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The PhotoPlus Expo 2009 once again delivered in every way, surpassing prior events with more exhibitors and seminars. Once again, Gallerama was there and this year, we had the pleasure of hearing Harry Benson’s keynote and checking out a few of the seminars including Joe McNally’s Lighting on Location. Have a quick look below and read on for more information.

New Gear From the Market Leaders

As usual, hugely represented and right at the entrance to the Expo are Nikon and Canon, the leaders in the DSLR market and always attracting enormous attention from visitors. Both companies recently made big additions to their camera lineups with Nikon announcing the Nikon D3s and Canon delivering their 1D Mark IV, as well as the all new Canon 7D. Nikon also attracted a lot of buzz at the Expo by showcasing their Nikon COOLPIX S1000pj camera, the world’s first compact camera with a built-in projector. We’ve been expecting this one and will look for this category of products to continue to evolve and expand.

Online Photo Management and Digital Printing: Competition Heats Up.

In much greater number than in prior years, the PhotoPlus Expo featured companies in the web-based photo storage and gallery space, including SmugMug, LiveBooks, Zenfolio and PhotoShelter. Joining SimplyCanvas (our pick for superb quality canvas prints) were Canvas On Demand and MPIX which recently started offering gallery wraps.

But our favorite part of the event was easily Harry Benson’s keynote address.

Keynote by Harry Benson

If you think you don’t know Harry Benson or his work, think again. Harry has photographed Winston Churchill, every U.S. president since Eisenhower, extensively traveled with and covered The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson and many other musicians, endless actors and historic events. In fact, looking at his portfolio you’ll begin to wonder if there was anything that happened over the last 5 decades that he missed. Check out some of his covers.

“I don’t know what I would have done if I had to work for a living”. — Harry Benson

Hearing him speak so passionately about his work and experiences with the people whose lives he captured was inspiring and edifying. Harry’s wit and humble voice made his speech hugely entertaining. If you have an opportunity to hear him speak you should definitely take it. In the meantime, check out his online portfolio or some of his books (a new addition is coming this month).

We often wonder if a photographer with such a rich portfolio would have a favorite photo, and were pleased to hear that does. Taken in Paris, in 1964 it is the shot of The Beatles titled Pillow Fight. Check it out on artnet.

Joe McNally’s Lighting on Location

If Joe McNally is teaching a class in your area, you should go. Simple as that. Regardless of the subject. Joe’s vast knowledge and experience, coupled with his captivating agenda and occasionally very funny delivery are sure to impress and satisfy photographers of all skill levels. As we’ve been on a Lighting kick, we very much looked forward to his Lighting on Location class, which coincidentally will be back in New York City later this month as a part of Kelby Training Live and we look forward to attending in the expanded format.

Next year’s PhotoPlus Expo is taking place at Javitz Center on October 29-30, 2010. Visit www.photoplusexpo.com for further info. See you there.

Our friends at Adorama did an objective report of the new breed of full frame DSLRs. Check it out at: http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=academy_new&article=012609

As DSLR cameras are becoming more popular so is the topic of lens selection. If you are like me and many other photographers and photography enthusiasts you probably started out with a single, versatile lens. Perhaps this lens came along with the camera in a “kit” or maybe you read some reviews and picked a good one separately. But then you realized that this just isn’t cutting it. After all, one of the main reasons for getting a DSLR is its ability to accept different types of lenses. Also, your existing lens may have some shortcomings. For example, the lens distortion is too noticeable; it doesn’t perform well in low light; it suffers from vignetting, etc. These are just some of the problems with many low-cost (and even some more expensive) lenses, but chances are that before you even start thinking about these specific problems you’re just looking for a greater focal range at your disposal.

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My latest (4th or 5th) tripod is certainly a keeper. Read the full report to find out why.

If you’ve ever used a Gitzo tripod – especially one of the modern, carbon fiber ones – you’ll almost certainly agree that its simply in a class of its own. The brilliant design and build quality are sure to please but not all of us can afford (or need) such expensive support gear. I’m guessing this was the thinking of Chinese brand BENRO which has managed to create very high quality near-replicas of the many Gitzo models and make them available at much lower prices. The model that is the topic of this report is the Benro M-028 n6 Carbon Fiber tripod which is a part of Benro’s Mountaineer line, named so after Gitzo’s own Mountaineer series.

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My favorite local photo store – Adorama – recently sent me one of their email newsletters and this particular one happened to highlight an exciting product from the professional photographer and entrepreneur Gary Fong: Lightsphere.

An innovative flash diffuser, the Lightsphere II Inverted Dome System is claimed to produce results rivaling sophisticated studio-lighting setups at a fraction of the cost while being portable enough to carry around anywhere. On Gary’s website you’ll find a number of good videos showing the power of Lightsphere, its variety of applications and performance under different conditions. Gary himself made an appearance at Adorama recently and showcased his product receiving a great response. A member of the staff told me they sold about a hundred of these in a span of 2 hours during and after Gary’s visit!

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I think I know what you’re thinking. The first product review and off all things I pick a ball head? And you’re right. Its an odd choice but it just so happens that I got one of these just this week and am still putting it through the test. Oh, and its not just an ordinary ball head. Its the Markins Q3!

First things first, I bought the ball head directly from Markins although its available elsewhere, including the popular Photo Pro Shop (a part of Nikonians.com). The shipping was inexpensive and the package, which included the ball head and the P200U camera plate (for the Nikon D200 – sold separately) arrived 3 business days later.

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