RedRock Micro – Journeys of a Hybrid

What a difference a year makes. I’ve been going to Photo Expo since it started, whenever that was some 20 or 30 years ago. It used to be held at the Coliseum, New York’s old convention center, when it was much smaller. Over the years Photo Expo got bigger and bigger, with huge sections of the floor devoted to lab equipment and hundreds of other booths displaying everything from cameras to computer software.

The last few years the Expo has gotten smaller. Gone is all the lab equipment of course, but also not present are some of the big vendors like Adobe and Apple. This year was the first year there was another photographic event happening simultaneously, called “Shoot NYC….an advanced photography forum”. This event was hosted by Hasselblad and Broncolor, and just few blocks away from Javits. I didn’t get a chance to get down there but I heard rave reviews from those who went saying it felt like it was geared more for the “professional”.

One difference I have noticed over the years of attending Photo Expo is the shift in the attendees, more toward retail photographers and prosumers. That was reflected both on the floor and in the seminar selections. There was an entire seminar track this year devoted to weddings and portraits. Another sign of the times was seeing an entire seminar track devoted to video and multimedia, as opposed to one or two seminar choices in previous years. I could only find one seminar this year about stock photography; actually it was about microstock in particular. That’s a big change from when there were a dozen seminars relating to stock photography to choose from.

I presented a seminar with Paula Lerner called “Multimedia and Video” and was part of a panel for a seminar called “Ethics and Photography” which was streamed live globally, but I did find time to sit in on a couple of very interesting sessions. One of my favorites was “Affordably Simple Marketing”, given by Juliette Wolf Robin. She provided a lot of terrific tangible information. I also enjoyed seeing and hearing Lauren Greenfield talking about her documentary work. And even though I’m not a teacher, I found “Teaching in the 21st Century” quite interesting. As always Blake Discher’s seminar on “Sales and Negotiating for Photographers” was fantastic and fresh. I also attended ASMP‘s annual member meeting where Tom Kennedy spoke about the new media landscape which was right on target.

The floor was smaller and as mentioned before, Adobe and Apple not present. Canon and Nikon had a lot of action and interest with their hybrid DSLR cameras as expected and I saw a lot more third party gear for the hybrids displayed – Zacuto rigs, Redrock Micro rigs, and Glidecams, along with fluid head video tripods. This trend is not going away and in fact isn’t a trend at all, as we move more and more toward electronic publishing with magazines scrambling to produce versions for the iPad and get their app designed.

The annual “bash” was more of a bust, leaving people hungry and thirsty due to no food being offered (except bags of potato chips) and a cash bar. It was held at the Intrepid, which sounded like it was going to be interesting, but not a great venue for a party. But it was nice to see my friends and colleagues and catch up with them.

It will be interesting to see what this event will look like next year – I can only guess that there will be plenty more changes.

Today is the final day of NAB and as usual my head is exploding with ideas and information. But before everything totally leaves my head – I’ll share some cool things with everyone.

I come to NAB to learn, however this year I also needed to research and buy some things for my upcoming project Opening Our Eyes. In particular I was looking for a stabilization rig for my Canon 5D and 7D. My timing was perfect because at this year’s show just about every booth had gear for the DSLR cameras – the show was all about either the HDSLR or 3D. I settled on the Zacuto Striker because I wanted something lightweight and quick to put on a tripod. Zacuto had redesigned the plate making the weight distribution better and it felt just right for me. And that’s important – get the right rig for you – if at all possible visit a vendor where you can try these stabilization rigs out so that you buy the one that literally “fits” you and your needs.

One of the biggest buzz items was the HD Hero, a tiny wearable video camera for sports, made by GoPro and at the $200 show special – they sold out the first day. But check them out – even at the retail price of $300, they are amazing little cameras that can be used in all types of situations where you need something small.

RedRock Micro debuted their new HDSLR remote which uses sonar for auto follow focus. The booth was mobbed with attendees dying to get their hands on this accessory that is priced around $1000. Check out the review from the show floor at PhotoCineNews.

Canon unveiled their latest tapeless camera the XF305 that will give the Sony EX-3 a run for their money. Even as stunning as this camera is, Canon didn’t integrate that nice big chip/sensor that we see in their hybrid HDSLRs. But Panasonic did and they had their new prototype camera in a plexiglass box perched on a museum type pedestal. The Panasonic AG-AF100, is the first professional micro 4/3-inch video camcorder optimized for high-def recording. that did make use of that large sensor that everyone seems to be waiting for – stay tuned. Canon-are you watching and listening?

I’m maxed out right now with technology and information yet inspired and energized at the same time by the notion of possibilities. If you’re a still photographer singing the blues because of the lousy economy and the changing paradigm of print giving way to electronic delivery – I can only say one thing – convergence. Embrace that notion, get energized by the idea and open your mind to the possibilities and opportunities that are exploding in this new world of information technology.