Sneak Peek

Sneak Peek is a pre-show chance for the press to see the manufacturers’ latest offerings in a more intimate atmosphere than at the show itself. It gives a chance to have a chat with company representatives and take a closer look at what they’re planning to show without having to battle through the masses (and, crucially, there's also free food and drink).

The event was pretty busy with a lot of journalists taking the opportunity to get a first look at products they've only previously reported on. Despite many predictions of this being a quiet show many manufacturers still had a lot of new products to show. Some even unveiled them for the first time at Sneak Peek.

Sigma brought its DP1x, DP2s and SD15, alongside a whole stack of new lenses. Some were updates of previous models such as the 70-200mm F2.8 or the 50-500mm F4-6.3 (which now both come with image stabilization). However, the most attention-grabbing item on Sigma’s desk was the brand new 85mm F1.4 HSM which will, no doubt, be serious tempting for the portrait photographers among us.

Samsung was showing off its newly-announced range of compact cameras including the very interesting looking TL500 which features manual controls, raw shooting and, at F1.8-2.4, a very fast lens. We also took a close look at Nikon’s new lenses and convinced the guys to let us take a few samples shots with the new 24mm F1.4 AF-S (see separate news story).

As well as cameras and lenses Sneak Peek also offers an opportunity to have a closer look at a large array of accessories, from software and digital albums to Foolography’s interesting compact GPS device.