Photokina 2006

The Exhibition

This year’s photokina was the largest ever, and one of the most fascinating since Cologne’s first photo fair took place in 1950. The action-packed six-day event, which closed on October 1, bridged the gap between the “analogue click and the digital double-click” and was extremely well received by all the participants: professional and amateur photographers, the photographic and imaging sector, consumer electronics, IT, communications technology, suppliers of consumer products and professional imaging.

New Products

MODO: Manfrotto introduces Modo, the world’s first photo and video tripod designed for everyday use. We’ve borrowed the professional features from our best-selling tripods and incorporated them into the Modo, to create an ultra-compact and lightweight tripod that packs away into any bag or backpack. Just like most digital cameras today which feature video capturing, the new Modo ‘Hybrid’ Photo & Video Head provides easy and comfortable positioning of your camera to naturally shoot still or motion images, and with the push of your thumb you can instantly lock the camera for the perfect composition.

190: Manfrotto introduces two redesigned products in the well-known 190 tripod family – the 190XPROB and 190XB – at this year’s Photokina. One of the most noteworthy new features is the improved, Manfrotto-patented horizontal center column, now easier to use than ever. In fact, the center column of the 190XPROB can now be rotated to a horizontal position by simply extending the column to its highest position and without removing the head or disassembling the column itself, so switching between framing and positioning setups is more convenient than ever

804/808: The 804RC2 and 808RC4 photo heads combine features of many existing Manfrotto photo heads into two, modernized designs. The 804RC2 3-way head is constructed of a lightweight technical polymer that reduces the weight of the head to a mere 0.79 kg/1.74 lbs. while retaining strength and stability. The lower profile 804RC2 features a spirit level and a fixed counterbalance spring on the tilt motion to help support varying equipment loads of up to 4 kg/8.8 lbs.
The aluminum 808RC4 3-way head offers fixed counterbalance springs on both the vertical and horizontal tilt for camera control. In addition, the counterbalance springs can be turned off or on in three various positions to meet the individual photographer’s need. The 808RC4, which replaces the existing 329RC4 and 029 photo heads, can support weight loads of up to 8 kg/17.6 lbs and features two large, easy to see spirit levels.

Avenger Crosspole: The CrossPole was developed by Manfrotto engineers after visiting a film set in Venice, Italy, where film crews faced lighting difficulties because of the lack of a floor or ceiling on which to mount lighting equipment. Manfrotto, recognizing the need for a flexible, innovative lighting mount, designed the CrossPole. The innovative CrossPole is perfect for mounting lighting in areas such as doorways, windows, sets with no floors or ceilings and where set and staging to not allow you to use floor space.

Gaming

Taking great photos is no joke, but thanks to Manfrotto, it’s now a game. The tripod market leader is launching a new video game at Photokina and Manfrotto.com that challenges players to take great pictures. The interactive game allows players to select a Manfrotto tripod, photo head and camera and capture shots of moving targets in various settings, including extreme sports, nature walks and bird watching and global tourist spots. Manfrotto, always interested in providing innovative products for the photo market, hopes the game – which the Manfrotto employees who tested it calls “addictive” – will increase interest in photography.

Video Girls

At this year’s Photokina trade show, Manfrotto will exclusively feature a cutting-edge promotional technology that will allow their “brand ambassadors” show live video on their chests. Manfrotto is the first company in Europe to utilize this technology, which allows full motion video and stereo sound to play from a customized promotional t-shirt. The T-Shirt TV™ will feature video demonstrations of two Manfrotto products – the Modo hybrid tripod and the Manfrotto-designed National Geographic line of outdoor tripods.

Partying

On friday night, to celebrate the success of the exhibition, Manfrotto offered a gala dinner to all distributors, friends and partners. During the party, a photographic contest awarded the best pictures taken from the upper terrace of the restaurant, looking down to the Cologne skyline...of course all pictures were taken using our tripods.