We had a great few days at the National Exhibition Centre, introducing new readers to f2 and meeting old friends. Cameracraft also went down very well as it was the first time many UK photographers had actually seen a copy, we don’t give out samples by post but had a stack of back issues to hand out at The Photography Show.
It’s just an empty stand… we were there, honestly! Richard Kilpatrick made the large exhibition prints using his HP Z3200 24 inch printer and the quality was amazing considering we just created 600dpi PDF files from three covers, and took them up to that size. The furniture was IKEA and buying this assembly cost us less than hiring a desk and cupboard from the NEC, while providing really good storage for everything we needed.
It was a great show – probably better than any recent Focus on Imaging – and the only regret was that being on the stand made it impossible to take in the many talks and star photographer appearances.
You could get involved in anything from a crowds of hundreds to a group of a just a few.
Martin Grahame-Dunn, whose article introducing the iLux Summit 600C mains-free flash head appears in the April edition of ƒ2, was demonstrating the kit and helping photographers with technique on the Photomart stand.
Frank Doorhof, larger than life as ever, was demonsrtrating the new Elinchrom ELC Pro-HD flash heads on the Flash Centre stand with the help of his model Nadine (who also designs and creates her own costumes).
The whole flash/studio/strobe/speedlight market is changing rapidly and we can see a time coming soon when only amateurs still use battery camera-top flashguns – even though every pro will still own one or two, the introduction of wireless TTL (18 years after Quantum first offered it!) and Lith-ion onboard power to studio type heads by Profoto in the B1 is the beginning of a trend and not the culmination of development. ƒ2 will be following it – watch out for our flash system reviews in coming issues.
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. Have a question. What do you mean by stating “The whole flash/studio/strobe/speedlight market is changing rapidly and we can see a time coming soon when only amateurs still use battery camera-top flashguns – even though every pro will still own one or two…”? What is happening that will render on-camera (or off-camera small flashes) extinct for pro photographers? Won’t there always be an application or circumstance that mono-lights/studio lights will be impractical?
There will always be a place for camera-top speedlight flash, but there’s a whole new wireless TTL technology arriving which along with lith-ion batteries (instead of AA cells) and LED modelling will make intermediate designs like the Profoto B1 and Quantum Trio more affordable. Obviously you don’t need 500 Ws all the time or the size of a B1. The big change is that 200-500 Ws monobloc heads no longer need mains power (they have built-in lith-ion), they can have modelling despite using a battery source (thanks to LEDs) and they don’t need cables and they can be TTL-dedicated. Right now there’s only one example of the full works around, the Profoto B1. China is working on units at a tenth of the price right now…
Thank you. I guess I’m not keeping up. Was not aware of monoblocs using lithium batteries now and with TTL! I am really behind the times. So since monoblocs will have TTL I suppose light meters wouldn’t be needed either?
It will take a few years to change, but I imagine the camera makers will abandon AA cell power for flashguns and put LEDs into the main reflector (not as a separate video light the way it’s done now) as their next step. I don’t use a light meter for flash. I know the power, do the set up, make a test shot or two and adjust camera and flash to suit.
Yeah I suppose these days with digital taking test shots is like before light meters when Polaroid was the test shot.
Love the exhibition prints of the f2 and Cameracraft covers. I would love to have them. Do you think you’d ever offer them for sale?
That would be up to the photographers though I can see how the Cameracraft cover could be a poster like Athena posters etc. We’ll have to think about this.
Thanks