pma

LAS VEGAS--The bad economy has hurt the photography business, but there are a few areas of growth amid the gloom.

Among the bright spots are digital SLR cameras, photo books, memory-keeping moms, and Web sites adapted for mobile phone use., concluded InfoTrends analysts sharing research results at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) show here Wednesday.

Overall, though, the mood is grim.

"It sure feels different at this year's PMA. There's not so much booth space, not so much traffic. The energy level is down. This recession feels different from back in '01 (which was) somewhat contained to the tech sector," said InfoTrends President Jeff Hayes. "Now it has become an issue of a consumer confidence crisis and has become a lot more broadly based. The photo industry is feeling this." … Read more

The Pandigital PanTouch Clear 10.4-inch frame (also known by the far-catchier name PAN1000DWPCF2) is not only fully loaded with features, but it's really thin, too, at just 0.3-inch thick. The 4:3 frame uses an HD-quality LCD with a 1,024x768 resolution and it has a full touch-screen interface on fingerprint-resistant, clear glass. It's all very exciting.

With an MSRP of $229.99 you better be getting more than just a thin, pretty touch-screen frame, and you do. There's integrated Wi-Fi for connecting to a home wireless network and you'll be able to use … Read more

At the PMA show yesterday, Pentax announced a new Limited Series lens, the DA 15mm f4 ED AL Limited. The ultra-wide angle lens has a 23mm equivalent in 35mm terms and has a closest focusing distance of 6 inches. The lens has an aspherical (AL) lens element, and an extra low dispersion (ED) lens element to minimize chromatic aberrations and ensure image quality. Image distortion is claimed to be extremely low for an ultra wide-angle lens.

As with others in Pentax's Limited lens series, it is built to a high-quality standard, featuring the lens barrel, cap, and built-in hood … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Yes, this is a camera show, but as the PCs reporter, I couldn't help but notice that Hewlett-Packard had a distinct presence outside its own booth here.

Several companies were using HP's touch-screen desktop PC, the TouchSmart, loaded with their own software to let PMA attendees try out photo-printing solutions, and retail store kiosk software.

Digilabs, which makes free software for printing photo books and calendars, was using the touch-screen desktop to demonstrate its software. DNP Photo also had TouchSmarts in its booth to show how its Tomo software works. Tomo lets users upload photos online at … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Having trouble attaching your camera to the outside of your plane? Delkin Devices announced a new product, the Fat Gecko camera mount, that could take care of your needs.

The $89.99 device has two large suction cups to hold cameras as heavy as 6 pounds, company Chief Executive Martin Wood said at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) trade show here. The $89 device is strong enough to hold a camera on a plane going 200mph, he said.

The company is also working on two other versions of the device, one with two straps for attaching cameras to larger … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Camera cleaning accessory maker LensPen announced a new product to help remove dust, hairs, specks, and other detritus that sticks to digital SLR sensors.

The $59.95 SensorKlear Loupe, announced here at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) show, is a magnifying glass that attaches to a camera's lens mount. Its four battery-powered LEDs illuminate the sensor, and unlike rival products such as VisibleDust's Sensor Loupe, a gap in the side allows you to clean off the sensor.

Unsurprisingly, the company recommends use of LensPen SensorKlear II to actually clean off the schmutz. The pen and loupe together … Read more

LAS VEGAS--It's probably the least stylish digital camera on display here at PMA 2009, but it's also one of the most unusual.

As a result, Fujifilm is getting a lot of attention at its booth in the Las Vegas Convention Center with its FinePix Real 3D camera, even though it first showed the unit at Photokina last fall. It's just a prototype, but the point-and-shoot camera is capable of taking and displaying 3D photos.

The camera has two lenses, which take two different images. Then Fujifilm's RP Processor 3D takes the two images and combines them … Read more

LAS VEGAS--ScanCafe, a start-up that digitizes film images using relatively cheap labor in Bangalore, India, announced a new service on Tuesday to scan black-and-white negatives.

The Burlingame, Calif.-based company already scanned color slides and negatives as well as prints, but film scanners have trouble with black-and-white negatives. ScanCafe uses a "wet mount" process for which the company has applied for a patent, said Wade Lagrone, vice president of marketing, in an interview at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) show here.

The process is more expensive but still competitive, Lagrone said. Color negatives cost 24 cents each, color slides 29 cents, prints 27 cents, and black-and-white negatives 69 cents apiece. The cost includes retouching and color correction. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Olympus has set a ship date, albeit one with a lot of wiggle room, for its first high-end compact camera using the Micro Four Thirds technology.

The camera maker first showed a nonworking "concept model" of the camera at the Photokina show last September, and the same model is on display here at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) trade show. Now, though it sports a label, "launching this summer." … Read more