[RonHendriks1966]

So the Photokina is on it's way. http://www.photokina.com/photokina/index-9.php I visited the last three Editions. Probably not going this year, but you never know. One problem with Internet is that you know all that is there before you get in you car to make the drive down.

In 2014 the Photokina was to my feeling, a lot less crowded as in 2012. Yet they published having the same amount of visits and succes as before. It felt like a party, but somehow the industrie was in big stress due to getting smaller in sales. Not to see on the stands or anything, because everyone did it's best to present a show as if business was going on as usual.

I do wonder how that will be this time. The industrie in big stress. Samsung is out of the game and they had a big hall for themselves. Magazine where there last time, but paper magazine are having a hard time surviving. The sales of camera's in 2016 is compared to 2012 less then 50 % of the high times that 2012 where.

So are we going to see a Photokina like nothing happend, or are stands going to be more sober and cheaper, because Finally there is less money for promotion?

What do you think?

[jatrax]

In 2014 the Photokina was to my feeling, a lot less crowded as in 2012. Yet they published having the same amount of visits and success as before.

One of the trade shows I attend for work does the same thing, yet each year the show is more obviously less crowded. I checked last year and the numbers they are publishing are 'registered attendees'. And they send out free 'registrations' to anyone on their list plus any employees of companies that might be in their database. There is a very large difference between actual bodies on the floor versus 'registrations'. The numbers they publish are not false, just misleading. No idea if Photokina does the same thing.

Trade shows in ALL industries are declining, so it may not be a direct relationship between the health of the industry and the health of a trade show. Travel is very expensive, and there are now many other ways to get such information than trade shows. On the other hand hope springs eternal and when a company like Samsung leaves sometimes newer, smaller companies jump at the opportunity to get a booth space. Maybe not smart but it keeps the shows alive.

[tvdtvdtvd]

Travel is very expensive, and there are now many other ways to get such information than trade shows.

I think this has more relevance than the declining market for dedicated cameras. If all else were equal, but the internet didn't exist,
trade shows would be booming. In other words, trade shows like Photokina would be bustling with a growing multitude of interested
parties, though the focus would likely be shifting with smartphone companies opening stalls to advertise their multitask cameras
which can also make phone calls and run apps.

[RonHendriks1966]

Maybe of no important, but there is no mention of mirrorless for the stand of Ricoh-Imaging. All other group are name for the stand.

http://www.photokina.com/photokina/Exhibitor-Search/index-2.php?fw_goto=aussteller/details&&kid=0000530093&values=%7B"stichwort"%3A"Ricoh"%2C"start"%3A0%7D

This exhibitor shows the following products and commodity groups:

Cameras
Action cameras
Compact cameras
Medium and large format cameras
Outdoor cameras
Panoramic cameras / 360 degree camera
DSLR cameras
Lenses, filters and camera equipment / accessories
Lenses for large and medium format cameras
Lenses for SLR cameras
Light technique and lighting
Flash units
Additional assortments
Binoculars

So it looks like Q is out the Windows.

[BigMackCam]

Unless they consider the Q series to be within the "Compact cameras" section. Unlikely, but possible, maybe?

EDIT: In fact, on Ricoh's own discontinued products page, the K-01 and Q appear in the DSLR section...

[Adam]

I think the "decline of the photo industry" debate is blown a little out of proportion. Yes overall still camera sales are lower, but that can primarily be attributed to the fact that compacts (and sometimes even system cameras) have been replaced by smartphones and tablets. New system camera models were being released faster than technology moved forward, resulting in too many new models that were often too expensive or simply did not warrant an upgrade.

Still, photography as a medium and as an art form isn't going anywhere. As one type of product sees its fall, another one will rise: for example, think about where drones and 360-degree cameras are now, and where they were 4 years ago- about as insignificant as compacts are today.

Camera makers will adapt. Companies that formerly only made one type of product will have to branch out or die. The palm pilot is a great example of this. That's just how the consumer industry works

[Nicolas06]

People make more photography than they ever did and they share them more, promote them more if only on facebook, flickr or showing them at the coffee break on their smartphone.

But they like practical. Taking an a smartphone is always with you, small and light. A DSLR is expensive, big and heavy. Likely you don't have it with you when you need it. And while technology is much better today, contrary to some popular thinking a good camera doesn't make you a great photographer. You can still manage crap photos with the best gear.

[mee]

I think it is similar to the music industry... with the adoption of the internet and more powerful PCs, music production is available to more people and new product information is a lot quicker to spread. This means there is a lot more people vying for the population's attention.. but less need for trade shows when you can announce it on a website and have it instantly shared to enthusiast forums (such as this one) for cents on the dollar.

Plus we have more people now writing music than ever.. which means more subpar and derivative stuff to wade through to find the gems.. but the gems are really gems. They have to be because there is way more competition. There are a hundred other artists waiting to take your place.. versus even 25 or 30 years ago when the industry had teams looking for talent and would essentially sign them for life if they kept bringing in the money.

I think the days of spending a ton of money on big show fronts is slowly coming to an end.. it just makes more sense to announce/release online. Mail a promo copy of a product to a review website versus flying a rep with a copy around the world.

[Nicolas06]

I think it is similar to the music industry... with the adoption of the internet and more powerful PCs, music production is available to more people and new product information is a lot quicker to spread. This means there is a lot more people vying for the population's attention.. but less need for trade shows when you can announce it on a website and have it instantly shared to enthusiast forums (such as this one) for cents on the dollar.

Plus we have more people now writing music than ever.. which means more subpar and derivative stuff to wade through to find the gems.. but the gems are really gems. They have to be because there is way more competition. There are a hundred other artists waiting to take your place.. versus even 25 or 30 years ago when the industry had teams looking for talent and would essentially sign them for life if they kept bringing in the money.

I think the days of spending a ton of money on big show fronts is slowly coming to an end.. it just makes more sense to announce/release online. Mail a promo copy of a product to a review website versus flying a rep with a copy around the world.

We may get more performers today than 20 years ago but we get many many less than before we we able to record and replay music. Before if you wanted music you needed a musician, better a group of musicians, so being able to play of some instrument was a big deal. Now for most the small money you get from the pub pay the gazoline to come playing...

Most people recognize that a career in music is kind of impossible dream and don't even try. This quite reduce the potential toward what we had back in time

[Nicolas06]

I think the days of spending a ton of money on big show fronts is slowly coming to an end.. it just makes more sense to announce/release online. Mail a promo copy of a product to a review website versus flying a rep with a copy around the world.

At least on music that the only remaining way to make lot of money. It go back to the original thing: you sell a spectacle not the recorded music.

People want to get the whole experience like they know that looking at a football match at the TV is not the same as looking at it in reality.

I get the feeling that if you have a convention about the latest trending thing, you'll get lot of buzz arround it. But cameras are not that trendy anymore. Even smartphones are no longer the next big thing. Everybody that wanted one got it and the new one don't bring anything different than the previous version. The average price paid for it drop drastically.

Ultimatately it will go the way of the previous all the rage stuff, computers, PDA, 5:1 home cinemas, flat TVs ... Some of theses things still sell well but the price and replacement rate dropped.

[mee]

We may get more performers today than 20 years ago but we get many many less than before we we able to record and replay music. Before if you wanted music you needed a musician, better a group of musicians, so being able to play of some instrument was a big deal. Now for most the small money you get from the pub pay the gazoline to come playing...

Most people recognize that a career in music is kind of impossible dream and don't even try. This quite reduce the potential toward what we had back in time

Ah but that's a rather pessimistic outlook I think..

I have a different view.. the music won't disappear, it will just change. And, financially, instead of it being a full time job it will be on the side for most people. But that is no different than today with photography too.. the photographic world thrives just not in the old ways it had even recently.. money still to be made but for most it's a side job or an enthusiastic hobby.

If you're serious about making either a full time gig, then the extra competition can be a help as well as a hindrance.. I mean, if you know anyone can go out and buy a DSLR for cheap then it motivates you to know more and do more than them. Just as now its reasonably easy to buy a guitar or keyboard and learn through youtube or Rocksmith.. no longer forced to pay someone to see chords or the like. Even though a good teacher is still very useful..

If you look around PF most of the hobbyists are comfortable taking snapshots of birds, clouds, and squirrels. The pros are out there paying their bills.. too busy to chat on the forums.

[Uluru]

New Fotokina will be a success. Photography industry is profiling itself and companies that were there for fun and quick profits, will go away and steady and dedicated players will remain. That also means better quality products that take art f photography into an other level.
Think Pentax 645Z, Leica Q, Leica SL, Nikon D500, Sigma 50-100 — that sort of thing; tools for real hobbyists, not for fools. Taking fools out of the equation, the entire industry becomes healthier and more newcomers will realise its value. There will be switchers from smartphones once people realise that art can be taken into an other level altogether; that special sort of shot, premeditated, artistic, valuable, unique.

What I expect? I expect Pentax 645DMk2 with 100 MPs.
Then a new pro-level crop from Pentax: K4 with 20 MP sensor and ISO 250K, 4K video, 10 fps, 32GB onboard memory, touch display, EVF overlay and variably transparent mirror.
New Leica X camera too, although I think X-Typ 113 is already excellent.

[ogl]

Ricoh GRIII - Should we expect from Ricoh?
K-3II's upgrade with new hybrid AF and SAFOX 12?
Some new FF primes from roadmap and new wide-angle APS-C zoom?
645 (with new letter) with 100 MP sensor?

[RonHendriks1966]

Ricoh GRIII - Should we expect from Ricoh?
K-3II's upgrade with new hybrid AF and SAFOX 12?
Some new FF primes from roadmap and new wide-angle APS-C zoom?
645 (with new letter) with 100 MP sensor?

I only expect new Theta, and maybe some mock-up and roadmap.

[JPT]

My guess is:
- A new Theta model
- K-1 Silver edition
- New lenses shown under glass
- A new zoom for 645
- APS-C crop wide angle zoom
- Some kind of technology demonstration not connected to a camera they're releasing (like when they showed HD coating and pixel shift)

If we are lucky:
- APS-C flagship announced
- One of the the FF lenses on the roadmap launched
- A refresh of an existing lens that isn't on the roadmap
- A new Ricoh branded compact