PMA 2010
I went to the PMA 2010 show this past week. For those who’ve never heard of it, the PMA, which used to stand for Photo Marketing Association, show is a convention where a lot of the big players in the photo industry like to show off their newest gear. At least that’s what it used to be. This year the show felt a lot smaller than one I went to a few years back, heck Canon wasn’t even there, and most of the big guys had already announced their newest stuff before the show even started.
Even so, it’s always nice to be able to play with new gear that I might consider buying. Other than some new lenses that will put a big dent in my wallet, the only thing I found interesting from the big guys is Samsung’s NX10. It’s their answer to the recent interchangable lens Micro Four Thirds offerings from Panasonic and Olympus. The NX10 uses a 14.6 megapixel APS-C sized sensor, which is the same size you’ll find in many DSLR’s, in a body that will fit in a shirt pocket. Built-in electronic viewfinder and flash, plus a large beautiful AMOLED screen. If the image quality is good, this may be the vacation camera I’ve been looking for. I also read recently that someone is going to make adapters for using lens from other brands, which is quite exciting for me since I have bunch of old Olympus OM lenses I been wanting to try out. I only wish it had in-body image stabilization instead in-lens, but hey nobody’s perfect.
The other reason I enjoy these shows though is seeing what the little guys have come up with. A lot of times the products are kind of stupid, but sometimes you find some gems. I don’t usually pay attention to the stupid ones, but this one just stood out. Somebody is marketing a dust shield for DSLR’s to keep dust from getting onto the sensor when you’re changing lenses. The concept sounds good, but the implementation is idiotic. This “shield” is nothing more than a thin piece of transparent flexible plastic covering the lens mount of a DSLR, thus sealing it from dust. When you mount the lens it stays in place between the lens and the body. This product is obviously aimed at pros, since that’s the most likely group to change lenses enough times in bad conditions to need it. So this company is expecting people who have paid thousands of dollars for state of the art lenses to filter the light from these lenses through a cheap piece of plastic. Definitely not designed by a photographer. Okay enough ranting.
I did see some good stuff worth mentioning. There’s product called the Camera Warmer, which is basically a DSLR rain cover with pockets on the inside for those chemical hand warmers that you find at sports/outdoors supplies stores. According to the creator all modern DSLR’s are only rated to work down to 0C/32F. I checked my camera manual and he was right, at least about my camera. I don’t really shoot in cold weather much, but a lot of people do and this sounds like a good way of keeping their gear working in harsh conditions. I’m surprised nobody else had come up with this.
Next is a new ballhead from Acratech, makers of the “Ultimate Ballhead” (which I own). It’s a new version of their more normal looking (non-”Ultimate”?) ballhead with a smaller base, designed to fit better on those travel tripods with upward folding legs like the Gitzo Traveller. A bit pricey for my taste, but if you can afford the Gitzo Traveller ($600, I think), this shouldn’t be too bad. My travel tripod is a Chinese knockoff of the Traveller for a fraction of the price and this head is probably more than twice of what I paid for the tripod.
Finally I saw some nice camera bags and yes I have a bit of a camera bag fetish 
jill-e designs has a stylish new line of bags for men. Its called jack and here’s their description:
jack professional camera/carry-all bags successfully combine “pro” reliability on the inside with rakish good looks on the outside. Made from rugged weather-resistant Colombian leather in rich brown with a contrast stitch, these bags offer all the features, flair and functionality found in every bag from jill-e designs. Their look and performance, whether in faraway places, at the reception, in the boardroom, or out on the street establish you as that someone with something extra.
Mmm, leather.
Think Tank Photo, my favorite bag company has a new padded canvas shoulder bag line that of course comes in black, but also in a faded olive, rugged looking color. Very cool and certainly does not look like a camera bag. They also have a new roller that pretty much looks like all their other roller bags, except that it’s HUGE. By my estimates at least 48″x20″x12″. Meant for lighting gear and other large items, but if you have enough camera gear to warrant this bag, more power to you. Personally my modest collection of gear would just feel too adequate for this bag. (Oh, these bags aren’t on their website yet)
Well, that’s about all I have to say about PMA 2010.
