PTN Announces Products of the Year

December 13, 2003 | Mark Goldstein | News | Comment |

PTN Announces Top Photo and Imaging Products of the Year; Leading Imaging Products Help to Determine Photographic Technology Future
[Business Wire]
Business Wire via NewsEdge Corporation : MELVILLE, N.Y.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Dec. 11, 2003—If you haven’t yet purchased that digital camera, camcorder, home printer, cell phone or even a single-use camera for someone special for the holidays, don’t take another step until you look at what the experts have chosen as their top products of 2003. Photo Trade News (PTN), the number one business journal in the photo imaging industry, recently unveiled its Top Photo and Imaging Products of the Year as voted on by its thousands of photo trade retailers who are asked to rate the products that created the most consumer excitement throughout the year and impacted their bottom line.

Not surprisingly, the Top Product Overall for five years in a row was a digital camera. The Canon EOS Digital Rebel not only took top honors, but it also claimed the top spot for the Digital SLR category. With details like a highly responsive autofocus and Continuous Shooting Mode which allows users to capture split-second action sequences at 2.5 fps with a 4-shot burst, it’s easy to see what draws buyers.

The Pentax Optio S4 and Olympus Stylus Digital 300/400 tied in the Consumer Digicam category, both offering similar opportunities to capture great photographs.

“Because the winners are chosen by the photo trade industry, honorees are acknowledged by the group responsible for selling their product,” says Cygnus Imaging Group Publisher Kathy Schneider. “Being selected essentially lets the manufacturer know that they are succeeding and their retailers are happy.”

Canon’s entire line of camcorders was selected as a Top Product and it was Fuji’s line of one-time-use-cameras that retailers found to be the best seller. Epson claimed first and second spots for home printers with their Stylus Photo 925 a close second to their Stylus Photo 2200. If you’re searching for the top cell phone, look no further than Motorola’s product line.

“We’re seeing more technology-based imaging solutions and products scoring fairly high,” says PTN Publisher Liz Vickers. “The photo industry is being revolutionized with items like this year’s Overall Technology winner Graphx Photogize which gives consumers a fast and easy way to send digital photos from their home PC to the local photo retailer, for same day print fulfillment. Only a decade ago, we couldn’t even imagine such innovations.”

For a complete list of PTN’s Top Photo and Imaging Product winners and runners-up, log onto Imaging-info.com. Photo Trade News (PTN) magazine reaches 12,500 imaging industry retailers primarily through the photo specialty, minilab, consumer electronic drugstore and computer channels. The magazine is published 12 times per year and is currently in its 67th year of successfully covering the photo trade industry.