Bild Expo 2025: Bigger, Better & Bolder
Filling a void left by the demise of PhotoPlus Expo, Bild Expo has evolved into an essential photography event for consumers as well as companies seeking to showcase new products.
If timing is everything, the folks behind Bild Expo got things right this year. The two-day photo, video and audio event arrived in New York June 17 just before the summer started, well ahead of Amazon’s July Prime Days and ahead of some anticipated price increases caused by new import tariffs.
The result? An apparent success as thousands piled into the Jacob Javits Convention Center for the show, which included hands-on demonstrations, panel discussions an expanded exhibit floor, photo walks and even a two-hour cruise on the Hudson River.
Bild Expo is a creation of B&H Photo, a major consumer electronics store whose main superstore is located just blocks from the convention center. And yes, attendees were able to order what they saw at the show and and pick their items up at the store.
Bild? It’s a Yiddish word which means image, picture, or photo.
Camera aficionados have been hungry for an East Coast event to replace PhotoPlus Expo, which ended its run at the same venue in 2019. Bild Expo debuted in 2023 with 130 exhibitors and 70 speakers, but this year about 250 exhibitors and more than 100 speakers were at the show, according to B&H. There was no show in 2024.
An indicator of the sudden importance of Bild Expo was the number of companies that chose the show—or at least the show’s timeframe—to launch or showcase new products.
For example, Sennheiser showed off multiple products, including its new Profile wireless microphone system, a sophisticated, yet small system that works with laptops, smartphones and digital cameras. A two-channel package debuted last year, but for 2025, the company added a less expensive one-channel package to its lineup.
The $199 one-channel Profile set includes one wireless microphone, a two-channel wireless receiver and a carrying case filled with an assortment of connecting cables and accessories including USB-C and Lightning port adapters for computers and smartphones and a cold shoe for mounting on cameras. The $299 two-channel set adds a second microphone plus a portable charging bar with a built-in battery which cleverly doubles as a handheld wireless microphone.
Canon’s lineup of full-frame mirrorless digital cameras have no shortage of Canon-brand lenses to choose from, but the selection of lenses made specifically for the company’s growing line of cameras with smaller APS-C-size sensors is limited—a shortcoming not lost on other lens manufacturers.
Sigma recently added a number of Canon RF-mount lenses its arsenal, including the SIGMA 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN Contemporary, which is made for APS-C-sensor cameras like Canon’s new video-centric EOS R50 V and the EOS R7, R10, R50 and R100.
With a 35mm-equivalent zoom range of 27mm to 75mm, the SIGMA 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN Contemporary makes for a good single-lens option for travel photography and could be an option for those wanting to buy a camera body alone without a kit lens, some of which offer only fair build and image quality.
The lightweight Sigma lens has zoom and focus rings, but has no buttons or switches, leaving the user to toggle features like manual and automatic focus from the camera’s menu. With a maximum F2.8 aperture throughout its zoom range, the SIGMA 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN Contemporary is much more useful in limited light than kit lenses like Canon’s RF-S18-45mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM, which, as its name hints, maintains a maximum aperture of F4.5 when set at 18mm but is limited to F6.3 when zoomed out to 45mm.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the company’s first 35mm film camera, Leica Camera AG announced its first-ever Leica-branded 35mm film: Leica MONOPAN 50. The company promises that the “ultra-fine grain” black-and-white film, rated at ISO 50, delivers resolutions as high as 280 line pairs per millimeter.
Given Leica’s legacy of precisely engineered, high-performance and very-high-priced cameras and lenses, it comes as a bit of a shock that a 36-exposure roll of MONOPAN 50 is expected to retail for less than $14. The film, compatible with most black-and-white film developing chemicals, will go on sale August 21, according to Leica.
Speaking of film, there were a number of film cameras on display, including the Pentax 17 from Ricoh Imaging, which debuted last year. The camera takes half frames, meaning you can get, for example, 48 exposures out of a 24-exposure roll of 35mm film. The Pentax 17 offers throwback-style controls, including a thumb-driven manual film advance level and a 25mm F3.5 lens with a simple zone focus system.
The first night of Bild Expo ended with photo walks and two-hour Circle Line cruises on the Hudson River—if you signed up in time and managed to snag the necessary wristband. The foggy, unseasonably cool evening weather was actually a boon for photogs since it helped them capture misty, moody images and videos of the Manhattan and New Jersey skylines and the the Statue of Liberty.
As expected, some tariffs have kicked in since Bild Expo wrapped up June 18, which doesn’t bode well for the upcoming back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons.
And yes, after a long hiatus, The Paper PC is back, bringing you the latest in consumer tech news and technology updates. Feel free to subscribe if this newsletter is useful to you.
Text and images©️Copyright 2025 Robert S. Anthony, Stadium Circle Features except for stock photos from Sennheiser and Leica.