Photokina Phase One Announcements: IQ1 100mp, Lenses, IQ3 Kit Updates, C1 v9.3

[landscapephoto]

Phase One did not have a boot at Photokina. They shared some boot space with Calumet. Mamiya and Leaf were completely absent. I found that a bit strange.

[lelouarn]

I thought it was weird too, that P1 had such a discreet presence at the Kina. No major new things to show (I don't call the IQ1-100 a new camera, it's just the "old" IQ3 in a cheaper packaging).
Maybe they just wanted to give Hassi and Fuji some space in the spotlight ? :-)
It could be that they have something on store for later, and wanted to save resources for a bigger presence once new products are out ?

All in all, it was a strange Kina. Some major players (P1, Leica for example) had a very moderate presence. Some others, like Fuji and Sony had a huge presence.
Kina was also smaller than usual (one big hall that used to house all kinds of gear exhibitors was now used for action presentations, some floors were not occupied), perhaps a sign of some sort of decline (or shift to another photo-show ?) of the industry ?

[Doug Peterson]

All in all, it was a strange Kina. Some major players (P1, Leica for example) had a very moderate presence. Some others, like Fuji and Sony had a huge presence.
Kina was also smaller than usual (one big hall that used to house all kinds of gear exhibitors was now used for action presentations, some floors were not occupied), perhaps a sign of some sort of decline (or shift to another photo-show ?) of the industry ?

Very few in the management of any of the camera makers I speak with are especially thrilled to spend the time and money on Photokina or Photo East. If you've ever done one of these shows they are insanely over priced (e.g. a few hundred dollars to rent a chair for your booth). Two decades ago they were one of the primary means by which you reached a large audience, since photo magazines and trade shows were the only "launch vehicles" for new products. Now social media plays literally a hundred times the role that trade shows do in the success (or not) of a product launch. Moreover, the entire idea that you should wait and coordinate your R+D projects to culminate in a product ready to launch (or at least announce) at a specific German trade show that is held every other year... as a product manager that feels like an ancient way of thinking.

The main reasons for a camera company to keep doing such shows is to meet with other manufacturers (one flight and you see a dozen partners from several countries) and to avoid the "why weren't they there" questions (as exemplified in this post). Only one of those reasons actually requires a booth.

I would say that meeting our clients is a great #3, and don't get me wrong I'm really looking forward to that part at our Phase One Photo Plus Booth, but honestly I vastly prefer a good party to the trade show floor for this.

[landscapephoto]

Maybe... but obviously companies like Canon, Fuji, Olympus, Epson or even Hasselblad, Linhof thought that renting a chair 100$ was money well invested.

[Theodoros]

I think Hasselblad and particularly Fuji brought their own chairs... Perhaps Alpa too, although I didn't ask if the Alpa ones where director chairs in black cloth with white "H" written on them.... 

[BJL]

Doug,

Thanks for corrobating my feelings about the greatly diminished importance of announcing products at trade shows. (Perhaps Photokina still fits the schedule for Christmas gift marketing though: note the very "gifty" tilt of the Nikon and Canon announcements.)

This is one reason why I do not share the anxiety over "nothing much from Nikon".