Showing posts with label CES 2013. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CES 2013. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

CES 2013...not really that exciting for photographers, but exciting for Pentax users.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Photographer friends,

I was lucky enough to attend the CES 2013 in Las Vegas. I got there on the second day it was opened to the public and stayed through Friday. Although the media announced that this was the most successful CES ever, I wasn't all that impressed and here's why.
 
They had more people attending, but I did not see a lot of new innovations. The technology advancements were mostly around televisions and wireless sounds systems for the TV's, automobiles and computers as well.
 
New super resolution TV's were announced, and frankly, I was astonished by their high definition, that is now beyond anything I have ever seen.  The only problem...you can't really use them in your home until the infrastructure of cable networks and television stations is done.  Gaming was a good part of the CES this year and they are closer to reality than ever before.  That was about it, everything else seemed to be extensions of existing technologies.
 
I was there mostly for the digital photography equipment. Photography used to be mostly analog and was completely separated from electronic devices. Every year, the PMA (Photo  Marketing Association) was holding a similar convention as the CES. Since the cameras are almost all digital, the PMA has associated themselves with the CES. They had to because their attendance was consistently diminishing.
 
Now, they pretty much have been gobbled up by the CES event. The exposition floors of this year's convention occupied the equivalent of 37 football fields. That's not counting the private suites each major company had for wining and dining their guests and also meeting with potential buyers and retailers.

The photography industry was not as prestigious and was not represented by the usual number of vendors as it was when they had their own conventions, the PMA. Of course, the big camera makers were there. They included Canon, Nikon, Sony, plus various other manufacturers and related equipment vendors. Of course, RICOH PENTAX was well represented. I believe it was their biggest booth space yet. It was attractive and a lot of people were visiting. The  Pentax representatives were the friendliest folks there. I met with John Carlson and Amber Renard, (I believe John is Sr. Manager of Sales & Marketing and Amber is Public Relations and Trade Show Coordinator). Both were exceptionally courteous and I am very appreciative of the attention they gave me.

I briefly met and spoke with Jim Malcom, Executive Vice President of the new Ricoh / Pentax company in the U.S. His enthusiasm about Pentax's future led me to believe that Pentax will regain the prosperity it once had. He introduced me to most of the personnel on the floor, both from the U.S. and Canada.

What a great team. I actually felt like I was part of the team myself. Try to approach Canon or Nikon personnel...good luck!

All this positive interaction made me very confident that the acquisition of Pentax by Ricoh, is the best marriage we could ever have wished for. After all, Ricoh is already a player in the Digital Photography market, and Pentax adds to their ability to compete with the leaders of the industry. I believe that Pentax will be the third largest Digital Camera Manufacturer in the not-so-distant future.

Thanks for reading,

Yvon Bourque




 
This is what you got for $18.97

 
Jim Malcom to the left and John Carlson to the right.
 

 
It's hard to see here but this HD TV was 84".
 

 
Early morning crowd visiting the Pentax Booth.
 

 
The MX-1 was introduced at the CES and I was surprised at how well it's built. I am actually going to write an e-book about it, after all not everyone wants to be a professional photographer. Some people just want to take good pictures and know how to operate their camera to it's capability. That's what my e-books do.
 

 
One of the main entrance was all about Pentax.
 
If you already own a Pentax DSLR, chances are that we have an e-book for it. Check it out here.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

CES 2013 is around the corner, January 8th through 11th. I will be attending for the duration and will report mostly about the Digital Photography portion of the trade show.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

 Hi Photographer friends,




This year's, the old "PMA" (Photo Marketing Association)  Photography  trade show is again part of the 2013 International CES, where the world manufacturers of Consumer Electronic show their products.

The PMA show and convention vanished after 2010, the year they decided to hold the trade show in Anaheim, California, instead of Las Vegas. After that fiasco, many of the top brands didn't participate in the annual even renamed CliQ.  Canon did not show up after that show, even though is was brought back to Las Vegas. Nikon had a smaller presentation, Pentax only had a private room to meet with guests. The PMA joined the CES trade show in 2012. It was  successful, but I did not have a chance to attend the 2012 CES.

This year is different and I got my registration in place back in August. I am qualified as "Press" and as such, I will be privy to more access than regular visitors.  I will use that opportunity to bring all the news regarding Pentax and all other brands to this blog. I will try to get some interview with representatives and post that on this blog. 

The difference with my reports and those of reviewers, will be that I don't necessarily look at the high technology of things. I look at the usability and the user's friendliness of photographic equipment. 

If you are attending, it would me my pleasure to meet and say Hi to fellow photographers. An email prior to the show would work. 

The trade show is from January 8 through January 11th, 2013. It's really just around the corner.

If you have specific questions you would like to ask to any of the camera manufacturer, let me know in advance and I will be sure to ask and report results on this blog,  

Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourque




Attendees visit exhibitors in the PMA @ CES TechZone at the 2012 International CES. (c)  CES
These are certainly booths that I will spend a lot of time at:

PENTAX RICOH IMAGING AMERICAS CORPORATION

Booths:
LVCC, Central Hall - 15113
LVCC, North Hall Mtg Rms - N201
LVH Hospitality, - Suite 1710

Canon USA Inc.

Booths:
LVCC, Central Hall - 13304
LVCC, North Hall Mtg Rms - N109 

Nikon Inc.

Booths:
LVCC, Central Hall - 8643
LVCC, Central Hall Mtg Rms - C201C202 

Olympus Imaging America Inc.

Booths:
LVCC, North Hall Mtg Rms - N232N234N236N238N240 

Sony Electronics Inc.

Booths:
LVCC, Central Hall - 14200142131523015231
LVCC, North Hall - 1409 

Sigma Corp of America

Booth:
LVCC, Central Hall - 7904


P.S. Do you have the Pentax K-30 or the Pentax K-5 / K-5 II / K-5 IIs?  You should consider getting a dedicated e-book about your favorite Pentax Digital Camera here.