The annual PDN PhotoPlus Conference & Expo (PPE) was held October 26-28, 2017 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City.
PhotoPlus Expo (PPE) draws a sizeable crowd from the surrounding metropolitan area and has become one of the East Coast’s largest photography, filmmaking and digital imaging events. The show highlighted 250 exhibitors and was expected to draw nearly 20,000- attendees. Canon, Nikon and Sony once again were PPE show floor anchors, as they were the vendors closest to the main floor entrance, and occupied the largest exposition real estate. Although this is one of the biggest photography events on the East Coast, there were no new cameras introductions during the expo but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a lot to do and see on the show floor.
Canon showed off its newest camera the PowerShot G1 X Mark III, a 24 MP premium point & shoot camera. Priced at $1,299, the G1 X Mark III will be a strong product for Canon that will help them strengthen their presence premium point & shoot market.
Nikon was proudly celebrating its 100th year anniversary all around their booth and showcasing the D850, the new 45 MP full-frame DSLR. There were areas around the booth for hands-on time with the Nikon D850, D7500, Nikon D5600, COOLPIX W300 cameras as well as with Nikon’s newer lenses. To commemorate Nikon’s 100th anniversary, they featured an exclusive collection of Nikon cameras spanning the last century.
Sony also had a strong booth presence on the PPE show floor, this year they were up front of the hall at the main entrance. Sony’s theme, which could be seen not only in its booth but in prominent sponsorships around the convention center, was Alpha Universe. The company featured the A7R III, a 42 MP full-frame mirrorless camera that shoots 4K video. The Sony A7R III Full-frame ILC is expected to ship in November for around $3,200.
Ricoh Imaging/PENTAX had a good sized booth again this year. One half of the booth was dedicated to showing off the Theta V, Ricoh’s newest 360 degree camera with 4K video recording, streaming support, and remote playback directly from the camera to a viewing device. On the Pentax camera side of the booth, two new lenses that will be released in 2018 were on display, the D FA* 50mm F1.4 and DA* 11-18mm F2.8.
Fujifilm was showcasing the new Instax Share SP-3 SQ square format printer, designed to be used with a smartphone to wirelessly print photos onto Instax Square film. On the traditional camera front, Fujifilm showed the Fujifilm X-E3 ultra-compact mirrorless camera, the Fujinon XF80mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro and Fujinon GF45mmF2.8 R WR lenses.
Polaroid was a nostalgic and welcome sight to see on the show floor. They were representing Digital Instant photography by debuting its newest camera the Polaroid Pop, a little digital camera that has a built-in printer that produces the classic 3 x 4 Polaroid prints. But the nostalgic excitement for this attendee was the OneStep 2 camera that looks just like the Polaroid camera of the 70s but with a new film type called i-Type. Polaroid didn’t “go crazy,” they kept it retro, the OneStep 2 can also use 600 film.
All in all the PhotoPlus Conference and Expo didn’t disappoint, it was packed with imaging powerhouses on the show floor and the photo enthusiasts, pro photographers, and media got to spend some quality time checking out everything photography. The informational sessions were well attended and some overflowing whether it was to see a well-known professional photographer or just finding out “what’s new” with their favorite products or gadgets. The key take away for the photography market is, keep innovating, because there is still excitement and interest in photography whether it is taking a photo, improving photography skills, or printing and selling photo merchandise. Looking forward to PPE18, see you then NYC!
