PhotoPlus Expo 2008

with Video From the Show Floor

by Ron Risman

October 26, 2008 -- I just got back from PhotoPlus Expo 2008 and have to admit that I was very pleased with this year's show. Initially I thought that attending PhotoPlus Expo this year might be a waste of time since Photokina Germany took place just a few weeks before. Photokina happens only once every two years and is the largest photography trade show in the world. Based on the fact that so few sites were covering PhotoPlus this year, it seems that I wasn't the only one with these thoughts. Despite the lack of 'hot' news I decided to go anyway with the goal of bringing you back video from the show. I was a bit apprehensive at first as I have virtually no experience with video production, but I thought this would be as good a time as any to get some video experience under my belt.

When I got home late Friday night I started editing the footage from show, which included demonstrations and interviews with over a dozen manufacturer's, many that often go unnoticed because of new camera announcements that inevitably dominate the press during a show like this. This year Photokina stole most of the 'thunder' with big camera announcements just weeks earlier, leaving me open to explore more of the other products that truly enhance our craft as photographers.

Before heading to the show I went out and purchased both a Azden wireless microphone system as well as a Azden boom microphone. I attached them to a Canon HG20 High-Definition camcorder using a SIMA video bracket, which features two shoe mounts. All in all I was very pleased with the results, though I made a mistake during the Lensbaby demonstration where I had not firmly plugged in the external microphone. Unfortunately this resulted in poor sound quality being recorded from the camcorder's internal microphone. The wide pickup area of the internal microphone caused noise from the show floor to all but drown out Craig's voice. The video is not unwatchable, but please accept my apologies for the poor audio.

Because there was less of a focus on camera's at this year's PhotoPlus Expo I spent more time focusing on the products that truly enhance our photography. Here are some of the highlights from this year's show:

Video Highlights From PhotoPlus Expo 2008

Below is a short list of video's that I have finished editing. I hope you find them informative and enjoy watching them. Most of these are short clips of less than 5 minutes each. After watching any or all of these clips I would love your feedback. Please feel free to send your comments to me.

• SHOOTSAC Demonstration by co-founder, Jessica Claire
• Hahnemuhle's Innovative Gallery Wrap System
• Gitzo's New Four Season Photography Jacket
• Benefits of 21 Megapixels with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II
• Portraiture 2.0 Plug-In for Photoshop and Aperture
• Demonstration of the New Lensbaby Composer and Lensbaby Muse

SHOOTSAC Demonstration by co-founder, Jessica Claire

The SHOOTSAC is a neoprene bag designed to lay flat against your body as you shoot. The bag will comfortably hold 3 lenses and other smaller accessories and personal items (cell phone, wallet, keys, etc.) while you're out in the field shooting away. SHOOTSAC was introduced last year with its focus primarily on women in photography. This focus proved very successful as the SHOOTSAC has become very popular among women photographers. The SHOOTAC was designed to allow owners to add on colorful cover flaps to match their own stylish and personal taste. For men who wish to carry the SHOOTSAC, a plain black cover is included. While walking the show I actually noticed a few show goers with a SHOOTSAC over their shoulder, many of them men.

Please let us know what you thought of this video

The Benefits of 21 Megapixels

As they do each year, Canon had hourly presentations where top photographers and Canon Evangelists provided real life scenarios on how Canon camera technology made their job easier. I recorded a segment when well known outdoor and nature photographer George Lepp was on stage discussing the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and the benefit of the additional megapixels. I hear all too often how manufacturers should focus on other technologies in the camera and forgot about adding higher pixel count. While I agree with this as a general statement, I also can appreciate the advantages of higher resolution - mainly copping - that George Lepp demonstrates in this quick 2.5 minute video clip.

Hahnemuhle's Innovative Gallery Wrap System

One of the few great surprises at the show was the unveiling of a new do-it-yourself Gallery Wrap System by Hahnemuhle. This low-cost system allows consumers, photographers, and frame shops to quickly and easily create their own canvas gallery wraps in under 5 minutes. The system was the idea of Canadian Paul Vaz, who was on hand to demonstrate how the system works. Basically, the system includes pre-cut stretch bars with strong adhesive on one side, 4 corner pieces used for alignment, and small bottle of glue. The video below will demonstrate the rest. I did not get exact pricing, but a package of 8 pre-cut stretch bars should run around $25-$30. The corner pieces used for alignment will sell for $15 and is a one-time buy, since it is used over and over again with each new canvas wrap you make.

Each package of 8 pre-cut stretcher bars will make two square Gallery Wraps. If you purchase 10" bars, then you'll be able to create two 10x10" Gallery Wraps. You can purchase two boxes of different lengths, which will then allow you to make 4 Gallery wraps with different width and height. For example, if you purchase a box of eight 11" stretcher bars and a box of eight 14" stretcher bars, you'll have everything you need to create four 11x14" Gallery Wraps.

Please let us know what you thought of this video

Gitzo's New Four Season Photography Jacket

We caught up with Gitzo Product Manager, David Fisher, who took the time to demonstrate the new Gitzo Four Season Jacket. This new jacket is a fully waterproof hooded jacket specifically designed for professional photographers. It gives protection from rain and wind without compromising storage capacity and accessibility. The jacket is made from Teflon treated Cordura and Ecodry fabrics and has fully sealed seams. Elastic wrist guards further cover the wrist and protect from water. Lightshield is an additional cover inside the hood that protects the camera from water and the LCD screen from light. It can be fixed on the jacket with press buttons. A three piece (one piece is also a pass holder) High Visibility Kit is included. It helps the photographer when visibility and safety are key factors. There are numerous interior and exterior pockets for all photo essentials. The coat will soon be available in Medium, Large, and Extra-Large sizes with a retail price of $600. A fleece version ($400) was also announced. This jacket can be used standalone or can be zippered to the inside of the four season jacket for those shooting in extreme weather conditions. Watch the quick 2.5 minute video clip to see a full demonstration of this new coat.

Please let us know what you thought of this video

Imagenomics Portraiture 2.0 Plug-In for Photoshop and Aperture

One of first appointments at the show was with Imagenomic, a company that makes popular plug-ins for Photoshop and Aperture. Portraiture 2.0, has been in BETA for a while and was officially announced at the show. Portraiture is a Photoshop plugin that eliminates the tedious manual labor of selective masking and pixel-by-pixel treatments to help you achieve excellence in portrait retouching. The software intelligently smoothens and removes imperfections while preserving skin texture and other important portrait details such as hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes. New features found in the new 2.0 release include:

• New Preset Manager allows an unlimited number of presets, descriptive notes, import/export presets, and multiple categories
• The skin tone mask can now be fine tuned even further in version 2 with new feathering and fuzziness sliders
• Further refinement to parameter sliders, including a new tint control and Use Mask feature for mask-specific adjustments.
• New History control feature allows an unlimited number of detailed history states with re-sizable thumbnails
• New preference settings allow you to tweak the look of Portraiture plus select multiple CPU support.
• Portraiture 2.0 now offers more output choices by automatically generating a new layer mask or a new document
• New Mask Preview feature offers a real time mask preview that follows the movement of the selection cursor.

David McDonnell, CEO of Diagnostic, provides us an overview of the new features incorporated into Portraiture 2.0.

Please let us know what you thought of this video

Demonstration of the New Lensbaby Composer and Lensbaby Muse

Craig Strong, Inventor of the Lensbaby, demonstrates the latest new products from the floor at PhotoPlus Expo. Due to an error I made with the external microphone, Craig's voice is tough to hear over the noise of being on the show floor. While the video it watchable and you can hear the presentation, I want to apologize to Craig and to you, our readers, for the audio portion of this demonstration.