This year it was interesting to visit Photokina, because I’ve asked lately so many times: where photography is heading, what’s in the future? Maybe some answers could be found in Cologne.
Photo Exhibitions
First of all I visited Leica Gallery. I found photo exhibitions this year very different and interesting: lots of different styles, genres and themes.
Mostly I was impressed by pictures of Alex Webb, Fred Mortagne and Roger Ballen. All of them were very different: Webb’s images were colorful, shot with wide angles on the streets; Mortagne’s images were black and white and graphic and Ballen’s images were combination of photos and other visual elements.
About Light Sources & Light Modifiers
On a second day I wandered around “light hall”, and I found some trends in general:
- LED -panels, especially flexible panels made of soft materials
- wi-fi systems
- portable, battery flash systems
Falcon Eyes
At Falcon Eyes stand was interesting soft box based on LED’s. It produces quite nice soft light. You can purchase the light source in three different sizes; the biggest one is the image below. Color temperature of the light source is also modifiable, appr. between 5 600 – 3 200 K.
At the same stand there were also those flexible LED -panels. In this case three of them were attached to each other to create fill light under model’s face (compare to Lastolite Triflector).
You can modify color temperature each of them separately and this way effect on warmness of fill light. And all these light sources come with wi-fi system; at the beginning of the next year it’s possible to control each light source separately via wi-fi.
This ring flash is designed to those who shoot videos f.e Youtube. You can attach camera in the middle.
Dedolight
Led based Felloni is not new product itself, but Dedolight has improve light modifiers to it. Translucent frame has now more professional looking and it’s easier to attach to light source. Including that you can purchase also barn doors and grids to Felloni, and new models’ dimmer and color temperature can be modify via wi-fi. Dedolight does cooperation with Aladdin Lights which have those flexible LED panels.
Other interesting light source (not new product) is DLED4 with battery pack which is suitable for many different kind of photography.
Elincrom
Elinchrom didn’t launch any new products. Instead of that they launched new cooperation with Phottix. With this cooperation Elinchrom can offer two product lines: another one for high end users and the other for prosumers. This trend was one of the main trends in all Photokina.
At Phottix stand there was portable, battery flash head, ETTL included.
Bowens
Bowens introduced at Photokina new logo and brand color (pink 😀 ) and new portable battery flash head XMT 500. Pink was chosen to seduce female photographers (for real 🙂 ) and portable battery flash head will include AC input at the beginning of next year.
Sunbounce
I saw collabsible reflector in Sunbounce stand for the first time, it’s called Sun Mover. You can have it gold and silver surface (reflector), white translucent (light modifier) and black (scrim), and you purchase them all separately (compare to Lastolite TriGrip).
Sun Mover is oval instead of round. Manufacturer explains shape that it creates more tension between frame and fabric and this way product stays more steady in use. It has handles in both sizes and with them you can turn product more convex and focus your reflection more precise.
Sun Sniper – I probably noticed this product because I carried my two cameras 13 days in World Junior Ice-Hockey Championships in Helsinki last December-January. You can attach three cameras on Rotaball – DBH but you can also split product in two and then you have separate things on both shoulders. Convenient.
LUMU Lite
Lumu Light meter was probably the most interesting – and coolest – product I saw in Photokina, and they had stylish stand too 🙂
Lumu is small gadget which is attached to iPhone, and then application launches itself and you have light meter and color temperature meter! Looking forward to test this later!
Nitecore
Product of Nitecore is charger for camera batteries which works via USB. Every Camera brands has it’s own model, and you can charge two batteries in one device (it charges one at the time). In one device there are places for two different batteries of same camera brand. Nitecore delivered free samples so I can test this product soon, see how it works!
Unfortunately I didn’t remember to take images of all equipment because I made Instagram videos all the time… they just hooked me 😀
So, here’s list some other thing I saw (and made videos) in Photokina…
Canon
- EOS M5 – easy to hold in hands, touch screen functions seem interesting, I would like to test it eventually
- Irista – Online Photo Storage not only for Canon users, open for everyone
- Lifecake – for every Granma for passionately shoots her grandchildren 🙂
Tether Tools
- “jerkstopper” – few innovations to keep cables between camera and laptop steady
- Tether Tool Power Kit – if you run out of charged batteries in the middle of woods…
- Case Air Wireless – wireless shooting system
Chromaluxe
- Natural Wood – wood as new printing material
Hoodman Loops
- Compact Hoodloup – collapsible hood for photographer; easy to carry on and possibility to see camera’s screen in bright light
- LCD Viewer for Video – same to videographers
Eizo
- Monitor Hoods – one piece, attached to monitor with magnet
Adobe
- Lightroom Mobile – After seeing that presentation you realize you can’t live anymore without LR Mobile 😀
- Adobe Stock – interesting, but I haven’t check this carefully enough yet…
Ztylus – Lens system & additional light source for iPhones…. seems cool and fun 🙂
Manfrotto Be Free Tripod – light, easy to carry (collapsible 40 cm long), also video head – blogger’s & vlogger’s dream gadget 🙂
Among above some things in photography today, or maybe even in near future:
- high end image: quality of the image is getting more appreciated
- shooting with smart phones: a lot of apps, gadgets to that
- real printed image: new for diginatives, nostalgia for older ones
- Mobile World: apps for everything
- Connectivity: mobile, online, desktop – connect them all, do your images where ever you are
These I copied from Daily Photokina Newspaper – what do you think about these?
