nailer <me@home.universe.org> schrieb:

Not much different than the one in 2004.

Epson, Sony, Panasonic, Samsung  occupying the larger halls, Fuji
handing out the Film Dataguide in a remote corner of their booth as if
it is crack and Kodak presenting us a single cabinet with film and
developers as if it were a white elefant.

Photokina is nice to meet friends and people, to exchange gossip and
learn a few new faces that belong to already known names. Nothing
more, nothing else.

Gruss,
Roman

They abandoned the front halls after last Photokina and built new back
halls. The old front halls were becoming a video studio of some sort. So
KM pulling out had little or new effect on these plans.

Polaroid's problems occurred before last Photokina and their large hall
was no longer the Polaroid Hall. Same with Agfa's privately owned hall.

Hall 9 with photofinishing was reduced drastically in size last time.

On the other hand new companies came in to halls 1 to 3 displacing old
companies to new spots in the lower halls. So some companies go out and
some new companies come in. When those new companies include Sony and
Panasonic you shouldn't notice a smaller show. Just possibly simply miss
some old favorites.

The space in the newly built rear halls is indeed a lot bigger than in
the old front halls which are being converted into the new German HQ of
RTL-TV.

We might indeed see a smaller show. Then again, I've never much cared
for those noisy, dimly lit spaces created by Agfa and Kodak with their
irritating moving patterns projected onto the floor. Always found them
to be quite a nuisance one couldn't get around on the way to the front
halls.

There will certainly be more empty space at the rear in the
photofinishing section.

Ralf

It will be like Comdex in the US - once a major, huge, show, getting smaller
and smaller and finally disappearing.
IMO 90% consumer photo action will move to CES (or other consumer-oriented
electronic shows) and the rest will be at PMA and some "industrial
imaging-oriented" shows.  Some parts of the traditional photo industry will
become almost invisible without a huge magnifying glass -- after all wet
chemistry and lab equipment are niche areas already.

For a variety of reasons huge shows are passé (air travel sucks, the
internet with lots of info available 24/7, etc.)