Latest news with #Yamaki
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sigma CEO Kazuto Yamaki reveals the connection between the Sigma BF and Chanel No. 5 perfume
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission. Forget about technical specs. The most intriguing aspect of Sigma's newest camera, the BF, might be the philosophy baked into its name, which CEO Kazuto Yamaki says stands for "beautiful foolishness," reflecting a deliberate design philosophy rooted in Japanese culture and aesthetics. Where did this concept originate? And how did a bottle of Chanel No. 5 perfume influence the camera's design? We explored these questions and more in a conversation with Mr. Yamaki in Japan shortly after the camera's launch. "BF stands for beautiful foolishness, Mr. Yamaki explains. "This phrase was taken from the The Book of Tea, and the original phrase was 'a beautiful foolishness of things.'" He elaborates: "There are numerous things in the world, beautiful and ugly, useful and useless. In this context, the original implication of this book was to find beauty in seemingly worthless things, even though this world is judged good or bad based on a utilitarian value. That's the spirit of the tea ceremony. The author wanted to explain that it's a part of Japanese culture." The philosophy, Mr. Yamaki suggests, extends beyond appreciating the world to the very act of creating and using the camera. He sees the camera as embodying this principle in multiple ways. "I took the phrase as having multiple meanings. First, I took it because I liked this phrase. Second, using the camera in daily life can be beautiful foolishness because everyone has phone cameras in their pocket. Third, this is somewhat self-mocking, but I thought that, in order to achieve the best feel, spending seven hours to machine an aluminum ingot to make a part is quite beautiful foolishness." "Spending seven hours to machine an aluminum ingot to make a part is quite beautiful foolishness." Essentially, the camera itself is slightly irrational. It's a product where meticulous, perhaps even excessive, craftsmanship contributes to its unique appeal. But that's not necessarily a bad approach when everyone else is off doing the sensible thing. After all, being different is what sometimes allows you to create something iconic. Hold the BF, and you immediately sense that the camera is something special, even if its design doesn't fit the way you personally use a camera. That's not an accident. "When we started the project, there was an exhibition of Gabrielle Chanel in Tokyo," Mr. Yamaki explains. "In other words, Coco Chanel, she's the founder of Chanel. And, of course, the dresses from a long time ago were quite fascinating." "But the most fascinating item for me was a bottle of the Chanel No. 5 perfume. It was from 1921. Very simple and minimal, but very elegant, although it's a hundred years old. At that time, I thought I really wanted to make a camera that has a timeless value like the Chanel No. 5 bottle." While in pursuit of this "timeless value," Mr. Yamaki didn't involve himself directly in the design process. "I did not [suggest] any of my ideas into the design because I trusted the designer. So I did not say anything about the design. I like product design in general, but I don't believe it's good for the CEO of the company to say something about the design. Sometimes, it confuses the designer." The resulting design is a camera that isn't just unique. It's memorable. Just as Mr. Yamaki envisioned. Mr. Yamaki acknowledges the Sigma BF isn't intended for every photographer. It's about embracing the joy of photography and capturing everyday life in a way that brings you happiness. Beautiful foolishness, if you will. "It's about embracing the joy of photography and capturing everyday life in a way that brings you happiness. Beautiful foolishness, if you will." "It doesn't have to be BF, but once you have the camera, you try to find some beautiful scenes in your daily life. Maybe if you see the sunlight coming in, you see some contrast, and you want to take a picture with some kind of subject," he says. "So if you have the camera in your hand, try to take pictures, and it makes our life more meaningful. Right?" he posits. "So I think of the BF as a simple minimum camera, which you want to bring anytime. It's a nice camera to be on the table at a restaurant or bar, and then you can take pictures with a nice thing. That's the BF." Mr. Yamaki proudly notes that Sigma builds all of its products in its hometown of Aizu, Japan, a fact Sigma has started to incorporate into its marketing message. Between his philosophy of beautiful foolishness and simple but elegant design, we're curious if he sees the BF as a way of sharing Japanese culture with users. "I hope so," he tells us. "I would be happy if we could make a product that users can feel a 'Japanese touch' through, not only the design of the camera but also the quality of all of our products. We paid careful attention to every detail, which I believe is very Japanese culture." That meticulous attention extends beyond camera bodies and lenses to details like packaging. While many companies in the industry have moved to functional but rather pedestrian-looking recyclable cardboard, Sigma has infused its newest product boxes with subtle elegance and style, balancing sustainability with aesthetics. It's a nuance, but the type of detail that matters at Sigma. Mr. Yamaki's enthusiasm for his philosophy is both contagious and thought-provoking. Next time you go out to shoot, consider just capturing the beautiful foolishness of the world and life. Sometimes, it's best to metaphorically sit back, enjoy your cup of tea, and embrace whatever comes your way to find beauty, even in seemingly worthless things. Buy now: Buy at B&H Photo
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hawaii businesses brace for fallout from Trump's new tariffs
Mom-and-pop businesses across Hawaii could close their doors and consumers will soon face higher prices for everyday items after President Donald Trump announced an across-the-board minimum 10 % tariff on most imports, which went into effect Wednesday night, local business and government officials say. Businesses are 'stressing ' with the likelihood of increased, tariff-driven prices while simultaneously dealing with COVID-era loans and deferred rents, said Tina Yamaki, president of the Retail Merchants of Hawaii. 'Retailers are already seeing the prices of Chinese goods rising, ' Yamaki said. 'They're adjusting accordingly, but a lot of them don't know how they're going to stay in business.' Yamaki's group represents about 130 large and small businesses that sell a long list of items including groceries, electronics, sporting goods and luxury goods. Many Hawaii businesses are still dealing with the aftermath of the COVID pandemic when 'a lot of loans are coming up and they face deferred rents, ' Yamaki said. 'They're stressing.' State chief economist Eugene Tian said the timing of Trump's tariffs 'is not good for small businesses ' in particular. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. 'Most businesses in Hawaii are small and have been doing OK because of federal aid during COVID, ' said Tian of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. 'The timing is not good for small businesses. For small businesses, the timing of this—the impact—is enlarged.' Individual consumers should expect to see prices rise nearly across the board, Tian said. Certain items—such as foreign parts and autos and all sorts of consumer goods from China—will see significantly higher prices, he said. Hawaii electronic buyers should especially expect higher prices for 'the computer, the iPad, all these electronics, ' he said. Stocks were falling globally and in after-market trading on Wall Street following Trump's latest tariff announcement, meaning losses for individual 401 (k ) accounts. Locally and across the country, economists have been warning consumers to also brace for rising inflation and a potential recession as a result of Trump's tariffs. But Tamara McKay, chair of the Republican Party of Hawaii, said she believes that foreign countries—especially China—want to avoid a trade war with the United States and will quickly negotiate a comprise that will prevent prices from rising for U.S. consumers. 'They will definitely work it out, ' McKay said. 'The Chinese are not going to want their profit margin to decrease. … They know that Donald Trump doesn't play. In the short term, we're not going to see much change.' 'If not, ' McKay acknowledged, 'we may see some increased costs in goods.' She said she supports Trump's overall goal to bring more balance to what he calls America's 'unfair ' trade relationship with much of the rest of the world. 'He's charging them what they're charging us, ' McKay said. 'In the long run it will benefit America and create more jobs and open more businesses.' Trump on Wednesday announced 10 % tariffs on all goods imported to the United States, along with higher 'reciprocal tariffs ' for specific countries. They include a 34 % tariff on Chinese imports on top of 20 % duties already assessed the country, bringing the total to 54 %. There also is a 20 % increase on goods from the European Union and a 24 % levy on items from Japan. Hawaii's construction industry helped keep the state's economy afloat through the COVID era. But Trump's tariffs likely will increase the prices of critical construction materials, which will increase construction costs and therefore home prices, and make it even harder for working families to buy a home, according to Pacific Resource Partnership, the political arm of the Hawaii Carpenters Union. 'The additional tariffs will definitely exert pressure on our homebuilders and even the ability of some projects to pencil out or not, ' PRP spokesperson Andrew Pereira said. Larger homebuilders have a stockpile of materials 'and may not be immediately impacted, ' he said. But smaller contractors working on home-remodeling projects or accessory dwelling units for individual customers likely will have to pass along the increased costs of materials to their customers, Pereira said. 'They may see the increased prices of materials before our large builders do, ' he said. Even costs for U.S. construction materials likely will increase as tariffs trigger a 'supply-and-demand dynamic ' among their U.S. customers for items including soft wood lumber, Pereira said. Sherry Menor-McNamara, CEO and president of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, said Hawaii businesses have been been curtailing spending since Trump began threatening tariffs. 'A lot of them have been holding back on spending and investments and being very cautious in making any financial decisions because there will be impacts, ' she said. 'We are an island state heavily reliant on imports. The tariffs on top of the costs of having goods imported here is going to have a domino effect.' Cuts have been 'across the board … from travel to restaurants, ' Menor-McNamara said. Trump's policies have already affected Hawaii tourism, which adds to the overall economic uncertainty, she said. 'We are going to see some kind of financial impact, ' Menor-McNamara said. 'I don't think any business will be immune to this.'
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Consumers buying directly from local farms for cheaper eggs
HONOLULU (KHON2) — Eggs are a hot commodity these days, and the prices just keep going up. KHON2 compared a few grocers and local farms to see where to find the best deals. Avian Flu isn't the only cause driving up egg prices. Egg prices are too high. Try these 8 easy alternatives: Hawaiʻi money matters 'Chicken feed is going up. Fertilizer is going up, and come January, when we see the increase in the minimum wage, we're probably going to see egg prices rising again,' stated Tina Yamaki, Retail Merchants of Hawaii President. Many consumers are buying directly from local farms to get better deals. 'The prices are ridiculous. You could get 12 eggs for $7, $8, but that's gone up to like $14, $15 now. So double the price,' said David Marin, a frequent customer at Waialua Fresh Eggs. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news Receipts collected from popular wholesale stores show a sharp increase in prices. Eighteen locally grown eggs were priced at $6.89 back in June. In October, eggs cost about $8. Now, it's almost $15. Prices at different grocery stores were nearly $16 for 18 mainland eggs. 'When you have to have it delivered to the grocery store, the grocery store has to pay for that delivery. [Stores] also have to make a little bit of profit because we do want to pay our employees who are at the cash register and stocking and things like that,' said Yamaki. Check out more news from around Hawaii Experts said high prices are likely to stay. 'We hope it hits a plateau, but you never know. There are still factors that are bringing everything up costs, especially to the neighbor islands if you have to ship eggs,' said Yamaki. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Will Foveon sensors ever return, and does anyone outside Sigma still care?
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. In a recent PetaPixel interview with Sigma's CEO, President Kazuto Yamaki, it was revealed that Sigma remains committed to the development of the Foveon sensor. This is both predictable news given Sigma's unwavering loyalty to the technology, but it's also surprising. Sigma's last camera with a Foveon sensor was the sd Quattro, equipped with a 29MP APS-C Foveon X3 sensor. This was launched in 2016, and though it was in production for the remainder of the decade alongside older Sigma cameras also using the Foveon X3, we've seen no new Foveon-equipped camera launched since. Rumors have circulated during the intervening years that a full-frame Foveon was in development, but this has never materialized. In 2023 it was said that a production sensor might be ready in 2024, though development was difficult. Subsequently in early 2024 Yamaki also stated that "not much progress has been made". Reasons for this include the Foveon sensor being fundamentally different to conventional Bayer sensors, thereby requiring a dedicated manufacturing process. In order to minimize the production complexity, Yamaki stated that "currently, we are trying to realize a three-layer structure using as many standard processes as possible at the design stage". Fast-forward 12 months to this latest PetaPixel interview and it seems the mythical full-frame Foveon is just as elusive as ever. Sigma is still apparently working on it, and Yamaki says "we will do our best" (regarding its development). However, he is also honest in stating that development is taking much more time than expected, and that technical issues have been encountered with prototypes (Skip to 42:53 in the YouTube interview for the Foveon details). So after this many years of trying, why is Sigma still chasing its Foveon dream? The core reason is likely that a Foveon sensor promises, in theory, superior image quality versus a conventional Bayer sensor, due to its unique design. Where the surface area of a Bayer sensor is split into pixels that capture red, blue and green light, (25%, 25% and 50% of the sensor area, respectively), a Foveon sensor has a separate layer for each of these three color wavelengths, stacked on top of each other. Consequently, by stacking the red, green and blue pixel layers, the sensor can (theoretically) capture around 3x more light than a Bayer sensor of equivalent dimensions. This then potentially translates to significantly improved color fidelity, dynamic range, and reduced image noise. Sounds great, but in practice Foveon sensors have proven to be more of a mixed bag. The sd Quattro was praised for its ability to resolve fine detail, with its 29MP sensor said to more comparable to 39MP Bayer sensor in this metric. However, this advantage came at the cost of image noise, which was reportedly higher than that from contemporary cameras with conventional sensors. The theoretical benefits of Foveon are compelling, and it's easy to see why Sigma, a small player in the camera market, would want to stand out from the likes of Canon, Nikon and Sony by producing a full-frame camera with a fundamentally different (and hopefully superior) image sensor. But could such huge development costs ever be recouped by sales of a camera that would surely only ever appeal to a niche market? Given that Sigma has abandoned Foveon for its fp cameras and the new BF, it seems even less likely that we'll ever see a Foveon return. If development really is continuing, we have to assume it's on a small scale. There's surely no logical business case for ploughing significant financial investment and technical expertise into a sensor that, when judged on past performance, doesn't offer a convincing advantage over Bayer technology.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Yahoo
Oahu shops under siege: Smash-and-grabs ongoing
WAHIAWA, Hawaii (KHON2) — Smash-and-grab burglaries continue to plague local businesses. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news One owner knows the impact all too well after his snack shops were hit four times since 2021 and he is not the only one calling for tougher penalties on offenders. The owner of Rajah Dat Snack Shop in Wahiawa told KHON2 that these types of burglaries do not just mean they need a new window pane. Rise of security gates: Honolulu's new norm? 'Contacting the insurance company, getting the glass shops out here to do estimates. At the end of the day, it's, the shop has to be closed,' Rivera said, 'I'm looking at about $6,000 to $7,000 in repairs.' This latest burglary on Sunday, Feb. 23 is just the latest for Rivera. His location in in 2021 and 2022 and his . Both he and the Retail Merchants of Hawaii said filing police reports is crucial. 'And it's sad because it seems to be increasing as time goes by,' Retail Merchants of Hawaii president Tina Yamaki said. 'You have to make a police report. That should be the first thing that you do. Get it on record. Then they can start looking for them. If you don't make a police report, the theft never happened then.' The shop will be closed for the near future as Rivera works out the repairs. Both he and the Retail Merchants said consequences need to be tougher on the people who commit the crimes on small local businesses. 'Because what we're finding out right now is there are no consequences for these people really. I mean, they're so minor that they keep doing it over and over again because they know they can get away with it and nothing's going to happen to them,' Yamaki said. Metal security gates were installed in the Waipahu shopping center where Rivera's store and five other businesses were broken into in one night in 2023 and he hopes similar alterations are made in Wahiawa. 'I'm going to talk to the property management to see what they can do for us because I'm not the only one that got broken into in the past few months. But in Waipahu, it really has helped,' he said. Check out more news from around Hawaii 'We do need stronger laws with regards to punishment like mandatory jail time or mandatory fines because what we're finding out right now is there are no consequences for these people really,' Yamaki said. Honolulu police said investigators were following up on leads in the Wahiawa case on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
