PMA Las Vegas ... mini blog

leinsterman

Ok ... I promised to keep a few of you up to date on comings and goings at this years PMA show in Las Vegas ... so I'll try ... but my new job is a busy one so it may fall through ... and I'll be shooting from the hip as time permits ... let me know if there is anything specific you'd like me to look at and I'll try to check it out and let you know -

Show website - PMA Site

They say the show is smaller this year ... if that is the case it must've been imressive in previous years ... coz it is bloody huge to me ... me feet are achein from strollin the floor!!!

Today is the last set up before the show officially begins ... the place is very chaotic ... but it is starting to take shape. There is a bewildering array of different industry players here ... large and small ... Canon has a stand that would take up a football field ... can't wait to see it is full flow ... though I have to confess being a tad dissappointed at their failure to launch a 5D replacement with the digic III processor ...

Nikon and Olympus are a little more discrete ... but they have some nice gear on show ...

I have to say the prize for the funkiest stand so far must go to Crumpler ... they are showing their gear in a model castle ...

I went to the sneek peek show today ... this is where the press get a preview at everyone's sh**t ... you get a 6 foot table to show your wares ...

There are some bargains to be had ... I'll defo be buying a lensbaby v3 having had the chance to play with one ... google their site for some demo images ... but I can say personally they are bags of fun ... a little pricy at USD250 ... but way cheaper than back home ...

There is a bewidering array of wares on show ... lots of digital frames of assorted sizes ... I have to say some are starting to look good too ...

One funky product I liked was the Zoom Album ... it comes with driver CD, Book (Album), Print sheets for inside the book and the album cover ... makes a nice funky present I'd say ... check out - www.zoomalbum.com

Epsom gave me a demo of their new USD560 R1900 printer ... it does big prints (A3+) and rolls for panoramics ... for the price it is an impressive printer with bags of features ... though I'm not sure about running costs ...

I also saw a demo of a product called firefly ... which attached to a rocket blower to ionise the air so that dust is removed form a sensor without physical contact ... it was a good demo ... but I'm still a bit sceptical ... nrdfirefly.com is the site ...

There are some real gimmicky things here too ... one guy tried to reassure me that his walking stick size "Quik Pod" could hold a 13KG DSLR ... well this may be true ... but not with any stability ... still interesting idea for the vain ... it enables you to take picture of yourself by extending in front of you ... has a mirror to line up image ... probably c**P ...

Being moved now in our suite ... coz we're setting up and I need to help out.. so I'll report more as the chance permits ...

Fenster

Ahem

Fajitas!

You know what I'm looking for

leinsterman

Fenster wrote: »

Ahem

Yep ... sorry for not being in touch matey ... Its been hell here getting everything set up ... evenings are not free to do anything except eat and fall into bed ...


You coming to the show ?

Fenster

I had some phone problems, but I'll try and give you a shout from work in the morning.

leinsterman

Fenster wrote: »

I had some phone problems, but I'll try and give you a shout from work in the morning.

I've got you an exhibitor pass ... if you don't mind pretending to be Romanian for a day ...

ThOnda

Please, somebody put your hands on Pentax K20D with battery grip - how does it feel :-)

mervifwdc

There are folks talking about a 1dMIV, I'd love to hear about whatever Canon say about their MIII. my guess is nothing, but if there is anything happening.....

Also interested in dates on the 200/2.0?

Paulw

mervifwdc wrote: »

There are folks talking about a 1dMIV,

I'd say that's more wishful thinking rather than anything else. Canon do tend to stick to their planned releases - 12-18 months per model type. So, at the earliest, Sept/Oct for the next 1D type, but more likely PMA 09.

leinsterman

Ok ... had a gawk at the K20D with its extender ... looks nice but there was so many people milling around and I had so little time I did not get a chance to play ... maybe Fenster will have a better look and report back ...

Canon are being tight lipped about the 1d and 5d ... but I did get a chance to play with the new 200 F2L ... it is a mighty big sucker .. only problem the muppets who are displaying it have no CF in the camera and they won't allow one for now ... something to do with the fact that it is a proto ... so all I got to see was the preview screen of a 1DS Mk III... nice sharp contrasty images by the looks ... but you need to see em full tilt to get any real idea ...

I only spent a few minutes on ther floor today as I had meetings ... the other biggie was a Sigma 200-500 F2.8/400-1000mm F5.6 ...f**k me ... what a monstrosity ... not for weak muscled thats for sure ...

I also had a play with their Fovean Chip DSLR SD14 .... it does not impress ... the buttons are cheap and nasty ... it feels poor quality in the hand ... anything above ISO 400 is c**ppy with bad noise ... in fact nearly every image on the preview screen and any ISO looked poor quality ...

There are some good accessory bargains here from the likes of Crumpler, Lowepro, Lensbaby, Lenspen etc ... I'll be investing in the lenspen kit with Sensor cleaner for USD 30 ... not a bad choice ... Canon engineers have been using them over here to clear their camera sensors ... despite the fact that they don't recommend them to ordinary punters like you and me ...

Fenster

I'm itching to get my hands on the new Canon glass. That Epson printer you mentioned definitely sounds interesting, have you a link to model/specs?

leinsterman

Fenster wrote: »

That Epson printer you mentioned definitely sounds interesting, have you a link to model/specs?

Check out - http://www.dpreview.com/news/0710/07100401epsonr1900.asp

or

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?oid=63073901

Fenster

First off big thanks go to Simon for the pass to PMA. This was definitely an interesting trade show with many high points and low points.

Canon:

It was horrible. Moving on.

The Nik..

I kid. Canon had an extremely excellent line up, including a stand where you could fit any Canon lens to any camera. I variously tried out the 1DS Mark 3, the new EOS-450D and many fine pieces of glass, including their tilt-shift lenses. The new EF L f/2.0 200mm IS USM lens is a beast and I really wanted to steal it.

The EOS-450D is a nice little camera, but after months of using a 30D with a grip it still feels tiny and fragile.

Sigma:

Sigma USA love me personally. One of their display setups was a Canon 1DS Mark 2 attached to this. It broke loose from the stand when I stepped up to it, and I had every opportunity to just walk away with it. As it was, it took me nearly five minutes trying to get someone's attention at the Sigma stand with me waving it around.

The new Bigma is...bleh. The zoom mechanism is entirely electronic, right down to a little LCD screen that displays focal length and aperture. It's incredibly dissatisfying to use as it feels unwieldy and plastic.

Nikon:

I'll leave this one to Simon, but I did get my hands on a D3 with the 300mm f/2.8. I'm forced to admit that I didn't think the quality was that great for a $5k lens.

Sony:

They had an impressive display of their new line in a glass case, but they all appeared to be mockups to my untutored eye.

Casio:

The 60 FPS camera is insane.

Everything Else:

Some very interesting stands, especially the Epson booth. I was disappointed by the complete lack of Adobe and Apple on the floor. Virtually every big booth had several Macs running Adobe Photoshop (and I'm typing this on an MBP), so they would have had an excellent opportunity to make big sales.

Photos to follow!