PMA 2011

[Matt. K]

I was able to get along to the above expo courtesy of work and check out all the new stuff. Here are some of my impressions...firstly, there seemed to be a new optimism amongst photographers there. The stands had some exiting new technology, the exhibited prints were knock out stunning (some of the panos were breath taking in their quality both technical and aesthetic). There was a buzz in the air that had been absent in previous years. What's going on? The wedding industry seems to be where all the action is and it's obvious that if you want to make some money that's what you need to be very good at. I handled and fell in love with Fujis new Finepix X100. Oh what a camera! Image quality to die for even at ISO 6400! This is a Leica in Fuji clothing at 1/8th the price of a leica. The only negative is the fixed lens....but Fuji have never made a poor quality optic and the 23mm is superb. Printer technology is getting better and the quality now available is something we could only have dreamt about 10 years ago. Underwater camera housings and flash equipment are out of this world....The high end ink jet papers such as Hannamuell are so beautiful that Rembrandt himself would have been impressed! There were photographs that looked like paintings and colours that would have been impossible to recreated a few years ago with a printer....but more important than all of the above...I got a free CD marker pen and a free stainless steel drink bottle....what else could a man ask for?

[glamy]

Nothing in the bottle?

[gstark]

Nothing in the bottle?

Sadly, no. Mine, at least, was empty


Matt, did you get to see the Fuji GF670 or GF670W? Big brother to the X100. But uses good ole 120 stock!

[Matt. K]

Gary
Yes. Can you imagine what you could with that and some stock of Tri-X and HC-110 dev?

[aim54x]

I was there briefly after work...no freebies to report yet, but i will be back again tomorrow.

As for Tri-X...it is still available but the consensus amongst the serious film shooters at work (Foto Riesel, before I became a casual recently)is that Kodak has done something with it, and it is no longer as good as it used to be.

[gstark]

And I have some AP100/120 in the fridge here. Possibly some HP4 or HP5 as well. Maybe I'll check at some point.

[radar]

Yep, worth visiting.

I also found that Hoodman have some very good prices on their products, look for them at the Camera Electronics stand. I got a HoodEYE for my D700, $22. That's with the larger eyecup to fit glasses.

L&P was also having good sales on Think Tank gear, 30-50% off, so if you were wanting some gear, check them out.

As Matt says, the printing technologies on display, are awesome. And not just the printers but also the papers.

Make sure to stop at the APPA stands to check out the judging.

cheers,

André

[Mr Darcy]

Evil place. Evil. Don't go. It's way too expensive.

[gstark]

Evil place. Evil. Don't go. It's way too expensive.

But it's free.

[surenj]

Greg, what was the damage?

[Mr Darcy]

A Printer: Epson 3880. Planned - choosing one was my main reason for going I actually saved money here. prior to going, the 4990 was at the top of my list.
A 27" Eizo monitor. Definitely not planned
A couple of cheapie for speedlight softboxes & Justin Clamps Not planned, but I am always looking to improve my lighting setup
Nik software suite. Planned but not intended at this time.

Very nearly a Sirui monopod, but language difficulties saved me.
Future purchases: My god. Some of that paper was amazing
Luckily the D400 was NOT annnounced.

[surenj]

Did you get the CG275W?

Did they have a NO TRADE rules? Didn't they check you when you walked out with a shopping trolley?

[tommyg]

So why the change in printers? And, what price were they offering on the 3880?

[Mr Darcy]

The reason for a new printer is that my old one is very old and the (dye) inks fade quite quickly. The new ones claim archival quality.

The 4990 was the top of the shortlist as I want to be able to print panoramas up to 2 metres or so in length. The 4990 was the lowest configuration that advertised this capability. The best price I was able to find was AUD3200, more than a little off putting for what will be at most occasional use. When I saw the physical size of the printer, I was even more discouraged. This will be going in a spare bedroom already filled with other junk. It will be a VERY tight fit.

SO I talked to the reps, both retail and manufacturer. It appears that the 3880 cut sheet only printer IS able to print up to 3 metres provided the roll is precut and allowed to flatten before it is used. Because I have large benches for woodwork, this is relatively easy for me to do.
While the footprint in use, is similar to the 4990, it packs up to not much larger than the 3000 which was also on the shortlist. The 3000 was cheaper again, and has a roll paper option. But it is only A3, so it is smaller. And when you look into it, the printer driver limits it to about 1.1metre (44 inch) prints. There is apparently a third party "rip" that will allow it to print longer, but that put the price up to the same ballpark as the 3880 which will handle A2. It is also considerably cheaper. I paid AUD1765. Sadly it is not one of the new 10 ink machines. I am sure that will be the 3890 in the not too distant future.

Suren, the monitor is the SW2760W There were a large number of monitors on various display stands. These were new at the start of PMA, and were being sold off at Ex Demo prices at the end of the show. I put my name on one of these.

[surenj]

Hey Greg, that's an excellent price for that printer!

How much was the damage for the monitor? Is it the self calibrating variety?

[aim54x]

That was a lot of damage Greg....congrats on the purchases!

[Murray Foote]

SO I talked to the reps, both retail and manufacturer. It appears that the 3880 cut sheet only printer IS able to print up to 3 metres provided the roll is precut and allowed to flatten before it is used. Because I have large benches for woodwork, this is relatively easy for me to do.

That's a surprise. It didn't appear to be true for the 3800. (The site that links to is a very useful source of info for the 3800 and 3880; most comments for the 3800 apply to the 3880). Epson UK also says user-defined print length up to 37.4". Let us know how you go with this.

Sadly it is not one of the new 10 ink machines. I am sure that will be the 3890 in the not too distant future.

I understand that the word from Epson when the 4900 was introduced was that there would never be a 3900 because the extra cartridge (and associated technology, maybe) would not fit in the smaller body.

Congrats on your purchases.

[Murray Foote]

I just checked. If I try to define a custom paper size on my 3880, the maximum value it accepts is 950mm, or 37.4".

[Matt. K]

Greg
Maybe you could get some of your cash back by printing panos for forum members at mates rates?

[Mr Darcy]

Greg
Maybe you could get some of your cash back by printing panos for forum members at mates rates?

That thought has been in the back of my mind for some time, but if Murray is right, it won't happen.
I had three different reps tell me that "unofficially" it would print to at least 2 metres. One said 2, the other two said 3 metres. That why I bought it. and not the cheaper 3000 + rip. Trouble is, it will get expensive to try.

[ATJ]

How much was the damage for the monitor? Is it the self calibrating variety?

How can a monitor be self calibrating? How can it independently verify the colours and gamma?

[Mr Darcy]

How much was the damage for the monitor? Is it the self calibrating variety?

How can a monitor be self calibrating? How can it independently verify the colours and gamma?

It has a little popup sensor that can be set to run at (e.g.) 03:00 every third Sunday of the month. It pops up, runs a calibration & pops down again.

And no Suren the one I ordered does not have it. It does come with an external calibrator though, which I declined as I already have a Spyder3 and an Eye1.

[ATJ]

It has a little popup sensor that can be set to run at (e.g.) 03:00 every third Sunday of the month. It pops up, runs a calibration & pops down again.

So they increase the cost of each and every monitor when the current method is to purchase a calibration tool, once, which can be used on multiple monitors (both in the same time frame if you have more than one monitor or over time when you replace your monitor)? Seems inefficient to me.

[dviv]

Seems inefficient to me.

Agreed - but by putting one in each monitor they are effectively selling hundreds (or thousands?) more calibration devices than they otherwise would.

Anything for a buck?

[Mr Darcy]

You will notice that the monitor I bought did not come with the device
But I do see a few advantages in the real, and especially the commercial, world.
1. If you use an external device, you have to remember to use it. Yes I know they can remind you but...
2. While calibration is happening, the monitor cannot be used for anything else, so it is essentially dead time. But you have to be there to set up the external one. So it has to happen during work time so it eats into the productive day. (Yes I realise this could be the beginning of the lunch break) The inbuilt one can be left to run unattended in what would otherwise be dead time anyway. The cost saving in wages could easily offset the extra cost of the monitor over its life time.
3. Because it is automated, the monitor is likely to be calibrated more frequently & therefore more likely to be accurate at any given time. I don't know about you, but I find the reminders annoying, so I have them turned off or set to the longest possible delay as they almost invariably pop up when it is least convenient to take the time out to do a calibration. After all, I have just turned the computer onto do something else.

[ATJ]

Greg, I guess it depends on which "commercial" world we are talking about. For very small enterprises (1 to 3 people/computers) I would tend to agree with the points you raise. Once you start getting into a larger enterprise the extra monitor costs would get significant (versus a single external calibration tool that can be shared). These places may also have a dedicated IT support person who could do the calibrations on a regular basis.

The automatic calibration would rely on the computer and monitor being left on overnight, etc. This may not happen in an enterprise - saving power, etc.