When October comes around, I usually journey back to the stomping grounds of my youth, New York City. I’m always anxious to attend the PhotoPlus Expo at Jacob Javits Center. This year it was held from October 30th through November 1st.
More than 21,000 professional and enthusiasts flocked to Javits to see this year’s expo.
on floor seminar from Sony	on floor seminar from Canon
PhotoPlus combines photo education classes and a large exposition. There are about 80 classes and seminars covering diverse topics such as techniques for posing, lighting, composition, movie making, sound reproduction, marketing and business practices.
on floor seminar from Nikon	on floor seminar from Wescott
The large exposition had 225 exhibitors including 60 making their first appearance at PhotoPlus. I thoroughly enjoy walking the aisles and talking to the vendors and learning what’s new in photographic equipment and accessories.

 
 
This is one of my favorite shows for learning about new photographic equipment and accessories. I’m now preparing a series of articles that highlight some of the new products from the show. You’ll see them shortly.
 
 
Written by: Arnie Lee
 
 
 

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The Backorder Has Arrived

This past October, I was in NYC to cover PhotoExpo 2013. It’s a large trade show for the photographic industry where new equipment, accessories, services and the like are on display.

One of the nicest things about trade shows is that you can have some hands-on time using the new hardware and ask in- depth questions that the reps are able to field.

I was interested in a few new pieces of equipment including Nikon’s newly announced AW1. It’s based on the one year-old Nikon 1 series. These are compact, mirrorless models that have interchangeable lenses. They are small and lightweight but deliver high quality images. But the kicker here is that the AW1 is also waterproof to 49 feet, temperature resistant to 14F degrees and shockproof to about 6 feet. I was attracted to this camera because of its ruggedness.
I spent about 30 minutes of touchie-feelie time with the AW1 at the Nikon booth. I also peppered Brian – the Nikon rep – with dozens of questions about the camera. In the end, I came away satisfied that this new piece of equipment needed to become part of my arsenal. When I returned home from New York, I placed an order for the AW1 with two waterproof lenses. Although the AW1 has been available for sale for about six weeks, the two lens kit was just made available.

However, due to the usual holiday confusion, I have yet to open the carton. In the next few days, I hope to try it out. Since it’s 10 degrees outdoors here in Grand Rapids, I think the underwater testing will have to wait unless I decide to try it out in the bathtub.

But with the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) right around the corner (next week), I just might take it with me to Las Vegas and jump into one of the pools. I’ll fill you in when I have more to report.

 

 

Written by: Arnie Lee

 

 

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High Speed Photography and More

As I was walking the aisles of the PhotoPlus Expo, an impressive photo caught my attention. It was a stop action of a glass bottle as it was shattering into hundreds of small pieces.

I was at the booth of a company named Triggertrap and they were showing off its Redsnap trigger. This device is unique in that you can use one of several sensors to trigger your camera or flash.

 

This is the Redsnap. It accepts interchangeable sensors: laser, sound, infrared and lightning. It has three outputs to connect up to three cameras or flashes. A sensor snap into the top of the unit. In this photo, the sound sensor is attached which was used to trigger to sample photo of the breaking bottle.		this photo from Triggertrap website
These are a pair of laser sensors. A laser sensor can trigger a camera when the laser beam is broken. The Redsnap can also be set to take timelapse photographs.

 

The good news is that this looks like a promising product.

The bad news is that the Redsnap is not yet available. Triggertap has been raising money to build and distribute the Redsnap through a Kickstarter campaign. The goal was to raise £50,000 but they surprisingly raised £290,000.

I learned that the electronics and enclosures for the Redsnap are now being finalized. Small production batches will be available for Kickstarter contributors beginning in December and January and full production is scheduled to begin about May of next year.

Retail prices have yet to be determined. For more information go to the Triggertrap site.

It looks like an interesting accessory. I hope to review one when they become available.

Written by: Arnie Lee

 

 

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