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A few words about Photokina
Every two years some 160,000 visitors from 140 countries attend Photokina to fact-find the entire range of products and services in modern image communication. Dealers, professional end-users and private enthusiast, as well as opinion leaders, take advantage of this unique communication platform to discover the latest products and trends.

This year is the 13th Photokina show, while the first one was held in 1950. With its approximately 1,600 exhibitors from all over the world and clear focus, Photokina is the world’s only trade fair where the entire spectrum of the photo and imaging market is presented - for consumers, specialist users, and professionals, and from image capturing to image output.

Considering the fact that around 325 million digital cameras, 60 million camcorders, and 1.59 billion camera phones are supposedly in use by consumers around the world, the extraordinary size of this show is not surprising. The presence of 6,000 accredited journalists from 68 countries also documents how important Photokina is as the international pilot fair for imaging.

Underwater Imaging World
This year’s show is a special one for all underwater photographers and underwater photography manufacturers. Visitors to the 2008 Photokina Show will be treated to the first-ever “Underwater Imaging World at Photokina”. Covering more than 250 sq. meters, the experience-oriented event in Hall 5.1 showcases the fascinating world of underwater photography. In cooperation with the partner organizations ColorFoto and Taucher.Net, first-time exhibitors from the underwater photography sector and established companies from the photography and imaging industry are showing enthusiasts of this trend how they can shoot good images underwater so that they can impress friends and families with the photos made during diving excursions.

On each day of the event, the sector’s “stars” appear on stage to talk about their experiences and give valuable tips on underwater photography. Visitors can test cameras in a pool under real-life conditions. Professional scuba divers are on hand to provide visitors with information regarding the right equipment and valuable tips on using digital cameras in underwater sports.

A special star in this show is Todd Essick, who has been one of the top underwater photographers for many years. Todd is planned to conduct a few presentations, explaining about his unique art and also giving tips on how to make perfect underwater photographs.

September 22nd, Day Zero
Like all other exhibitors on the Photokina Show, underwater imaging exhibitors arrived a day before the show began to establish and design their booths. This was also a great opportunity for all key players in this domain who haven’t met each other since the last diving or photography exhibition, to get together again, to mingle and to catch up. For some of us it was the first time to reveal the face behind the name of well known colleagues.

A very well designed booth was established by Sealife, who prepared ahead a poster as large as the wall behind the booth. Electronic frames were placed around the display, as well as Sealife’s housings and accessory products.

Fantasea, Subal and Sealux established colorful and attractive booths as well, showcasing their new and most popular products, such as housings, arm systems, lights and more.

Andi Voeltz, the German distributor of Hugyfot and Light & Motion, arrived to the exhibition’s floor not earlier than 10 pm. It was hard to believe that in such a short time he will succeed, together with his colleagues, to put together an impressive structure as the one we found the morning after. This structure consists of two housings hung on both sides of it, balancing each other and enabling visitors to elevate and lower the housings conveniently. “Using this structure”, explains Andi with great enthusiasm, “we try to illustrate the feeling of completely neutrally buoyant housings. Visitors can hold the housing without using any strength as it is weightless, exactly as it is designed to be underwater”.

While we were all so busy with our booths, Dennis Wilson, the event manager of the underwater photography section, took great care of the logistics and significantly added to the scene by installing colorful projectors on the ceiling, pointed at the different booths. Upon finishing up on designing and constructing the Fantasea Line booth, we were quite certain that we were still missing something. It was not until the blue light dramatically lit our roll-up poster till we knew our work was complete.

A lot was happening outside of the underwater imaging world as well. A great number of exhibitors wandered around, busy with their booths as well as establishing their attractions and perhaps taking advantage of their last chance to pick some ideas from their neighbors.

September 23rd, Day One
They say that the first day of the show is always the slowest one, and so it was. Some of us expected some hectic traffic, and instead, we found ourselves in quite a relaxed day, which eventually turned out to be a good thing, as we were given the opportunity to invest more time and energies in those visitors that approached our booths. Some of the visitors were photo dealers and some were consumers, all of them driven by a tremendous thirst for new products and technologies. Following the advice of a Taucher.net representative, which was an inevitable part of planning the underwater imaging world, exhibitors should not get used to this phase, as tomorrow things will look a little differently, as great traffic is expected at the show.

I went to visit Rolf Sempert and Peter Stangl at the Subal booth and could not ignore the large poster which displays an image of the Subal ND-700 Housing for the new Nikon D700 DSLR and reads “We are the first!”. Considering the fact that this camera was announced by Nikon at the beginning of July, this is quite a remarkable achievement, based on a quick responsiveness strategy.  In addition, Subal also showcased the new C40 Housing, which was designed for the Canon EOS 40D DSLR camera.

Both housings are made from aluminum, machined from block, extreme surface hardening and feature corrosion resistance through HardCoating. All parts are manufactured from anodized and hard coated aluminium, acid proof stainless steel or high quality plastics. Rolf and Peter also revealed that they are planning to manufacture a housing for the Canon 50D DSLR camera and it will be called the US-50D Housing.

I then went to visit Jurgen at the Sealux booth, which was a bit difficult to find at first as he was well hidden behind a huge video camera housing, called the HDEX1 and specially designed for the Sony PWM-EX1 camcorder. This housing is accompanied by a 120 degrees wide angle lens port and a zoom control that enables using the full zoom extension of the lens. According to Jurgen, although it weighs 9 kilos, the housing is the most lighweight solution for the EX1 camcorder as it was specially designed to accommodate it.

The Sealux booth also proudly displays the CD-3 Housing for the Nikon D3 camera and I was told that they are now in the process of designing a flash housing for the new Nikon SB-900 Digital Flash. Doing my best to trigger an interesting competition, I asked about plans regarding a housing for the new Nikon D700 DSLR. Jurgen smiled satisfactorily and left me with no doubt regarding Sealux’s progress in this matter.

Tomorrow Dennis Wilson promised us a big party on the world of imaging floor. A huge aquarium was prepared for this event, as underwater photography products will occasionally be thrown inside and extremely ambitious visitors who really, but really, want to win the product, will be permitted to dive into the aquarium and pull out their prize. Did I already mention it was raining cats and dogs today?

Stay tuned with us as tomorrow we will come back with further information regarding new underwater photography trends as well as general photography news brought to you straight from the booths of the largest photo manufacturers in the world.

-Sharon Rainis, Fantasea Line

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September 24th, Day Two
As predicted by the event managers, the second day of the Photokina show was much busier than the first one. Many consumers as well as photo dealers attended the show today, and all halls on the show’s floor, no matter how distant they are from the main entrances, were all pretty crowded.

The Underwater Imaging World was busy as well today, and many visitors attended the different underwater photography booths. The events stage, which is located at the middle of this section, hosted a few events which attracted even more traffic to this section. Many photographers and underwater photo exhibitors were interviewed on the stage, while fascinating underwater images and videos were projected on a large screen.

As promised by Dennis Wilson, visitors also got the chance to win free underwater photo equipment by diving into the aquarium that was filled with water and placed near the stage. During the afternoon, our events host officially declared that any underwater cameras that are thrown into the aquarium can be retrieved and then kept by visitors who volunteer to get a little wet. Volunteers were asked to enter the dressing room and put on a wetsuit and were then sent to the aquarium. However, after retrieving their free gift from the bottom of the aquarium, they discovered that they were still far from completing their diving career.

Press photographers who documented the event made these lucky visitors dive over and over again and did not allow them to exit the aquarium till they managed to hold their breath long enough for the photographers to capture the perfect image. This way or another, the new diver eventually walked out with a new private underwater camera!

Some news from Fantasea Line

Fantasea Line showcased for the first time their new underwater flash, which was specially designed for compact digital housings and hasn’t been given a name yet. The flash features four different pre-flash settings, to cover the needs of all compact digital cameras in the market, including Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus, Fuji, Kodak, Panasonic and more. It features a guide number of 20, and therefore is compatible for both macro and wide angle shots. The power output can be manually adjusted to provide the most accurate amount of light in all conditions and a short recycle time ensures quick responsiveness even when using the maximum power output. The new flash also features a built-in Y-S Mount for attaching a focus light on top of the flash, sparing the need for an additional arm.

Fantasea continued to showcase their new generation housings, which consist of an improved construction, are fully functional and feature an increased depth ratio of 60m/200 feet. Fantasea were especially proud to display their FP-6000 Housing for the new Nikon Coolpix P6000 camera, which hasn’t even hit the market yet!

In addition, Fantasea showcased their Nano LED Lights Point of Sale Display, which is the perfect way for Fantasea dealers to display and sell their LED Lights, as well as maximize their profit. Each carton contains 20 assorted Nano LED Lights, including the Nano Focus Light, Nano Spotter, Nano LED Pro Set and Nano Torch.

Fantasea also added a new macro lens to their product line, which features a 55 and 46mm thread. This lens is an aspherical one, which means that super sharp images can be taken with this lens. It is also made of plastic, and is therefore considered to be more durable.

Some news from SeaLife
Bjorn Harms, vice president of SeaLife, introduced me with some of the company’s new products and technologies. The SeaLife company is special in a way that it does not offer housings for popular compact digital cameras in the market, but it designs and manufactures special underwater cameras for divers, also featuring full accessory systems.

The most interesting camera would be the DC-800 waterproof camera, which is depth rated to 60m/200 feet. The camera’s case is rubber armored, which provides it with full protection and the camera itself features a metal body, 2.7 inch LCD screen, x4 optical zoom and a 28mm wide angle lens. Since the camera’s software is specially written to be suitable for underwater photography, it offers different underwater modes to provide the photographer with the opportunity to shoot in different underwater environments, such as lakes and rivers, blue oceans and green oceans. Another important feature is the External Flash mode, automatic or manual, which takes in account the use of the SeaLife external flash and sets the exposure accordingly. A white plate for manual white balanced is included in the kit and the camera also features a video mode. SeaLife offers a full accessory system for their waterproof cameras, which include a tray and arm system and an external flash with adjustable power output.

Another product I was introduced with is the Reef Master Mini, which is an ultra compact waterproof camera that requires no waterproof case. It features 6MP and is depth rated to 40m/130 feet. It is also rubber armored, made of stainless steel, features a 2.0 inch LCD screen and uses 2 x AA batteries. A push on x0.34 wide angle lens is also offered for this ultra compact camera.

Visiting the Nikon booth
Well, it’s hard to call it the “Nikon booth”, and it would be probably more proper to call it the “Nikon arena”. This Nikon section included of many stands, displaying different Nikon products and also offering visitors the opportunity of testing the new products themselves. Unsurprisingly, this section was so busy that you practically had to stand in line in order to put your hands on any of the new cameras.

At the entrance of this arena, Nikon established a fashion studio in which visitors were shown how Nikon most professional products can be used to capture fascinating fashion shots. A sexy model was brought for this matter, and the photographs taken by the professionals were displayed on a wide screen that was placed on top of this stand.

Nikon showcased their new Nikon D90 DSLR, which seemed to draw the most attention out of all other Nikon products introduced at the show. The camera features a new CMOS sensor and according to Nikon, this new sensor produces quality images, similar to those produced by the sensor of the D300. It is also the first DSLR camera that features a video mode and produces videos with 720p HDTV quality, which is considered to be high quality. . It makes use of a 3.0 inch LCD screen and a live view with contrast-defect AF. The 12.9 megapixel new DSLR also features an improved viewfinder of 96% frame coverage.

Another camera showcased was the Nikon D700 DSLR, which features imaging quality that is pretty much as the same as the D3. It shares the 12.1 MP full frame sensor and has the same processing engine. However, the D700 camera’s shutter release is good for 150,000 exposures, while the D3 camera’s shutter release is good for 300,000 exposures. Another difference between the two cameras is the viewfinder prism and the slower burst rate on the D700 camera.

Nikon also proudly displayed it’s Coolpix P6000 camera which features a 13.5 megapixel CCD, 4x wide-angle zoom lens (28-112mm equiv.) with optical stabilization and a hot-shoe connection for an external flash. The rumor says that this is going to be Nikon’s next star with respect to compact digital cameras. Did I mention that Fantasea already has a housing for this camera?!

Tomorrow I plan to visit the Canon section and find out what hot-from-the-oven products they are showcasing this year. Considering the amount of visitors I had to struggle with on the Nikon arena today, perhaps I should spend my time this evening by doing something efficient like making myself an armored coat!

-Sharon Rainis, Fantasea Line

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September 25th, Day Three
Although you would think that Photokina show managers work under the assumption that every day brings along different visitors and therefore spare themselves the hassle of arranging new events every day again, this is certainly not the case. It seems that the Photokina innovates itself everyday again. New attractions and gimmicks are constantly introduced, providing the visitors with a reason to come back tomorrow as well.

Special Guest- Todd Essick
Todd Essick was interviewed today at the “Underwater Imaging World” events stage. Todd is a well known and extremely creative underwater photographer, who usually integrates beautiful women and wild underwater nature in his art. He is especially famous for the photos which display a special interaction between sharks and semi-naked gorgeous women.

During the interview, Todd revealed some of the stories behind the scenes as well as important underwater photography tips. Obviously, when it gets to sharks, the stories become even more interesting, especially when Todd has videos which prove it all. The first story is about an underwater scene in which a model was wrapped with a net and surrounded by sharks. At some point, one of the sharks got caught in the net together with the model, though it eventually struggled its way out. As you can imagine, these intimate moments between the trapped shark and model were quite a surprise for both of them.

The other story is about a different scene, in which one of Todd’s models accidentally kicks the shark and he bites her foot in return. In the video you can see how the model, who was just brought down, peddles with her legs to stabilize herself while at the same time a shark passes behind her. The innocent shark gets a hell of a kick from the model and simply, less innocently, decides to bite her back. Fortunately this was only an act of warning and not of hunger, as the bite was small and no damage was caused to the model on the long run. This way or another, a short time after the incident occurred, the model seemed to look very relaxed and assured on the boat. Probably thanks to Todd’s tones of charm, it took the model a very shot period to go back underwater. What can I say, Todd, when you introduce such stunning models on your scenes it only makes sense that the sharks will eventually claim their share as well!

News from Hugyfot and Light & Motion
It was quite difficult scheduling a meeting with Andi Voeltz, a distributor of Hugyfot and Light & Motion in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxemburg and Lichtenstein, as his booth had drawn so much traffic and seemed to be always busy. Finally, I managed to grab a few minutes of Andi’s time and to be updated with the new products and technologies introduced by Hugyfot and Light & Motion.

Andi first showed me the Light & Motion Blue Fin Housing, which accommodates the current Sony video camcorders, such as the SR12, SR11 and HC9/7. It is a full functional housing, also providing the photographer with access to the LCD touch screen and featuring a remote control for the lights attached to the housing.

The new Light & Motion LED Lights, the Sunray 1000 and 2000, are extremely powerful lights, designed to work with the Light & Motion Housing system and with other housings as well. In fact, they are so impressive that even studio photographers, who have nothing to do with underwater photography, showed much interest in those lights during the show. These lights make use of a reflector system that it took one whole year for Light & Motion to develop!

Andi then introduced me with the Hugy-Check, a new technology featured on Hugyfot housings. Recent housings do not make use of the regular screws that have been used so far in order to ensure the housing’s closure. Instead, the housing is sealed by reducing the air pressure inside it. After closing the housing, a special Hugy-Check device is used to reduce the air pressure inside the housing, thus ensuring that the back and front doors of the housing cannot be separated, even when using a great amount of force. Two LED Lights which are placed on the housing’s hot-shoe connection serve as indications to the amount of moisture and air pressure inside the housing. These LED Lights are visible also through the housing’s viewfinder. Andi was the one who came up with this idea when he experienced difficulties opening a housing after it was on a flight, due to the drop of air pressure inside the housing. Instead of getting frustrated, Andi recognized the potential of such an intended system.

News from Canon

After I came up with this idea, which I initially thought was brilliant, to visit the Canon arena in the afternoon hours, when the visitors’ crowd was expected to be a little less hectic, I realized that there is no such thing on the Canon arena. This section of the show seems to be busy all through show opening hours, as Canon products and new releases draw massive traffic.

Among all compact digital cameras, the new Canon G10 was one of the biggest attractions. Equipped with a 14.7 MP CCD sensor, a new DIGIC IV processor and a 28-140mm lens, the G10 also features a RAW shooting mode. A waterproof housing for this camera was also already introduced at the show.

Another new and interesting compact digital camera is the PowerShot SD980 IS, which also features a 14.7 MP sensor. It is equipped with a 36-133mm equiv optical zoom lens and a 2.5 inch LCD screen. 

Canon also announced their new 50D, which is quite similar to the 40D camera, although it is equipped with a new 15 MP sensor, which is claimed to produce much less noise than recent sensors. The 50D also makes use of an improved LCD screen, which features a specially high resolution of 920,000 dots.

Finally, I also got to see the Canon 5D Mark II DSLR. The 21 MP camera is the world’s first compact full frame DSLR. It makes use of an expanded ISO range, 50-25,600, a live view 3.0 inch LCD screen and an important innovation of a full 1080p HD movie recording capability.

Nikonians
Nikonians, a community for passionate Nikon users, did not take the risk of other show attractions drawing the crowd away from their booths and pulled out the winning card, which is of course, a naked lady. In the afternoon time, when the number of visitors was especially high, Nikonians introduced a great looking naked model on their stage, allowing the obviously increasing crowd to take photographs of what is considered to be the most natural art. This not only drew a mass of visitors to the Nikonians section, but also ensured that Nikonians is the talk of the day. Everywhere you headed afterwards, you encountered enthusiastic photographers sharing their images with their friends, feeling lucky to be in the right place at the right time.

Considering the fact that this was only the third day of the show and I already got to see a naked lady, I cannot wait to find out what else is waiting for us tomorrow…

-Sharon Rainis, Fantasea Line

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September 27th Report

The Future is Analog

Or so claims a company named “Lomography”, which established a large department pretty much at the middle of the Photokina fair, also featuring some great rock shows. Lomography is the commercial trademark of Lomographische AG from Ausria, a company that specializes in products and services related to analog photography. Characteristics such as over-saturated colors, off-kilter exposure, blurring, “happy accidents,” and alternative film processing are often considered part of the “Lomographic Technique.

Users are encouraged to take a lighthearted approach to their photography, and use these techniques to document everyday life, as the cameras small size, simple controls, and ability to shoot in low light encourages candid photography and photo reportage. Many of the different Lomography camera models were displayed around a huge stage that hosted rock shows all day long. All the cameras showcased had two major characteristics in common: deliberately low-fidelity and inexpensive construction.

The Underwater Imaging World Stage

The program of the Underwater Imaging World stage included a few more attractions today. One of Todd Essick’s most popular models, Kristen Koscienlniak, was hosted at the stage today, sharing her unique experience with a wide audience that stopped by the stage. Apart from being interviewed by the Underwater Imaging World’s host, beautiful Kristen was also captured by many photographers standing near a large and famous image in which she was photographed with a shark, photogenic almost as much as she is. Howard Rosenstein, owner of Fantasea Line, referred to this image as “Beauty and the Beast”.

In addition, the Underwater Imaging World’s crew kept doing all they can in order to wet as much people as possible by bringing them into the aquarium located near the stage. Featuring a different ambience than the formal atmosphere prevailed at the different “dry” sections of the show, these wet events seemed to draw the attention of many visitors walking by.

News from Sunpak
I paid a visit at the Sunpak booth today and was introduced to a few Sea & Sea products showcased at the show. The first was the Sea & Sea DX-1200 HD camera and housing. The camera makes use of a 3.0 inch LCD screen, and is capable of recording HD (high definition) videos at a size of 1280x780. The camera also features the Sea & Sea mode, which is basically a different color mode, specially programmed for underwater photography.

Another new product is a housing for the Canon EOS 450D camera. As all Sea & Sea DSLR Housings, this housing is machined out of solid block aluminum and includes a TTL strobe converter as well as an interchangeable lens ports system.

News from SEACAM

Following the classy and prestige nature of their products, Seacam designed their booth to feature an exclusive look, including black velvet covered walls, a well organized glass-fronted display cabinet and a convenient, highly equipped meeting room. They showcased their new strobe, the SeaFlash 150 Digital, featuring a high guide number of 14 underwater (which is equivalent to a 42 guide number flash on air).

The new flash can use a Nikonos 5 or an S6 sync port, according to the system planned by the photographer, includes an emergency flasher and a built-in powerful focus light. They also informed me that they intend to showcase their new housings for the Nikon D3 and Nikon D700 cameras at the DEMA show.

News from Ikelite
Ikelite showcased their new housing for the Canon Digital 1000D Rebel XS and stated that it will be available in September. The housing, made of clear Polycarbonate, is depth rated to 60m/200 feet, makes use of Ikelite pioneered Quad-Ring seal glands and provides the photographer with access to all camera controls and functions. The housing size and weight near-neutral buoyancy and includes a quick release system for the handles.

In addition, Ikelite showcased many new compact digital camera housings that were designed for the popular camera models that recently hit the market.

News from Panasonic
Panasonic, like Nikon and other major photo distributors, also established a studio-like stage, in which a beautiful model, wearing as less as possible, was captured by professional photographers using Panasonic cameras and photo equipment. Aside from the gorgeous model, Panasonic proudly introduced it’s Lumix DMC-G1 digital camera, which features a few different innovations.

The new camera makes use of a Micro Four Thirds system, which enables the camera to offer the quality and versatility of a DSLR despite its compact size. In addition, the mirror and pentamirror viewfinder were replaced by a live view only system, using a high resolution electronic viewfinder on the large articulated rear screen. The LCD screen features a resolution of 460,000 dots, and the interchangeable lens system allows for different lenses to be used with the camera.

At the moment, the camera comes with a 14-45mm F3.5-6.5 lens, but another 45-200mm lens is available. Panasonic also plans to release three more lenses to be compatible with this camera in the upcoming year.

News from Olympus
One of the Olympus great attractions at the show was the prototype of a new camera, which makes use of the Micro Four Thirds System, as introduced a little earlier by Olympus. This system allows for high quality images to be taken despite the size and weight of the camera, which were both dramatically reduced. The new, still un-named camera will also feature an interchangeable lens system and was introduced for the first time at the Photokina 2008 show.

Olympus also showcased their different underwater products, including flash systems, underwater compact digital housings, and waterproof cameras. In order to emphasize their confidence in their waterproof products, Olympus also established a small pool for testing the different waterproof photo products underwater.

News from SanDisk
SanDisk came up with a creative way of drawing the traffic to their booths by announcing a photo competition among all visitors. They established a few live performances and declared that a winning show of these performances will award the photographer with a Nikon D90 camera and a SanDisk Extreme III 30MB/s memory card.

SanDisk showcased their new 4 and 8GM 45MB/s extreme IV cards, as well as 8, 16 and 32GB extreme III cards. In addition, 8 and 16GB cards are available at a speed of 30MB/s and are claimed to be the fastest when used in cameras such as the Nikon D90.

Tomorrow, in addition to covering the last day of the show, I also intend to visit the famous attractions of Cologne, where the Photokina fair takes place, just so you’d know where is best to go in case you decide to attend the Photokia 2010 show.

-Sharon Rainis, Fantasea Line

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Last Day, September 28th
Today was the last day of the Photokina 2008 Show. Many visitors, mainly consumers, arrived at the fair and enjoyed their last chance to take part in the world’s largest photography event this year.

News from FujiFilm
Under the new slogan, “FUJIFILM FinePix, More than you imagined,” Fujifilm exhibited its new lineup of FinePix digital cameras. The Digital Camera Area was divided into three separate zones: Touch & Try Zone for the 2008 New Autumn Lineup, Real Photo Technology Experience, and Near Future
Technologies. These zones displayed impressive lineups including the latest camera models, new photo experience technologies and near future systems.

At the Touch & Try Zone, FujiFilm showcased their new FinePix F60fd camera (an upgrade of the F50fd model), which uses a Face Detection Technology version 3.0, as fast as 0.036 seconds. They also showcased for the first time the FinePix S2000HD (an upgrade of the S1000fd), which enables the photographer to enjoy enlarged and high-resolution photos and movies taken with the camera by simply connecting an HDTV connection cable. The J camera models series (J150w, J120, J110w and J100), announced at the mid of August, were introduced at the show as well.

The Real Photo Technology Experience Area was specially established to allow visitors to experience the different FujiFilm cameras features and technologies. For instance, the Scene Recognition Auto function was introduced, intelligently identifying scenes and optimizing photographic conditions accordingly. The Wide Dynamic Range 400%, which suppresses over-exposure in scenes with a high contrast between dark and bright colors, was also introduced.

The Real Photo Technology Experience section featured Fujifilm’s “Super CCD at Photokina 2008” which includes the structure and concept of Fujifilm’s newly-developed sensor and other leading imaging products. Fujifilm has also developed a brand new dimensional imaging system as part of its near future technologies which was offered to the new world of imaging as an imaging concept model.

FujiFilm also introduced a few attractions that drew some traffic to their booths. One of them was a professional photographer taking staged photos of visitors that volunteered to participate in the shot. Those volunteers were asked to wear some accessories, as sunglasses, and were captured in creative poses, staged by the photographer. 

News from Sony
Sony showcased their new DSLR, the Alpha 900, which features a 24.6 MP 35mm full-frame CMOS sensor. This camera was the most popular camera among Sony booth visitors, as this camera was already announced many months ago, and this was the first time one could actually put his hands on it. The A900 also features a SteadyShot inside full frame image sensor shift stabilization, high speed Dual Bionz processors, 5 frames per second burst, a 3.0 inch LCD screen (270 dpi), a new vertical grip and much more.

Some new CyberShot cameras, which were already announced in August, were introduced at the Sony booths, including the DSC-T700, DSC-T77 and DSC-T500.

Sony exhibited a well-designed aquarium, also displaying their different underwater products. These products include housings for both compact digital cameras and camcorders and lighting solutions. Most of Sony underwater housings are made from Polycarbonate and are depth rated to 132 feet.

Cologne
The Photokina show is held in September every two at the Cologne trade fair. When visiting the Photkina fair, it is absolutely a must to take advantage of the opportunity and to pay a visit at the different attractions of the beautiful Cologne city as well.

Cologne is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants. It is one of the oldest cities in Germany, having been founded by the Romans in the year 38 BC. Cologne was granted the status of a Roman “city” in the year 50 AD. This city is considered to be a major cultural center of the Rhineland and has a vibrant arts scene. It is home to more than 30 museums and hundreds of galleries. Exhibitions range from local ancient Roman archeological sites to contemporary graphics and sculpture. Within Germany, Cologne is known as an important media center, including several radio and television stations.

The city’s famous Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cologne. It is a beautiful and huge structure, and visiting the Dom when the mass is conducted is a unique experience. Walking the ancient part of the city, where the road is built of small old looking stones, is also a must. Many bars are located here, offering the local beer which can only be consumed at the city of Cologne. Walking around there brings you back a few decades behind, as the only thing missing for my complete experience was a stone-age puffed dress (and maybe a handsome knight).

See you at Photokina 2010
We, at Fantasea, would like to thank everyone who took part in establishing the wonderful fair this year and especially for coming up the idea of hosting an underwater imaging section for the first time. We would like to specially thank Dennis Wilson, an event manager in the fair, who took such great care of everyone and made sure that all of ours needs are perfectly met. We hope to meet you all, visitors, exhibitors and event managers, at the Photokina 2010 fair.

-Sharon Rainis, Fantasea Line