You’ve probably heard already that the Photokina, one of the most important photography trade fairs, has been suspended until further notice. When this was announced a couple of days ago it didn’t come as a real surprise. The imaging market has been in a downward spiral for years now and the photokina 2019 had been postponed first to May 2020 and then to fall 2020. Covid 19 of course didn’t help the situation but it was by no means the real reason for suspending the Photokina until furhter notice.

Even before the corona pandemic, the imaging market was already in a state of flux with double-digit annual declines. The dynamic has massively increased in 2020 and was recently associated with a minus in the region of 50 percent. This has had a strong impact on photokina, which has been the top address for generations in Cologne for the imaging industry since 1950 and is one of the most positive and emotional brands in the trade fair world.

press release koelnmesse

Will there be another Photokina?

So far the Photokina is only suspended until further notice. So may be, just may be there will be another Photokina some time in the future. However, I do have doubts. When did we last see a real, exciting new development in photography? The event of mirrorless cameras with interchangeable lenses perhaps? That was when? I can hardly remember. Ok, we can make videos with our cameras now, but so what? I’m a photographer, not a filmmaker. Telling stories with moving images is very different from taking still images. And most of us are not good at telling stories, so most amateur films are just a series of still images.

What innovations are there to come? If all the developers can come up with is even more pixels and 8k video (sounds good, but is overkill), they must be desperate. Of course the imaging market is declining. Everybody has a camera now (even if it’s just a smartphone) and with nothing really new on the horizon hardly anybody buys new cameras. But let’s face it: this is bad news for the camera manufacturers but it may be good news for us photographers. We now have all the pixels we will ever need, cameras and lenses are better than ever. There is no need for new equipment other than the replacement of broken gear. Now we can concentrate on the really important aspect of photography: our pictures. That can be very liberating.

Will I miss Photokina?

Frankly, no. I visited the Photokina two times: the first time was also the last time. It was back in 2005 and I didn’t like it much. The exhibition halls were completely overcrowded and it was difficult or downright impossible to get a view of the new products or get any usefull information. Even back then it was quite simple to get all the information you wanted on the internet. You just couldn’t lay your hands on all those new cameras, lenses and what have you. So why bother to drive to Cologne and buy an expensive ticket when you can get all the information for free? I never looked back.

Personally, I don’t care if there will be another Photokina or not. What do you think?

Oh, yes, I know, the featured image has nothing whatsoever to do with todays topic …