2008 PMA Final Report

Introduction
The annual PMA camera and photography tradeshow was held in Las Vegas again this year. Since 2000, the first year I went, it’s gone back and forth between Orlando, Florida and Las Vegas, Nevada. Most camera companies and PR firms have their headquarters in New York and New Jersey. So PMA is an excuse to go somewhere warm as well as show off new products to their dealers and the press. Orlando is for taking the kids and family to Disney World. And Vegas is for grownup fun.

It’s always hard to summarize PMA and it takes a while to really digest all the new camera gear and process what I’ve seen. As far as big announcements and innovative technology go, it wasn’t the most exciting PMA ever. If I have to sum it up in a sentence, PMA this year was about digital camera refinement. The most exciting news and product at the show was Sony’s unnamed future pro digital SLR. If there was a winner, it was Sony. Of course, there were lots of other products to help you take and enjoy better photos. Read on to learn more about the most interesting and important new digital cameras and photo accessories at PMA 2008.

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Digital Camera Makers Compete With Color

Colored cameras were all over PMA this year. The colored point-and-shoot camera trend began a year or so ago but really exploded this year at the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) and PMA tradeshows. All the camera manufacturers offer brightly colored compact cameras and there appears to be a competition for the most variety and funkiest colors. I haven’t actually counted, but Olympus seemed to be offering the most colors at the show. And even more conservative companies like Nikon and Canon are jumping in with more colors than they have in the past.

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Olympus Expands Waterproof and Weatherproof Digital Camera Lines

Olympus continues to build the most outdoor-worthy compact digital cameras available. There are two new additions to their waterproof, shockproof, crushproof, and freezeproof Stylus SW line – the 8-megapixel Stylus 850 SW and the 10.1-megapixel Olympus Stylus 1030 SW. I reviewed the first Stylus SW model, the 720 SW (see my Olympus Stylus 720 SW review) a couple of years ago and was very impressed. Although the Stylus 770 SW was released last year, the 1030 SW is the first significant performance leap, in my opinion. The original 720 SW had a 7.1-megapixel sensor and image quality was reasonable, but not awesome. The Olympus compact cameras I tested in 2007 had noticeably improved image quality – especially at high ISO settings. So a 10.1-megapixel Stylus SW digital camera is pretty exciting. I spend a lot of time taking pictures in the outdoors, in all conditions and the Stylus SW cameras literally have no competition when it comes to versatility and durability.

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Casio EXILIM Pro EX-F1 High-Speed Digital Camera Preview

Casio’s Exilim Pro EX-F1 was introduced at CES, in early January. Popular Mechanics magazine named it as one their top twenty products at that show. But PMA was our first chance to see it. And even though we posted the press release when it was announced, I didn’t really understand what the EX-F1 was about until I saw it in person at PMA. And it’s a very interesting camera, indeed.

Although the Exilim Pro EX-F1 looks like just another superzoom digital camera, it’s not. Casio didn’t want to simply add a new camera to one of the many digital camera categories available. They wanted to create their own niche. And they really did that with the Pro EX-F1.

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Leica M8 Upgrade Program

Leica is introducing an M8 digital rangefinder upgrade program that will ensure an M8 camera investment remains as current as possible. They’re calling it “an investment in the future.” This new program was introduced at the 2008 PMA tradeshow in Las Vegas, Nevada. The first upgrade upgrades the shutter and the LCD cover. The current M8 shutter will be replaced with a quieter unit that produces less vibration. And the LCD cover will be replaced with a high-end watch-quality scratch-resistant sapphire glass cover. In order to get your M8 upgraded, you register at www.leica-camera.com and purchase an upgrade certificate for 1200 Euros. Limited quantities of the certificates will be available.

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Nikon & Canon Add Image Stabilization To DSLR Kit Lenses

Nikon and Canon are offering new image-stabilized kits lenses for the entry-level digital SLRs they introduced at this year’s PMA tradeshow. On the surface this may not seem like anything more than the two camera makers adding value to their most affordable DSLR offerings. However, I think there’s more happening than what we see on the surface. For a while now I’ve been touting the real value of image stabilization for photographers of all types. And Pentax, Sony, and Olympus all offer competitively priced digital SLRs with image stabilization built into the camera body. It would be a mistake for Nikon and Canon to ignore those cameras. And obviously, they haven’t. With the introduction of the Canon EOS Rebel XSi with the new, and the Nikon D60 and its , image stabilization has become a standard feature in entry-level digital SLRs.

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As you’d expect from Sony, this will tag and map video as well as stills.

Another time-synchronising GPS, where you carry the GPS receiver and it tags your images with the location based on comparing the clock of the GPS with the timestamp in your image.
Unlike the ATP GPS Photo-Finder this does not require you to set your camera time to UTC.

The location of images is found by matching the time, but there are two adjustments; firstly the time zone set on your camera’s clock, secondly the offset of your clock from the UTC time that GPS uses. A simple slider control allows +/- 5 minutes adjustement.

The difference from other GPS units I found at PMA this year is that this supports video, hardly a surprise for a Sony product I think.

The supplied Picture Motion Browser will display your track on a map, with a thumbnail of the video clip at each location ready for you to click and view.

Now out from under the glass, the huge 200-500mm f/2.8 zoom lens.

Powered by its own battery, and weighing in at 37lbs this lens isn’t likely to fit into my baggage allowance on the way back to the UK! Nor is it likely to please my bank manager at $25k.
This is one lens that you won’t be hand-holding at any shutter speed.

Oh yes, for the eagle-eyed among you it’s demonstrated in Canon mount.

Or where in the world did I take that photo ?

I’ve see a couple of gadgets at the show for tagging your images with the location from a GPS.
One that I understand, and one that I don’t.

JOBO Photo GPS
The simple one, I understand.

Designed to fit into the hot shoe on your camera, it uses the shutter release signal on the hot shoe centre pin to trigger the storing of the GPS Location then your photo is taken.
Then later you download your photos and the information from the Photo GPS to the same folder, then run an application that tags the images with the location. Here’s the clever part - it also uses an online database of cities, streets, points of interest and adds that into your image metadata, if you shoot RAW it creates XML files for each image.

ATP GPS Photo Finder
The simplest to use.

Designed to carry around with you and not connected to the camera. Put in an SD card and it tags the images.
It can’t use the shutter release, so how does it match up the GPS location to your images?
You set the UTC time from the GPS system into your camera, and then it uses the image timestamp to compare to the GPS location at that time. Simple, but it needs some clever software in the Photo Finder to cope with differences in time between your camera and the GPS.
The smart part is how simple it is, put the SD card into the slot in the Photo Finder and all the JPG files are automatically updated with a geotag compatible with Picasa 2 and Google Earth.

So to me the difference seems to be easy to understand vs easy to use. I understand the Photo GPS, it’s driven straight from the camera; takes more work in tagging the images, but I understand each step. The Photo Finder is really simple to use, put in the SD card and it all happens automatically; it might as well use magic.

But what they do is different, remember the Photo GPS puts in keywords for city, street, point of interest as well as the actual location. How they work is different too, the Photo GPS requires a hot shoe on the camera but the Photo Finder just needs a SD card. So two different products, for different kinds of camera, with different features.

Beats taking notes of which bend on the Grand Canyon south rim I was standing at when I took each picture; writing down the image number off the camera screen in a notebook, along with the lookout point I was standing at, this technology makes notebook and pen seem so old fashioned.
Also see Sony GPS >

Las Vegas Convantion Center, 10:30 am

The show opens, and the coverage begins.
After a day of travelling from the UK, with a delayed flight meaning I missed the sneak peek yesterday, for me it’s almost a relief to start walking the halls. Although the doors are open, the eager crowd is held back behind the barriers until the official opening time. I’ll be reporting back later on what I’ve found in the first day.

2008 PMA Tradeshow Gallery>

2008 opening day video