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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 พ.ค. 2024
- Sony, Panasonic, Fuji and the rest, what exactly are you doing? Have carefully staged events, glamorous events and Chris & Jordan finally jumped the shark? EOSHD takes a look at The Absolute State of TH-cam Camera Reviews
- ภาพยนตร์และแอนิเมชัน
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Nice to see you make a video again. And interesting to hear your personal stories.
My take on it is that many full time influencers are about to get a cold shower. The value in influencer marketing is plummeting. The income from ads or offers from advertisers have been slashed by the feet. As someone working on the other side I can see it clearly. At work we do not value 100,000 followers on Instagram like we used to. Because the algorithms have changed, you no longer reach your subscribers. Many of the big channels gets the same views as the small. So why wouldn’t the companies spread the invites around.
And that is at the same time as the platforms are more saturated than ever. There is no shortage of camera reviewers in gray painted studios with an orange decoration light.
So what can the camera reviewers do? They need to reposition themselves or make an effort to reassure the viewers that they are the one true reviewer. Basically they are panicking.
While reviewers like myself, that buys my own gear, don’t go to launches and most importantly, just do it for a bit of fun. And frankly, haven’t made any money from it if I add it all up and value my time just a little bit. We can just keep living our lives.
On threads all I see is influencers complaining about not getting reach. How Instagram must “fix” the algorithm because this is their “livelihood”. And I’m thinking, “when did Instagram promise to provide a platform for steady income?”.
I haven’t watched Geralds video , these were just some thoughts after reading some online discussions on the subject.
+1
Appreciate your thoughts and you are one of the few people I still go to on TH-cam for real lived camera experiences. It is very true that the reach of the career influencers is on the decline and that the larger ones have probably only 1% engagement in terms of the amount of their total followers actually bothering to regularly tune in. It ain't very sustainable is it? And the sooner the cold shower arrives, the better. Some of them have already pivoted from cameras to other grifting activities such as Apple or other tech videos. We don't want these people as gatekeepers of photography or filmmaking. The same cold shower awaits them in other tech as well - a wisening-up audience, more alert to the shenanigans of social media sales channels + declining economic viability of the whole thing. Hopefully the algorithms will recognise that something needs to change as well, and that the focus is put back on less frequent but more practical, more useful content (like the internet used to be) and real people who aren't part of the corporate sales driven VIP influencer circle jerk from hell.
@@EOSHDTV👍
Same here bud, same here.
Thanks for making this video. Someone had to say it. I'm so tired of these paid shills and their ridiculous, open-mouthed thumbnails.
All pre-release, first-look, and day-one camera (gear) videos are just worthless ads repackaging the manufacturer's specs and features, with some 'objective' (i.e., useless) criticism like "I would have preferred menu option 4 to be menu option 1," etc.
I just go directly to the manufacturer's spec and feature list and skip the paid shills and their crappy videos.
I'm fine waiting six months for reviews from people who have actually bought the gear and used it on their shoots.
Nailed it Andrew :) I got out of that game over 8 years ago, but, I never fully got into the game either. From the start, I never liked the concept of getting something for nothing without someone expecting nothing. Its just not how life works. They expected something, even if it was unspoken and it better be positive too! I refused 99% of the paid trips, and usually accepted loaners as opposed to free equipment that I could sell for a profit. Then, I probably sent back 80% of the equipment that came to me without ever writing an article because I either didn't like it, didn't have time to write, or whatever else was bothering me at the time (mood, wrestling with ethical thoughts etc.). Comparatively, the articles where I bought the product myself I published an article for almost 90% of them. That felt right, even if I returned some of the product (if I don't like it, it gets returned simple as that!). I never understood how people could accept all the free stuff and then claim they were being 100% objective.
Leave it to Andrew to be abrasive 🤣But it's also a valuable trait, I've been reading your stuff for years and I now that any biases present are clearly your own, not introduced by manufacturer kickbacks.
The reality is that these promotional junkets will continue to exist as long as people watch them. YT isn't under any obligation to prevent them from happening, and in fact that'd go directly against their best interest. This is an unfortunate fact of life. I personally do enjoy some of the embargo-day videos, because they're a great way to catch up on the specs and impressions from reviewers, even though I'd never preorder anything based solely on that kind of content. They're sometimes quite pretty as well, when manufacturers fly these people to exotic locations. There's no way in hell anyone involved is going to give these trips up, they're too convenient.
With that said, I fully agree with the rest. It's very rich to see an established influencer suddenly become an anti-influencer crusader, especially in a temper tantrum. Did it never cross Gerald's mind that the reason he wasn't invited to the S5II trip is because he doesn't produce any content during trips? Why would any manufacturer invite him then? That's a waste of their money. He got what he asked for, except from Sony, who want to keep in his good graces because they know his reviews of Sony gear are extremely positive and drive sales. So, they can accept the fact that Gerald will crash on some couch for the duration of Kando 🤷♂ How is that any different from the rest of YT?
btw, part II please :)
I'll sum up those boring 10minutes : he's not happy that influencers promote cameras, and (according to him), in a dishonest way.
But i think he's actually just a bit grumpy (this reason maybe the real reason camera brands dont contact him anymore). I'm sorry for saying that, don't want to hurt any feeling, for real. Yes, sure there are a lot of YT content looking a bit too "happy" about any new cameras going out. Maybe they don't want not to be called the next time. But there are a lot of really honest, and sometimes rude reviews. I think PBloom is being extremely honest and goes in depth for instance.
Thank you for your work, sharing it and your honesty. Love your liberty way of pitching, with sometime a sarcastic tone. You don't post often, but when you do it's always for good reason & content.
I agree that influencers are are made for influenceable fellows by brand marketing department. I can't trust consensual influencers without doubts.
Always a pleasure :p!
This is the hard hitting stuff I been waiting for
My view on this drama aligns closest with you, I say this because my views typically never align perfectly with another’s and if they do that’s usually me not doing due diligence haha.
Sadly you’re right, these influencers have to walk a tightrope and play the game otherwise they are at a steep disadvantage compared to competition that gets early access/loaners/access to engineers/accomodations.
Anyone who disagrees go watch the recent Petapixel podcast/youtube episode on the subject Jordan/Chris’ ‘manager’/boss/petapixel rep (whoever he is) consistently shits the bed when trying to convince the viewer that they are unbiased journalists. He is the problem manifested created into a physical form constantly being a corporate wet blanket that has self inserted himself into a successful duos dynamic for the sake of money lol.
Chris basically has to indirectly insinuate the conditions of his job. For instance when he said that quite literally the wrong word choice in the videotitle could land them in a camera brands timeout box, he’s tacitly admitting that the relationship affects the reviews.
As does Gerald when he said he sees Sony in a more positive light because they provide him cameras despite him apparently being able to voice criticism in his reviews. And it’s true, he has been quite vocal about the more expensive capable bodies being locked out of firmware updates that newer cheaper bodies have received. But it’s flagrantly obvious that he overcorrects and heavily favors Sony unfairly due to this grace he has been given.
They are actively influenced and then influence us, Chris saying they sometimes forget to disclose that relationship because ‘it should be obvious’ is absolutely alarming.
Joe Schmoe probably doesn’t give that relationship much thought, so yes it always necessitates mention, that person is also the most vulnerable to making poor buying decisions egged on by influencers. But even so, disciplined viewers can fall prey and be vulnerable to propaganda as well, which ultimately is what 95% of reviews are. Not to say that they are 95% trash, far from it, there are troves of valuable information about cameras in such reviews, the shame is that it can be difficult to discern what is fact and what is fiction or at the very least what is embellished so as to not upset the manufacturer. They walk the tight rope and pull punches on the weaker parts of the camera.
I can at least respect Chris in that he has such loose lips and a frank response (especially on
Podcasts) that you can basically piece together what he’s saying through inference, he’s playing the game his hands are tied, he can’t let on more than that, lest he give the game up.
Gerald rightly deserves your ire for being so privileged and throwing a fit only now.
And many creators are creepy as you insinuated with your clips of them, making flaccid attempts at genuine or even entertaining content. Phillip Bloom and Gordon Laing chief among the cringe.
Personally I like the Northrups and Chris (because of the reasons I mentioned) but I’ve always understood they’ve been constrained in some way. You can’t absolutely demolish a camera and expect to be invited to anything.
Lastly people simply miss things because they aren’t hyper competent robots, people frequently neglected to mention that the R5C had the last gen AF for its video mode compared to the R5, for instance.
Alas not much will change due to these revelations, I still have to watch every video and try to distill the truth like precious drops of water laboriously filtered from Mountain Dew though now even a bit more carefully than before.
Excellent! More stuff from you please...oh...and "the cat man I refuse to name"...brilliant!
yeah++
Brands don’t have much of a choice when it comes to marketing - Sony learned its lesson with Betamax. If Panasonic exits the camera market because they take the “high road”, who does that help?
LOL what's Betamax got to do with anything dude?
dude. companys make money . not friends!
Yes its called capitalism, profit profit and growth.
The positive of You Tube is that the people who follow this channels are people are interested in the products. So by using You Tubers to promote your products you get less waist.
Sony did it for years no the others are doing it it is a problem.
I'm tired of crap videos. When the Nikon Z6III was released, out of curiosity, I decided to take a quick look at TH-cam to see if someone had done some AF comparisons against the Sony a7IV. That turned out to be a bad idea. There was an endless amount of useless videos on TH-cam. I mean thousands of useless videos. Absolute crap. I don't even want to look again. \(>_< )/
Arrrrgh.
Incase you watched Gerald’s video on mute, his point was about doing reviews while on trips because the potential for bias is very high while you’re filled with positive vibes.
Panasonic didn’t invite him for the S5II trip, which was the one he was complaining about because they said they didn’t like his title of the S5 review. That, the S5II trip, was a few years ago and he didn’t post about it.
What made him post about the S9 trip was because for the first time in a while he watched the S9 “review” videos as just a viewer and they left a bad taste in his mouth even though he believed the reviewers, some of whom he knew personally, were trying their best of be objective. Hence his advice not to do reviews while on trips because it’s very difficult to be objective.
I didn't watch him on mute although I wish I had done after the temper tantrum of 26 mins was finally over. In my opinion the reason Panasonic didn't invite him was because they've realised he is pretty much in Sony's pocket and has a too-close working relationship with Sony PR staff, and that he wouldn't give the camera a fair crack of the whip. You will notice he has always prioritised Sony positivity over everything else and put down the competition at almost every opportunity. Just take a look at his Sigma Fp review if you need any examples. Besides, if he thinks that a trip to Tokyo is so bad and results in so much bias, then why was he so keen to be on it and so upset not to be invited and not get an S9 on loan? It is in my view purely selfish motivations that produced the hit piece on Panasonic, had he YES been invited his opinions would be 180 degree opposite. I don't disagree with a lot of what he says, but this is besides the point... He even echos some of the main points I've been making about social media influencer marketing and TH-cam camera reviews for many many years... But if he truly believed it were a bad thing, the time to make those points would have been every year for the past 10, targeting ALL the camera companies and not just a hapless Panasonic.
@@EOSHDTV I think you’re wrong about Gerald being in Sony’s pocket. Did you watch his Sony Burano review? I lost interest in that camera after watching it. I was about to upgrade my A7SIII to the FX3 but decided against it after watching his review of the FX3. Just today I watched his Sony 50mm 1.4 GM review and he compared it against the Sigma 50mm 1.4 and even though he showed the Sony was superior in the lab tests, he included some real world tests, which showed they were practically the same quality and suggested the Sony wasn’t worth the extra money.
You’re just consumed by confirmation bias that’s why you selectively pick on his reviews. In my opinion, he’s the most objective reviewer on TH-cam. The only criticism you could levy against him is that his tests aren’t “real world” tests.
Your point about why speak up now vs 10 years ago is a critical thinking flaw. You can use the same argument against everyone that took an ethical stance at any point in time because prior to them taking that stance they probably followed the status quo. Sure, the earlier the better but better late than never.
Why did he choose to speak up with the release of the S9 and not the release of the S5 II, which he also wasn’t invited? I think he articulated it clearly, it’s because it was the first time in a long while, he watched a camera release from the point of view of the audience and not a reviewer.
It seems you noticed Gerald’s Sony bias a while ago, did you call it out when you first noticed it? Why not? What are the other unethical things you’ve noticed and haven’t called out yet? Should you forever remain quiet because you didn’t call them out 10 years ago?
Undon isn't wrong. Maybe he's late to the party. And maybe he's only doing the right thing now because he has enough power, or money, or just because he's out of f***s to give.
But he's not wrong. And if he starts walking the walk and calling out the camera companies for punishing honest reviews, Good!
It's bad because he's a hypocrite? C'mon. We've *all* been hypocrites at one time or another.
Learning from one's mistakes and trying to do better in the future... is bad?
Be the change you want to see.
By late to the party do you mean he's been taking about 20 Sony cameras for free on loan, working with Sony PR people, and nurturing contacts with ALL the other camera companies over a period of about 10 years, before finally deciding it is all unethical and wrong just because team LUMIX didn't fly him out on a plane to Japan? What is this, a competition over who can be the most important VIP in the camera review industry, or journalism?
@@EOSHDTV Sure, he's a hypocrite.
And yes, the best time for him to take a stand was five years ago. The next best time is Today.
If he actually follows through, names and shames all the firms that punish honest reviewers, will count that as a win.
@@EOSHDTVMaybe you missed his point but he said he doesn’t do reviews while on trips because the potential for bias is very high and he waits till he gets home and does a proper review. He had no issue with trips but doing reviews while on the trip, when you’re filled with positive vibes.
@@Trevellian If he names and shames everything that has gone on, and names all the companies I'm all for it. Until he does that, his words have no meaning. You will notice he has targeted Panasonic here alone and nobody else. How is this fair? Where was this video after the last Sony or Fuji or Canon launch he wasn't at?
@@EOSHDTV Agree. He's taken the first step. Time will tell whether he has the courage to take the next.
Envy is a terrible curse.
-2kool4myskool
You're hilarious Andrew. A year since posting anything and in 3 days you post 2 videos and crawl out from under your rock to pass judgment. It's pompous and smacks of sour grapes. Hardly surprising I guess as this has always been your. M.O.
Yet here you are, again.
Funny how that works out Mr Hippocrates.