rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

This morning I was greeted by an email from Roberts Camera / UsedPhotoPro offering to provide me with a free pass to PhotoPlus this coming weekend in NYC. That got me to thinking - it seems like Photokina just closed, and nothing much has happened in the industry since then, so why does a show like PhotoPlus still exist? I understand why the people in NYC will continue to run this show as long as people still show up, but why do people still show up in the Internet Age?

Yes, if my inlaws still lived in Brooklyn, he could take the subway to Manhattan and see the exhibits, but he could have seen the same stuff from the comfort of his own den during Photokina.

Yes, i could drive 800 miles to NYC to sell my used gear to UPP, but I didn't even drive 100 miles to Indy - I sold them some stuff this past week entirely over the Internet {except for my trip to the UPS store}.

In 1979 I bought my first SLR, a Pentax, at the Roberts store in downtown Indy. In 2015 I bought my most recent DSLR, a Pentax, from KEH via the Internet; in fact, I have purchased each of my DSLR's, all three of them, via the Internet.

So, I can understand, sort of, why CP+ and Photokina exist to show real live new hardware, but I don't understand why the other shows still run.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Hands-on examination of gear (e.g. how the camera fits in your hands) seems like would be a draw for many. Mingling with others of "your kind" is more fun for some than internet conversations and You-Tube videos.

Or like kids in a candystore, just too many goodies to pass up??

FrankR Loc: NYC

'Cause every once in a while it's good to get outside and mingle with live, breathing, wonderful and obnoxious people.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

It is hard to have a real-time dialog over the Internet. You can do it with chat, but unless you're using Skype or FaceTime, it's hard to read the other person. Conference calls, Google Hangouts, and GoToMeeting sessions are not quite substitutes for group meetings, either.

Most of us refer to the Internet for facts, to narrow our search range from sets of specifications, reviews, opinions, and the like. But I like to actually HOLD a camera or lens in my hands, to feel the locations of controls, examine the menu structures, check balance, get a sense of the construction quality... and compare it with other choices.

Regional shows such as PhotoPlus are a chance to do some of that touchy-feely stuff with the gear, as well as meet some of the people who can answer your questions with the most authority. You can state your needs, wants, hopes, dreams, and desires, and if the sales rep is any good at all, he/she will provide direct answers to those stated requests for relevance, by covering related features and their benefits, and addressing concerns.

Back when I worked for Delmar and Herff Jones Photography Division (now part of Lifetouch), I used to go to PMAI (Photo Marketing Association International) conventions and attend both the trade show and seminars conducted by PMAI, the Digital Imaging Marketing Association, and the Professional School Photographers of America. Occasionally, I'd attend SPAA (Sports Photographers' Association of America) seminars, too. These seminars were invaluable in providing a perspective on the state of the industry.

At PMAI, we would meet with our vendors (Kodak, Noritsu, Durst, Canon, ProMark, Epson, Fuji-Hunt, etc.) in their "back rooms" to see the latest gear and talk shop. Some million dollar deals for hardware were closed there. The trade show itself was also a good gauge of the state of the industry. We could follow the development of digital imaging from the labs and engineers' perspectives, all the way to fully functioning, mature, products.

PMAI was an industry insider group. It started out as mostly a group of camera store owners who got together to meet with their vendors and make deals. It grew to engulf many other "camps" of the photo industry. At its height, 40,000 to 50,000 people would attend PMAI's Las Vegas conventions. It is a much smaller convention now, because the vast majority of camera stores have closed their doors since the advent of digital cameras, the rise of the Internet, and the disruptive, pervasive penetration of the smart phone into the photography markets. PMAI has mostly combined its forces with the Consumer Electronics Show, since the major manufacturers wanted to cut one show out of their Winter schedule to save money. The PMAI organization is gone, but the remnants are managed by a trade show company.

The appeal of a big show such as PMAI or Photokina is quite social. You get a chance to meet with the finest minds in the industry and talk shop with people who truly care about the same things you do. You get a glimpse of the future, reconnect with past associates, make new connections, and get inspired. It is difficult to do that on the Internet, as good as the Internet is.

Unfortunately, times have changed. As trade show attendance falls off, more and more industries are abandoning them as key marketing tools. My wife is the marketing communications manager for an industrial ducting company. They used to attend several trade shows each season. They're now down to one or two a year.

Armadillo Loc: Ventura, CA

Leitz Loc: Solms

To some, nothing makes sense.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

PhotoPlus Expo is about so much more than just a place to sell stuff, and it attracts visitors for a variety of reasons.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

You think that's stupid, people pay the big bucks to go on vacation to NYC and will actually waste a full half a day of that trip visiting a camera store!!! Well, just go figure!!!
SS

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

In 1969, I turned 14. I bought my first serious camera on an August trip to Chicago (my folks and I had been visiting family in Decatur and Hinsdale). I spent half a day at Altman's camera (long gone), before plunking down $240 plus tax for a Nikkormat FTn and 50mm f/1.4 lens. (That's like $1600 now!) This was a big, freakin' deal for me, because it was a third less expensive there, than it was in Greenville, SC, where I lived at the time. I'd made the money mowing lawns and selling pictures to my friends and the school yearbook adviser, that I had made with a borrowed Canon FX. I have VIVID memories of the trip, including a Nathan's hot dog. I still have the negs and a few prints from my first roll of film in that camera.

Now, I have no access to camera stores unless I drive an hour or 90 minutes. Why THOSE stores are still in business is a mystery... Most people just go there to see stuff, then buy it on line.

Armadillo Loc: Ventura, CA

Hello Bill,

You have a valid point, but there is another angle being used today on the internet. The brick & mortar stores also have a web presence; they have their own website, and accounts in Amazon.com, eBay, Craig's List, etc. They have found a way to get us coming and going.

We used to have one of the only decent camera stores in Ventura County in downtown Ventura on Main and Calif. streets. They closed their big store, opened a much smaller store and sell anything needing back-order through their Amazon account. If a customer is not knowledgeable about both photo equipment and reading the full page online he/she can end up shopping in the brick & mortar store, going home to shop for a cheaper price online, and ending up purchasing the same product for the same, or higher price online.

Michael G

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

True. Online dealer prices tend to be uniformly the same as the manufacturers' web store prices, but sometimes you can get some items bundled into the deal. Whether those items are worth having is another matter...

Armadillo Loc: Ventura, CA

When we take a good, long, hard, look at the options between online purchasing and brick & mortar purchasing the only difference is in the sales tax and potentially big volume purchases with the B&M stores (Walmart, COSTCO, SAM'S, etc.). The online stores charge for shipping & handling, but the so do the B&M stores, we just don't see the extra charges in the receipt.

More and more lately, the advantage to online purchases comes when the local stores no longer carry our products, or have closed their doors. Then we may have to travel a few miles to put our hands on a display model.

Michael G

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

How about hands on, or at least eyes on, new gear? i can't get to Photokina, but the Javits Center is literally right across the river. I can observe things live and ask questions live. I can see demonstrations and hopefully get answers to specific questions of interest to me that may not be covered, or covered to my satisfaction, on the internet. I'm a IT guy with over 35 years of professional computer experience, but, every once in a while it's good to leave the house and see things for yourself and interface with living, breathing humans.

traveler90712 Loc: Lake Worth, Fl.

Short and sweet;
Meet some of those who you have chatted here on ugly.
Touch and play with those new equipment/products
See demos of new equipment/methods
(if lucky)Get equipment/product discounts

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

If having a few toy, er, I mean, gear shows is good then having too many is better!