Covering a trade show for a publication like PCMag requires long hours, a lot of walking, and the ability to capture compelling images and video and put them on the Web with some immediacy. I'm currently packing for a trip to Cologne, Germany to cover the huge biennial Photokina show, and since it's a camera show I thought it'd be fun to write about the gear that I'm taking to cover it.
Cameras
Most writers who cover the photo beat carry an SLR or a mirrorless camera to events. I've found that my Sony RX10—a bridge style compact with a 1-inch sensor and 24-200mm f/2.8 lens—is just about perfect for getting product shots with a shallow depth of field behind them, but I'm not taking it to Photokina.
I'm also packing my favorite digital camera, the Leica M (Typ 240). I've been shooting with rangefinders for years—I took an M8 with me to the last Photokina—and I'll be using the M to capture candid images on the show floor. I'm taking the Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 and Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH. lenses with me, and a 10mm extension tube and EVF for close-up shots.
I'm carrying a pair of cameras from Ricoh. The Theta is a unique 360° panoramic camera that I'll use to capture some views of the show that should give those not attending a good idea of what it's like. And the small Ricoh GR, which has a fixed prime lens with a wide-angle (28mm full-frame equivalent) field of view, APS-C image sensor, and good close-up capability for product shots.
The GR and the M don't have Wi-Fi built-in, and I need to be able to tweet images from the show floor without having to break out the laptop. I'm going to use Eyefi Mobi memory cards to bridge that gap. The Mobi automatically transfers JPG images to a connected smartphone via Wi-Fi. I shoot Raw+JPG with both the M and the GR, so I'll have originals to edit later, but the JPG images are generally fine for on-the-go posts.
And I'm also squeezing a Manfrotto tabletop tripod in the mix. Even with a solid ball head it's small enough to slip into the front pocket of my bag, and it's always good to have a tripod handy, no matter the circumstance.
Tech
When I'm moving about the show floor, I'll be doing a lot of my reporting via my smartphone, an iPhone 5. It's not the latest and greatest from Apple—I've heard some rumors that there's an iPhone 6 now—but it gets the job done. I use VSCOcam to edit and tone images, and I'll be posting to the @PCMagLIVE Twitter feed.
I'm also carrying a brand-new MacBook Pro 13-inch Retina notebook. I just upgraded from an older 15-inch MacBook Pro, and I'm very happy to see that this one will get much better battery life and is a full 2 pounds lighter.
There's Wi-Fi available in the press rooms at Photokina, but to stay a bit more mobile I'm carrying an international Wi-Fi hotspot, as well as a couple of USB power packs to charge devices when I'm not near an outlet.
The Bag
Amazingly, all of this fits in one bag. The Retrospective 40 from Think Tank is bigger inside than it looks on the outside—it holds a Nikon D800 and D810 with room to spare—and I love the look of the bag in blue slate. It's got an adjustable shoulder strap with some padding, and enough extra space for chargers, business cards, lens wipes, and the like.
Check out our Photokina landing page for images and stories from the show, and follow us on Instagram, Vine, and Twitter for images, updates, and news live from the show floor in Cologne.