Focus on Imaging 2011

I have been going to Focus at the NEC near Birmingham for the last several years, as purely a visitor for the last two. I arrived well before the ten o'clock opening and was amazed at the long queues, the pre-registered queue being the longest probably due to the burgeoning growth of online-literacy.

Talking to several exhibitors, there was more than simply interest, the attendees were reaching for their plastic and cash. On a stand from a Chinese company, I was somewhat surprised at their lack of preparedness, they were unable to handle credit cards, and every transaction cost had to be looked up on a laptop database, but their prices were very reasonable and I was able to buy a spare battery for one of my cameras, only to also find they could not give me a receipt, I am hoping that their promise to email me one after the show is fulfilled, so I can satisfy my accountant. Their reason for attendance appeared to be to acquire agents over here, but it seemed an odd way to go about it, selling inexpensively direct to end users at the show.

I came to the show intent on some purchases and some networking, I was able to do both, and in particular I needed a levelling plate to go beneath a gimbal head, I found both a better product, and a lesser price than I had expected, from Novoflex, a company I can remember from my earliest days in photography. So I was well-served.

In the afternoon, I had met up with Adam Woolfitt, and we toured together till the close, and during this time I was able to point out some stands that might be of interest to him, and we met up with numerous people he knew, some of whom I had also come into contact. I had hoped to catch up with Sean McCormack, but although I did visit the stand he was on, I had arrived too early, but I did catch up with John Beardsworth on the Adobe stand, both of whom I know from our connections to Lightroom. I also had a quick chat to Steve Newberry with whom I have worked on the Adobe stand in previous years.

Only after Wednesday at the earliest will it be apparent to exhibitors whether there is a buoyancy to our market, but certainly my impressions were positive, and I felt my day was well-spent.