American Cinematographer - December 1970 - 28

REPORT FROM

photokina 1970
The 11th Photokina in Cologne,
which was opened on Saturday, October
3 by the West German President, Dr.
Gustav W. Heinemann, and closed its
doors on Sunday, October 11, after
lasting nine days, provided an unparal¬
leled world-wide market survey of the
latest in photographic and cinemato¬
graphic equipment, photochemical
products and accessories and, particular¬
ly, electronic audio-visual media. It was
truly the World Fair of Photography in
fact, as well as in name.
There were 232,700 trade visitors,
amateur photographers and other inter¬
ested visitors from 114 different coun¬
tries. This total included 30,700 visitors
from countries other than Germany.
Total attendance was up 28 per cent
over the previous (1968) Photokina.
Local attendance increased by 32 per
cent, foreign attendance by 7 per cent.
There was a particularly marked growth
in attendance from overseas and from
all Common Market countries.
In all, there were 732 exhibitors and
organizations from 24 European and
overseas nations. This total consisted of
356 German direct exhibitors, as well as
332 direct exhibitors and another 44
represented firms from countries other
than Germany. Apart from West Ger¬
many, the countries providing the big¬
gest numbers of exhibitors were Great
Britain, France, the U.S.A., Japan, Italy,
Switzerland and Holland. The gross
floor space taken up in the 12 huge

exhibit halls was 1,076,000 square feet,
the net space 648,290 square feet.
Boiled down to understandable
terms, these statistics indicate that this
most recent Photokina, in the 20th year
of the exhibition's existence, set a rec¬
ord for the number of exhibitors (9% up
on 1968), a record for the proportion of
foreign firms with 51% as against 46% in
1968, a record for the number of
countries participating, and a record
with regard to floor space.
This year, for the first time, a greater
degree of interest on the part of Photokina visitors was displayed toward mo¬
tion picture equipment than toward still
photographic equipment. Of special in¬
terest were those items emphasizing
automated features, which may be par¬
tially due to the fact that many of those
visiting Cologne's 1970 World Fair of
Photography were oriented toward the
use of audio-visual aids.
Once again the cultural section of the
exhibition with its 17 photographic
displays, Europe's biggest photographic
show, took a front seat in cultural
events at Photokina. The film parades,
presenting 104 leading films from 23
countries of all continents, were very
well attended. The action center with
jazz, blues, beat and pop-a first-time
feature of Photokina-was very popular
among young amateur photographers as
it offered them an opportunity for
do-it-yourself photography and moviemaking.

On the banks of the Rhine River a complex of 12 huge exhibition halls accommodated the displays
of 732 exhibitors from 24 nations, and played host to 232,700 visitors from 114 different countries
during the nine-day run of Photokina 1970, the greatest of all photographic shows.

American Cinematographer - December 1970

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - December 1970