It’s been almost a week now since I attended the focus on imaging show at the NEC Birmingham and I realised I didn’t write an entry. If you are not aware of focus, it’s pretty much a show for Photographers. The latest camera’s printing technology and imaging software is all on show along with new framing ideas. There’s a big orientation to the pro photographer of course but it’s great to go along and pick up a bargain or two while you rub shoulders with some of the best photographers in the business.

Last year I picked up a Pantone Huey to calibrate my monitor, a very nice piece of kit that allows you to get decent calibration on a budget. This year I set my sights a bit higher. I bought a Sigma lens from the show a couple of years ago, a nice super zoom that has been an absolute joy to use, this year I was determined to get a wide-angle lens as I have been itching for one almost since I bought my current camera. My brother-in-law had managed to borrow one a couple of weeks back and the results were stunning.

So 10 minutes after arriving at the show we both had a shiny new Sigma 10-20mm USM lens in the bag.  The lens retails at about £300 in the shops and you can get it for £289-ish online, the show price saved us a tenner on that so we were both happy bunnies.

Canon were at the show this year displaying all their latest models and I got a chance to take a look at the new EOS 450D a 12 mega Pixel model with anti-Dust technology built in. It’s small light and has a huge LCD screen on it. It looks a little more like the pro models but in minature, and has borrowed technology from the EOS 1D.

The show itself had a couple of common themes, Black and White is definitely in vogue, as are acrylic frames, mount cutters and photo books. There were some nice images on show and a couple of them got me inspired a bit.

Of course, having last week off work was very useful as I managed to get out into the Peak District, where I live, and get snapping. A couple of the pictures have made it onto my Photo Gallery already.

Focus is on every February so if you live in the UK and are into Photography, I highly recommend it.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, March 1st, 2008 at 12:32 pm and is filed under Personal News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.