The Top 10 Trends & Technological Breakthroughs of 2008

By Sam Mallery

One of my favorite things to do at the end of the year is to check out all of the "best of" lists that get complied and passed around. I'm the kind of person who'll endlessly analyze the critic's picks of the best albums of the year, and make a point of trying to catch the films hailed as the year's best. This time around I thought it would be fun if B&H got in on the "best of" craze and put together a list of our own.

I spent some time roving through our SuperStore picking the brains of our knowledgeable sales people, and sent emails to members of our staff trying to gather as many seasoned B&H opinions as I could. Which one of these trends & innovations is truly the most exciting of the year? This depends entirely on what kind of nerd you are. Seeing as I'm a dyed in the wool audio geek, I'll take the liberty of crowning the single greatest breakthrough of 2008:

1) The sales of older technology increased dramatically at B&H!

This year we witnessed an unprecedented spike in sales of home record players, USB turntables, and even DJ turntables. To draw a parallel with photography, this would be equal to 35mm film cameras suddenly outselling digital. What brought about this growth? Many people are discovering that holding a vinyl record, looking at its artwork, and playing it on an analog listening system is a really enjoyable experience. Plus, the album you pay for has an actual resale value, unlike an intangible binary music purchase. If you're considering getting back into vinyl, check out this B&H Buyer's Guide that has all the information you need.

Because so many music fans are turning back to older technology, I started to wonder if perhaps the same thing may be happening in the world of visual media. I stopped by the used department and spoke to our large format experts and my suspicion was confirmed. Sales of large format view cameras and medium format cameras have been busier than ever this year. It seems like the fast pace of modern life may finally be starting to relax a little bit.

Appreciate quality over quantity with the Toyo-View 45CX

2) Photographers suddenly became envelope pushing videographers

This year saw the introduction of the Nikon D90 and the higher-end Canon 5D Mark II, both featuring incorporated HD video functionality. Still camera lenses like tilt-shift, fish-eye, and macro are prohibitively expensive for video cameras, but within reach for the SLR. More creative options always equates to more excited gear fanatics!

"This is significant, because the sensor is 20% larger than what is being offered on HD DV cams in the 7 to 10k price range. We thought the SLR still camera would go the way of the dodo with still frame grabs from video, but now it appears it may actually be the other way around." - David Brommer

"I'm not a video person per se, but the ability to shoot decent video using the larger-format sensors found in the Nikon D90 and Canon 5D Mark II is pretty cool, especially if you're into wide-aperture/selective focus imaging and appreciate the ability to choose from a wide variety of focal length ranges." - Allen Weitz

DNA dissects a digital audio recording of a guitar strum into individual, changeable notes

3) A new audio capability blew the minds of audio freaks worldwide

Celemony's new Direct Note Access functionality opened up new territory for the exploration of digital audio files. It enables you to separate and edit individual notes in a polyphonic audio recording, which directly challenges one of the oldest limitations in sound. Trying to do this in the past was like trying to remove the eggs from a cake after it was baked. DNA will be implemented as a feature of Melodyne software in 2009.

4) We have new ways of bringing out the beauty of flippers

While advancements in how one can cast light onto a fish may not be big news everywhere, here at B&H, the cutting edge of underwater strobe technology can create quite a buzz around the water cooler. This breakthrough comes from Larry Cohen, one of B&H's underwater photography experts who also happens to be my office cubicle neighbor. The exciting news is that you can now control multiple strobes from the back of a camera, and dial in an individual power setting for each flash.

Uncover new creative expression (while swimming) with Olympus

"This is the first underwater strobe with this feature. The UFL-2 when used with the E-520 SLR camera in the Olympus PT-E05 housing allows you to control multiple UFL-2 strobes." - Larry Cohen

5) TV on the computer show

Thanks to websites like Hulu and some new gadgets, TV shows and movies delivered from the Internet finally took off in earnest in 2008. Apple TV made it possible to download video directly without first parking the content on a networked computer. A few really cool devices came out this year that feature Netflix instant viewing (12,000 free titles without limits to subscribers). Construction is complete on the entertainment superhighway!

6) Blu-ray's laser beam zapped HD DVD

2008 saw the Blu-ray format defeat HD DVD. We're now seeing a shift in the marketplace with Blu-ray beginning to gain ground against its biggest competitor - standard DVDs. With the HD format war over, production people can move forward with enhanced A/V content utilizing lush 1080p.

Video nerds got a new brain in 2008

7) An unreleased beauty got redesigned

You can't purchase one yet, but any news concerning the Red line of cameras always creates a huge buzz amongst the gear heads at B&H. The Scarlett, Red's $2500 model, got a thorough redesign in 2008.

"This camera is changing the way we look at shooting, with its unique custom configurable design, all based around the "brain," which can be upgraded in the field with larger image sensors." - Ronald Seifried

8) Hard drives became a lot more affordable

The availability of inexpensive hard drives is a good thing for just about every type of gear nerd at B&H. The price of a RAID configuration used to be steep, but now a nice system can be acquired in the $500 - $600 range. For several years now I haven't left the house without a flash drive in my pocket because they're so amazingly convenient, so new products like the Kingston 64GB Datatraveller 150 are worthy of excitement. It packs 64 affordable gigabytes of memory in a USB 2.0 drive that will slip into the smallest pocket in your wardrobe.

9) A new application will create a soundtrack based on color palate

Abaltat Muse 2.0 enables anyone to compose royalty-free soundtracks that are perfectly timed and aligned to edited video. You can add harmonies based on color and assign principle or secondary colors to control the music.

10) The B&H SuperStore got bigger and better than ever

Last and certainly not least, our lovely SuperStore in the throbbing heart of New York City was expanded, nearly doubling the size of our home. It gives us the chance to put more creative production equipment on display so you can try it out in person. We now have a dedicated Event Space where we host lectures, educational how-to presentations, and all sorts of cool stuff. Gear nerds of the world, we encourage you to stop by and join the conversation!

Look at what we've got in store for you…

I really appreciate that you read this B&H article. If you have any questions about creative production equipment or home entertainment, don't hesitate to contact our knowledgeable sales staff by phone, in person in New York City, or via live chat on our website.

Please email feedback on this article, or suggestions for future topics, to audiofeedback@bhphotovideo.com.

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