How We Picked the Best of PMA 2009

Everyone from photojournalists to photo editing software engineers to big name firm marketing groups knows that the annual international PMA trade show is the place to be to get a first hand glimpse of the direction, trends and exciting innovations in the photography industry. Both independent studios and the major producers of cameras come to PMA every year. Sony, Kodak, JVC, Canon, Nikon, and Olympus appear alongside independent outfits to introduce each other and the public to their best products.

TopTenREVIEWS was at PMA 2009 to see it all take place first hand. We’ve compiled this page to show you the ten most useful, flashy and just plain cool gadgets we saw at PMA this year. They run the gamut from expensive and high tech down to affordable and practical. We evaluated them in terms of their features, the likelihood that they’ll stand up to test of time, their value, and the degree to which they represent the cutting edge in tech.

This year, we're seeing photography trends that include professional performance features like HD video, tough and rugged gear for the outdoors, and a nod to fashion with smaller, sleek designs in a stunning array of colors. Given the vast array of stylish, tough and cutting edge technology at PMA this year, picking our favorites was difficult. Read through the criteria we used to make our decision:

Features

Camcorders and digital cameras do different things. But, seeing as how “hybrids” are becoming all of the rage, we evaluated cameras and video cameras according to some of the same criteria. Many cameras and DSLRs will shoot HD video these days. Similarly, most video cameras will shoot high resolution images. Most of the cameras we saw at PMA offer the best features of both cameras and video cameras.

Future proof

Investing in a brand new piece of expensive gadgetry can be expensive. When we saw these items on the PMA showroom floor, we thought long and hard about how well they will brave the test of time. Will they still be cutting edge in 2011? Will their feature sets still impress after they’re no longer the hot new thing?

On the whole, we can say that most of our favorites from PMA 2009 are solid investments for the next half decade—HD media is here to stay. All of the featured products that have SD memory cards can hold up to a maximum of 32GB cards (which aren’t even on the market yet), so running out of memory won’t ever be an issue.

Value

PMA is where the industry goes to unveil the latest and greatest products, but just because something is new, doesn’t mean it has to be unconscionably expensive. We also considered the impact our top ten PMA picks would have on your pocket book. Some of them, particularly the pocket camcorders, are very affordable.

Style

Let’s just come right out and say it. A new gadget needs to be cool. It needs to leave the competition in the dust. When we considered the hoards of flashy cameras and camcorders at PMA, we considered the level of envy they’d likely arouse in friends, coworkers, and maybe even in the IT guy in your life. Some of PMA’s greatest this year will make even the most serious of technophiles wish they were you. Did we mention they look good to? As accessories, most of these items are customizable and colorful.

After you have a chance to scope our favorite gadgetry from PMA 2009. Be sure to check out our coverage from the Las Vegas Convention center floor with our Top 10 Products from PMA 2009.