Photokina 2008

by kind Permission of Hans Nyberg©


I have just returned from Photokina.

The photographic worlds biggest, best, and most daunting show

BIG is not really an adequate description of the sprawling Messe Hall at Cologne

To be honest between presenting shows on the Phase One stand I really did not get much of a chance to look around. If you want to see an amazing 360 Panorama (with sound!) shot by Hans Nyberg of me photographing the amazing Gary 'Stretch' (he holds two world records, one for the stretchiest skin and the other for the most clothes pegs on the face) click here

Here are a couple of shots I took at the show.....



Shot Details

Phase One Camera with 80mm lens at F8

Profoto Ringflash (I often use a Ringflash at presentations, it gives the audience a much better view)

Processed and captured using Capture One Pro 4.5 beta

But in no particular order here are my very own stars of the show (apart from Gary Stretch of course!)

I had the great pleasure of meeting Miss Aniela who at the age of 21 is set to go far.She is prolific and deeply talented. Stunning work by a bright and rising star

The Phase One P65+ back (see previous posting)

The Leica S2.It has a 37.5 mega pixel sensor, 56 percent bigger than 35 mm
When I first heard the announcement I thought 'why?'
This is a great looking and feeling camera (I was lucky enough to try out a fully working model) It really does feel to be hewn from one piece of metal, chunky but not too big.Great OLED display on the top plate and THOSE lenses! Lenses which will surely end up in design museums for their form and function. I now understand why...

The Canon 5d mk2, along with the remarkable Vincent Laforet video, which was running on a loop in the centre of the Canon stand (so few people seemed to be paying any attention to this, sometimes I,m baffled)

The Elinchrom Ranger Quanta a small, lightweight, robust 400 joule battery powered flashpack which will appeal to many photographers, whether you fancy yourself as a bit of 'Strobist' or you want to use the high intensity LED modeling light as a video light for the new generation of hybrid HD/DSLR. A hit for sure.

The new Manfrotto Stacker stands (you can fit 3 of these in a bag where you can normally only fit 2, it makes a big difference when you are traveling!) Their predecessor has been around for some years now, but the main deterrent to using them was the 'rubber securing hook from hell' which has reduced more than one assistant into a fumbling sweating heap when dashing to load the gear to avoid overtime in a studio. This has been replaced by a easy to use clip..AT LAST!

Where was the much anticipated Nikon D3x? A camera expected by the rumor mill but did not show.

CGI imaging software companies seemed to be everywhere,or was it my paranoia?