PMA 2005 retrospection : PMA 2005 has come to an end. The PMA coverage LetsGoDigital provided you with is more comprehensive than ever and is successful in every way. At the time of writing this article more than 170 articles have been published! And when I am through writing this article, I will pack my bag, return the hired car and say goodbye to sunny Orlando. I must admit that the PMA held in the Convention Centrer in Orlando is well-organized and offers sufficient space for the exhibition. Last year's PMA was held in Las Vegas, this year's PMA in Orlando, where will it be held next year, that's to say if it is held? During the many interviews and conversations I had with the representatives of the Digital Imaging industry I heard different views on how valuable a show like the PMA is considered to be, plus other events like the annual CeBIT in Germany. I strongly get the impression that the PMA received fewer visitors than other years, more so because little surprising news was revealed on the show floor. We did get some sad news about a photographic top brand that got hit by the fast changes in the photographic world. Leica suffered from these changes. During the first days of the PMA already rumours were spreading and today it turned out that these rumours unfortunately were based on the truth. It so happens that the bank cut off funds because it doesn't confide in a future for this famous old brand anymore. Undoubtedly Leica will try and keep the business going, but in any case, Leica missed the connection to the digital market and is now paying a heavy price...

Before PMA 2005 kicked off, practically every manufacturer felt the urge of announcing various introductions. Nowadays the news goes around the world in a few seconds and the consumer gets more and better information than ever before. Hardly any manufacturer uses the PMA to introduce new products but they use this event to directly deal with the retail channels. The European marketing world and European press were scarcely attending this year's PMA event, which is a rather bad sign. The next show is the CeBIT, held in Germany from 10 to 16 March 2005, and LetsGoDigital will of course be present to cover the show. The upcoming weeks will be loaded with news about the approaching CeBIT show

For a complete overview of product announcements and a short editorial overview, selected by brand follow the links below:

PMA 2005 show, finished : The PMA 2005, in Orlando, Florida, USA has really come to an end now. I just got back from another morning on the show floor, also to say goodbye to a couple of good friends, and shake hands with newly found relations hoping to meet them again soon. Back in the hotel, rushing to pack my suitcase, checking out, jumping into the car to drive to the airport to catch my plane back to the Netherlands. The Digital Imaging world keeps being interesting, and sometimes even fascinating. The year 2005 will be an important one for manufacturers; market shares have to be held on to strongly and one will have to search for innovations to call the force of the Mobile Imaging industry a halt. The next show is already waiting around the corner, the CeBIT 2005 in Germany. LetsGoDigital will also attend this show and provide you with a complete report on the special CeBIT show coverage website: http://www.cebit-show.com

Running into Douglas Kirkland: During my visit today at the PMA 2005 in Orlando Florida, I ran into Douglas Kirkland, the famous leading photographer. I already met Douglas last year during the annual HP Lab event. This event was held in 2004 for one week on the beautiful island of Kos in Greece, which turned out to be an unforgettable experience. Douglas has the gift of talking passionately about his photographic experiences. His passion is complete and pure and that's why he's able to pull everybody into the world of Douglas Kirkland. Douglas invited me to meet him at the HP booth somewhere during the afternoon where he would be giving a presentation about the print qualities of the new HP Photosmart 8750 and the HP Designjet 90 printer.

During our visit to the Sigma booth on PMA 2005, held in sunny Orlando - Florida, we spoke to Michiro Yamaki, President of Sigma Japan and Kazuto Yamaki. Just before the PMA 2005 kicked off, Sigma introduced a number of new lenses and adjusted a large amount of existing lenses in order to make them suitable for the digital reflex camera. Suspicion had raised amongst the passionate Sigma followers, that Sigma had taken a number of lenses with a fixed focal length out of production and at the same time decreased their assortment of lenses. But nothing like that, in fact the opposite happened: Sigma jumped on the growing market segment of digital reflex cameras, and equipped a huge amount of lenses with DG EX features which prepares Sigma to meet the large demand for these kind of lenses.

Corel RawShooter essentials 2005  

Kodak expands Perfect Touch Technology

Konica Minolta DiMAGE Transfer Software

Nikon Face Priority AF  

KlearVision Digital PhotoD  

Toshiba & SanDisk 300mm-wafer fab building  [NEW]

PASS Specification V1.0 

Lexar Media unveils special website 

Cypress acquires SMaL Camera Technology 

D.Vandekerkhove CEO of ACD Systems

Plextor PX-716AL drive  [NEW]

Omnivision OV5610 CMOS Image Sensor  [NEW]

Omnivision OV810 SmartSensor  [NEW]

Kodak Picture Kiosk 

Lowepro CompuTrekker Plus AW 

Olympus Zuiko Lenses PMA 2005  [SPECIAL]

Around the world with Sigma lenses  [SPECIAL]

Olympus Zuiko Digital Zoom lenses

Canon EF-S 60mm Digital USM lens

SMC Pentax DA 50-200mm  

PhotoChannel Launches WiFi Mobile Printing 

Epson and Sprint Print home feature 

Micron 2MP MT9D111 sensor  

Fujifilm Digital Mobile Printer MP-70  

Pantech PH-L400v mobile video phone