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Our last day at Photokina started like any other day since we’ve been here in Cologne, Germany.  After a hearty breakfast at the hotel, we were soon on the infamous Autobahn and our way to the Koelnmesse.  About half way into our drive, our rental Mercedes’ fuel pump decided to “go south,” leaving our driver without any means of accelerating the car.  Talk about bad luck and bad timing!  With throngs of Audis, BMWs, Mercedes and VWs passing us by, our driver somehow was able to navigate our injured car off the Autobahn and onto an emergency lane to get us all out of harm’s way.  Without doubt, that was a really tense moment, especially since other cars were zipping by us at 160 km per hour!  With a few phone calls and a 2 hour wait, a tow truck finally appeared to retrieve our car and gave us a ride to a local Mercedes Benz dealer.  A taxi was summoned, and we were soon on our way to the Koelnmesse, while a replacment car rental  - a Volvo, was exchanged for.  Lucikly, other members of our entourage were already at the show and had our booth up and running.  What a day to remember. 

With just a few more hours to go, Photokina 2008 will come to a close.  Reflecting back upon this past week here at the Koelnmesse, it’s been an unbelievable experience, especially for those of us who journeyed to Europe for the very first time.  Anyone interested in imaging, video, cameras, optics, etc, Photokina was definitely the place to be.  This trade show provided guests with a glimpse into the future of imaging applications and showcased innovative new products from exhibitors from all around the globe, including many from North America.  Photokina was certainly a real eye opener and provided a firsthand look at the huge market Celestron has in the eastern hemisphere.  Distributors, Dealers, Journalist, Media and everyday guests marveled at our latest products, including our newly announced CGEM mount, which made its debut at Photokina.  As Celestron continues to grow in the global marketplace, it’s quite inevitable more and more innovative new products will continue to be developed and become accessible for astronomy enthusiasts worldwide.  It’s too bad Photokina takes place every other year.  We’re already thinking ahead to have a greater booth presence for the next show.  Tonight, Baader Planetarium and Celestron staff members will have one last dinner together before we say our goodbyes and fly back home.  Hopefully, we’ll get one last look at the magnificent Cologne Cathedral before we go our separate ways.  Until the next Photokina in 2010, auf wiedersehen!  Einen schonen Tag allerseits!

With each passing day, attendance levels are really beginning to soar here at Photokina.  Guests to the Celestron booth have been increasing dramatically, as our CPC 1100 and new CGEM 1100 are now pointed at various targets throughout the exhibit hall for everyone to view.  Guests have been really enjoying the views through the CPC 1100 of people moving up and down the escalators, while others are remarking at the clarity of a string holding a sign as seen through the CGEM 1100. Guests eagerly waiting in line to peer through the telescopes are not uncommon to see.   Meanwhile, Celestron’s Sales Representatives have been meeting with clients and Distributors behind closed doors, while Celestron Representatives have been demonstrating and answering questions regarding the products on display. International Sales Coordinator, Anne Barton, which we dubbed “The Queen of Microscopes” can be seen sharing her knowledge of our very popular Hand Held Digital Microscope and LCD Digital Microscope for many hours at a time.  If anyone has any questions regarding microscopes, Anne is always ready to assist.  Assistant Marketing Manager, Michelle Meskill, can be seen passing out Celestron’s famous orange Frisbees, hand warmers and orange star pens to our guests.  Michelle especially loves to hand out Frisbees to all the children, and their happy smiles say it all.  These items are very popular, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we run out of stock before Photokina ends.  We’ve also been extremely grateful to have Mr. Thomas Baader of Baader Planetarium and Baader Planetarium Representatives – Michael Risch and Jan Glockenthőr working beside us in the Celestron booth.  These talented gentlemen have been such a tremendous help by translating the German Language to English and by using their astronomical and Celestron product expertise to interact with guests.  Their customer service skills are impeccably first rate, and we are all very happy to have them as part of the Celestron family.  Famed European Astrophotographer, Sebastian Voltmer, of France, stopped by our booth today and presented a CD-ROM of some of his latest works.  Sebastian’s images are so good that they are featured on Celestron’s website and telescope catalog, not to mention on European TV as well.  It’s just amazing to see the finely detailed images he produces using a C8, C11, C14 and PlaneWave Instrument’s 12.5” CDK optical tubes.  The most remarkable images Sebastian showed us were almost identical images of Mars taken during the 2003 Opposition through his C14 and one by the Hubble Space Telescope.   Nearly every Martian features were accounted for, with the Hubble Space Telescope taking the nod for having just a tad bit better resolution, as any 1.5 billion dollar telescope operating in perfect seeing conditions should have.  In reality, the C14 really showed its true capabilities when in the hands of an expert imager like Sebastian.  More of his work can be found on his website at www.weltraum.com and our website at www.celestronimages.com.   More from Photokina to follow soon.

Following Day 2 at Photokina, Celestron’s International Distributors and Celestron Representatives met for the Second Annual Awards Dinner Banquet at the Dorint Hotel, which was conveniently located across the street from the Koelnmesse.  Delicious traditional German food was served buffet style, and after the long day working at the convention, everyone was quite hungry and ready to dine.  The banquet room provided a relaxed environment to meet up with old acquaintances and establish new ones.  Jim Edmiston, Celestron’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Product Development, gave the welcoming speech and introductions to rounds of applause that could be heard well into the next room.  Joe Lupica, Celestron’s President and CEO, followed next with his opening remarks regarding what a banner year it’s been for Celestron, and the positive direction the company is going.   These are very exciting times for us all indeed.  Awards were then presented to our International Distributors who significantly contributed to Celestron’s growth and increased their sales volumes.  The Meteor Award was presented to Victorinox for being “The Rookie of the Year.”  Victorinox’s stellar performance enabled their business to grow very quickly throughout the year.  Unfortunately, their representative was unable to attend the banquet, so their award will be presented at a later date.  The Galaxy Award was won by Mr. Paul Wyss of P. Wyss Photo-Video of Switzerland.  Mr. Wyss accepted the award for being the “Overall Player of the Year.”  P. Wyss Photo-Video won the best all around Distributor who had the best sales at all price levels in many different categories.  Mr. Wyss was so surprised and honored for receiving this award that his excitement literally “brought the house down.”  The final award presented was The Cosmos Award.  This award was won by Baader Planetarium of Germany.  Baader Planetarium was our MVP for having the best performance by a Distributor in the large market section.  Mr. Thomas Baader, wearing a huge grin, proudly displayed his award and acknowledged his 2 representatives, Michael Risch and Jan Glockenthőr, and had them come up to the front for the group photo.  Although only 3 awards were presented that evening, all of Celestron’s Distributors were recognized for all their hard work throughout the year - not only selling our products, but also providing excellent support for their Dealers and for the customers as well.  Congratulations to all the winners and to all of our Distributors for your dedication and bringing Celestron’s products out to the global marketplace.   It’s teamwork and team players that makes Celestron number 1 in telescopes.  Let’s see who’ll win next year’s awards.

Here we are representing Celestron at Photokina 2008 in Cologne, Germany!  The Trade Show runs from September 23 to the 28, with approximately 1500 exhibitors from over 50 different countries are descending upon the Koelnmesse to showcase the latest photographic and imaging products and technologies to the global market.  Celestron proudly announced a brand new imaging mount that fits nicely between the CGE and Advanced Series Computerized (CG-5) mount – the CGEM.  This mount was designed from the ground up with all new features catered to the imaging specialist.  Guests have been in awe at the debut of this mount here at Photokina.  With features such as the new All-Star Polar Alignment, easy to grip Altitude and Azimuth adjustment knobs, Extended Meridian Tracking, CGE style dovetail mounting platform and more additional features, it’s no wonder why guests have been keeping Celestron Representatives busy by asking tons of questions and taking many photos of our latest “shining star!”  Of course, our current product lineup such as the CGE, CPC, NexStar, Advanced Series Computerized, OMNI, Hand Held Digital Microscope and LCD Digital Microscope, VistaPixs, NexImager, to name a few, have been receiving lots of inquiries on opening day as well.  Conversing with our guests, despite the language barrier at times, reinforces my beliefs that we truly do live in a global marketplace.  One gentleman, from Germany, came up to me and said “Celestron, I know you, you make good telescopes!”  While another gentleman from Sweden, said “I own a CPC 11!”  It’s very inspirational to hear phrases like that and knowing how Celestron products are used by people from all over the world.  It’s humbling how it all started from a telescope manufacturer based in Torrance, California, USA.  

The inaugural Pasadena Astronomy and Telescope Show (PATS) took place over Harvest Moon weekend at the Pasadena Convention Center on September 13 and 14, 2008.  Ideally located in Old Town Pasadena, this event complemented the RTMC Astronomy Expo which takes place every Memorial Day weekend near Big Bear City, CA.  Billed as the west coast version of the North East Astronomy Forum (NEAF), over 70 manufacturers and vendors of astronomical products and science related items filled the exhibit tent.  It was truly a great opportunity for astronomy enthusiasts to come out and see the latest and greatest telescopes, mounts, CCD cameras and other related accessories that manufacturers had to offer.  Although PATS focused on public outreach and inspiring new individuals and families to take up the astronomy hobby, long time veterans were also very much welcomed.   As an added bonus, guests were treated to talks by some of the most well know professionals in the astronomy related fields.  Speakers included David Levy, discoverer of 22 comets; Story Musgrave, Space Shuttle Astronaut; John Dobson, Founder of the Sidewalk Astronomers and celebrated his birthday, Robin and Todd Mason, Film Producers – Gateway to the Universe; Scott Roberts, Astronomical Society of the Pacific – 2009 International Year of Astronomy and Gary Palmer, accomplished Solar Imager.

Celestron was one of PATS’ four main sponsors and was highly represented by dedicated employees from throughout its organization.  Those who worked the Celestron booth included Victor Aniceto, Vice President of Domestic Sales; Darren Gonzales, West Coast Sales Manager; Mark Teitelman, Technical Support Supervisor; Mark Vescera, Technical Support Representative; Yasmine Rios, Marketing Coordinator and Kevin Kawai, Community Relations Coordinator.   With a prime location facing the Exhibit Hall’s front entranceway, a steady flow of guests visited the Celestron booth throughout the 2 day event.  Celestron’s most popular products were on display which included the CPC 1100, a CGE 1100, a NexStar 8 SE, a NexStar 4 SE, an Advanced Series Computerized mount with a C8 OTA, an OMNI 102 XLT, an 80 EDF Refractor on a Heavy Duty Alt/Azm mount, NexStar 60 SLT, new Ultima and Axiom eyepiece lineups, SkyScout Personal Planetariums, SkyScout Speakers, SD cards and various other accessories.  Not only were Celestron’s telescopes the most popular at PATS, but a couple of “down to Earth” items were also well received by guests.  The Hand Held Digital Microscope and LCD Digital Microscope also stole the show with their ease of use, clear displays and cool features.  These products were especially popular with children and Science Teachers visiting our booth.   They really turned up the “wow” factor.  Over 1000 people attended the two day event.  Guests looking to purchase telescopes and astronomy related items were treated to great deals from many vendors.  It was also great seeing Celestron products used by other manufacturers and vendors as well. Tele-Vue’s West Coast Sales Representative, John Rhodes, proudly displayed the NP-127 on his brand new Celestron CGE mount.  Star Chaserz’ Norm and Laura Nasise’s displayed a Celestron CPC 1100 on their new Astrolift and Dean Koenig of Starizona, displayed his brand new HyperStar system on a Celestron NexStar 6 SE, as well as on a C11 and C14 optical tubes.  The Pasadena Convention Center is scheduled to complete expansion in 2009.   PATS will undoubtedly grow in size with larger turnouts from both guests and vendors.  With the International Year of Astronomy also taking place in 2009, which Celestron is proud to be a global sponsor, astronomy, without question, will be cast into the spotlight.  What a perfect way to bring astronomy and people together.   Celestron would like to thank Allan Guthmiller, PATS Vendor Chairman, and his staff for organizing the very first PATS event.  They couldn’t have picked a more ideal setting.  Just wait until next year after the expansion is concluded.