The Photography Show 2021

As covered in my most recent video, I attended this year’s Photography Show at the Birmingham NEC. It showcases all the latest gear from all the major brands throughout the world of photography, as well as hosting a number of talks, masterclasses and demos.

It was great to get hands on with all the latest equipment. I was particularly interested in trying out Nikon’s new Z MC 105mm macro lens. I was able to try it out on a Z7 body and the quality was superb. It’s surprisingly light too. I was also pleased to get my hands on the new Z FC camera – its retro stylings look fantastic! As well as that, I played around with all the big telephoto primes and was equally amazed by the sharpness of the Nikon 500mm f4 as I was with the speed and accuracy of focussing on the D850 body it was attached to.

After that, I had a wander around the Sony stand. It was interesting to pick up of their range of mirrorless bodies which feel very good in the hands, but I was most interested to see the new ZV-E10. I currently use the ZV-1 to record my YouTube videos and this camera is an adapated version of that camera, including an interchangable lens system.

Later I perused Canon’s very large area and got to see the new EOS R3 camera and try out the EOS R5 and R6 too. I’ve always found the older Canon cameras to feel a bit too round and plasticy, creating a toy-like feel. There was not of that witht he R5 and R6 though – it’s like the system has grown up and now feels, slick, sturdy and refined. The performance of these cameras is remarkable too – I was incredibly impressed with their focussing systems as I took a few test shots up and down the hall.

At FujiFilm’s stand, I was able to get a look at the XT-4 as well as some of the brand’s medium format cameras. The XT cameras have always been on my radar, and I know quite a few people who own XT-2s and XT-3s and swear by them. The new model in this line of great APS-C cameras, adds in-body stabilisation for up to 6-stops of compensation. I also checked out the GFX 100S and GFX 50S, both medium format cameras, the former boasting a 102mp sensor and the latter, just 51.5mp!

There were many, many other exhibitors there, of course. It was great to see the gear on offer by Olympus, the lenses at Sigma and Tamron’s stands, printers and paper at brands like Epson and Fotospeed and the huge range of other accessories too. From the tripods and bags on offer at Vanguard to the audio equipment on show by Rode, it was enough to keep a gear geek like me, happy all day!

Gear aside there’s plenty more to see at the show. Throughout the day, there were many talks by prominent figures in photography as well as masterclass sessions for those wanting to expand their skills. I attended Nigel Danson’s talk, which was great and also got to speak to him afterwards. I can reveal that his favourite location in the UK is the Lake District and he thinks the best time to visit Yosemite is winter. You heard it here first!

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