Does anyone care about show reports?

[Jeff Keller]

A lot of my competitors post "live" reports from shows such as PMA or Photokina (here is one example) (http://www.dpreview.com/articles/pma2008/). Do you find these reports valuable? In other words, is it something I should be doing on this site?

[Rhys]

I can't say that stuff from tradeshows really interests me. WHat interests me is stuff that I can get NOW, not at some vague point in the future (or never in the case of the Foveon drop-in film sensor).

[JPW2020]

It's interesting to read about the new products in the month or so leading to the shows,by the time the show starts we normally know whats coming so a "live" report adds very little in my view.

[GaryS]

Valuable? Not really, but I do enjoying reading them.

[Beowulff]

Show reports mean virtually nothing to me Jeff. Particularly being "downunder" also means they have less impact on our immediate Aussie market as far as release dates, model availability, pricing etc goes.

As far as I can see, (and admittedly I've never attended a show) they're just an incestuous marketing love-in for the industry gurus.

I wouldn't waste any of your precious resources on show reports.

Cheers :)

[raven15]

Not really. They don't mean much except the camera announcements, which you post anyway. And the hands on part, but you do hands on reviews any way. I'd rather see a new camera review than a week at a trade show.

[twin]

Jeff,

I think I've once mentioned: I really do think that you should attend to these trade shows. It is an excellent way to narrow the relationships with the diverse constructors and their respective R&D teams.

You once told on your blog ("Playing favorites" entry) that sometimes you think I don't have as close of a relationship with the "powers that be". Attending these shows could help turning things around.

Keep up the good work!

[erichlund]

Jeff,

A voted yes for the following reason. I want to know about innovative stuff that may not show up in the run of the mill consumer news. Telling me Nikon displayed 17 new compact cameras probably has no value for me, but if one of them has an APS-C sensor, or even a full frame sensor, that would perk me right up.

OTOH, I'm sure you're aware that a lot of us at least look at the DPReview front page, so we see their reports. I'm not sure you're going to add anything they are not already telling us, and they do have those Amazon deep pockets.

[Jeff Keller]

Jeff,

I think I've once mentioned: I really do think that you should attend to these trade shows. It is an excellent way to narrow the relationships with the diverse constructors and their respective R&D teams.

You once told on your blog ("Playing favorites" entry) that sometimes you think I don't have as close of a relationship with the "powers that be". Attending these shows could help turning things around.

Keep up the good work!

Oh it's not a question of whether I'm attending. It's more about whether it's worth spending hours putting together a report showing what each manufacturer is showing at their booth -- which is usually stuff we already know about.

[DonSchap]

Jeff,

If the other boards are not doing a "fair" job ... then some competition would be good. As long as there is a significant and relatively impartial coverage, what the heck, let them do the foot work.

[macten52]

I think live reports are overkill. A simple daily summary should be good enough. It depends upon the significance of the news.

-------------------------

A lot of my competitors post "live" reports from shows such as PMA or Photokina (here is one example) (http://www.dpreview.com/articles/pma2008/). Do you find these reports valuable? In other words, is it something I should be doing on this site?

[alberteinstein378]

Yes. I feel that such real-time information is very nice to know, and since everyone else is doing it, why not. And plus, with added coverage, there might be a chance of more readers due to bustling support for such trade shows.

[dr4gon]

I think it's also very nice to know. The more coverage the better. Photokina is coming up and I can't wait to see what everyone has. It's always good to be kept up to date!

[Panda Bear]

A knowledgeable reporter, like yourself, can differentiate the fluff from the pie in the sky from the useful, practical information, and distill it down to something usable. Which is why I voted yes.

Sales presentations that the company won't be backing up anytime soon are useless, and it isn't necessary for everyone to sift thru it over and over.

[dotbalm]

Jeff,

I voted yes, but with the caveat that it would be your personal observation (from visiting the event) and opinion/analysis/context interspersed with the reporting of announcements/intros. Re one of your comments whether it's worth hours of work putting it together, I'd say no it's probably not worth it if you are not actually there and commenting from a hands-on, ear-to-the-ground perspective. I would *really* value that from you in particular, which is why I voted yes, but without you there, I would vote no. I don't think it will necessarily drive traffic (I could be wrong of course) to dcresource if it's "just another" assimilation (but again, I could be wrong). And if spending hours putting this together without actually going there were hours that could otherwise be spent on reviews, I'd appreciate the latter. Okay, with all that said, if you put together something without having gone there, I'd still probably scan it, but I wouldn't take my time and *read* it for nuggets of insight the way I would if you were there. I don't think my scanning (and that of others like me if they're out there) necessarily justifies hours of work on your part.

[dr4gon]

Yeah, definitely, we'd also like your take on the latest news.

[Beowulff]

It's more about whether it's worth spending hours putting together a report showing what each manufacturer is showing at their booth.....

Definitely not worthwhile if it's gonna take hours to put your report together.

I'd prefer those precious hours of your time to be spent writing one of your excellent reviews about a camera that actually exists, is available to buy today, and which any of us might want to use use tomorrow.

Forget the maybes, the possibles, the mock-ups, the concepts — and the plain old wishful thinking and guesstimating.

As Joe Friday used to famously say..... "Just the facts ma'm". Or in this case sir!

Cheers :)

[Dark Cobra]

Jeff, I really wouldn't waste too much time with these shows. You do an excellent job of reporting what "actually" shows up on the market. These shows are starting to get like the Car shows . . . lots of concept tease stuff and theoretical "here's where we plan to go in the future (maybe)" stuff. I would reserve my time, energy and money on doing what you do better than anyone else and just review what actually lands. Quite often what is displayed at the shows are super-tweaked prototypes that are NOT reflective of the final product we'll have in our hands. Judging the final released product is far more important to us.

[John_Reed]

Jeff, I voted "yes," but I'm inclined to agree with Dark Cobra and others. If you could better use the time to get the first review done and published on a new camera, it would help your site exposure more than just adding another "me too" PhotoKina page?

[GeraldW]

I definitely want a show report from you as you have a different perspective than others. It does not need to be a big production, but I would like a synopsis of talks with company reps to get a sense of where they are headed. The whole idea of show reports is to find out what's new and what the company direction is so I can make informed decisions on their products. Sometimes what isn't said can be as important as what is.

Jerry

[Screenclutter]

Voted yes, maybe limit your report to a specific aspect of the show (e.g. new products or post a few pictures of some of the more exotic stuff).

Don't think it is worth your while to spend several hours on it unless you really want to talk a lot about something there.