Florida Shows In February 2007

[Mike Michaelski]

Anyone going to the Largo/St. Pete or North Miami shows in February? I went to the North Miami show two years ago. It was nice, but not worth the cost of the motel for two nights - south Florida in the winter is expensive! The Largo show is a possibility as I have relatives in Tampa, just across the bay. I just need to figure out what to look for and find a way to finance the trip.

Mike

 

[waynecrider]

I'll probably go to the Miami show this year. They can be hit or miss, some years good some very poor. I think alot has to do with whether the dealer did good last year which will intice them to return again and the other influence is the travel expenses. Some of the dealers that come around stay with friends or stay cheaply in a RV park so it won't cost them near as much as if they have to stay in a hotel. There's a few different guys that come in from out of state which I enjoy talking to and have bought from but in the past I've heard remarks about a few not coming again due to poor sales. It really depends on how hot the economy is and which way the wind is blowing on any certain day. The show took a big kit tho when Ebay came on strong years ago. Still, buyers and lookers do enjoy holding the item. With the market now at the point where there are good used digital items available and the economy still reasonably good I would expect a decent showing but anything can happen. I always felt the Largo show which precedes Miami to be the show to go to only because the Miami show gets the left overs. Personally I only go to find accesssories and play with items that I don't get a chance to hold. It's basically entertainment for me.

 

[Mike Michaelski]

Largo/St Peter Show Report

The floor layout is a little bigger than the armory in Miami, but there were only about the same number of actual dealers there. Having now been to shows in Atlanta, Houston, Largo, and Miami my take is that it's a dying venue - I won't be going back to any of them.
One fellow had five bins of Cokin filters (4 "A", 1 "P"), I only found 2 "A" size and one "P" that I needed. I also picked up some teleconverters and a pre-AI Nikon 50mm F1.4 for my "F". Show did not start till 11am on Saturday, so I went to the Pinnellas Park Flea Market from 8 to 10:30. Spent almost as much there as at the show.

Mike

 

[waynecrider]

Pretty poor showing.

The Miami show turned out to be pretty poor overall from the previous year. Attendance seemed off for the first morning and it really didn't seem like there was a lot of equipment compared to other years. One of the major dealers who always seemed to show up with multiple tables of goodies was pretty short this year having not half the stuff I was use to seeing available. Many other dealers were equipment poor as well. One I talked to remarked that this was probably his last year and another who I've known for awhile was just selling off his personal stuff. Not much of anything. A few LF cameras tho which I did not expect. Prices were really not that great and the stuff I did see was not looking too good. Couldn't even find any 52mm colored filters for b&w film.. None

I had occasion to talk with a German tourist who comes to the shows to buy for resale back home. He even remarked that there was nothing impressive about the show. I doubt from my looking around that he found anything.

There was quite a few people showing up to sell. My buddy that I went with even off'd a FE with 50mm and got, as usual, not that much. I ran into several others looking to off film stuff to buy digital. There was lots of attendee's with darkroom stuff looking to sell.

I think that Michael may be right about his remarks and shows. I may not attend anymore. I can find better stuff at KEH.