RocketCowboy
Senior Member
Just saw this on Twitter this morning while waiting for my flight, anyone else heard of it or planning on going?
DFW Photo Expo 2014 | presented by Arlington Camera
DFW Photo Expo 2014 | presented by Arlington Camera
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DFW Peeps - DFW Photo Expo?
- Thread starter RocketCowboy
- Start date
RocketCowboy
Senior Member
If nothing else, if this is the 4th annual then hopefully there will be a 5th annual!
RocketCowboy
Senior Member
Thought about posting a blog entry on this, but figured it was probably a better wrap up to the thread I started by also ending it here.
As an IT guy who attends a lot of technology conferences, or a motorcycle guy who does the annual motorcycle show, the DFW Photo Expo was not a new concept other than being completely free to attend (other than $5 parking).
Upon arrival, there was a quick gate check to tag any gear you were bringing with you to avoid any confusion with vendors, then you were on your way into the conference center. Did I mention vendors? I saw most of the major vendors I was expecting: Nikon, Canon, Sony, Panasonic, Fuji, Tamron, Tokina, etc. The only lens manufacture that I don't recall seeing there was Sigma, but it could have been that I just didn't see them. There were also a few booths set up to support local photography groups, either Meetup.com groups, as well as the statewide Texas Professional Photography Association "Texas School" learning event.
What was also cool was in the middle of the conference show floor, there was an area marked off as the Photography Playground. They had a few different lighting setups, and would do adhoc instruction or experimentation on how to do different techniques. Speaking of instruction, there were two all-day seminars (one on Saturday, the other on Sunday) that did have an extra fee associated with them. I believe that fee was $25-30, but would also be applied to equipment purchases from the show. In addition to the all-day seminars, there were several free 2-hour workshops throughout the day, with something like 4 different workshops going on at any given timeslot. I was not able to duck into any of these workshops to give feedback on them, but would definitely be looking forward to that next year.
Unannounced for the show (but reported on Meetup.com) was an offer from Manfrotto that they would be offering a tripod trade-up program at the show. I did not see that published before hand, nor did I see it actively advertised at the show, but when I asked one of the reps in the booth about it they were incredibly helpful. KEH had a booth on hand, in case the Tokina or Tamron guys got you fired up enough that you wanted to trade in all your lenses to fund that shiny new 150-600mm super-zoom.
The one thing that was odd to me ... unlike the annual motorcycle show that I usually attend (either in Houston or Dallas), there are multiple different vendors there at the show selling items. This show was not entirely different ... I could buy a new Tokina lens, or a Manfrotto tripod, or a Westcott light modifier. What was different (from my experience) was that all sales were handled by the show sponsor ... Arlington Camera. It did not matter what vendor you chose to buy from, when it was time to check out, you waiting in a ~25 minute long line at one of 6 Arlington Camera cashiers to settle up your tab. Don't get me wrong, the staff and service from the Arlington Camera people was great. This was my first experience with Arlington Camera, although I've heard nothing but good things about them. The issue logistically was that in trying to support both credit and cash paying customers, the lines were a lot longer than I thought they should/could have been. For all the logistical challenges getting people paid up with their gear, Arlington Camera did have a HUGE stock of D750 cameras on-hand ... but strangely no D810s, luckily for me ... so the available equipment for sale ran the spectrum from stocking stuffers to business startup capital.
My summary of the event was that it seemed to be large holiday sale that just happened to be off-site instead of at the store. It was very well done, in that it did feel like an independent industry event. However, I can't help but wonder how many other vendors/manufacturers could have been there if it was larger than just the vendors that Arlington Camera does business with. I enjoyed the time, and based on my experience I will likely do business with Arlington Camera again in the future. Otherwise, I'll still keep looking for a larger industry event to come to town.
As an IT guy who attends a lot of technology conferences, or a motorcycle guy who does the annual motorcycle show, the DFW Photo Expo was not a new concept other than being completely free to attend (other than $5 parking).
Upon arrival, there was a quick gate check to tag any gear you were bringing with you to avoid any confusion with vendors, then you were on your way into the conference center. Did I mention vendors? I saw most of the major vendors I was expecting: Nikon, Canon, Sony, Panasonic, Fuji, Tamron, Tokina, etc. The only lens manufacture that I don't recall seeing there was Sigma, but it could have been that I just didn't see them. There were also a few booths set up to support local photography groups, either Meetup.com groups, as well as the statewide Texas Professional Photography Association "Texas School" learning event.
What was also cool was in the middle of the conference show floor, there was an area marked off as the Photography Playground. They had a few different lighting setups, and would do adhoc instruction or experimentation on how to do different techniques. Speaking of instruction, there were two all-day seminars (one on Saturday, the other on Sunday) that did have an extra fee associated with them. I believe that fee was $25-30, but would also be applied to equipment purchases from the show. In addition to the all-day seminars, there were several free 2-hour workshops throughout the day, with something like 4 different workshops going on at any given timeslot. I was not able to duck into any of these workshops to give feedback on them, but would definitely be looking forward to that next year.
Unannounced for the show (but reported on Meetup.com) was an offer from Manfrotto that they would be offering a tripod trade-up program at the show. I did not see that published before hand, nor did I see it actively advertised at the show, but when I asked one of the reps in the booth about it they were incredibly helpful. KEH had a booth on hand, in case the Tokina or Tamron guys got you fired up enough that you wanted to trade in all your lenses to fund that shiny new 150-600mm super-zoom.
The one thing that was odd to me ... unlike the annual motorcycle show that I usually attend (either in Houston or Dallas), there are multiple different vendors there at the show selling items. This show was not entirely different ... I could buy a new Tokina lens, or a Manfrotto tripod, or a Westcott light modifier. What was different (from my experience) was that all sales were handled by the show sponsor ... Arlington Camera. It did not matter what vendor you chose to buy from, when it was time to check out, you waiting in a ~25 minute long line at one of 6 Arlington Camera cashiers to settle up your tab. Don't get me wrong, the staff and service from the Arlington Camera people was great. This was my first experience with Arlington Camera, although I've heard nothing but good things about them. The issue logistically was that in trying to support both credit and cash paying customers, the lines were a lot longer than I thought they should/could have been. For all the logistical challenges getting people paid up with their gear, Arlington Camera did have a HUGE stock of D750 cameras on-hand ... but strangely no D810s, luckily for me ... so the available equipment for sale ran the spectrum from stocking stuffers to business startup capital.
My summary of the event was that it seemed to be large holiday sale that just happened to be off-site instead of at the store. It was very well done, in that it did feel like an independent industry event. However, I can't help but wonder how many other vendors/manufacturers could have been there if it was larger than just the vendors that Arlington Camera does business with. I enjoyed the time, and based on my experience I will likely do business with Arlington Camera again in the future. Otherwise, I'll still keep looking for a larger industry event to come to town.
@RocketCowboy, Charlie, nice review and wish I could have gone. Really curious why more shows are not in the DFW area. I could see a spring and fall show.