PhotoPlus Expo 2009: Tales from the Show Floor

It's the end of day one at PhotoPlus Expo 2009 and there's no other way to put it - my arms are tired. If there was a uniting theme across the new products on the show floor, it was this: they're heavy. DCR sat down with a couple of the heavy hitters at PPE to talk about their large sensor DSLRs.

We took another look at the D3S with Nikon's Steve Heiner. He highlighted more of the video capabilities, demonstrating that the D3S will allow photographers to adjust aperture on the fly when shooting video.

The D3S marks the third entry in the flagship D3 series equipped with FX sensors, and it offers a wider ISO range than any previous Nikon DSLR. We asked Steve what he'd like to see Nikon pro DSLRs do now that they've broken the (equivalent) ISO 100,000 barrier. He pointed out that each of iteration of pro DSLR cameras have included several models aimed to serve different areas of pro photography. He remarked that the ideal would be to create a large sensor camera with the resolution of a D3X while also achieving the low light capability that the D3S strives for.

The Canon 1D Mark IV felt even heavier than the D3S. If there's one thing Canon has tried to push to make the Mark IV stand out from the competition, it's the improved autofocus system. They've worked to smooth over the AF performance problems that Mark III users spotted, and they've wrapped it up in a pro-DSLR body that shoots 1080p video.

Canon's Chuck Westfall sat down with DCR to talk about the 1D Mark IV and the new line of PowerShots. They feel comfortably positioned before the holiday buying season swings into full gear - and there's plenty of holiday cheer to spread at Canon. The EOS 7D and the high-end compacts have just started shipping to consumers and reviewers alike.

The big cameras stole the headlines in the weeks leading up to PPE, but companies like Sigma rolled out some pretty heavy artillery too. Thankfully, this massive lens was mounted and didn't require any heavy lifting.

Factor in the loaded bag of swag the press room attendants were passing out and you've got one correspondant with two very tired sets of biceps. Don't fret though, there are more updates from the show floor on the way. My arms may be tired, but my fingers will keep flying.