By Stephen M. Schaub

Yesterday was a marathon trek from Vermont to NYC and back to witness first hand Photo Expo 2007. Was it worth it? Am I a changed person? Are my images now sharper?

In one word, NO.

Some new products that are worth mentioning (note how small the list is):

New E3 by Olympus and new lenses by Olympus
New Satin Canvas by IJ Technologies

That’s about it for things new and worthy. Much of the show was a rehash of PMA from last winter. Sure there were new systems from Nikon and Canon and tweaks to current software and stuff but nothing earth shattering. Everyone I met kept asking “have you seen anything good- anything new?” Universal answer- NO.

It seems to me that the industry (The Photo Industrial Complex) is suffering from the recoil effect of the last few years…when there is huge growth there is always a healthy contraction for a breather. Lets hope that accompanied with this breather is a bit of long term planning or else we may find ourselves very soon on a respirator!

I also notice that several companies had come out with or were about to launch in the coming months cheaper versions of their current products…is this to strike a new market, or to help keep their current and now impoverished one? You decide.

I know there will be web sites proclaiming this amazing new gizmo or that fantastic new optic but in the end the best part about expo for me was chance to reconnect with some friends and just talk.