Apple has always had a significant presence at Photo Plus and I could not understand why there wasn't a huge glowing Apple logo visible anywhere in the place. It was weird, to say the least. I thought there must be a mistake, "I must be blind," I decided, reassuring myself in a not so reassuring way.
First stop, Canon booth. I needed to get my hands on the 5D Mark 2 if it was the last thing I did. It was easier than I expected and I had a nice amount of time with my future best friend. Unfortunately, the Canon folks wouldn't let me stick a card in it but I was able to snag a few shots off a 1Ds3 with the new 24L on it. It looks like it gets a little wonky towards the corners but overall a nice piece of glass for sure.
Next stop, Leica. I wandered into the Leica-zone unsure of exactly what I was doing there. Then a glass case full of oversized 35mm lenses caught my eye. They belonged to the S2, Leica's latest entry into the high-end digital market. I have to say, first impressions were not favorable. That thing is not something I would want to carry around with me, for the same reasons I don't own a 1D and then some. It's just big and clumsy looking, a true BRICK. I think Leica should have just gone all the way and made it a full-fledged medium format camera. No photojournalist is gonna want to lug that crap around, no sir.
Next up, the old Epson booth, I wanted to check out prints from the new HDR inks and I had heard they were having print signings throughout the day. Stopped in at Lexar first to see when Mr. Laforet was going on, saw I had a half hour to kill, then went and stood in line for the print signing. I looked at the list and almost cried, Steve McCurry had been there signing (I'm assuming) prints of his "Afghan Girl" shot from 1230-130, It was now 230. I punched myself in the face. In my imagination.
I was in line for a signed print from a Mr. Vincent Versace. I thought to myself for a minute "I wonder if he's a fashion photographer?" Guess I figured it ran in the name. Turns out he is a photojournalist who had prints from Morocco and Vietnam up in the Epson gallery...go figure. I asked him when it was my turn for a signature where the photo was taken. He told me it was taken in Morocco, in Marrakech. I told him I had been there in May of this year, he told me he was also there in May, then I started replaying my days in Marrakech in my head.
I could almost swear that I had seen him when I was there. I mean, I saw guys who looked like him roaming around with D3's and other enormous cameras. I laughed at those guys when I was there, but I guess thats just how some people like to do it...
So, it was from one Vincent to another. I got to Lexar just as a screening of Reverie was finishing up and Vinny started taking questions and talking to some other interested folks. I waited my turn, shook his hand and congratulated him on Reverie. He was, of course, just as friendly as I remembered and it meant just as much to be able to meet him again.
So, two Vincent's, both nice guys. Good stuff.
I resumed my search for the Apple booth and eventually go my hands on a show guide that had all the exhibitors listed. No Apple. What the hell is this! ARE THEY REALLY NOT HERE?! They weren't, no Apple this year. How freakin bizarre. I checked out a couple more cameras just for the hell of it: the Olympus E-420 and the Sony A900 -- (which I kinda raved about here)
I spent about 30 seconds with the E-420, I really just wanted to see how small it actually was. Its pretty damn small. So is the viewfinder. Not sure how I feel about it.
The Sony A900. I think I was actually more impressed with the lens they had strapped on this thing (Carl Ziess 135mm f1.8) than the actual camera itself. I told the Sony guy that, he didn't seem amused. The camera was pretty cool, not really my cup of tea though. It was kinda heavy and had a lot of fiddly switches and knobs and features that nobody will really ever use. It was a camera that seemed like it was built by a major electronics company, not by photographers.
What I was impressed with, in regards to the Sony, was the output of the thing. They had some monster sized prints hanging up around the booth and I have to say, they were EXTREMELY nice. The color and sharpness was there in a big way. Personally, I wasn't really sold on it but I'm sure it will be a competitor.
Anyways, I think I'm done jabbering for now. Here are some pictures I took out in the rain/wind on my way from Photo Plus back up to 116th.
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