sony commercial...

santino · Dec 9, 2004

saw today a sony commercial of a new cybershot, and it says

"Don't think. Shoot!"

isn't that horrbible? I usually think a lot before I take a pic, whether it's digital or not.

what are your thoughts?

danalec99 · Dec 9, 2004

It is obviously for the P&S crowd!

Scurra · Dec 9, 2004

Yeah aimed at the kind of consumer that doesn't really understand composition and the like... The kind of person who always centralises everything in the frame and wouldn't know what an f stop was if one came up and bit them.

ksmattfish · Dec 9, 2004

Auto-exposure, auto-focus, auto-brain...

aggiezach · Dec 9, 2004

ksmattfish said:
Auto-exposure, auto-focus, auto-brain...

Yup! Thats one of the reasons I'm so happy with my all manual MF cameras. I'm forced (sounds bad, but it isn't) to think about every aspect of the image and I think that makes for a better photograph in the end! I guess we'll see this weekend as I am going to develop my first roll from these cameras

Zach

BernieSC · Dec 9, 2004

I guess if you think about it, sometimes that is true. If you are shooting a landscape or object you can think about it. But when a photo is about 125th of a second in time when i shoot models or people in general you can't think too long because that shot might be gone while you are thinking.

terri · Dec 9, 2004

Polaroid received the same flak, over the same basic issue, many moons ago. The "instant" processes always should receive flak, for trying to remove the brain from photography. :wink:

danalec99 · Dec 9, 2004

terri said:
Polaroid received the same flak, over the same basic issue, many moons ago. The "instant" processes always should receive flak, for trying to remove the brain from photography.

The flak would be baseless when it come to "Instant SLR"

Hertz van Rental · Dec 9, 2004

Well Sony have been making fine film cameras for years now.... ;-)

But their aim is, of course, to get people to buy their product and doing everything without any real thought gives people that 'now' generation zingy feeling of being in with the latest fad.

Don't forget that Eastman's slogan for the first mass appeal camera was 'You press the shutter, we do the rest'. I don't think Sony's approach is any different.

celery · Dec 9, 2004

Well, I definately think it's geared toward regular people who just want snapshots.

And it's good to advertise like that for those people. Why, you ask? Well because we don't want everyone to get into photography.

Not because we don't want to get people interested, but because the more people who do something, the less special that activity becomes.

If you average consumer was capable of using and taking excellent pictures with manual cameras, then there would be no photographers. We would just be normal people.

It's similar to using the internet. Back when computers and the internet first started out. Only a certain group of people knew how to use the internet and it was a special skill to have. Nowadays if you tell someone that you use the internet, no one cares, cause everybody knows how to use the internet (generalising).

We should actually encourage average people to use auto-everything cameras. And even give them as presents. It will help keep photography something that only attracts those who are interested and will dedicate time and money to develop their skills.

About 10-15 years ago you couldn't imagine that a 10 year old would be able to access the internet. And if you did, it was on a talk show because the kid was a genius. And now kids are on the internet all the time.

Just imagine kids sitting at the lunch table in the cafeteria talking about pictures they took and what shutter speeds they used. It would totally take away from what we do.

Wow, I can't believe I rambled so much. Anyway, I wasn't directing this at anyone or trying to pick a fight, but I wanted to show that we should be happy that people buy into ads like that and buy auto-everything cameras.

John E. · Dec 9, 2004

Sure hope disturbed people do not view that commericial and think: camera's, gun's it's all the same :shock:

Almost all marketing is geared towards the indiscriminate impulse buyers. A saying I heard from a marketing proffesional was" if a product is no good, advertise the hell out of it, a good product needs very little advertising."

John Orrell · Dec 9, 2004

Cruzin said:
Sure hope disturbed people do not view that commericial and think: camera's, gun's it's all the same :shock:

Here here! A bit of a tasteless tag-line if you ask me, considering what's been happening and Russia and Iraq. There's no question in my mind that they're deliberately using double-entendre to make the tag-line stick in your head. Sadly, it works.

ksmattfish · Dec 9, 2004

John Orrell said:
Cruzin said:

Sure hope disturbed people do not view that commericial and think: camera's, gun's it's all the same :shock:

Click to expand...

Here here! A bit of a tasteless tag-line if you ask me, considering what's been happening and Russia and Iraq. There's no question in my mind that they're deliberately using double-entendre to make the tag-line stick in your head. Sadly, it works.

I'm all for people not shooting each other with guns, but what else is Sony going to say?

"Don't think. Photograph!"

"Don't think. Imagize!"

"Don't think. Digital capture!"

"shoot" has been photo terminology since the beginning. Even though I know it sounds and reads weird, I say and write "I've been out shooting children" all the time. But I've never even had a stranger overhearing me comment about it because everyone knows the context.

Well Sony have been making fine film cameras for years now....

Exactly! If Sony was interested in photography they could have been making film cameras decades ago. And the people they are marketing to aren't into photography either. Even though we all find delight and pleasure in taking photos, most folks just want to get a quick snap of granny blowing out the candles on her cake, or their roommate lying in a puddle of vomit, and post it on the internet.

My least favorite photo TV commercial is "Canon Photo Safari"; it's supposed to be a show about photography, but it's really a half-hour Canon commercial where Hollywood stars are led around by Canon photo pros. It bugs me because the stars are hand held like babies, told what to shoot, and how to shoot it. I already know the formula the pros are working from; I want to see what the wacky Hollywood stars would come up with on their own.

And it also ticks me off that most of the "photos" that are shown are actually stills from the video, not the actual shots that were taken.

ferny · Dec 10, 2004

What's all the fuss about? It's an advert to sell cameras. Big deal. If enough people buy this camera it will actually help us. I'm not naive enough to believe the money will be invested in new technology for the enthusiastic armatures. But as the point and shoots along the lines of this particular camera get better so will the higher-end ones. They'll have to do that to keep a user base that are used to Sony happy or risk losing lots of sales.
I don't understand the problems with Sony not producing film cameras. Sony are an electronics firm aren't they? Well digital cameras are electronic and film cameras aren't. They're sticking with what they know. Even if it is just to make a profit. But all companies exist to make a profit. Just look what they've done to the console market. How many more millions are playing computers at home now because Sony produced the PSX? You may argue that gaming entered the mainstream and because of that imaginative games have been lost to the film tie-ins and sequels. Not only is that a blinkered view of the past but the imaginative games are still out there, if you look for them.
Because more people are playing games more children are dreaming of designing games when they get older. So there will be more people working in the games industry and as a result the games market will grow and there will be more out there for us to choose from.
The same goes for photography. The more people who get involved with photography at the most basic of levels, the more that will enjoy it and progress to the higher levels. More people will be interested in photography so companies will have to cater for that increase as they chase the big bucks.
Will more people getting into photography reduce its appeal to you? Only if the only reason you're doing it is to "stand out from the crowd". It won't make a blind bit of difference to the rest of us. And if you're only in it to "stand out from the crowd" you should be questioning yourself in the first place.

A question to all of you. How many of you started out with a point and shoot 35mm, not thinking about what you shooting but just clicking a button?

Edit

Looking for any answer to the post about holas look what I wound on the lomography site. :mrgreen:

John E. · Dec 10, 2004

In my own personal opinion I think it is irresponcible for advertisers to add a tag like that to a commericial. Not only do I think before I shoot, but there are situations where I would not take a picture . For example: a picture of a grieving mother at a funeral. I will not take that picture because I think before I shoot.

Same as the "Just do it" commericial. If I just did what I wanted to do, I would be in jail right now. For example: Every time I see great behind or breasts on an attractive woman , I may say to myself " man I would love to hold and caress those you know whats". I don't" just do it", out of respect for others and myself.

End of Rant, I will get off my box now. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest