Photokina 2008 Show Report
The last show, held in 2006, attracted 162,492 visitors (65% of whom were trade) and had no less than 1,579 exhibitors. This year the show will take place between the 23rd and 28th September (10 AM to 6 PM). Announcements of 'Photokina products' is already well underway and began around the beginning of August. As usual (this will be our fifth Photokina) we will be providing frequent and detailed coverage of product announcements as well as a live 'from the show floor' report which will appear here and subsequent pages during the show. (We were the first to do live wifi-from-the-show-floor reporting way back at Photokina 2004). Jump to:
Photokina 2008 Summary NEW
Photokina is now over for another two years, so as we return to some semblance of normality it's time to reflect on what Photokina 2008 tells us about the state of the industry and to look at some of the emerging trends in digital cameras and digital imaging in general. This was the first Photokina we've covered since increasing our staffing levels, and this is reflected in the record number of stand reports we produced, as well as an increased depth of reporting (we've got several interviews with senior executives to publish over the next few days). The days when the major manufacturers waited until the show itself to spring new products on eagerly awaiting visitors are long-gone - this year the announcements started back in August and for the most part where over well before the doors of the Köln Messe opened on the 23rd September. This does mean that the more off-the-wall announcements and those that are held back until the show actually starts tend to get all the attention. This year the biggest story of the show (certainly it was the most talked about camera as we walked the halls and met with executives) was the Panasonic G Micro system, which finally delivers the interchangeable lens camera with electronic viewfinder that has been anticipated for so long. Of course the buzz around Micro Four Thirds was almost usurped by Leica's announcement of the development of an entirely new medium format DSLR system. The S2 had observers simultaneously praising Leica for such a brave (and unexpected) move and scratching their heads at its commercial viability in an already tough marketplace. And so it was these twin off-shoots of the conventional 35mm-based SLR (twins in the loosest sense, with the G1 playing Danny De Vito to the S2's Arnold Schwarzenegger) that stood out at this Photokina - if nothing else they are at least proof that the spirit of innovation and risk-taking is still alive and well in this industry at a time when the market leaders seem determined to play things safe. Elsewhere the trend towards stills/movie convergence through the inclusion of video recording in SLRs and HDTV compatibility in compacts seem set to continue, helped by the latest generation of ultra fast high capacity storage cards. Wherever we went there were murmurs and whispers about new technologies and new form factors that would transform the compact camera market (and certainly result in Panasonic / Olympus not being the only people sat at the 'mirrorless SLR' table). There's no doubt in our minds that the compact camera market needs a serious kick up the card slot, and the stagnation is obvious when you look at just how few compacts were launched this year at Photokina. This is in part due to ever shorter product cycles (which make waiting for trade shows commercially impossible), but we suspect it's also because there's really very little about the steady stream of 'me too' models that the manufacturers really want to shout about at an international trade show. This was one of the reasons we were so pleased to see Fujifilm once again pushing sensor technology forward in an attempt to overcome some of the problems that have dogged the latest, pixel-dense compacts. The new 3D stuff was pretty cool too, even if it still remains to be seen if there is actually a market big enough to make it viable. Dpreview.com's Top 10 Products of the show NEW
Manufacturer interviews NEWIn addition to our extensive show coverage we've also conducted a series of interviews with senior executives from some of the key manufacturers to get answers to some of our (and your) topical questions.
Live Show Report
The most hands-on previews and samples galleries, anywhereIn the mad run-up to Photokina we've been working very hard to bring you detailed hands-on previews (meaning we have the camera's in-house and have fully analysed their design, operation and features) and samples galleries from some of the key cameras at Photokina. This has involved hundreds of hours of work and has one aim; to bring you as much detail as we possibly can. Here's the list:
The unfolding story of Photokina 2008Below you will find the 'New Product Index', this constantly updated list provides a very quick overview of products announced either for or during Photokina. During the show itself this page will also carry an index to our live show report (one page per stand, following on from this page).
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to the Digital Photography Review Photokina 2008 show report. The 
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