Thursday, March 22, 2018

WPPI 2018 - Las Vegas Highlights

This past February I had the opportunity to go out to Las Vegas for the WPPI Conference & Expo for Wedding & Portrait Photography where I got to catch up on some of the latest offerings in the industry.

Below are a few highlights of what caught my eye at this years show.

Sony A7 III

Sony a7 III at B&H

By far one of the biggest hits of the show was the announcement of the Sony a7 III which features much of the goodness of the incredible Sony a9 that I loved, but at a fraction of the price.

Basically you lose the higher resolution viewfinder & display, flicker free faster burst mode and a little on video performance, but not too much more. What you get in return is an incredible camera for (barely) under $2000 USD, so it's a fair trade off.

Given what I saw, and the incredible performance of the a9 and a7R III that I loved, I expect this to be a very popular camera.

Sony a7 III at B&H - Rear View

Oh and yes, early reports are that it does feature noticeably  improved dynamic range performance over its predecessor. However, you'll have to wait for my review before I can confirm that to be true or not.

Canon 470EX-AI

The surprise show stealer for me was the revolutionary Canon Speedlite 470EX-AI which made me the most excited I've ever been for a flash before! This auto self adjusting flash head finds the best bounce angle on its own and ensures a pro caliber flash shot nearly every time - or so it's told.

In practice, I did find it to be quite good but I was in an environment with incredibly high ceilings so I couldn't get a proper bounce without the assist of someone holding something above my head to bounce off of.

Yes, it works - very well so I can't wait to get one of these to review!

This is no gimmick - enjoy the couple of videos I did here to show how it really does work!

CLICK HERE to learn more


Canon M50

Canon M50 at B&H

While there was much buzz on the web about the announcement of the Canon M50, I was highly unimpressed at what I saw.


Canon M50 at B&H

Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG HSM Art

Sigma 14-24mm Art at B&H

I've been a big fan of the Sigma Art series primes, but the zooms haven't impressed me nearly as much. As a owner of the amazingly awesome Canon 11-24mm, I couldn't help but be interested in seeing what Sigma had to offer with its new 14-24mm zoom to compete with the legendary Nikon 14-24mm.

The price is right and it's definitely got great build quality, but I couldn't really do much with it at the show. It definitely has promise, so I may have to check this one out.

See my other SIGMA Art series reviews:

Do It Yourself Book Printing on Epson SureColor Printers?

Dual Sided Epson Paper? It Might Happen!

Epson SureColor printers have been a big hit and their quality on the Epson Legacy Series and Epson Signature Worthy is second to none.  However, if you've wanted double-sided printing or a book you've had to go elsewhere.

Epson is considering changing that and they are looking for your feedback, so leave me some comments if you think they should do this.

They are considering a double-sided paper as shown above, plus partnering with third parties on some software like the one shown below:

IMG_8155

To help stick it all together, they'll work with some third party products like this one:

CoverBind: Bindomatic Accel Flex Thermal Binding Machine at Amazon

The early prototypes showed promise, but there's definitely some kinks to work out before this is ready to replace your current book provider. However, the idea has merit and I'm excited about it.

Are you? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

PLEASE NOTE: You only need to post once and your comment WILL NOT appear until I've approved it. This is to avoid the massive amount of spam posts I get. As such, any comments with links will automatically get rejected.

ON1 Photo RAW 2018.1

on1-photo-raw-2018.1-now-available-1024x576

My friends at ON1 showed me the latest improvements in 2018.1 and I've got to say that it's really starting to come together for this product. When they first made the switch to the Photo RAW series product it felt like it had lost a lot from its predecessor products, but it's making incredible strides to not only catch up with Lightroom but to leap frog it!

on1-photo-raw-2018-overview-1024x576

Check out this video to see overview to see what I mean:

Click here to learn more - and my discount will automatically be applied to ensure you'll get the lowest price possible!

Conclusion

While there definitely seems to be a down turn in photo editing software products at the show, there was still plenty to see and enjoy. Even if you aren't a wedding photographer, this is a fun and worthwhile show to attend to learn more about the latest new products. There's also a ton of great images to see from some very talented photographers, so if you are looking for an excuse to visit Las Vegas (and who isn't?!!!) in February, then save a spot on your calendar for WPPI 2019 next year!

Where to Buy?

CLICK HERE to learn more or buy today.

Other articles you may enjoy

See more reviews on the Reviews tab as well as links to my favorite products on Ron's Recommendations.

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