Today, I attended the PhotoPlus Expo photography conference in New York City for the first time. I've had free passes for this event for many of the years it's been in New York, but something always came up the week of the show that prevented me from attending. This year, I made the time and went.You can click the link above to read all about the show, but suffice to say that all of the major camera manufacturers were there as well as a large selection of photographic industry supporting businesses (i.e., manufacturers of flash units, papers, books, accessories, tripods, camera cases, lighting equipment, wedding albums, printing services, photography schools, photo services, etc).
It was great to see all of the current photography wares under one roof at the Javits Convention Center. It was also good to see a major presence from companies like Sony, which is trying to make a major push into the DSLR industry. Competition is a good thing!
I left with four distinct impressions:
1) The newest mid-range DSLR's (i.e., Canon 7D, Nikon D300s) are fantastic and far superior to their siblings from just 2-3 years ago. The features and performance of the new Canon 7D makes my Canon 30D seem like 20-year old technology, when in reality it's only three years old. The new pro level Canon and Nikons are also certainly very impressive machines.
2) Inkjet printers have become so sophisticated that their output is almost unbelievable. You have to see if for yourself to believe it. I'm planning to buy the new Canon Pixma Pro9000 Mark II printer, and the prints that this machine was printing out were nothing short of stunning in quality. No printer artifacts whatsoever like the earlier photo printers. Just clean, smooth, sharp prints on any paper size from small 4x6" prints to massive posters printed on paper rolls. Incredible!
3) The Gary Fong Lightsphere Collapsible Flash Diffuser is one of the greatest (and cheapest) flash accessories that I've seen in a long time. When attached to an accessory flash it produces a nice, even, soft flash effect without the harsh shadows associated with shooting bare straight-on flash. Great tool for softening up the harsh light from your flash unit.
4) The internet has made it possible for a photographer to run a full blown photography business with comparative ease versus five years ago. You can buy or find a service for anything to do with the photographic industry online. Print houses, photo album and book printers, media companies, marketing assistance, specialty photography web site hosting, software to do almost anything, etc. Everything is just a few clicks away. A truly fantastic use for the internet, and a great benefit for photographers!
Click the image below to see a few pictures from this year's show...
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| PhotoPlus Expo - New York City |
This show is much smaller than it was in previous years. It used to fill all of Javits. Still though its the premier photo show in US so I guess it is what it is. Great new equipment. Nice blog by the way.
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