Greetings From Sin City...PMA 2008
ian408
Administrators Posts: 21,949 moderator
Hello All!
I'm lucky enough to be attending this year's premiere photography show, PMA,
in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Saturday was arrival day and time for a quick tour around the convention center.
Of course all the major players are here. Canon, Nikon, General Electric...wait
did I just say GE? Yeah, who knew they made cameras? I guess they really do
bring good things to life.
One thing I noticed immediately was the huge crowd outside of the Nikon booth.
The speaker was extolling the virtue of their new version of image processing
software and the well received new Nikon bodies. Of course Canon's booth was
packed but I don't think the presentations were nearly as well attended.
Canon will have some catching up to do with the release of a couple of new
WA lenses from Nikon. A new 24 tilt shift as well as a 14-28 zoom that's got
the folks over at 16-9.net going ga-ga. Don't worry Canon users, an adapter
is available :clap
Not to be out done, Canon offered previews of their new 200 & 800 mm
lenses as well as a new announcement of an updated Rebel XSi.
Lumix showed off a WiFi enabled camera and are making a big deal of their
image stabilization with an acrobatic group.
Olympus had a fifteen minute presentation about the rugged reliability of
their cameras. Interesting but the message never really changed from
"corrosive environments".
Many of you will remember the Eye-Fi reviews. Eye-Fi is also at the show
and folks are showing an interest in their WiFi enabled SD card. For $99,
this is a great deal plus your photos are automatically uploaded to a
SmugMug gallery.
Speaking of SmugMug, two years ago, Andy and I walked around with SmugMug
attire and more people asked "who". This year, attendees are recognizing
the SmugMug brand. Way to go!
As far as accessories, quite a few new tripod manufacturers exhibiting Gitzo
knock-offs. Like right down to the look alike logo. GPS tagging has received
more attention this year with a company called Geotate having exhibited a
device suitable for camera makers to include in their product--this is not a
consumer device. What makes the Geotate solution so exciting is it's speed.
It records only the ephemeris data from the satellite and calculates position
when you process your photos. There are also several 'key fob' like vendors
as well.
Scrap booking looks like it's tapered off since the last time. The new thing
is definitely albums and there were a few folks selling binding machines, etc.
Our friends at Crumpler have two new bags designed for the roll-around
crowd. As always, the company has one of the most unique booths at the
show. You'd expect nothing else from the people that supply one of the best
bags on the market. Oh, and they had Cooper's and Timtams to boot--how
cool is that?
I haven't been taking many shots at the show. In fact, only one and I pitched
it. Headed back over today to check out the rest of the show.
Over all, there's a lot to see but not a lot that's earth shattering. I'd almost
be willing to say that we've reached a plateau and now it's time to get out
and really learn to use what you've got.
I'm lucky enough to be attending this year's premiere photography show, PMA,
in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Saturday was arrival day and time for a quick tour around the convention center.
Of course all the major players are here. Canon, Nikon, General Electric...wait
did I just say GE? Yeah, who knew they made cameras? I guess they really do
bring good things to life.
One thing I noticed immediately was the huge crowd outside of the Nikon booth.
The speaker was extolling the virtue of their new version of image processing
software and the well received new Nikon bodies. Of course Canon's booth was
packed but I don't think the presentations were nearly as well attended.
Canon will have some catching up to do with the release of a couple of new
WA lenses from Nikon. A new 24 tilt shift as well as a 14-28 zoom that's got
the folks over at 16-9.net going ga-ga. Don't worry Canon users, an adapter
is available :clap
Not to be out done, Canon offered previews of their new 200 & 800 mm
lenses as well as a new announcement of an updated Rebel XSi.
Lumix showed off a WiFi enabled camera and are making a big deal of their
image stabilization with an acrobatic group.
Olympus had a fifteen minute presentation about the rugged reliability of
their cameras. Interesting but the message never really changed from
"corrosive environments".
Many of you will remember the Eye-Fi reviews. Eye-Fi is also at the show
and folks are showing an interest in their WiFi enabled SD card. For $99,
this is a great deal plus your photos are automatically uploaded to a
SmugMug gallery.
Speaking of SmugMug, two years ago, Andy and I walked around with SmugMug
attire and more people asked "who". This year, attendees are recognizing
the SmugMug brand. Way to go!
As far as accessories, quite a few new tripod manufacturers exhibiting Gitzo
knock-offs. Like right down to the look alike logo. GPS tagging has received
more attention this year with a company called Geotate having exhibited a
device suitable for camera makers to include in their product--this is not a
consumer device. What makes the Geotate solution so exciting is it's speed.
It records only the ephemeris data from the satellite and calculates position
when you process your photos. There are also several 'key fob' like vendors
as well.
Scrap booking looks like it's tapered off since the last time. The new thing
is definitely albums and there were a few folks selling binding machines, etc.
Our friends at Crumpler have two new bags designed for the roll-around
crowd. As always, the company has one of the most unique booths at the
show. You'd expect nothing else from the people that supply one of the best
bags on the market. Oh, and they had Cooper's and Timtams to boot--how
cool is that?
I haven't been taking many shots at the show. In fact, only one and I pitched
it. Headed back over today to check out the rest of the show.
Over all, there's a lot to see but not a lot that's earth shattering. I'd almost
be willing to say that we've reached a plateau and now it's time to get out
and really learn to use what you've got.
Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
0
Comments
-Fleetwood Mac
thank you very much for a great write-up!
I'm tied with a product release at work, so I couldn't come, but your review made it up for me!
It's great to have the ear to the ground. Look forward to hearing more before the weekend is over.
Photos that don't suck / 365 / Film & Lomography
way of merchandise was being sold off and folks were "wrap" mode.
BigBen showed off a very nice Crumpler camera strap. Makes the D2x he was
carrying light as a feather.
Otherwise, really nothing else to report.
www.tednghiem.com