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September 27th Report

The Future is Analog

Or so claims a company named “Lomography”, which established a large department pretty much at the middle of the Photokina fair, also featuring some great rock shows. Lomography is the commercial trademark of Lomographische AG from Ausria, a company that specializes in products and services related to analog photography. Characteristics such as over-saturated colors, off-kilter exposure, blurring, “happy accidents,” and alternative film processing are often considered part of the “Lomographic Technique.

Users are encouraged to take a lighthearted approach to their photography, and use these techniques to document everyday life, as the cameras small size, simple controls, and ability to shoot in low light encourages candid photography and photo reportage. Many of the different Lomography camera models were displayed around a huge stage that hosted rock shows all day long. All the cameras showcased had two major characteristics in common: deliberately low-fidelity and inexpensive construction.

The Underwater Imaging World Stage

The program of the Underwater Imaging World stage included a few more attractions today. One of Todd Essick’s most popular models, Kristen Koscienlniak, was hosted at the stage today, sharing her unique experience with a wide audience that stopped by the stage. Apart from being interviewed by the Underwater Imaging World’s host, beautiful Kristen was also captured by many photographers standing near a large and famous image in which she was photographed with a shark, photogenic almost as much as she is. Howard Rosenstein, owner of Fantasea Line, referred to this image as “Beauty and the Beast”.

In addition, the Underwater Imaging World’s crew kept doing all they can in order to wet as much people as possible by bringing them into the aquarium located near the stage. Featuring a different ambience than the formal atmosphere prevailed at the different “dry” sections of the show, these wet events seemed to draw the attention of many visitors walking by.

News from Sunpak
I paid a visit at the Sunpak booth today and was introduced to a few Sea & Sea products showcased at the show. The first was the Sea & Sea DX-1200 HD camera and housing. The camera makes use of a 3.0 inch LCD screen, and is capable of recording HD (high definition) videos at a size of 1280x780. The camera also features the Sea & Sea mode, which is basically a different color mode, specially programmed for underwater photography.

Another new product is a housing for the Canon EOS 450D camera. As all Sea & Sea DSLR Housings, this housing is machined out of solid block aluminum and includes a TTL strobe converter as well as an interchangeable lens ports system.

News from SEACAM

Following the classy and prestige nature of their products, Seacam designed their booth to feature an exclusive look, including black velvet covered walls, a well organized glass-fronted display cabinet and a convenient, highly equipped meeting room. They showcased their new strobe, the SeaFlash 150 Digital, featuring a high guide number of 14 underwater (which is equivalent to a 42 guide number flash on air).

The new flash can use a Nikonos 5 or an S6 sync port, according to the system planned by the photographer, includes an emergency flasher and a built-in powerful focus light. They also informed me that they intend to showcase their new housings for the Nikon D3 and Nikon D700 cameras at the DEMA show.

News from Ikelite
Ikelite showcased their new housing for the Canon Digital 1000D Rebel XS and stated that it will be available in September. The housing, made of clear Polycarbonate, is depth rated to 60m/200 feet, makes use of Ikelite pioneered Quad-Ring seal glands and provides the photographer with access to all camera controls and functions. The housing size and weight near-neutral buoyancy and includes a quick release system for the handles.

In addition, Ikelite showcased many new compact digital camera housings that were designed for the popular camera models that recently hit the market.

News from Panasonic
Panasonic, like Nikon and other major photo distributors, also established a studio-like stage, in which a beautiful model, wearing as less as possible, was captured by professional photographers using Panasonic cameras and photo equipment. Aside from the gorgeous model, Panasonic proudly introduced it’s Lumix DMC-G1 digital camera, which features a few different innovations.

The new camera makes use of a Micro Four Thirds system, which enables the camera to offer the quality and versatility of a DSLR despite its compact size. In addition, the mirror and pentamirror viewfinder were replaced by a live view only system, using a high resolution electronic viewfinder on the large articulated rear screen. The LCD screen features a resolution of 460,000 dots, and the interchangeable lens system allows for different lenses to be used with the camera.

At the moment, the camera comes with a 14-45mm F3.5-6.5 lens, but another 45-200mm lens is available. Panasonic also plans to release three more lenses to be compatible with this camera in the upcoming year.

News from Olympus
One of the Olympus great attractions at the show was the prototype of a new camera, which makes use of the Micro Four Thirds System, as introduced a little earlier by Olympus. This system allows for high quality images to be taken despite the size and weight of the camera, which were both dramatically reduced. The new, still un-named camera will also feature an interchangeable lens system and was introduced for the first time at the Photokina 2008 show.

Olympus also showcased their different underwater products, including flash systems, underwater compact digital housings, and waterproof cameras. In order to emphasize their confidence in their waterproof products, Olympus also established a small pool for testing the different waterproof photo products underwater.

News from SanDisk
SanDisk came up with a creative way of drawing the traffic to their booths by announcing a photo competition among all visitors. They established a few live performances and declared that a winning show of these performances will award the photographer with a Nikon D90 camera and a SanDisk Extreme III 30MB/s memory card.

SanDisk showcased their new 4 and 8GM 45MB/s extreme IV cards, as well as 8, 16 and 32GB extreme III cards. In addition, 8 and 16GB cards are available at a speed of 30MB/s and are claimed to be the fastest when used in cameras such as the Nikon D90.

Tomorrow, in addition to covering the last day of the show, I also intend to visit the famous attractions of Cologne, where the Photokina fair takes place, just so you’d know where is best to go in case you decide to attend the Photokia 2010 show.

-Sharon Rainis, Fantasea Line

(Continue for additional coverage from the show)