WSJ: "Cameras Succumb to Smartphone Juggernaut"

[runnah]

I took a picture of my junk and made the background of my iphone... wait, that was someone else's iphone. i have the galaxy note 3.

That was you?!

 

[Derrel]

ever tried doing anything notable but play candy crush on a tablet or iphone?

Oh come on man--hell, I've frickin' ordered PIZZA on my iPhone! WHILE I was driving on both city streets, AND the interstate freeway system! Now that is pretty notable.

I took a picture of my junk and made the background of my iphone...
wait, that was someone else's iphone. i have the galaxy note 3.

My niece has the Galaxy Note. It's a nice, large-screen phone,for people who want to do a lot of their internet and social media stuff using their phone. Or...for people who want a BIG picture of their junk as a screen image.

 

[vipgraphx]

I think that what many professionals sometimes forget is that as times are changing they are become less valuable to the common joe. Many professionals have the attitude that they are the high
and mighty..that is good but does not pay the bills. They criticize the so called "SOCCER MOMS" for wanting to take pictures of their kids. I read so much trash on the net about people don't understand light
or the fundamentals of photography and composition BUT, the reality is that Who THE F#%$ really cares???? Not the so called "SOCCER MOMS" they are very content with their black friday DSLR camera bundle…

Times are changing in this ever so "tech" world…cell phone cameras are being upgraded like crazy with newest and greatest..Its hard to big camera manufactures to keep up so and are forced to create entry level DSLR in both Crop and FF…think 10 years ago people that had the big bulky cameras where PROS…there was not entry level so much. Pro Photographers were need more now they are less and less needed in this ever changing world that is a fact and I do not believe it will change. IF you are stuck in the old times and days you will not survive in years to come thats a fact , you can get mad all you want but, this world does not care!

Have you seen Sonys new contraption?

New Sony QX Series ?Lens-Style Cameras? Redefine the Mobile Photography Experience | Sony

This is going to be changing the way people use their cell phones for sure…

I say this because I have had a crazy past in the Graphic Art industry.

I graduated in 2001 after 4 years in the Art Center with Computer Graphics Animation. I freelanced for a few years, I then started a business called Pixel Dust Graphics where we specialized in 3d animation, video processing and graphic design. It was great but more and more companies started doing this so we had to change and started doing websites and logos as more of our main source of income..well then comes all the $100 logo websites offering logos for $100. I used to charge From $500 -$10,000 for logo design. Then here comes cheap do it yourself websites taking more of the market share. I was charging per page and now these sites are offering $100 websites… Jeeeeeesss how do I make a living now..Think about it how many of you now make your own logo and websites…business like mine are not as valuable..YEs I can say but do they know how to CODE,, can they use flash….? Eehhh they are cookie cutter websites…blah blah blah…I had to to change once again and started VIP Graphics Printing and Embroidry and have been doing this since 2006. Once again there are more and more people getting into doing there own shirts but what is helping me and other business is that equipment is still very expensive and it takes a good amount of money to get started and keep going…The cost of printing is pretty cheap so there is no need for people to go out and do it them selves so much nor have the time and know how….I still offer graphic design and logo as part of my business but its the printing that brings in that business...


With cell phones being so cheap and DSLR's being so cheap its easier and easier for average people to get into it and start controlling the market. Those people only look at pictures and color for that. They do not take to much time into composition and lighting and are completely satisfied with their results. In-fact they have family and friends telling them how good they can take pictures that they start their own side business and do pretty good because many people look at a photo for what it is not what it isn't. Its only PRO's and Prosumers really that look at photos and cast judgment and pixel peep and find fault….People on photo forums who praise themselves because they have been shooting since the 1300's which makes them wizards of photography…well in the real world no body really cares and many people are fine with Instagram quality photos that never see a printer.

There are many people that instead of hiring a professional to do their child's senior portraits they go out and by their very own DSLR and do it themselves because it is cheaper….This is where Pro Photographers are going to take a hit like my past business because the cost to get it done cheaper is what is driving this market.

OF course there are many many people that would rather have their shots taken by a pro and for that they seek out a pro and do not mind paying the money as they see the value in it.

 

[pixmedic]

Oh come on man--hell, I've frickin' ordered PIZZA on my iPhone! WHILE I was driving on both city streets, AND the interstate freeway system! Now that is pretty notable.

I took a picture of my junk and made the background of my iphone...
wait, that was someone else's iphone. i have the galaxy note 3.

My niece has the Galaxy Note. It's a nice, large-screen phone,for people who want to do a lot of their internet and social media stuff using their phone. Or...for people who want a BIG picture of their junk as a screen image.

me and the wife were going to get the galaxy S4 today, but the note 3 was newer, had a few cool features so...we both got one.
im kinda a phone tech junkie and i found the quad-core processor and 3 gigs of ram appealing. And, you know...big pictures of my junk. I really cant imagine how much longer they can really "innovate" in the smart phone department. these things are basically laptops in your pocket already. and the bluetooth watch that pairs with the note 3?? holy $#!*snacks, that thing was awesome! i just cant quite bring myself to have a watch i have to charge every night with my phone.

 

[Braineack]

I took this picture this morning, think I can sell it? Used my Pro-Level HTC DNA.

Pretty much Nat Geo level...

 

[bratkinson]

well in the real world no body really cares and many people are fine with Instagram quality photos that never see a printer.

That pretty well sums up the entire gist of this thread. When nobody really cares about quality images and are satisfied with mediocre, we get Instagram, Facebook, etc.

The same is true of just about everything these days. We are satisfied more with a low price than a quality product. When the knock-off makers of just about everything are selling more products than the original, real product makers are, be it clothing to cameras, the quality companies inevitably suffer and either change business models, buy competitors, or go broke.

It's all a matter of perception. Why pay $xxx for something I can get for free? Same reason I pay all my bills online and the US Postal Service, check printing company, and even the envelope company all get zilch. Oh yea, the Uniball pen company gets zilch, too! I don't buy water by the bottle, either, when I get it for next to nothing out of the tap.

 

[minicoop1985]

The same is true of just about everything these days. We are satisfied more with a low price than a quality product. When the knock-off makers of just about everything are selling more products than the original, real product makers are, be it clothing to cameras, the quality companies inevitably suffer and either change business models, buy competitors, or go broke.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand that's why Walmart exists, unfortunately.

 

[bribrius]

I worked for a printing company when I was younger. heres a example. we had two rooms of people to do layouts, make printing plates etc. downsized to one room and a half a million dollar image scanner. I was one of the few people I know of trained on a manual four color press. I was a printer and the guy who taught me was in his sixties and that was twenty years ago. Roll and sheet fed single and double web. climb in each unit and manually adjust ink level, check registrations, change blankets, hand feed ink. Then they trained me on a newer printer, then a newer printer. Got rid of the old ones. until I was working on a million dollar three thousand feet per minute double web, all computer controlled from triple consoles and robot unloaded by the pallet finished magazines , flyers, etc.
But I still remember climbing in and manually adjusting and hand feeding ink in individual units. ON both four color and double webs. I loved running a double web manual press. Took me three years to learn to run one. Jus walking in in the morning, setting my coffee down and starting up one of those beasts. IF you haven't seen a double web start up, the sound of it.. its something to behold. They are bigger than most houses. Them days are gone. I think they print things in a little room now somewhere all computer.

Tech changes. Entire place I worked then, is nolonger there now.
when they took away my manual press they gave me one of these which I worked for a couple years then they took away that and went to 3000's . Then they shut the doors and found something else to print with than presses I think. Twenty years ago.........


And you guys think a dslr is around to stay...........

 

[Jamesaz]

Bribrius, I worked in industrial too. First army photo school then when I got out a couple dozen labs. Then I got a staff photographer job at a good size company. For the first 20 or so years or so, I was an artist. I photographed politicians from presidents (Reagan, U.S., and Fox, Mexico) to mayors. Annual reports, all kinds of cool things. Then, somewhere along the line, I became a content provider. I didn't know quite what to think about that but I didn't do any thing different. Then, everyone started using their phones for company newsletter and website photos. I got bored with having nothing to do and retired. Life goes on. I shoot film and digital both and, as far as it goes for me, film and digital will both last at least as long as I do. Oh yeah, I can't imagine having to have a day job now.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[unpopular]

Bribius- certainly the physical limitations of a swinging mirror and the improvements in electronic viewfinders will prevent number the SLRs longevity, and by all means cell phones will get better and professional equipment will eventually have a phone attached to it to easily share and mail images. It may very well be that in the mid-distant future cameras will not have storage facilities at all.

Nobody wants to lug around an RB67-sized camera in a crowded stadium, no matter if it can capture a few noiseless gigapixels in complete darkness in one shot. Short of a paradigm shift, quantum physics will end of the practicality of the SLR.

But your argument is a bit like saying that because today's digital presses are essentially giant inkjet printers, inkjet printers - the kind that we have on our desktop - will be the death of the printing industry. Certainly when desktop publishing became feasible in the early 1990s people did have this fear, yet, you still see print shops.

The demands of a professional will always be different than that of the consumer. Most consumers don't need the precision, reliability and speed of a $75,000 printing press. The same goes for photography.