Photography and video show 2024

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I'm thinking I might go in March 24 but I've never been to an exhibition before: what happens, what's to do, see, experience? Is it doable in one day and which day is the best to go?

And this may be a stupid question but can you take photographs there?
 
I went a few years ago. I was able to take my camera and do a bit of street photography. Let other photographers know what it's like on the other side of the lens. :)

I went to look at paper and photobooks and had a mini meet up/coffee with @sirch and @lindsay where we put the world to rights.

There are LOTS of tech stands. Cameras, lenses, printers, off-camera-flash. Talks, demonstrations...
Places like Wex were there with used equipment. I didn't notice any price difference between web prices in their shop and the stand prices. If there was, it was minimal and not worth the petrol and parking. I got a free ticket as an educator at the time. I believe they sometimes promote "show deals" but it's only on specific stuff IIRC.

If there isn't anything you want, you can probably find something you didn't know you needed. If there is something you want, it can be an exciting day getting the thing.
Food/drink is over priced as you'd expect, and make sure you take a map so you can find the things you want to see. Check the program to see if there are any speakers you're interested in as that might force your day-choice.

Otherwise, stick a post up saying you're going and see if anyone wants to meet up!

For me, I've been a couple of times now and I wouldn't bother again. It was defintely cool the first time, so if you haven't been, I'd definitely give it a go, if for no other reason that when someone else asks next year, you can tell folks what you thought :)
 
I've been to a couple.
What I like is going around the smaller stalls, just to see what is 'out there', accessory wise.

I remember once while working away in Dagenham I went all the way across London to Uxbridge, (I think)
Just to visit a camera shop that was like a little supermarket. (It used to advertise on the back of the camera mags in the 80's)
You don't seem to find shops like it any more!
 
@DE65Y Was it the one in Yiewsley? Can't remember the name of it off-hand but I used to call in when on work trips to Egham

Was it Eurofoto or something like it? Was always bloody freezing in there and looked a bit down at heel but they had boatloads of stuff (all of the stuff I wanted at the time was very aeroplane unfriendly I seem to recall)
 
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It's a good experience, no doubt about it. Although, if you are not interested in gear and frippery you might struggle. It's nice to see, and ohh and ahh, but that's about it.
 
Most people seem to go for the gear and some people seem to expect there to be bargains which I always find a bit surprising given that traders have to pay for the exhibition space and have had to move stock and staff across the country. As others have said its good to see what is out there, I have been for a number of years there is always something new, it is also a good chance to get your hands on camera bodies to see what fits your hands and has a good ergonomics for you. Also a chance to compare price and quality on things like tripods, heads etc.

Personally though I like the talks, there is a full programme with multiple stages every day for free (well included in the entry fee) and they usually cover all aspects different genres, lighting, post processing, etc. For example there was a good talk last time I went on shooting for Instagram by a pro Instagram 'tog who shoots influencers, leaving potential cynicism about all that aside, it was just interesting to see that there was a market for this and what went into it. Another memorable talk was about shooting action and they had a guy with a bike on a tiny stage doing tricks while the 'tog shot and talked about the process. There are also paid for talks but I have never felt I would get enough from those to be worth paying for. Nikon and Canon always have gear talks and demos.
 
I'd forgotten that it had moved to March next year instead of September this year. @sirch and I met up again at last years event. I'll definitely be going again (as Press), as I like the buzz, looking at all the stuff, there are occasional items of particular interest and it's always possible to persuade yourself and the person in charge of finances that something was too good to miss. You can take photos in the hall, there are usually a bunch of people shooting stills and videos though I personally wouldn't want to be encumbered with anything other than a street-type kit (Olly EM10 in my case or XA2 for film).
 
hunnymonster said:
@DE65Y Was it the one in Yiewsley? Can't remember the name of it off-hand but I used to call in when on work trips to Egham

Was it Eurofoto or something like it? Was always bloody freezing in there and looked a bit down at heel but they had boatloads of stuff (all of the stuff I wanted at the time was very aeroplane unfriendly I seem to recall)
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Can't be certain of the exact place, I remember getting off the tube and passing a barracks with the guards armed to the teeth.

It was something like Eurofoto.

My camera at the time was a Praktica B200,
I came away with two Pakticar zoom lenses that covered the range between about 30mm and 200mm.
 
Yes, it was the Europhoto Centre on the road between West Drayton and Uxbridge. I was at RAF West Drayton in the seventies and often used to pop up there to buy film and things. It's a shame shops like that don't (can't?) exist anymore as the choice was huge. Whatever caused their demise, I suspect the same thing happened to Motorcycle City, another place where you could go and try out lots of different stuff; I suppose it was the expense of keeping so much inventory that brought them down.
 
I'm not usually a fan of this sort of thing, I'd rather be outside photographing, than inside looking at kit. But I'm only 10 minutes down to road, so if the weather is rubbish I might pop down.
 
I have been a number of times over the year going back to when it was Focus. I think the first time was around 2003. I do not go every year as it can be a bit repetitive year on year. I find the smaller stands of the unknown companies you may not of heard of more interesting than the bigger companies.
 
I just had an email about the show in March, so I've booked my Press ticket. I'll probably go on the Saturday (16th March), if anyone wants to meet up on the day.
 
sirch said:
Personally though I like the talks, there is a full programme with multiple stages every day for free (well included in the entry fee) and they usually cover all aspects different genres, lighting, post processing, etc. For example there was a good talk last time I went on shooting for Instagram by a pro Instagram 'tog who shoots influencers, leaving potential cynicism about all that aside, it was just interesting to see that there was a market for this and what went into it. Another memorable talk was about shooting action and they had a guy with a bike on a tiny stage doing tricks while the 'tog shot and talked about the process. There are also paid for talks but I have never felt I would get enough from those to be worth paying for. Nikon and Canon always have gear talks and demos.
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This sums up my thoughts on the show, if you pick the day to suit your interest the talks make it worthwhile.

It is also good to see kit in the flesh although getting close to bit’s on Nikons stand was difficult due to others hogging the samples (one guy spent over an hour examining a lens I wanted to see last time….)

The magazines often have good subscription offers, and sometimes cheap goody bags with back-issues and other freebies such as a years use of the OS map online service.
 
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Looking at it from a different perspective - as an exhibitor - I'm not impressed!

We used to exhibit at Focus on Imaging every year, and moved over to The Photography Show when FOI closed. The costs of exhibiting are horrendous, apart from the space cost there's the stand cost, then there's the hotel cost for staff, always very expensive if you want to stay anywhere within about 10 miles, lorry hire, extra staff costs and the cost of theft.

It's a very good place to meet up with customers, meet new people and generally increase visibility,

As for offering bargains to the public, forget it, the exhibition costs make price cuts impossible. The only stuff that can be sold at any kind of discount is old or demo stock, or junk.

We had a strange experience with the talks too. One year, we supplied the lighting equipment for speakers, but found ourselves having to supply two staff members to operate it for most of them, as they had no clue how to use it. Slick presenters aren't necessarily competent photographers!

And then Covid came along, we had to pay for our space etc well in advance, the show was cancelled but they kept our money:(

So, is it worth going as a visitor? Yes, once, if you can get free tickets.
 
Garry Edwards said:
So, is it worth going as a visitor? Yes, once, if you can get free tickets.
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I agree.

I'm allergic to paying for entry to a venue, where someone wants me to buy things. ;)
 
I'm thinking of heading down on the Monday - has anyone come across a discount code for the tickets? Past years I've received several discount codes by email, but nothing this year...
 
I've been bombarded with emails from the Photography show. And they always send me the same one twice. :D
 
dcash29 said:
In more recent times there seems to be an increase of ignorant photographic fanatics that take all their gear in a massive backpack
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Don't generalise. If you plan on buying something a backpack is one of the best and safest ways to carry stuff back; way better than plastic bags full of expensive new gear and lots of paper trash; besides having a body or a lens can be helpful to test something else out. It doesn't need to be full or could be full with lunch and water which I highly recommend doing. So here is another discount. Don't eat at NEC and bring your own.
 
dcash29 said:
My point was that in recent years I've had a few choice words with certain people who take their enormous backpacks and knock into you, only to then blame you for the collision.
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So it happens to you a lot then. ;)
 
Been a couple of times as I'm only a bus journey away and it give me something to do on a Sunday afternoon.

Usually some interesting stuff to see and it's nice to have a play with camera from different brands to the one you use, you need a little patients though which I do struggle with.

I wanted to have a play with the Loupdeck console on display on their stand a year or two ago, I walked over to the stand a couple of time within the space of about an hour and the same bloke was playing with it while moaning about it and stating it wouldn't' be something he would use...
 
If you haven't been before you should go. If nothing else it will be a new experience which get less frequent with age!

As I understand it all talks are free of charge this year, even the "big name" speakers on the main stage, or whatever they call it, so that might be worth the price of admission if someone you are interested in is speaking.
You might never buy a fish eye lens or a 12 foot tripod but it’s still fun to go look and play with such things. Where else are you going to see them?
As regards deals there are always some but you have to go with a reasonable expectation. You are not going to get 50% off a new Nikon Z6 but maybe you can find one with a free memory card and spare battery.

With the big brands they have their own staff who tend know the products and company in a little more depth so talking with them often yields interesting information.

Then there are things you didn’t know about. Zoom the audio recorder company were their last time. Not something I’m especially interested in but still interesting and something like that might spark a new interest or direction in people.

THere is also the "Analouge spotlight" area for those of us interested in film photography. I have an interest in Minox and the specilist M S Hobbies have a samll stand. The chap who owns that is always interesting to talk to. He is very entusiastic however so don't be suprised if you go home with a 35mm Minox camera if you speak with him. I've got about five now.


If you go it’s worth taking a camera and memory cards in other formats. If you see a new camera and want to take a photo to review at home its easy to pop your own card in it. Same with trying lenses or flashes. In addition, there are staged areas where you are encouraged to shoot images. What the other half things about you coming home with photos of a strange model however is another matter.
 
As my wife is going to the craft show on Saturday, I’ll be at the photo & video show. Not been before, hoping it will be interesting.
 
Mozthecat said:
Had an early 30% off but it expired 30th November, not seen anything since.
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Plain Nev said:
I've been bombarded with emails from the Photography show. And they always send me the same one twice. :D
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Nikon photographer said:
Use SIGIMTPS24 for 20% off the ticket price
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LongLensPhotography said:
don't park at nec and take a walk or train from Marston Green. Here is your big discount.
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Thanks all - I got inundated with 20% discount codes by email shortly after posting here :)
 
Anyone going from the east midlands ( Boston Lince ) area ? , For me to drive is 2 1/2 hours each way and £70 in fuel , Train is 4.5 hours and £119 and lots of changes , Not been able to find a return coach journey ,
 
Took the trip today - first time post Covid, and my observations are that it's a lot smaller than it used to be (I reckon my first trip to Focus on Imaging was over 30 yrs ago).

Spent some time at the Canon stand, Peak design and a few bag and tripod places, learnt a bit and bought a new bag and a strap.
 
Phil V said:
Took the trip today - first time post Covid, and my observations are that it's a lot smaller than it used to be (I reckon my first trip to Focus on Imaging was over 30 yrs ago).

Spent some time at the Canon stand, Peak design and a few bag and tripod places, learnt a bit and bought a new bag and a strap.
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I went for my first time on Saturday (while the missus went to the Craft show), so can’t comment on how it was compared to past shows, but it seemed well attended and plenty of stuff to try and for sale.

Spent a while on the Canon stand and tried a few different bodies. Was disappointed with the EVF displays in all of the R series bodies. I found the lag/flickering during panning very noticeable and quite annoying. Not sure how this would ‘pan out’ in real usage, but am not currently inclined to stump up thousands to find out. Might see about taking up a test drive sometime, but in no rush.

Also tried an EF 600mm f/4 III on my 7DII just for fun as it’s way way outside my budget. VERY impressive lens though and much lighter than it looks.

Tried a Sigma 150-600 Contemporary (the Sport version has been discontinued) on my 7DII, again quite impressed. Easy to see why they are a regular sight in bird hides and at race tracks.

Also spent a while chatting to one of the guys on the Adobe stand going through some of the changes to LrC and Ps that have happened over the last few years and what was included in the Photography Package (have subsequently decided to get this on my Macbook Air).

Overall, enjoyed the show and might go again in the future.
 
GeeJay57 said:
Spent a while on the Canon stand and tried a few different bodies. Was disappointed with the EVF displays in all of the R series bodies. I found the lag/flickering during panning very noticeable and quite annoying. Not sure how this would ‘pan out’ in real usage, but am not currently inclined to stump up thousands to find out. Might see about taking up a test drive sometime, but in no rush.
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You will find they would perform a whole lot better if you disabled all the lens corrections in the settings. Most people haven't figured this out yet, including Canon themselves :headbang:
You may also find this affects other brands too, but the mileage may vary.
I had a canon bashing session at their stand on Saturday but forgot to bring this up. It was all size and ergonomics related which are terrible. The EVF issue will eventually go away by itself when faster CPUs find their way into the new upcoming models.

Personally if starting out today I'd skip them and head over to the Nikon particularly if you are into the longer stuff and want more affordable and more portable primes, if a touch slower.


Best deals should be on Tuesday afternoon, however in many / most cases it looks unlikely they may get close to Panamoz pricing and warranty levels. There may be some good deals though, perhaps a near give away R6 mk1 depending how keen they are to get rid of all their stock
 
LongLensPhotography said:
You will find they would perform a whole lot better if you disabled all the lens corrections in the settings. Most people haven't figured this out yet, including Canon themselves :headbang:
You may also find this affects other brands too, but the mileage may vary.
I had a canon bashing session at their stand on Saturday but forgot to bring this up. It was all size and ergonomics related which are terrible. The EVF issue will eventually go away by itself when faster CPUs find their way into the new upcoming models.

Personally if starting out today I'd skip them and head over to the Nikon particularly if you are into the longer stuff and want more affordable and more portable primes, if a touch slower.


Best deals should be on Tuesday afternoon, however in many / most cases it looks unlikely they may get close to Panamoz pricing and warranty levels. There may be some good deals though, perhaps a near give away R6 mk1 depending how keen they are to get rid of all their stock
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Thanks.

I've done some digging since I came back and have seen that this is characteristic of the current R bodies and have seen suggestions about disabling certain operational features in order to improve the EVF response. On a £3-4k camera body, I'm rather surprised that this would be needed.

I did speak to some fellow punters at the show, one of whom had recently sold his 7DII to get an R6II and he admitted that he could see the EVF lag/flicker issue, but didn't consider it a problem and was quick to point out that 40 fps is a game changer compared to the 7DII. His mate has an R3 and was raving about the eye-pointing (or whatever it's called) focus system, but got a bit coy when I asked about the lag/flickering issue (which was definitely there on the R3 body I picked up, but probably/perhaps just had default settings enabled).

Both were keen to mention the fabled and apparently soon to be launched R1 and how great that is going to be. My guess is that when it emerges it will be on the £6-7k price bracket. For this I would expect it to be truly top-notch and not expect to pick it up and find something to moan about except the price.

I'd consider getting a 1DX series body before jumping over to Nikon. I already have a few Canon lenses including an EF 100-400mm MkII which is a strong lens IMHO.

I'm only kicking tyres at this point anyway. The gear I have is good enough for my needs right now, but it won't last forever. Mind you neither will I, so...
 
GeeJay57 said:
I've done some digging since I came back and have seen that this is characteristic of the current R bodies and have seen suggestions about disabling certain operational features in order to improve the EVF response. On a £3-4k camera body, I'm rather surprised that this would be needed.
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Unfortunately this is the case. In fact I believe I have noticed signs of this behaviour on the mighty Sony A9III when I panned it and kept the shutter pressed.

Luckily disabling those "features" have zero effect on your RAW files, or any other practical implication while shooting, and would only affect JPEG shooters which you simply don't do for obvious reasons.
I found my R6 near enough unusable until I made these changes.

Re R6II you get a tiny bit more resolution which is of course welcome, and then you go to 40fps which frankly you wouldn't want very often. Even 20fps leaves you with 100s of images in mere seconds to cull through. On the other hand R6II appears to have a smaller buffer. I would actually prefer them both over 1Dx for IBIS, that 20fps and also super accurate tracking AF. The shape and form of 1DX is obviously way better than anything Rx, including the plastic R3 that just wants to slide out of your palm. Horrible design that.

P.S. Your 100-400 and any other EF lens will happily adapt to Nikon Z or Sony E. And performance is pretty good. So I'm leaning towards Z8 or failing that A7RIV as a replacement of my high res body, not R5
 
My thoughts on the Photography Show, for what they are worth. I want a Nikon ZF! Preferably with the 40mm pancake lens. The Fujifilm XT5 didn't feel right to me. And that's speaking as an XT3 user. It doesn't feel as solid. Adam Gibbs is a thoroughly nice chap who looks like he just walked in from one of his videos. I chatted to him on a couple of occasions. And that's probably the highlight of the show for me. Also talked to local You Tuber Courtney Victoria, who is even better in real life. :D
 
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