consider using. Called the Hyper Suprime-Cam, it's a 870-megapixel ultra-wide-field camera that stands 3 meters (~10 feet) high and weighs in at 3 tons. The comparison illustration above shows what the camera looks like next to a 5.2-foot-tall girl.

Faking Anime Fight Scenes is Emerging As a Fun Photo Fad in Japan

There's a humorous new photography meme emerging from Japan. Students in the country are shooting photos that look like they're 'Kamehameha' scenes from the popular manga and anime franchise Dragon Ball.

In each shot, one participant poses as a character exploding with energy, while one or more other subjects pretends to be blown away by the force of the blast. As with all of the popular memes that have emerged in recent years, participants are jumping onboard by shooting their own photos and then sharing them on the web.

Canon to Target Chinese Market Amidst Lingering Anti-Japanese Sentiment

Over the last couple of months, a political skirmish between Japan and China over the ownership of a set of islands has caused anti-Japanese protests all across China, affecting many of the Japanese manufacturing facilities. Some companies -- most notably Panasonic and Canon -- were forced to shut down operations and evacuate their premises as a result of the violent protests. Things got so bad that Chinese photographers had to camouflage their Japanese-brand cameras with red tape and Chinese flags.

Despite the political atmosphere in the world's most populous nation, Canon has China squarely in its sights as it plans its next moves for international expansion.

An Unexpected ‘Kiss’ in Canon Rebel T4i EXIF Data

If you've noticed an unexpected "Kiss" in your Canon Rebel T4i EXIF data, there's no need to panic (or blush!).

In certain applications that show EXIF data, the camera name may show up as the EOS Kiss X6i -- the Japanese market name of the same camera model. Additionally the Camera Settings / Remote Shooting screens of EOS Utility (EU) also shows “EOS Kiss X6i," according to a Canon product advisory.

Triptych Portraits of Japanese People at Work, Home, and Play

For his project titled Peep, Japanese photographer Koji Takiguchi aimed to share glimpses into the lives of his fellow countrymen by capturing triptychs showing them at work, home, and play. He photographed people ranging from office workers to security guards, photographing them on the job, resting at home, and engaging in their favorite pastime.

Press This Cat’s Butt and 3-megapixel Photographs Come Out

The Necono Digital Camera is a funky cat-shaped digital camera out of Japan that might make it easier for you to take smiling baby photos. It's a 3 megapixel camera that doesn't have any LCD screen embedded for you to review your shots -- you have to connect it to a "Monitor Ground" base that includes an LCD or transfer the images to your computer via USB. The cat has a shutter button on its butt, the camera and a self-timer LED in its eyes, and magnetic feet that allow you to stick it in random places.

Like many novelty cameras, the Necono doesn't exactly come cheap... It'll run you a whopping ¥15,750 ($192). At least you can be the only one among your friends to take pictures with a cat.

Record Breaking Camera with 158 Lenses

Two days ago, Sankei News in Japan reported that a Nagoya Institute of Technology team led by Professor Yojiro Ishino was certified by Guinness World Records as having built the "Camera With The Most Lenses". The camera boasts a staggering 158 separate lenses.