It may just be me but in what seems to be the trend of all trade shows right now numbers seemed to be down (to my eyes at least)
3 years ago show goers would have been able to visit strong and significant stands by Apple, Canon, Hasselblad and Microsoft to name but a few.
None of those players were represented in any significant way at all this time.
It is kind of a chicken and egg situation, fewer big players attend, attendance at the shows falls, the big names find it easier to justify not coming.
One could argue that with the high cost of stands at trade shows they have made the right call.
The beneficiaries, in my humble opinion, were the very well attended stands of Sony, Panasonic and Nikon.
At the Phase One stand I saw bigger crowds and more interest than ever, thanks in no small part to the ground breaking IQ digital camera backs. In the middle of these uncertain times Phase seems to be bucking the trend. Since shooting the food book 'Loose birds and game' I have seen further benefits of the platform compared to 14bit DSLR files, with CMYK conversions from the native 16bit Phase One captures being on a totally different plane.
The amount of fiddling with the files was minimal, compared to the sleepless nights the small but significant hardcore of DSLR files gave me.
If you are involved in shooting pictures for books I would heartily recommend you investigate them, even if all you can afford is a used one. It's about the quality of the file, not just megapixels.
I will be splitting detailed reports into two parts.
4 comments:
Hi Drew,
Would you care to elaborate on PhaseOne vs DSLR raw files statement? I know CMYK could be tough to deal with, especially in bright greens and blues department. But how medium format solves that?
Dear X processed
Thanks for your comment.
I believe it is all down to shooting in 16bit at the point of capture with medium format as opposed to 14bit with most DSLR's.
I simply did not get the freaky 'solarized' tones in the blues and greens which I did on some tricky DSLR files.
The gap from 14 bit to 16 bit may not appear to be be big but in my experience the difference in tonal range between the two comes into play quite significantly on some CMYK conversions.
There is much more colour data there on the Phase files.
I hope this helps
Regards
Drew
I too was amazed by the Phase 1 kit, at the moment it would be a substantial investment if I did go that route, however the quality was fantastic and the guys on the stand were so helpful.
yes I was shocked to see some of the major players missing, however Nikon were very well represented.
I have had issues with the D3 with some bugs, spoke to the lead guy for Nikon on the stand and the problem was defined and solved there and then. This will be put on the new firmware update.
Canon and Hasselblad have missed the trick.
further more it was a pleasure to meet you again,
I did have one slight chuckle when I overheard a comment from a woman being dragged around by here photographer husband "ooh theres Dom littlewood from cowboy builders"
However I know deep down that i will be going medium format in the near future.
Rich
Hi Rich,
Good to catch up with you.
I'm disturbed by the Dom Littlewood case of mistaken identity.
If I had heard her say it I would have wept with laughter.
Regards
Drew
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