It was a beautiful day in the big city (would've been perfect if the Yankees would've won last night) & a great opportunity to check out the best & brightest at the PhotoPlus Expo at The Javits Center yesterday. While smaller than previous years (Apple & Adobe opted out this expo), it sure was busy & the word of the day was believe it or not, VIDEO! With most of new DSLR and point & shoots coming equipped with HD video options, the masses came hungry for knowledge and the Expo for the first time, actually had a special section devoted JUST for for video related products! On the other end of the coin, a line that once would've snaked from one end of the exhibit hall to the other to get a free sample of Kodak's new films has trickled down to where you can just walk up & get it! And in Nikon's new full line catalog, film cameras are relegated to 2 items & one half page of copy using only about 50 words !
We checked out the hot new items, such as the Canon 1D Mark IV & Nikon's D3S (described in previous posts below) & pictured being held by my son Christian, the beautiful Leica S2, the camera system that will be the standard that many will be judged against for a long time to come. When I told him the cost of just the body alone ($22,995 ,or about $3,500 less than a fully equipted 2010 Ford Focus!), he gently gave it back & slowly backed away in disbelief. What the S2 offers for that price is a 37.5 megapixel CCD sensor in a weatherproof body which is similar in size and handling to conventional 35mm-type DSLRs and a Maestro image processing system that provides twice the speed of comparable medium-format backs, reduces power consumption, and provides in-camera JPEG capability. Remarkably, all of this has been incorporated into a camera that is smaller than a full-size professional 35mm SLR, and still has the unmistakable look and feel of a Leica. Wow!!!
The biggest crowds were at the Canon booth which bookended the day with speakers (including Vincent Laforet) touting the video capabilities of the 5D Mark II & New 7D. (Did you know that the opening credits of Saturday Night Live for this year was filmed completely with a 5D Mark II ? ) While there were still a few diehards that are still reminising the heyday of silver halite, the masses walked the aisles in amazement at how SO much in photography has changed in such a short amount of time. There have been so many new cameras & related items introduced this fall, all leading to a holiday season filled with the coolest innovations in ages! The Expo runs thru tomorrow afternoon, the 24th and you can find more details at the PhotoPlus Expo website. You can, of course come & see us at Camera Wholesalers to explain & suggest the best camera for YOU!