One thing to consider regarding the rise of ILC's up to 2012 and the subsequent drop-off after that is, up to 2012 was the period of time that professional photographer's were making the change-over from film to digital. After pretty much all of pro photography made that switch, bought all of that equipment, they don't buy the latest and greatest every other year. They hold on to those cameras until they depreciate or they are limited by the equipment and have a need to upgrade. This is a natural cycle for equipment in any industry. The same with desktop computers in the workplace. There was a huge surge for a number of years as companies switched from ledger books and paper memos, then it dropped off because replacement is not as high as the initial investment.
As someone who switched to Digital in 2004 I have only upgraded my camera 4 times since my first DSLR. I only just recently upgraded to the mkIV from the II so I think I am a sample of what you are referencing.
Took a look at the DSLR releases for 2012, and that was more or less the year that full frame hit that mid-range sweet spot. If anyone wanted to transition between film and digital with minimal compromise and cost, that was probably it.
In 2012 you could buy a CanonT3i, a Nikon3200D or a canon 5DMKIII. Three cameras that even today still holds up for photography. The only big change in 7 years is connectivity and video, but image quality did not improve that much.
Good point. The other thing is, if you buy a camera and are happy with it you won't buy another one for some time. However, you are likely to buy more lenses, so shouldn't we be looking at lens sales as well as camera sales? I have an £800 camera with a £1500 lens. I think the latter is more significant.
@@scallen3841 I think it depends. Sports, events, wildlife and some portraiture (where 200 is usually used) is next to impossible in phones. But I know a few photographers who can use mobiles for street photography and even landscape. Not great but as h zed said, decent.
I shot a wedding on Friday for a friend. The vicar (I'm from England) discouraged people taking pictures during the ceremony but allowed me to because I could get decent pictures in low light, was discrete and didn't get in the way. For people who want decent pictures of their wedding, a pro photographer is a must!
They will reget it later. Not having pro photos printed out means that their wedding photos will likely be lost or outdated in 5 years. "oops, lost my phone, guess our wedding photos are gone forever!"
I agree with this. The depreciation on camera gear is insane. A lot of good gear is dirt cheap just because it's a little old, but it still makes great images.
There is the gear , plus the oversaturation of " pro " photograhers doing weddings etc . There just isn't a uniqueness anymore , everyone is editing the same
Photography is not dying. People want it more than ever. People just can't afford it anymore. When salaries have stagnated since the 80's but cost of living has increase 2-4 fold, "wants" become expensive luxuries. What's the solution? Value yourself realistically and sell your services to companies.
Cameras with interchangeable lenses are selling more than in the 1980s by far. Sales are down from this crazy spike of the last decade or so where eveyone was buying digital cameras but sales are still higher than the peak of film cameras.
Who hires a photographer for their divorce? Oh wait, you mean the celebration parties afterwards? If you're lucky you'll pick up 2 jobs for each divorce instead of only one wedding to begin with. 😜
And wedding photography is the most boring, hackneyed and "pseudo" genre of photography. Ask any divorced man what he feels when he looks at his wedding photos. He most probably will cringe how kitschy and dishonest that all was. But at the time he played along because the bride wanted it that way.
No. You know exactly that I'm right. It's just a fact no one dares to talk about. Only women like weddings, men just play along because they think they're supposed to and "that's what a grown man does".
@@christophmunch4796 sounds like you're confusing bitter men's perspective with everyone's perspective. You're not even including women's view and call it a pseudo genre. Congrats man lol
Phones with 4k video and yet try getting an entry level DSLR with 4k . Mirrorless should have happen a long time ago. Camera manufacturers are slow to innovate and when they do it's over priced. Thousands of dollars for a lens. THAT is what is killing camera sales. Photography is alive and well.
it is nearly impossible to make high quality lens at a pricetag of few hundred dollars. it is extremely precise manufacturing and electronics and ground and polished glass of various shapes plus coatings. It is still largely hand assembled, labor intensive job and the R&D is not pennies either. I agree with 4k being slow to come out with full features/no BS crop in ILCs.
Designing a lens used to require thousands of hours of ray tracing and slide rules and professionals. Ok, pc's slashed that. But prime optical glass used to be smelted in very expensive platinum crucibles, about ten of them existed worldwide. Pricey. Now? I wouldn't bet how hard it is to make big pieces of perfect glass. In low quantities. Don't bet on this unless you have the facts.
@Matthew Law Innovation requires money. That transparent aluminium lens will be priced out of this world and won't be the solution to thousand dollar plus glass (which I doubt is overpriced by the way, since there is so much competition in this space.)
I think the video ignored the largest and most consistent group of photographers (of which I include myself), "The Passionate Hobbyist." I have taken photographs for more than 45 years - dating back to B&W sheet film days. Now that I'm retired I love getting out into nature as often as possible and capturing a beautiful moment. The experience, the taking and the postprocessing of the images is the goal - not the selling or marketing of myself. Now that I have some real disposable income, I buy the camera gear, lenses, tripods, etc. that help keep the industry alive. With all due humility, I would stack my imagery against most of the "professional" photos I see on line. And I would argue that it's us "old coots" who are driving pro-camera and gear sales, NOT the so-called professionals.
I agree 100% William with everything you said. We are a unique minority who do contribute to the progress of photography. I also think that there are many of us in the younger generation coming up who have the same passion and will continue to push this art form along after we are gone. Keep shooting.
I am a passionate hobbyist too. In my retirement I video lectures given by cultural and professional organizations who are disseminating extremely valuable material but who cannot afford a photographer. The thing is you can do a good job with relatively inexpensive equipment.
Wow, you get to retire without student loan debt garnishing your Social Security-which you're also still guaranteed to get.. I agree with what you say in terms of older folks having money to spend on gear, but I can say that here in the USA, there had better be some big systemic changes pretty soon- because at 48 and being a small business owner, I don't see myself ever being able to actually retire as in stop working. And even busting my hump to help my kids get through college, I don't see them having it even as easy as I did, which wasn't as easy at it was in 1971 when I was born.
@@Bolton115 Mr. Peck, I'm not unsympathetic to your situation. My son, born in 1968 faces these issues as well. I founded a small business in 1983 and ran it for 35 years before bailing out. I had no guaranteed pension or free medical plan but also no student debt. I fully realize what a difference that makes.
As a car enthusiast i have the same fear about cars.20 years ago when i had not my driving license it was easy to find a manual sports car on the market from your favorite brand.but nowadays most of cars are automatic and getting more and more computerized. i see people are losing interest in driving and its joy more and more.going this way , one day there won't be any car that doesn't drive itself and thats a nightmare for me. Same thing also can be said about the movie industry which is becoming more computer work rather than acting and camera work.
The main issue I see with ILCs is that the companies refuse to adapt to the loss of the point and shoot market. In the past, the point and shoot cameras performed better by a decent margin compared to smartphones, and then you would have an entry level DSLR that could make a logical upgrade with a major increase in quality. With smartphone cameras getting better to a point where a $200 point and shoot camera will only be a small improvement that comes at a tradeoff of lack of sharing functions and lack of video features and no computational photography functions). With those changes, there is suddenly no real entry point at a reasonable price, and the current entry level DSLRs often provide a negative initial impression. There is very little content, and very little effort on the part of these companies show what the entry level DSLR can do. Customers today see either smartphone snapshots, or ILC images where if the exif data gets left it, it is often a $4500 camera and $2000 lens capturing images of a scene lit by $5,000 worth of lighting gear. Then customers who end up buying their first entry level DSLR, will end up with something like a D3500, and find that their specific unit back focuses slightly and nikon will not issue a firmware update to enable the AF fine tune. They will also then be left with cameras which are expensive for what they are, lack video features, and have a multitude of arbitrary software imposed limitations. Then to escape those limitations, you need to spend around $1500+ on the camera body, and to get a lens where the sharpness is consistent and no signs of decentering (most kit lenses have some decentering), you need to spend $700+ on the lens. All of this makes for a market that is not working to attract new customers. If they want to attract customers, Cameras like the Nikon D7500, Fujifilm X-T3, Sony A6500, need to replace the entry level cameras and keep the entry level price point, the BOM cost is low enough that they would still make a decent profit at $500-$600, but customers will have a good first impression. They also need to improve the entry level lenses, and at least do a 18-55 with a constant f/3.5 aperture and good sharpness. A customer moving from a smartphone, to an entry level DSLR, should see a major improvement in quality in all lighting conditions, and companies need to show a realistic view of what their entry level cameras can do, instead of trying to make it look as good as possible by attaching a 105mm f/1.4 lens to a D3500, as that is not a combination that the target market will ever use. Another issue is the warranty services of these companies. One of the biggest issues is the whole authorized vendor lists that change all the time. Customers are used to how pretty much all other devices are sold, where your new item will have a warranty. Most never see a warning but when they purchase a new camera from a 3rd party seller, or even directly from Amazon, and they want to RMA the item with a company like Nikon and the serial number shows the item originally going to to a an LLC that is not on the authorized vendor list, but Amazon tends to combine their new inventory with the inventory submitted by 3rd party sellers (which is why you sometimes get fake SD cards when ordering directly from Amazon), thus customers may purchase a new camera only to find that the serial number does not qualify them for warranty service, and to correct back focusing on their D3500, Nikon will want $173 + shipping and tax. These are all things which destroy the market, and these camera companies are doing nothing to fix it.
@@nordic5490 The issue with that, is most people will not purchase a data plan just for their DSLR. While some companies will add WiFi and Bluetooth to their cameras to allow for some automation in transferring images, they often implement it in the worse possible way. For example, they will block raw files from being transferred, or disable all but ad:hoc connections so you can't do wireless tethering, or they will limit transfers to 2 megapixels. In the WiFi standard there is nothing stopping the transceiver from connecting to multiple separate devices at once, and a smartphone can connect to an AP as well as to separate device via WiFi direct at the same time. The camera makers could easily push out a firmware update enabling wireless syncing of images at 30-60MB/s depending on the if they are using 802.11n or 802.11ac.
Razor, my 5d4 has wifi, bluetooth & nfc, but I dont use that. I have unlimited mobile data on my phone and 15GB a month data on my tablet that I don't even need to use. Even my home alarm has a sim card to call back to base. Cable broadband market is dying very rapidly and wifi will go with it as mobile broadband takes over. In 5yrs very few people will be using wifi 5G will kill it dead, and 4G is already better than most peoples wifi. Costs for mobiledata is plummeting also. Camera manufacturers could offer very affordable data plans with their cameras, or, pay as you go mobile data and plans not required. I have never had cable broadband, and have been using mobile data exclusively for 13yrs now.
Epsilon, use your brain mate, in 5yrs unlimited mobile data plans wil be completely normal, may be in 2 years, just as unlimited calls and text is now. Hell, I have unlimted mobile data now, and do not use cable broadband or the wifi that hangs of cable (wifi is only the last 100m, but I reckon you should know that). Using wifi for the last 100m also slows the total transmission path. Cameras are pretty much a mibile device, so it makes sense to fit them with a sim card rather than use wifi. I dont want to be teathered to a wifi hotspot with a 100m away. I bush walk all the time. Mobile data is the way to go for cameras. Use a bit of logic mate. Canon could easily offer a mobile data monthly plan or a pay as you go plan.
Just like iPhones and PCs, people are tired of spending big $$ on the latest and greatest. Cameras have gotten so good, there's no need to upgrade every couple years.
@@KentJohnson123 same with me and my Nikon D700 bought in 2008, I`ve no need to upgrade or change the system - I´m not interesting in making videos, but I hate to pay for features I don`t need if I want to buy a modern camera - why can`t they produce a modern camera without any video features ?
@Im_Tired_Too modern high quality lenses are technical and optical masterpieces with huge material, development and production costs, that`s why the manufactures can`t sell them cheap - on the other side do you think that people who are pleased with the quality of their photos taken with a smartphone which for most of their owners is much easier to handle are willing to invest in extra cameras and lenses no matter which quality level ?
I do a lot of general photography, one of my consistent venues is a corporate head shoot once a month... I've used different formats in the past such as phase 1 medium format - Sony full-frame - Nikon full frame, but today I use a micro 4/3 system. Just don't need super resolution for headshots and the micro 4/3 is so portable and the image quality is everything I need. Yes I don't get the wow factor when I show up with a $40,000 system anymore, but the images speak talk for themselves. I think the explosion of cell phone cameras has actually helped me in the long run. At first it was competition, but now people realize the difference in the quality.
@@RiceCake-ep9gu You can still get a tiny dof and plenty of bokeh with mft system. I find myself stopping down in many situations like an eye being in focus and the nose is not and there's still bokeh. There's also plenty of resolution for larger print outs multiples bigger than a skype chat, just not as large as more expensive and larger gear. You're selling mft way short here.
Photography is not dying. In fact there is more imaging being done today than ever before. What is dying is the sale of expensive stand-alone cameras. Big difference.
Too many people wouldn't know quality if it smacked them in the face. The World is full of mediocre professionals and customers that accept crap as real work.
It's everywhere. Try to find a good trade / contractor to repare / extend your house. Try to find a good accountant to do taxes. Try to find a good President to run a country. The world of over-confident amatures. 🙂
I think the main reason is camera bodies are at a point where you dont have to upgrade to the newest thing because the tech is good enough to get the job done. Back in around 2010 when a new camera body came out, it was a significant jump from the previous model.
Recently a photography job was advertised near where I live in the UK taking photos of used car parts! Considering all the different materials, reflective properties. situation,, sizes etc just lighting would be a nightmare. PLUS they wanted the photographer to have a knowledge of car parts. ALL this for a MIGHTY approx $500 a week. When I saw the ad it had over 5k views ffs. There is no money in most photography any more. My last cruise in 2018 the ships photographers were all in their early 20's, I'm not saying they can't take photographs but they work very cheaply. These kids live at home as can't afford to buy property so can afford to work cheaply. One of my brothers has been a pro photographer for over 30 years, he moved back to the UK from Europe 5 years ago and as he said the money in the industry in the UK has dropped by around 50% so he has returned to Europe as the cost of living is much cheaper where he is. It seems that apart from high end brand shoots and being on the books of London agencies there is little money left in the business compared to the amount of photographers capable of producing quality. My brother has moved more into video which is where about 30% of his work now comes from. As you say, everyone thinks they are a photographer now they have a smartphone. .
I spent over 2 years selling Landrover bits on Ebay for myself. Photographing car parts is pretty easy compared to other products provided you have a good background and no direct light hitting the object. But it is mind-numbing boring to do.
Sold my DSLR because my phone takes good pictures - of course my DSLR could always take a better picture. But on family days out and events, do I really want to be lugging around a big camera with a big lense, having to worry about making sure I have two batteries fully charged, having to import and edit the raw files then render them... it's just easier to pull my phone put my pocket and tap the button and get 95% the result I was after. Unless you're really enthusiastic about photography or do it professionally, I am struggling to see the need for DSLRs / mirrorless now that phone cameras and their software are becoming better and better!
True, a 300 dollar phone (namely Pocophone F1) can record 4K at 60fps with amazing quality meanwhile a 1000 dollar bulky camera can't even properly shoot 4K (crop sensor, no 60fps, etc..). Camera manufacturers should stop fooling people.
Sadly smartphones still do horribly indoors, even with the highest rated ones on DXOmark, a 1/2.5 inch sensor doing 12-20 megapixels, simply isn't getting enough photons per pixel to achieve a good SNR in low light, thus with heavy noise reduction, none of them offer fine detail in the image, you simply get medium to large details that lack texture. An entry level DSLR will do far better for taking images indoors, as well as getting overall better detail. when it comes to the PPI of a smartphone camera sensor, no lens offers that level of translational detail, thus they cannot deliver on their sensor resolution (but hey, bigger numbers sell). I guess it all depends on what level of detail you are willing to accept in an image.
Yeah smart phones are still pretty poo at indoor photos, and if you want to crop. Saying that though, I'd rather get a photo, rather than no photo! And very true for video recording, my phone does 4k 60fps really well, like really well, especially outdoors on a sunny day. My DSLR could only ever do 1080p 30fps. I guess everyone's reasoning is different as to why they'd need or not need certain camera types, I just fell into the category of no longer needing one because phone technology for me is better, for me.
I'm on the Canon owner's facebook page and the number of people asking "I'm shooting a friends wedding in x time what gear do I need/what settings should I use" is scary. No way I would risk ruining a friends special day
Speaking as a retired pro photographer from SoCal I always said being a wedding photographer was great because if you didn't get hired for their 1st wedding you always had the chance to shoot their 2nd or 3rd weddings.
Hmmm, this was interesting but I noticed you didn't cover 'teaching' photography/Lightroom/Photoshop etc. And, you didn't mention photo touring. I'm a total little old lady amateur and I love finding good guides for shooting in unfamiliar areas. How are these guys doing professionally as a group?
I agree with you on how to make a brand for yourself. The art of photography has transformed into a much bigger animal and you need to bring more skills to be able to land a sale... but that's a good thing because it keeps you current and valuable to your clients and yourself. I loved this video because I totally feel and lived through what you brought up as a point. Stay current!!!
Funny about wedding photography … I'm 100% amateur, I specifically do non-pecuniary because photography is my hobby. Yep, I've shot weddings, because people in my generation often can't afford photographers. I've got the equipment and expertise for my own personal use, and they came out pretty good too (I've seen pros do worse). As a wedding present it's a way cool thing to do for acquaintances, with way more value to them than my money outlaid. Shoot, edit, and send them an album, 100% blows other gifts out of the water. :)
Solid jab at Pentax, however they appeal to their customer base for holding onto their lens library even though it has it's limitations. The only way they will move forward with the rest is to have a mirror-less option that can still utilize the K-mount lenses. Otherwise I don't think Ricoh can design a new lens format and be in the top 5 camera manufacturers.
Pentax is still to recovering after years of neglect by their parent company before being bought by Ricoh. Let's remember what happened to Harley-Davidson motorcycles under AMF. It could have been a disaster but they recovered nicely. Let's hope Ricoh does the same with Pentax but it'll take a certain amount of time.
As a F N G in photography and starting to learn these awesome skills as a photographer, this show has given me a lot to think about as a hobbyist in photography. And a lot of what you said I do( editing, drone photography and color grading). But at the same time know that the industry has lots of competition is something to also think deeply about. Thank you so much for this video and I love what you to do for all of us in this community!!
I just bought the EOS R, your book SDP on amazon and watch your channel too. I'm new to pro Photography and find your combined online help outstanding! Thank you both for taking the time to remove the mysteries of photography.
Two questions:Regarding wedding photography, young people today are not getting married, choosing rather to live together in a civil partnership. How much is this affecting the need for photographers?Camera sales. Are dslr owners holding onto existing equipment a bit longer as they wait to see the advance of mirrorless, especially lenses? I'm not a professional, just love photography and currently have a Canon 80d and would love to go full frame with the very affordable Canon RP, but I'm waiting for at least another year to see what happens in mirrorless pricing.
The problem is the growing tech in phones. Its pretty bad when new flag ship phones take better pictures than a Sony kit lens (I tested this on a recent trip to Japan). No one wants to spend that kind of money and get lower quality results. Unfortunately at the time I couldnt afford a prime lens. Luckily now I can; but it was heartbreaking for a new photographer to figure that out.
The "Camera with built-in lens" vs. "Camera with interchangeable lens" says everything. Light blue/point and shoot are now smart phone sales. Dark blue/ICL peaked in 2012 (presumably a relevant year for DSLRs), dropped in 2013 and in 2014, and remained essentially flat through 2018.
Do you think the lifespan of newer ILC cameras contributes to the decrease in sales volume? Are we just holding onto the units we have? I realize there's the "latest and greatest" aspect. Is it really necessary to buy the next updated model?
From the amateur general purpose perspective, no, there's no reason to buy the latest and greatest. You can very happy with cameras from a few years ago. If you're more semi-pro, it could be beneficial. If you're a pro and somehow need more range in colors or the best autofocus, it makes more sense. The biggest one that improves is higher ISO and better low light AF. For many people though, they shoot during the daylight or brightly lit interior and so the latest and greatest isn't much better than a several year old flagship that can be had very inexpensively, especially with new, better lenses still being compatible with older bodies.
As a camera hobbyists/advance photographer who recently purchased a Nikon D7200. I’ve discovered the finer points of using manual settings of the camera as a wildlife and landscape photographer, my photos have caused an interest for many of my viewers who witnessed the finer details, clarity, and definition of the images. Anyone can capture photos with a cellphone camera, but the consumer's evolution and education of photographic detailed definition of the images will cause a greater appreciation of the photographers creative photo. When a photographer captures an image of waterfalls individual water droplets, with clarity and definition or using post-production settings to reveal a landscape with vivid colors,, I believe it is the creative evolution of the photographer that will inspire consumers to purchase a full-frame or mirrorless camera. In the end it is your TH-cam show and many others along with the marketing by the camera manufacturer's to convenience the consumer the need for the sharp detailed vivid photographic image to be shown on their 5-k big screen televisions, on large canvas, or metal in their home or in their local gallery for sale. 👍🏾😊😀✌️🏾👌🏾
I started long ago in the film days in a large studio, the longest established studio in the UK. They went bankrupt years ago but I left before that and worked for myself. I’ve retired from photography now. Good luck to the new guy’s coming into the industry your going to need it.
I think cameras selling decreases couse of there is no changes in it. Still same optics, still same specs, same megapixels. Nothing changed at all. But phone cameras made dramatic changes from 0.3 megapixels in mid 2000 to 15-20 megapixels now. Big cameras must be another at all to this time. But it's not. They are the same like 10 years ago.
@@intrepidsapiens69 This is true 4K video and smaller mirrorless camera's revived the market to some degree. As someone who shoots with a D700 with a 135mm f/2D and a D810 with a 58mm f/1.4G I have absolutely no interest in 4K and I don't need a smaller body and to be honest even if I did switch to a A7 or A9 I would spend £1.8K on a new body then have to spend another £3K to get the lenses I need and all that for what?... To have check box features I not only wont use but genuinely don't need. The market has slowly adapted and its why Fuji and Sony camera's are going the way they are you resurgence in the market for hobbyists who are after a do it all camera but the professional world we are good and have been for a while now. I have a Fuji X-Pro that I love but would never use professionally simply because of the lack of glass that can compete with what I have from Nikon and like Tony explained its physics issue that smaller sensors just can't overcome. Also don't get me wrong I could the image quality is there its just the focal lengths and aperture isn't when compared to FF.
Damir Sadikovic, absolutely agree. The market and competition between major players it's very sad and weak. Thats why Pentax K-1 made so big leap and market revive when it's out
I think a lot of the issue with sales on the interchangeable lens sales, is the pending DSLR retirement, and early generation Mirrorless cameras. This leaves a lot of people in a place with tough decisions with a lot of money on the line. I think a lot of people are holding onto DSLRs that are waiting to see what mirrorless platform to move to, that would have otherwise upgraded if DSLRs where still 100%. So you are left with a choice to move to Sony and Fuji, or wait till Canon and Nikon catches up, if they can. And if your waiting, which I bet is the majority, your not going to sink anymore money into DSLRs.
A quick turn around time is essential for a photographer if you are taking photos meant for advertising and business promotion on social media. A business doesn’t want to wait two or three days to post their photos. They want them now! That’s why a smartphone is an essential part of a photographers gear. You can take the photo, edit it and post it all from one device. If the big camera makers are smart, they will build in this functionality into all their ILC cameras.
With manual settings, you can do some good shots with a recent phone. But its different for prints and low lights conditions. I recently moved to mirrorless, for street photography its amazing.
I think they hit the nail on the head. Smartphones have gotten everyone used to “good enough” pictures, but what I’ve found is when I show someone a picture from my DSLR, they’re like “wow”, what a difference. Like they said, you have to show people these days or they don’t see the value. I just take pictures for fun with no plans of trying to make any significant money with it, but it’s obvious that when people see it, it makes an impact.
I appreciate that you two are out there trying to make folks better, or at least better informed. Some of these others guys, those with and without hair, only seem to care about scandal, name calling and product bashing. Keep it classy T&C!
I was shooting weddings 2 years ago. Now i switched to politics mostly. I didnt realize it was shrinking so fast. I also shoot a lot of video. Its a lot of fun and a big challenge. Mostly corporate employee training video for insurance companies.
If you love to take pictures of things and people and you are curious about new ways to do that, and it isn''t just to pay your rent then you will move forward, find and make new friends that appreciate your work and your vision. As always your network and who you are in that network for real is the key. Authenticity, curiosity, and making my doing an outpouring of my core, heart, and rock solid values gives me the energy to stay in this my new path / old hobby. Life is an opportunity of a hudle/struggle choose grasshopper.
I had been chasing the tech since digital photography started. I have in recent years acquired a 39 year old mechanical beast, a Minolta SRT-201 and some classic Minolta glass. Without all the trappings of modern digital photography in the way, I find that I am in love again with the slow and thoughtful process of photography. However, I am merely a hobbyist, never intending to do anything professional. I photograph for my own pleasure. I often wonder if the recent growth in film sales in any way correlates to the decline of ILC sales, or if the amount of money being lost to film and old cameras is merely an annoyance to the ILC producers.
I think so, people passionate about photography is turning more and more to film. I have been shooting both together and 100% of the time the film photos look better than digital, in colour and texture, without need of spending hours editing on your computer. It is more fun and you feel you are doing real photography, not virtual photography. Film sales are increasing. I think film may be the way to camera makers to sell more cameras, as phones can not compete with film cameras for passionate photographers.
Then the big companies need to make a film camera using today's tech , like Nikon or Canon . Instead of us needing to get older film camera's used , that may or may not work .
@@scallen3841 Nikon currently makes two 35mm film SLR's, the F6 is their top of the line autofocus film camera that lists for $2,500, and the FM10 is a manual focus camera, made primarily for students, and it is just below $600.
I was particularly interested in Tony and Chelsea's comments at the end about photography merging with other professions. I'm a Landscape Architect by day, but use photography to help promote our work on a regular basis. We also use drones and video as part of that marketing effort. Now it's gotten to the point where our regular clients are hiring us to do photography as well. (Footnote: Tony's Part 107 study course is fantastic and helped me pass the FAA exam for flying drones commercially).
I don't think wedding photography is dying. People still love good photos (of themeselfs) and this is one of the very few times in life where they are actually willing to pay for it. At least im my experience
I would love to see yall talk about not just the growing and shrinking trends but the lowering ceiling of what clients are willing to spend and the impact of talented photographers who are running their businesses tax free under the table (and sometimes subsidized by their spouse's income) and charging next to nothing for "all the digitals." At this point it's clear that in almost every market, there are more photographers working for fees so low that they cant possibly be covering their taxes and expenses let alone paying themselves a livable wage than there are photographers who are trying to feed their families from this career and its having a HUGE negative impact on our industry's price ceiling.
The graph kind of makes sense when looking at my own experiences. As a hobby DSLR photographer (which I would assume is the biggest market) I bought my first DSLR in 2005, upgraded in 2011 (huge improvement) and am only now starting to consider an upgrade in 2020. At this rate my 4th upgrade would be around 2034! Thing is, I am still happy with my camera and would rather invest in a good lens instead. It actually might be that the small companies are more resilient and will survive as they have already learned to invest selectively ... until some new tech revolution comes along and crushes everything ;-)
ILCs are still selling better than they did at the peak of the film days. Of course sales are down from the peak of sales years ago when people were changing over to digital.
Great video guys! Through the fog of controversy you guys hit one out of the park and made an essential video. I wish all clients would watch this and educate themselves on the need for a true artist to capture the essential moments of one of the most important days of their lives. Dane Sanders, who is a fantastic motivator in how to survive in photographic hard times spoke a lot about the passionate photographer. To me, that is the key to survival...passion and knowledge. And a little bit of luck.
😊Funny comment. .. you should probably try a mirrorless one. ... take your mobile first and understand the difference in seeing what you get.😉 ..or maybe the surprise with every picture is the fun?😆 ...🤔 I wish for a better mirrorless Canon before I decide ...If I should jump to Sony 🙄
Your topic could lead into many thoughts and debates. I want share with you a little secret that I discovered. Here is one way to show consumers the importance of professional photographers. Have a picture printed at Walmart (or any retail printer) and by a professional lab. Frame both pictures and place in a room that gets plenty of sun (not directly on them). After a month, you’ll be surprised by the results. The professional printed photo will look perfect. In my experience, the cheaper one will so fading and some wrinkles. Just thought I’d pass that along. Great show.
Eric, while I would agree with that, the fact is hardly anyone is buying or purchasing prints these days. Back in the 70's, 80's and early 90's yeah. Those that do buy them don't buy many as we know you can skip that price and instantly upload and share images.
as a hobby, no. but a profession, yes. i had long term contracts with 2 real estate agencies from mid 2015 to early 2018, doing interior shots for their listings. they both suddenly decided not to renew our quarterly contract at the beginning of first quarter 2018. then i found that all of their subsequent listings are taken by phones. professionals or long time hobbyists like us can probably list a hundred differences between M mode + good glass on a DSLR and the camera app on your phone. but to average consumers, the visual difference is becoming less and less apparent. no matter how convincing our words are in response to their question "why the service is so expensive while i can probably use my phone to achieve similar effect?", people still tend to trust what their eyes perceive. so the photography industry will probably move to higher and higher end, attracting less and less consumers with little relevant knowledge, and become increasingly harder for people to start their photography career as a poor hobbyist like i did when i was in university. i'm a project coordinator in an EPC company now btw. if i didn't shift my career orientation, i would've staved to death by mid 2018. edit: my gf read my post and reminded me that not being able to post photos immediately after shooting is kind of a "problem" too when it comes to attracting young people into the hobby. i agree. we consume tech and tech related skills like fast food and very few is interested in fine dining. another sin of social media.
@@naomipommerel8415i can almost guarantee you low end/high volume photography is now done with a phone by the business owner themselves. i've approached way too many eBay sellers who own rather large warehouses in my city and got turned away with "why do i need you?" kinda attitude.
Pricing is what doesn't attract young people. I wanted to start but it's simply too expensive. I can't afford buying good gear and there's no point in buying something that takes worse pictures than my $1000 phone.
@@mobby30 this is the argument i hear all the time. first, gear only contributes to 20%-50% of a photo, depending on what type of photography it is. the rest is skill. second, i agree with you in a sense that if you can't see the difference between a $1000 phone and $1000 worth of gear in skilled hands, you are not ready for this hobby yet.
@@Ballacha See, not everybody that wants to take pictures is awesome the day they start. You are, or were a professional in this field so it works differently for you. If many people don't see the different between $1000 worth of gear and $1000 phone they won't spend the money on former. My question is, when is somebody considered ready for a hobby? I have many, but photography was something that I wanted to start and was almost automatically disgusted by how pretentious and hateful hobbyists were towards people who wanted to start. What am I supposed to do to be considered "worthy" of taking pictures? I read multiple books about photography, spent countless hours on forums and watching videos and I still think that it's really expensive to start doing it. I always thought of photography as a form of art and for doing most of art I don't need to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars to be able to do it right way. Don't get me wrong but I am almost 100% sure that you didn't take your pictures with a cheap point-n-shoot and crappy lighting and didn't edit it with expensive editing programs. Gear helps, expensive gear is better than cheap one.
Just got back from Ethiopia: every small town has multiple portrait studios. It's barber shops, coffee places and photography studios. Kind of hard to believe. But the point is, there's a huge untapped demand for photography in the developing world (currently filled in Ethiopia by the few people in each town who can afford a DSLR). Maybe DSLR's are approaching saturation in some places, but when people get money for the first time, it seems like they're going to want to buy nice cameras, and this has been my experience dealing with my friends in these places. The manufacturers would be smart to pay attention to these markets.
Agree with you, say if Canon brings a new M60 with no crop in video and ibis etc . and starts selling it for $ 350 to 400 , then there can be revolution in the camera industry ... The sales would quadruple ...
To get a digital ILC three years ago I paid what I paid for a used film camera in the 1990s. Then I save money on not buying film and not developing film.
Even though I'm pretty new at the photography thing and my major interest is landscape and drone photography. The thing I see the most and just ticks me off to no end is Photoshopping . I'm all for color grading but you can change anything, and I mean anything take a picture of a boat on the water and than move it over sliding down a ski slop. You can't believe most anything you see that's out there now. I feel this has had a huge effect on photography as a whole. So it takes you back to the phone photographer and a good editing app and your good to go. Keep up the good work you two.
I think social media are doing pretty good job for photography. People upload pictures everyday, most of them shoot on smartphones, but some will want to go deeper into photography and buy a camera. Anyway thanks for a great video ! :)
well... majority of people think that instead of paying for expensive DSLR, then for powerful computer and 4k monitor, then for Adobe products you can invest into a smartphone and then you not simply covered 99% of your photo and video needs, but also saved thousands and thousands.
We had a professional photographer on our wedding, and I am so glad we did. The camera phone photos were great for documenting the day as it happened, but the lighting was challenging and so the phones struggled. There were also times when people were enjoying themselves so no photos were taken. So much goes on emotionally and financially with a wedding that cheapening out and not getting a photographer to do your wedding will definitely something you’ll regret. You also get what you pay for re photographers, so I made sure to get someone that suited what style we wanted (documentary style with some posed photos) and we couldn’t be happier :)
Many people discover photography through their phone!A big number of these people decide they really like it and proceed to a dedicated camera purchase!
I started with film, back then it was all about the Zone System and post processing in a lab. What a ride it's been. A very interesting conversation. My answer is Yes! In the traditional sense. It's increasingly all about AI. Why? People, the masses are moving more towards Smart Phones. The algorithms in Smart Phone are actually quite good and getting better exponentially. So many individuals, the masses, feel perfectly comfortable relinquishing control over to an AI device. You don't have to learn about ISO, Aperture, Focal Length of the lenses, depth of field, Hyper-focal length and on and on. No need to know the technical aspects of post processing, just upload it into Photoshop Lightroom and let it do the post editing. You don't have to worry about working with Smart Objects, luminously masks or all that comes with post process with Photoshop and any of the addons. I think except for some of us, writing and creating our own actions is an anathema. We are very much a minority. Much to Geeky tor the masses. It's interesting to me that so many people I meet are so upset about the advent of Smart Technology and yet so willing to relinquish almost everything they do to this technology. I don't think I'm being hyperbolic, it's just an observation. It's a roller coaster for sure. As a side note: Tony, I can relate to your experience working in the Tech Field. I also died as an engineer, after 35 years and 2 years before being fully vested the dot com bust hit. It was a disaster. Won't go into the Gory Details unless you're really into decapitation.
I love photography BUT cost of Digital Equipment has booted me OUT. The last new camera I bought was a Nikon 8008. Still have it with strobe and lenses but a full frame body, computer and software is just way too much money. I do shoot with my IPhone but to me the pictures are at best, crap. Toni thanks for the research. Great podcast!!!
You don't need to have the latest and greatest to take really good photos. You can buy a Nikon D5300 with a 35mm 1.8 or 50mm 1.8g used for maybe 300-350 bucks. Get an old macbook and upgrade the RAM and use an SSD and it's capable of editing or use an app on your iphone. There is free software that you can use. You can get all that for the price of an iphone and still have a few hundred bucks left.
@@appleshampoo324 Thank you for your comment. I won't buy used electronics of any kind - they could be damage, stolen have virus or malware. Also not a fan of the of the DX format.
Yeah, I'm with Appleshampoo, here. Don't bash iPhones as we have a local group that is a cell phone photography group and they are producing some amazing images! Get in there on the manual settings and learn how to use is and get creative! I'm also a Nikon user through getting into Sony mirrorless due the the lighter weights. But yeah, you can get D5300 like they said cheap! I would bump up to a D7100 or D7200 if possible. I have 2 D7100's and a D7200 on the DX side, but use full frame lenses on my crop sensor bodies. Heck you can even opt for factory or dealer refurbished gear at very affordable prices. That is what I did with my full frame D750, D810 and D3s and I have yet to have a single problem, other than routine cleaning as I use my gear in some dusty, dirty environments sometimes. Software wise, you and Gimp that is a free download and somewhat comparable to photoshop, but for $10.00 you can get both photoshop and lightroom subscription.
@@markpolly2574 Like Dana said, you can get guaranteed refurbished camera's from the manufacturers of shops themselves. Either way, don't give up on something you love doing just because you don't have the latest and greatest. Composition, timing or time of day and the story you want to tell are way, way more important for a good photo than having 20 more megapixels.
The answer is ABSOLUTLY!!!! No question. Everyone have a camera in a pocket, so nobody will spend anything for a photographer. Video is still working because simply is difficult to be replicated easily. Regards from Bulgaria!!!
Cameras (meaning mostly phones) are so commonplace now, that fewer people appreciate the value of real photographers and what real skill looks like. A few years ago I attended a friend's wedding and they hired a pro. I took shots of my own and sent them to the couple as a gift. Whose image did they later post on FB to thank their guests? Mine. And on their anniversary postings? Mine. Which, while I wasn't paid, made me feel pretty good. That said, only wealthy individuals or successful businesses seem to really want, or afford, pro shooters anymore. Like Tony (and Deep Throat) said, follow the money.
I go to a lot of botanical gardens and other photogenic places to take pictures with my mirrorless camera. There’s usually another person or two with a DSLR or mirrorless camera, and then there’s a sea of people taking snapshots with cellphones. Cellphone cameras are apparently really good, and people carry them everywhere. It’s so convenient that people are buying less stand-alone cameras.
It is so true that learning photography will help you with your business. I'm a personal trainer and I bought a Sony a6000 to taking more professional looking photos of the members and the gym owner loves it. He even cut me a deal for helping him promote the gym.
Good deal Dragonfist25! I'm also an ISSA personal trainer and do the same! In fact I'm a Nikon shooter and love them, but a good friend of mine and a photog too teases me about not having to go to the gym on arm days compared to his Sony 6400 being lighter weight and I'm now going that route due to it. But back in 2005 I came a real estate agent and home inspector, which go me into the real estate photography field much the same way. I also fell into fashion design & photography when some friends and I bought a small strip mall that housed a failing swimwear company that went under due to a couple con-artist photogs. WIth all of that, I even got a gig as a consultant for a state agency documenting real estate and their construction projects in various stages. So continue to think out-side-the box of way to make money with your photography! So many are sadly stuck in traditional methods of photography and like to complain a lot that it is cell phones and poor quality cell phones that are killing their business. It's them killing their own business and photography with 1902 way of thinking. Keep those reps up and feel the burn with your photography!
@@danagrey3534 That's awesome! I actually learned on a Nikon d3200 and still use it every now and then. I asked some of the gym members if they would be interested in doing regular portraits outside and they really liked it! I actually just got paid the other day for doing a couples photoshoot all thanks to wanted better looking gym pics on Instagram. ☺
I wonder if new cameras, despite seemingly more technologically advanced, are producing similar images as they did 6 years ago- especially for those with good editing skills- democratization of editing and editing software skills may have a lot do with it. Why buy a new camera if you happy/successful with what you are producing?
@@0ooTheMAXXoo0 because editing software back in the 90's and early 2000's when digital first came out was a dime a dozen . Film has pretty much been edged out of the competitive market and editing software costs an arm and leg
You both are awesome! I love your insights, compassionate banter and technical mastery. I was drawn to photography early in life and when I could, in the early 1980s, I bought an Asahi Pentax SLR and a 70-200 zoom lens of unremembered brand, and was always disappointed with the focus of the pictures. I’ve loved the progress of the smartphone pictures, but needed the additional tools that a more professional set up would provide in order to capture many of the photos I pictured in my mind, so I watched a lot of TH-cam reviews including yours of course and ended up using my tax return to get a new Canon EOS R with the 24-105 kit lens, and the Canon 100-300 MarkII, and am nothing but thrilled with the clarity, sharpness, quickness and flexibility of that glass! I think that channels like yours are where people nowadays go to get info on new equipment and techniques, as opposed to the old method of waiting for the monthly magazine, or the TV ads to catch your eye. Love you guys!
Hi Chelsea & Tony , I love landscape photography and I wasn’t even thinking about Doing portrait photography. But then I started taking photos of my husband , my son & my best friend kids they came out so well that I think I’m changing mind. I work a 9 to 5 so never thought about making a living at it. Now you say photography is dying not the news I wanted to hear. I admire you guys thank u for all your information
Too expensive by far. I also would hate to give up the dynamic range of digital images. I can capture everything on a sunny day from the highlights to the detail in the shadows in one exposure with digital.
What made a huge different to my wedding photography was to offer my clients to pay in instalments over 12-24 months. Also a big change in image style as you said, 5 years ago a wedding seemed more formal, my clients now want a fun day recorded, this has also made my job more fun and boost.
@@KB-wb3xh because they actualy know how, this days "photographers " depend to much of edition programs, cliche photos and studios, very few can actually work with a camera and minimal support illumination.
around 2010-2012 there was a huge boom in internet culture and it's when the last of the internet was less corporate, it's also when DSLR filmmaking boomed, instagram was in vouge and new. i think this will just be the norm.
I can't believe people don't hire a photographer for a wedding. Every wedding I have been to has had a professional photographer. But I don't go to a lot of weddings.
I'm a general all-around pro shooter. I do weddings fairly regularly. We still get work as long as we're affordable. That's a day that you want to remember. What I tell my couples is that if you can afford both a photographer and a videographer, great. If not, go for the photos. Those will hang on the wall, and you'll see them every day. The video you *might* watch on anniversaries, or show to the grandkids... but it'll sit on your DVD shelf 364 days a year. Those pics are seen 365 days.
@@bryanmcguire3747 Good marketing and salesmanship but the reality is that I'm 47 most of my family and friends don't have any wedding photos hanging on their walls, or an album sitting out to occasionally look through. Now my brother and a couple of others play slideshows of picture files on their smart tvs. Those images go back 25 years and are mostly self shot candid images by family and friends. Go in to my mother's home of 83, into the homes of her friends and yes you will see a ton more family and wedding photos displayed. It's a different time and era. The technology was far different in the days of film. I shot 6 weddings and never again! I would rather die. But for mine, $2600 and the garage we got, I wasn't even going to pay the guy, who was rather arrogant and what pissed me off is the crap (lingo) he was using. Everything had to be staged and people complained about his lighting and being a pain. A couple of times at the reception, I told him "This is my wedding, not yours so I will tell you what I want and when!" What really pissed us off and I commented on this in a comment above, is that he plastered his advertising mark in gold text/font all over our images and there was a dispute over "Works Made for Hire.-In the case of a work made for hire, the employer or other person for whom the work was prepared is considered the author", which I had to pen in on his one-sided illegal contract, which we got an attorney involved. I shoot professional and all for quality images and fellow photogs making money, but so many are stuck in the dinosaur age when it comes photography marketing. Simply, there is a time and a place for professional photography. People today are getting married later in life, cellphone photography while not 100% as good as a professional body and lenses are getting those quick spur of the moment shots that you can't get a professional for!
I wonder if another thing impacting the amount of professional wedding photography is the increase of professional videography available. When my sister got married they decided to get a videography company instead, and left the photographs to their friends (admittedly containing several keen amateurs). They got a good collection of photographs, but the video was far better than anyone else could have done with them using multiple cameras in different locations in the church, decent audio recording, all intercut afterwards to produce an awesome video, and for no more money than an average photographers package.
I could not image anyone asking a photographer to shoot a wedding for free. I went with my father on a few weddings he was hired to shoot for, and it's definitely hard work. What I have observed is that images shared online through the use of smartphones has led to some people to believe that it's good enough. This is the double edge sword of digital photography, especially for product photography, when a business owner with a digital camera takes their own images, declares them good enough for advertising, and then wonders why the image doesn't bring in customers.
@@randyzhu9705 Lack of market for low and mid end cameras will kill off imaging only businesses (Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Olympus...).In their desperate attempt to stay afloat, their prises for pro gear will grow exponentially, and thus they will not be able to compete with companies with wider business field (Sony, Panasonic,...) and their pro-gear.
RE: Wedding Photography - "We improvised and threw them some pictures at the last minute...." So telling of the fleeting state of mind of most people at the moment. They were blessed to have a couple around that saw the value of capturing one of life's biggest moments for them. No offense to the couple receiving your generosity but it's a terrible terrible shame that most people today can't see one foot in front of their own bubble in time and space. It's an indication of a much larger issue in our country (USA) and rapidly growing in the world. The value of human expression with artistic mastery is something that is surely going through an evolution phase right now.
Would be a sad day if camera production goes belly up and the only thing left are phone cameras. Think I'll take up wood turning for a hobby on that day. cheers👍👍
I think that we might be overlooking the prime motivation people have always had for photography. For the most part, it was not to create great photographs (which technology now makes easier than ever); the prime motivation was to share experiences with others who were not with them on that trip to the Grand Canyon, or for Mary’s high school graduation, haven’t seen the new baby, etc. The smart phone has made it so much easier to share that it has captured all those for whom this is the basic consumer need that the Instamatic used to fill. When sharing is the prime motive, cameras never had a chance against a smart phone.
I have been an avid 'photographer' most of my life. I am old enough to have used my father's adox film camera bought in a Sear's store in Venezuela in the late 1950's. And what I found that as the use of the computer became more and more prevalent since the introduction of digital photographer I found an inverse relationship with my love of photography. The more time I spent in front of the computer using a myriad of photography software, the more I resented it. I want to be out shooting, not slowly turning into a piece of furniture indistinguishable from the chair. I still go out and take photos, and upload them to my computer, but have to have a great incentive to actually edit and print anything now.
John Smith I agree, I love it as a hobby, but the edit everything to make it look unrealistically better world seems to have taken over. It’s as fake as the social media posts of 99% of users out there. I started in high school and recently picked it back up again. That was long before digital, much of that creative process is gone forever and, while I’m far from being an expert, not sure any modern photographer that started in the last ten years has any clue what it used to be....the smell of the dark room, anticipation of seeing what your skill brought you with each roll of film, was very very different.
I have had DSLR cameras for years and finally got rid of all them last year. The reason being is that when I travel, on a hike, etc. I can capture clear images and videos with my iPhone. While it is true the phone will not capture images at the same quality level. I don't shot for profit. I also have a DJI Mavic 2 Pro and an Osmo Pocket. Both allow me to capture videos that are more creative then a DSLR camera can do. I don't think DSLR is dead, there will just be fewer consumers willing to lug around a large heavy camera (while traveling, to family events, to Disneyland, etc.)
I'm a wildlife and nature photographer. The best way to make a small fortune in my field is to start with a large fortune and work your way down.
Shiiiit
dead
🤣
thanks...I needed a good laugh
:D
One thing to consider regarding the rise of ILC's up to 2012 and the subsequent drop-off after that is, up to 2012 was the period of time that professional photographer's were making the change-over from film to digital. After pretty much all of pro photography made that switch, bought all of that equipment, they don't buy the latest and greatest every other year. They hold on to those cameras until they depreciate or they are limited by the equipment and have a need to upgrade. This is a natural cycle for equipment in any industry. The same with desktop computers in the workplace. There was a huge surge for a number of years as companies switched from ledger books and paper memos, then it dropped off because replacement is not as high as the initial investment.
As someone who switched to Digital in 2004 I have only upgraded my camera 4 times since my first DSLR. I only just recently upgraded to the mkIV from the II so I think I am a sample of what you are referencing.
Took a look at the DSLR releases for 2012, and that was more or less the year that full frame hit that mid-range sweet spot. If anyone wanted to transition between film and digital with minimal compromise and cost, that was probably it.
You said it before I could... exactly!
In 2012 you could buy a CanonT3i, a Nikon3200D or a canon 5DMKIII. Three cameras that even today still holds up for photography. The only big change in 7 years is connectivity and video, but image quality did not improve that much.
Good point. The other thing is, if you buy a camera and are happy with it you won't buy another one for some time. However, you are likely to buy more lenses, so shouldn't we be looking at lens sales as well as camera sales? I have an £800 camera with a £1500 lens. I think the latter is more significant.
Photography is not dying! Phones have just cheapened what is considered photography.
So true. Oh god the amount of pretentious photographers with their fake bokehs swamping my facebook and instagram is so damn high it's cringe-worthy.
Lol
A good photographer can take decent shots even with phones
@@hmdz150 A phone really ? Lol put a 200 mm lens on a phone
@@scallen3841 I think it depends. Sports, events, wildlife and some portraiture (where 200 is usually used) is next to impossible in phones. But I know a few photographers who can use mobiles for street photography and even landscape. Not great but as h zed said, decent.
I shot a wedding on Friday for a friend. The vicar (I'm from England) discouraged people taking pictures during the ceremony but allowed me to because I could get decent pictures in low light, was discrete and didn't get in the way. For people who want decent pictures of their wedding, a pro photographer is a must!
Fast glass my brother. Hence pro equipment.
I’ve been to a “hashtag” wedding before with no actual photographer and the photos were 💩
DO YOU NOT WANT TO SEE MY PLUS ONE STUFF THEIR FACE WITH STEAK AT ISO 64,000?!?!
wow...
Everyone is a "photographer" nowadays. Just like everyone is a DJ or a Instagram "model."
@@VinnieChu Is what takes to be an "influencer". I will add "youtuber".
They will reget it later. Not having pro photos printed out means that their wedding photos will likely be lost or outdated in 5 years. "oops, lost my phone, guess our wedding photos are gone forever!"
Losing a million USD in stock options... I kind of have a better understanding of the early grey hair now.
Yep, all of us who were in that industry have grey hair now.
gameshoes how old is he?
@@Sidowse oh ok, what about her ?
Julien Taming 75
@@welivebali9876 lmao
Dying? No. Saturated with product? Yes. Prices should come down a bit, especially on the high end.
I agree with this. The depreciation on camera gear is insane. A lot of good gear is dirt cheap just because it's a little old, but it still makes great images.
Yup. The current most daily uploaded caemra to Flickr is the 7 year old 5d3. A 7yr old camera works just fine and gets the job done.
Yes, i have an old 6D and a 5D classic, both doing fine and both taking great pictures.
There is the gear , plus the oversaturation of " pro " photograhers doing weddings etc . There just isn't a uniqueness anymore , everyone is editing the same
No the market is saturated in amateurs who thinks that they just have to buy a DSLR and a lens to shoot a wedding.
Photography is not dying.
People want it more than ever.
People just can't afford it anymore. When salaries have stagnated since the 80's but cost of living has increase 2-4 fold, "wants" become expensive luxuries.
What's the solution? Value yourself realistically and sell your services to companies.
Cameras with interchangeable lenses are selling more than in the 1980s by far. Sales are down from this crazy spike of the last decade or so where eveyone was buying digital cameras but sales are still higher than the peak of film cameras.
I think I will become a Divorce Photographer. Much more work.
:)
Who hires a photographer for their divorce? Oh wait, you mean the celebration parties afterwards? If you're lucky you'll pick up 2 jobs for each divorce instead of only one wedding to begin with. 😜
I think I smell a new market arising! 🤣
BAWAHAHAHA! You're crazy man! lol
lol
-I'll take your new online dating profile pictures
Wedding photography is on a decline because weddings are also on a decline.
And wedding photography is the most boring, hackneyed and "pseudo" genre of photography. Ask any divorced man what he feels when he looks at his wedding photos. He most probably will cringe how kitschy and dishonest that all was. But at the time he played along because the bride wanted it that way.
@@christophmunch4796 that sounds like a pretty subjective overgeneralization based off one's experience :D
No. You know exactly that I'm right. It's just a fact no one dares to talk about. Only women like weddings, men just play along because they think they're supposed to and "that's what a grown man does".
@@christophmunch4796 sounds like you're confusing bitter men's perspective with everyone's perspective. You're not even including women's view and call it a pseudo genre. Congrats man lol
@@Noojtxeeg You're a woman, right?
Phones with 4k video and yet try getting an entry level DSLR with 4k . Mirrorless should have happen a long time ago. Camera manufacturers are slow to innovate and when they do it's over priced. Thousands of dollars for a lens. THAT is what is killing camera sales. Photography is alive and well.
it is nearly impossible to make high quality lens at a pricetag of few hundred dollars. it is extremely precise manufacturing and electronics and ground and polished glass of various shapes plus coatings. It is still largely hand assembled, labor intensive job and the R&D is not pennies either.
I agree with 4k being slow to come out with full features/no BS crop in ILCs.
@@Django45 that's why they need to innovate . Look beyond polished glass. Possibly using transparent aluminum ( yeah it is real).
Designing a lens used to require thousands of hours of ray tracing and slide rules and professionals. Ok, pc's slashed that. But prime optical glass used to be smelted in very expensive platinum crucibles, about ten of them existed worldwide. Pricey. Now? I wouldn't bet how hard it is to make big pieces of perfect glass. In low quantities. Don't bet on this unless you have the facts.
When one can put a 500 mm lens on a smart phone , I'll consider it
@Matthew Law Innovation requires money. That transparent aluminium lens will be priced out of this world and won't be the solution to thousand dollar plus glass (which I doubt is overpriced by the way, since there is so much competition in this space.)
I think the video ignored the largest and most consistent group of photographers (of which I include myself), "The Passionate Hobbyist." I have taken photographs for more than 45 years - dating back to B&W sheet film days. Now that I'm retired I love getting out into nature as often as possible and capturing a beautiful moment. The experience, the taking and the postprocessing of the images is the goal - not the selling or marketing of myself. Now that I have some real disposable income, I buy the camera gear, lenses, tripods, etc. that help keep the industry alive. With all due humility, I would stack my imagery against most of the "professional" photos I see on line. And I would argue that it's us "old coots" who are driving pro-camera and gear sales, NOT the so-called professionals.
I agree 100% William with everything you said. We are a unique minority who do contribute to the progress of photography. I also think that there are many of us in the younger generation coming up who have the same passion and will continue to push this art form along after we are gone. Keep shooting.
I am a passionate hobbyist too. In my retirement I video lectures given by cultural and professional organizations who are disseminating extremely valuable material but who cannot afford a photographer. The thing is you can do a good job with relatively inexpensive equipment.
Wow, you get to retire without student loan debt garnishing your Social Security-which you're also still guaranteed to get..
I agree with what you say in terms of older folks having money to spend on gear, but I can say that here in the USA, there had better be some big systemic changes pretty soon- because at 48 and being a small business owner, I don't see myself ever being able to actually retire as in stop working. And even busting my hump to help my kids get through college, I don't see them having it even as easy as I did, which wasn't as easy at it was in 1971 when I was born.
@@Bolton115 Mr. Peck,
I'm not unsympathetic to your situation. My son, born in 1968 faces these issues as well. I founded a small business in 1983 and ran it for 35 years before bailing out. I had no guaranteed pension or free medical plan but also no student debt. I fully realize what a difference that makes.
Yes! I think that although the general public may not be interested in quality, there are people that take photos seriously as a hobby.
As a car enthusiast i have the same fear about cars.20 years ago when i had not my driving license it was easy to find a manual sports car on the market from your favorite brand.but nowadays most of cars are automatic and getting more and more computerized. i see people are losing interest in driving and its joy more and more.going this way , one day there won't be any car that doesn't drive itself and thats a nightmare for me.
Same thing also can be said about the movie industry which is becoming more computer work rather than acting and camera work.
Portrait photography will never die. People love nice photos of themselves too much. Vanity is eternal.
The main issue I see with ILCs is that the companies refuse to adapt to the loss of the point and shoot market. In the past, the point and shoot cameras performed better by a decent margin compared to smartphones, and then you would have an entry level DSLR that could make a logical upgrade with a major increase in quality. With smartphone cameras getting better to a point where a $200 point and shoot camera will only be a small improvement that comes at a tradeoff of lack of sharing functions and lack of video features and no computational photography functions).
With those changes, there is suddenly no real entry point at a reasonable price, and the current entry level DSLRs often provide a negative initial impression.
There is very little content, and very little effort on the part of these companies show what the entry level DSLR can do. Customers today see either smartphone snapshots, or ILC images where if the exif data gets left it, it is often a $4500 camera and $2000 lens capturing images of a scene lit by $5,000 worth of lighting gear. Then customers who end up buying their first entry level DSLR, will end up with something like a D3500, and find that their specific unit back focuses slightly and nikon will not issue a firmware update to enable the AF fine tune. They will also then be left with cameras which are expensive for what they are, lack video features, and have a multitude of arbitrary software imposed limitations. Then to escape those limitations, you need to spend around $1500+ on the camera body, and to get a lens where the sharpness is consistent and no signs of decentering (most kit lenses have some decentering), you need to spend $700+ on the lens.
All of this makes for a market that is not working to attract new customers. If they want to attract customers, Cameras like the Nikon D7500, Fujifilm X-T3, Sony A6500, need to replace the entry level cameras and keep the entry level price point, the BOM cost is low enough that they would still make a decent profit at $500-$600, but customers will have a good first impression.
They also need to improve the entry level lenses, and at least do a 18-55 with a constant f/3.5 aperture and good sharpness. A customer moving from a smartphone, to an entry level DSLR, should see a major improvement in quality in all lighting conditions, and companies need to show a realistic view of what their entry level cameras can do, instead of trying to make it look as good as possible by attaching a 105mm f/1.4 lens to a D3500, as that is not a combination that the target market will ever use.
Another issue is the warranty services of these companies. One of the biggest issues is the whole authorized vendor lists that change all the time. Customers are used to how pretty much all other devices are sold, where your new item will have a warranty. Most never see a warning but when they purchase a new camera from a 3rd party seller, or even directly from Amazon, and they want to RMA the item with a company like Nikon and the serial number shows the item originally going to to a an LLC that is not on the authorized vendor list, but Amazon tends to combine their new inventory with the inventory submitted by 3rd party sellers (which is why you sometimes get fake SD cards when ordering directly from Amazon), thus customers may purchase a new camera only to find that the serial number does not qualify them for warranty service, and to correct back focusing on their D3500, Nikon will want $173 + shipping and tax.
These are all things which destroy the market, and these camera companies are doing nothing to fix it.
Instant sharing. Cameras could easily have a sim card built in.
@@nordic5490 The issue with that, is most people will not purchase a data plan just for their DSLR. While some companies will add WiFi and Bluetooth to their cameras to allow for some automation in transferring images, they often implement it in the worse possible way. For example, they will block raw files from being transferred, or disable all but ad:hoc connections so you can't do wireless tethering, or they will limit transfers to 2 megapixels. In the WiFi standard there is nothing stopping the transceiver from connecting to multiple separate devices at once, and a smartphone can connect to an AP as well as to separate device via WiFi direct at the same time. The camera makers could easily push out a firmware update enabling wireless syncing of images at 30-60MB/s depending on the if they are using 802.11n or 802.11ac.
Razor, my 5d4 has wifi, bluetooth & nfc, but I dont use that. I have unlimited mobile data on my phone and 15GB a month data on my tablet that I don't even need to use. Even my home alarm has a sim card to call back to base. Cable broadband market is dying very rapidly and wifi will go with it as mobile broadband takes over. In 5yrs very few people will be using wifi 5G will kill it dead, and 4G is already better than most peoples wifi. Costs for mobiledata is plummeting also. Camera manufacturers could offer very affordable data plans with their cameras, or, pay as you go mobile data and plans not required.
I have never had cable broadband, and have been using mobile data exclusively for 13yrs now.
@@nordic5490 Samsung Had a few Even a. NX Mount it tis list was right .
Epsilon, use your brain mate, in 5yrs unlimited mobile data plans wil be completely normal, may be in 2 years, just as unlimited calls and text is now. Hell, I have unlimted mobile data now, and do not use cable broadband or the wifi that hangs of cable (wifi is only the last 100m, but I reckon you should know that). Using wifi for the last 100m also slows the total transmission path.
Cameras are pretty much a mibile device, so it makes sense to fit them with a sim card rather than use wifi. I dont want to be teathered to a wifi hotspot with a 100m away. I bush walk all the time. Mobile data is the way to go for cameras. Use a bit of logic mate. Canon could easily offer a mobile data monthly plan or a pay as you go plan.
Just like iPhones and PCs, people are tired of spending big $$ on the latest and greatest. Cameras have gotten so good, there's no need to upgrade every couple years.
I shot with my D300 for nearly 10 years; it's still a great camera in good light. No problems there.
@@KentJohnson123 same with me and my Nikon D700 bought in 2008, I`ve no need to upgrade or change the system - I´m not interesting in making videos, but I hate to pay for features I don`t need if I want to buy a modern camera - why can`t they produce a modern camera without any video features ?
@Im_Tired_Too modern high quality lenses are technical and optical masterpieces with huge material, development and production costs, that`s why the manufactures can`t sell them cheap - on the other side do you think that people who are pleased with the quality of their photos taken with a smartphone which for most of their owners is much easier to handle are willing to invest in extra cameras and lenses no matter which quality level ?
@Im_Tired_Too That smart phone bubble will pop eventually. The prices now a days for a smart phone is ridiculous.
Lens some today the plastic fantastic's are way over priced , lens from 30 years ago work on DSLR's and are better made and dirt cheap
I do a lot of general photography, one of my consistent venues is a corporate head shoot once a month... I've used different formats in the past such as phase 1 medium format - Sony full-frame - Nikon full frame, but today I use a micro 4/3 system. Just don't need super resolution for headshots and the micro 4/3 is so portable and the image quality is everything I need. Yes I don't get the wow factor when I show up with a $40,000 system anymore, but the images speak talk for themselves. I think the explosion of cell phone cameras has actually helped me in the long run. At first it was competition, but now people realize the difference in the quality.
@@RiceCake-ep9gu You can still get a tiny dof and plenty of bokeh with mft system. I find myself stopping down in many situations like an eye being in focus and the nose is not and there's still bokeh. There's also plenty of resolution for larger print outs multiples bigger than a skype chat, just not as large as more expensive and larger gear. You're selling mft way short here.
DSLRs dying, MFT dying, photography dying, sometimes I get the idea I am watching a funeral channel...
Doom and gloom sells.
Nikon was also dying recenly... until it wasn't.
Photography is not dying. In fact there is more imaging being done today than ever before. What is dying is the sale of expensive stand-alone cameras. Big difference.
yeah 100%! everyone has a camera on them now 24/7
@@mikeydubs_tv welcome to 1984. ;)
I loath, absolutely loath, the selfie group photo. It's always some woman who herds the group together, then reverses her body to take a selfie.
It's all about shifting.
What is gone are the cheap, low margin point-and-shoot cameras. Good riddance.
Too many people wouldn't know quality if it smacked them in the face. The World is full of mediocre professionals and customers that accept crap as real work.
bingo
It's everywhere. Try to find a good trade / contractor to repare / extend your house. Try to find a good accountant to do taxes. Try to find a good President to run a country. The world of over-confident amatures. 🙂
I think the main reason is camera bodies are at a point where you dont have to upgrade to the newest thing because the tech is good enough to get the job done. Back in around 2010 when a new camera body came out, it was a significant jump from the previous model.
Recently a photography job was advertised near where I live in the UK taking photos of used car parts! Considering all the different materials, reflective properties. situation,, sizes etc just lighting would be a nightmare. PLUS they wanted the photographer to have a knowledge of car parts. ALL this for a MIGHTY approx $500 a week. When I saw the ad it had over 5k views ffs. There is no money in most photography any more.
My last cruise in 2018 the ships photographers were all in their early 20's, I'm not saying they can't take photographs but they work very cheaply. These kids live at home as can't afford to buy property so can afford to work cheaply.
One of my brothers has been a pro photographer for over 30 years, he moved back to the UK from Europe 5 years ago and as he said the money in the industry in the UK has dropped by around 50% so he has returned to Europe as the cost of living is much cheaper where he is. It seems that apart from high end brand shoots and being on the books of London agencies there is little money left in the business compared to the amount of photographers capable of producing quality. My brother has moved more into video which is where about 30% of his work now comes from.
As you say, everyone thinks they are a photographer now they have a smartphone.
.
I spent over 2 years selling Landrover bits on Ebay for myself. Photographing car parts is pretty easy compared to other products provided you have a good background and no direct light hitting the object. But it is mind-numbing boring to do.
Photography can’t die; because ART is a form of expression....✌🏾
Yep, and the world is full of folks who are passionate about expressing through art. Keep shooting!!
Sold my DSLR because my phone takes good pictures - of course my DSLR could always take a better picture.
But on family days out and events, do I really want to be lugging around a big camera with a big lense, having to worry about making sure I have two batteries fully charged, having to import and edit the raw files then render them... it's just easier to pull my phone put my pocket and tap the button and get 95% the result I was after. Unless you're really enthusiastic about photography or do it professionally, I am struggling to see the need for DSLRs / mirrorless now that phone cameras and their software are becoming better and better!
True, a 300 dollar phone (namely Pocophone F1) can record 4K at 60fps with amazing quality meanwhile a 1000 dollar bulky camera can't even properly shoot 4K (crop sensor, no 60fps, etc..). Camera manufacturers should stop fooling people.
Sadly smartphones still do horribly indoors, even with the highest rated ones on DXOmark, a 1/2.5 inch sensor doing 12-20 megapixels, simply isn't getting enough photons per pixel to achieve a good SNR in low light, thus with heavy noise reduction, none of them offer fine detail in the image, you simply get medium to large details that lack texture. An entry level DSLR will do far better for taking images indoors, as well as getting overall better detail. when it comes to the PPI of a smartphone camera sensor, no lens offers that level of translational detail, thus they cannot deliver on their sensor resolution (but hey, bigger numbers sell). I guess it all depends on what level of detail you are willing to accept in an image.
Yeah smart phones are still pretty poo at indoor photos, and if you want to crop. Saying that though, I'd rather get a photo, rather than no photo!
And very true for video recording, my phone does 4k 60fps really well, like really well, especially outdoors on a sunny day. My DSLR could only ever do 1080p 30fps.
I guess everyone's reasoning is different as to why they'd need or not need certain camera types, I just fell into the category of no longer needing one because phone technology for me is better, for me.
MrD - this is why I only shoot what the iPhone crowd cannnot, eg, wide 16mm, or long 400mm, or macro or astro.
Phones can't do specialised shots like action, long telephoto, macro etc.
Weddings in romania are crowfunded. All guests donate about 100-300 dollars per person, so usually it is profitable to do a wedding.
Sikh weddings are pretty similar this way.
I'm on the Canon owner's facebook page and the number of people asking "I'm shooting a friends wedding in x time what gear do I need/what settings should I use" is scary. No way I would risk ruining a friends special day
My APS-C camera with 18-135 mm lens significantly outperforms my smartphone with 4 times digital zoom.
Speaking as a retired pro photographer from SoCal I always said being a wedding photographer was great because if you didn't get hired for their 1st wedding you always had the chance to shoot their 2nd or 3rd weddings.
A great market for repeat customers!
Hmmm, this was interesting but I noticed you didn't cover 'teaching' photography/Lightroom/Photoshop etc. And, you didn't mention photo touring. I'm a total little old lady amateur and I love finding good guides for shooting in unfamiliar areas. How are these guys doing professionally as a group?
I agree with you on how to make a brand for yourself. The art of photography has transformed into a much bigger animal and you need to bring more skills to be able to land a sale... but that's a good thing because it keeps you current and valuable to your clients and yourself. I loved this video because I totally feel and lived through what you brought up as a point. Stay current!!!
Funny about wedding photography … I'm 100% amateur, I specifically do non-pecuniary because photography is my hobby. Yep, I've shot weddings, because people in my generation often can't afford photographers. I've got the equipment and expertise for my own personal use, and they came out pretty good too (I've seen pros do worse).
As a wedding present it's a way cool thing to do for acquaintances, with way more value to them than my money outlaid. Shoot, edit, and send them an album, 100% blows other gifts out of the water. :)
Solid jab at Pentax, however they appeal to their customer base for holding onto their lens library even though it has it's limitations. The only way they will move forward with the rest is to have a mirror-less option that can still utilize the K-mount lenses. Otherwise I don't think Ricoh can design a new lens format and be in the top 5 camera manufacturers.
Pentax is still to recovering after years of neglect by their parent company before being bought by Ricoh.
Let's remember what happened to Harley-Davidson motorcycles under AMF. It could have been a disaster but they recovered nicely.
Let's hope Ricoh does the same with Pentax but it'll take a certain amount of time.
My big takeaway here: Invite Tony and Chelsae to your wedding. Conveniently "forget" to hire a photographer. Get free photos from T & C. ;)
As a F N G in photography and starting to learn these awesome skills as a photographer, this show has given me a lot to think about as a hobbyist in photography. And a lot of what you said I do( editing, drone photography and color grading). But at the same time know that the industry has lots of competition is something to also think deeply about.
Thank you so much for this video and I love what you to do for all of us in this community!!
I just bought the EOS R, your book SDP on amazon and watch your channel too. I'm new to pro Photography and find your combined online help outstanding! Thank you both for taking the time to remove the mysteries of photography.
Two questions:Regarding wedding photography, young people today are not getting married, choosing rather to live together in a civil partnership. How much is this affecting the need for photographers?Camera sales. Are dslr owners holding onto existing equipment a bit longer as they wait to see the advance of mirrorless, especially lenses? I'm not a professional, just love photography and currently have a Canon 80d and would love to go full frame with the very affordable Canon RP, but I'm waiting for at least another year to see what happens in mirrorless pricing.
The problem is the growing tech in phones. Its pretty bad when new flag ship phones take better pictures than a Sony kit lens (I tested this on a recent trip to Japan). No one wants to spend that kind of money and get lower quality results. Unfortunately at the time I couldnt afford a prime lens. Luckily now I can; but it was heartbreaking for a new photographer to figure that out.
Sw33ts It broke my heart too when I saw my nikon D90 armed with the kit lens actually takes worse or just as good picture compared to an iphone 7.
Lens, no 'e' on the end.
@@snodgegrass8 fixed!
@@কাঁঠালেরআমসত্ত্ব oof yeah its like a punch in the gut. 😥
The "Camera with built-in lens" vs. "Camera with interchangeable lens" says everything.
Light blue/point and shoot are now smart phone sales.
Dark blue/ICL peaked in 2012 (presumably a relevant year for DSLRs), dropped in 2013 and in 2014, and remained essentially flat through 2018.
Do you think the lifespan of newer ILC cameras contributes to the decrease in sales volume? Are we just holding onto the units we have?
I realize there's the "latest and greatest" aspect. Is it really necessary to buy the next updated model?
From the amateur general purpose perspective, no, there's no reason to buy the latest and greatest. You can very happy with cameras from a few years ago. If you're more semi-pro, it could be beneficial. If you're a pro and somehow need more range in colors or the best autofocus, it makes more sense. The biggest one that improves is higher ISO and better low light AF. For many people though, they shoot during the daylight or brightly lit interior and so the latest and greatest isn't much better than a several year old flagship that can be had very inexpensively, especially with new, better lenses still being compatible with older bodies.
As a camera hobbyists/advance photographer who recently purchased a Nikon D7200. I’ve discovered the finer points of using manual settings of the camera as a wildlife and landscape photographer, my photos have caused an interest for many of my viewers who witnessed the finer details, clarity, and definition of the images.
Anyone can capture photos with a cellphone camera, but the consumer's evolution and education of photographic detailed definition of the images will cause a greater appreciation of the photographers creative photo.
When a photographer captures an image of waterfalls individual water droplets, with clarity and definition or using post-production settings to reveal a landscape with vivid colors,, I believe it is the creative evolution of the photographer that will inspire consumers to purchase a full-frame or mirrorless camera.
In the end it is your TH-cam show and many others along with the marketing by the camera manufacturer's to convenience the consumer the need for the sharp detailed vivid photographic image to be shown on their 5-k big screen televisions, on large canvas, or metal in their home or in their local gallery for sale. 👍🏾😊😀✌️🏾👌🏾
Film photography becomes trendy again. I actually enjoy it too.
I started long ago in the film days in a large studio, the longest established studio in the UK. They went bankrupt years ago but I left before that and worked for myself. I’ve retired from photography now. Good luck to the new guy’s coming into the industry your going to need it.
Adapt or die.
That goes for both photographers and the manufacturers.
I think cameras selling decreases couse of there is no changes in it. Still same optics, still same specs, same megapixels. Nothing changed at all. But phone cameras made dramatic changes from 0.3 megapixels in mid 2000 to 15-20 megapixels now. Big cameras must be another at all to this time. But it's not. They are the same like 10 years ago.
@@intrepidsapiens69 This is true 4K video and smaller mirrorless camera's revived the market to some degree.
As someone who shoots with a D700 with a 135mm f/2D and a D810 with a 58mm f/1.4G I have absolutely no interest in 4K and I don't need a smaller body and to be honest even if I did switch to a A7 or A9 I would spend £1.8K on a new body then have to spend another £3K to get the lenses I need and all that for what?... To have check box features I not only wont use but genuinely don't need.
The market has slowly adapted and its why Fuji and Sony camera's are going the way they are you resurgence in the market for hobbyists who are after a do it all camera but the professional world we are good and have been for a while now.
I have a Fuji X-Pro that I love but would never use professionally simply because of the lack of glass that can compete with what I have from Nikon and like Tony explained its physics issue that smaller sensors just can't overcome. Also don't get me wrong I could the image quality is there its just the focal lengths and aperture isn't when compared to FF.
Damir Sadikovic, absolutely agree. The market and competition between major players it's very sad and weak. Thats why Pentax K-1 made so big leap and market revive when it's out
I think a lot of the issue with sales on the interchangeable lens sales, is the pending DSLR retirement, and early generation Mirrorless cameras. This leaves a lot of people in a place with tough decisions with a lot of money on the line. I think a lot of people are holding onto DSLRs that are waiting to see what mirrorless platform to move to, that would have otherwise upgraded if DSLRs where still 100%. So you are left with a choice to move to Sony and Fuji, or wait till Canon and Nikon catches up, if they can. And if your waiting, which I bet is the majority, your not going to sink anymore money into DSLRs.
By the way Sony just replaced my A6000 after 4 years on the extended care plan.
A quick turn around time is essential for a photographer if you are taking photos meant for advertising and business promotion on social media. A business doesn’t want to wait two or three days to post their photos. They want them now! That’s why a smartphone is an essential part of a photographers gear. You can take the photo, edit it and post it all from one device. If the big camera makers are smart, they will build in this functionality into all their ILC cameras.
With manual settings, you can do some good shots with a recent phone. But its different for prints and low lights conditions. I recently moved to mirrorless, for street photography its amazing.
I think they hit the nail on the head. Smartphones have gotten everyone used to “good enough” pictures, but what I’ve found is when I show someone a picture from my DSLR, they’re like “wow”, what a difference. Like they said, you have to show people these days or they don’t see the value. I just take pictures for fun with no plans of trying to make any significant money with it, but it’s obvious that when people see it, it makes an impact.
I'm still using my Kodak Instamatic until I run out of film. Then I will upgrade....
Where did you get your film omg
@@akeiai that was a joke ,son ! A joke!
Did you buy a container load of Flash cubes to hold you out too? :)
I appreciate that you two are out there trying to make folks better, or at least better informed. Some of these others guys, those with and without hair, only seem to care about scandal, name calling and product bashing. Keep it classy T&C!
I was shooting weddings 2 years ago. Now i switched to politics mostly. I didnt realize it was shrinking so fast. I also shoot a lot of video. Its a lot of fun and a big challenge. Mostly corporate employee training video for insurance companies.
Our friends dad (a published wildlife photographer) did our wedding pics. Quite apt since we're like a bunch of animals.
Hey noticed that nothing was said about scenic photography? Workshops, coffee shop prints, stock photos, etc
If you love to take pictures of things and people and you are curious about new ways to do that, and it isn''t just to pay your rent then you will move forward, find and make new friends that appreciate your work and your vision. As always your network and who you are in that network for real is the key.
Authenticity, curiosity, and making my doing an outpouring of my core, heart, and rock solid values gives me the energy to stay in this my new path / old hobby. Life is an opportunity of a hudle/struggle choose grasshopper.
I had been chasing the tech since digital photography started. I have in recent years acquired a 39 year old mechanical beast, a Minolta SRT-201 and some classic Minolta glass. Without all the trappings of modern digital photography in the way, I find that I am in love again with the slow and thoughtful process of photography. However, I am merely a hobbyist, never intending to do anything professional. I photograph for my own pleasure.
I often wonder if the recent growth in film sales in any way correlates to the decline of ILC sales, or if the amount of money being lost to film and old cameras is merely an annoyance to the ILC producers.
I think so, people passionate about photography is turning more and more to film. I have been shooting both together and 100% of the time the film photos look better than digital, in colour and texture, without need of spending hours editing on your computer. It is more fun and you feel you are doing real photography, not virtual photography. Film sales are increasing. I think film may be the way to camera makers to sell more cameras, as phones can not compete with film cameras for passionate photographers.
Then the big companies need to make a film camera using today's tech , like Nikon or Canon . Instead of us needing to get older film camera's used , that may or may not work .
@@scallen3841 Nikon currently makes two 35mm film SLR's, the F6 is their top of the line autofocus film camera that lists for $2,500, and the FM10 is a manual focus camera, made primarily for students, and it is just below $600.
@@T0ECUTT3R the f6 came out in 2004 , the fm-10 cam out in 1995 . More modern
I was particularly interested in Tony and Chelsea's comments at the end about photography merging with other professions. I'm a Landscape Architect by day, but use photography to help promote our work on a regular basis. We also use drones and video as part of that marketing effort. Now it's gotten to the point where our regular clients are hiring us to do photography as well. (Footnote: Tony's Part 107 study course is fantastic and helped me pass the FAA exam for flying drones commercially).
I don't think wedding photography is dying. People still love good photos (of themeselfs) and this is one of the very few times in life where they are actually willing to pay for it. At least im my experience
I would love to see yall talk about not just the growing and shrinking trends but the lowering ceiling of what clients are willing to spend and the impact of talented photographers who are running their businesses tax free under the table (and sometimes subsidized by their spouse's income) and charging next to nothing for "all the digitals." At this point it's clear that in almost every market, there are more photographers working for fees so low that they cant possibly be covering their taxes and expenses let alone paying themselves a livable wage than there are photographers who are trying to feed their families from this career and its having a HUGE negative impact on our industry's price ceiling.
The graph kind of makes sense when looking at my own experiences. As a hobby DSLR photographer (which I would assume is the biggest market) I bought my first DSLR in 2005, upgraded in 2011 (huge improvement) and am only now starting to consider an upgrade in 2020. At this rate my 4th upgrade would be around 2034! Thing is, I am still happy with my camera and would rather invest in a good lens instead. It actually might be that the small companies are more resilient and will survive as they have already learned to invest selectively ... until some new tech revolution comes along and crushes everything ;-)
ILCs are still selling better than they did at the peak of the film days. Of course sales are down from the peak of sales years ago when people were changing over to digital.
Great video guys! Through the fog of controversy you guys hit one out of the park and made an essential video. I wish all clients would watch this and educate themselves on the need for a true artist to capture the essential moments of one of the most important days of their lives. Dane Sanders, who is a fantastic motivator in how to survive in photographic hard times spoke a lot about the passionate photographer. To me, that is the key to survival...passion and knowledge. And a little bit of luck.
I don't know what your point is. I enjoy photography, and will still continue to take photographs with my DSLR.
😊Funny comment. .. you should probably try a mirrorless one. ... take your mobile first and understand the difference in seeing what you get.😉 ..or maybe the surprise with every picture is the fun?😆 ...🤔 I wish for a better mirrorless Canon before I decide ...If I should jump to Sony 🙄
Your topic could lead into many thoughts and debates. I want share with you a little secret that I discovered. Here is one way to show consumers the importance of professional photographers. Have a picture printed at Walmart (or any retail printer) and by a professional lab. Frame both pictures and place in a room that gets plenty of sun (not directly on them). After a month, you’ll be surprised by the results. The professional printed photo will look perfect. In my experience, the cheaper one will so fading and some wrinkles. Just thought I’d pass that along. Great show.
Eric, while I would agree with that, the fact is hardly anyone is buying or purchasing prints these days. Back in the 70's, 80's and early 90's yeah. Those that do buy them don't buy many as we know you can skip that price and instantly upload and share images.
as a hobby, no. but a profession, yes.
i had long term contracts with 2 real estate agencies from mid 2015 to early 2018, doing interior shots for their listings. they both suddenly decided not to renew our quarterly contract at the beginning of first quarter 2018. then i found that all of their subsequent listings are taken by phones.
professionals or long time hobbyists like us can probably list a hundred differences between M mode + good glass on a DSLR and the camera app on your phone. but to average consumers, the visual difference is becoming less and less apparent. no matter how convincing our words are in response to their question "why the service is so expensive while i can probably use my phone to achieve similar effect?", people still tend to trust what their eyes perceive.
so the photography industry will probably move to higher and higher end, attracting less and less consumers with little relevant knowledge, and become increasingly harder for people to start their photography career as a poor hobbyist like i did when i was in university.
i'm a project coordinator in an EPC company now btw. if i didn't shift my career orientation, i would've staved to death by mid 2018.
edit: my gf read my post and reminded me that not being able to post photos immediately after shooting is kind of a "problem" too when it comes to attracting young people into the hobby. i agree. we consume tech and tech related skills like fast food and very few is interested in fine dining. another sin of social media.
Low end/high volume still busy though but pricing is key
@@naomipommerel8415i can almost guarantee you low end/high volume photography is now done with a phone by the business owner themselves. i've approached way too many eBay sellers who own rather large warehouses in my city and got turned away with "why do i need you?" kinda attitude.
Pricing is what doesn't attract young people. I wanted to start but it's simply too expensive. I can't afford buying good gear and there's no point in buying something that takes worse pictures than my $1000 phone.
@@mobby30 this is the argument i hear all the time. first, gear only contributes to 20%-50% of a photo, depending on what type of photography it is. the rest is skill. second, i agree with you in a sense that if you can't see the difference between a $1000 phone and $1000 worth of gear in skilled hands, you are not ready for this hobby yet.
@@Ballacha See, not everybody that wants to take pictures is awesome the day they start. You are, or were a professional in this field so it works differently for you. If many people don't see the different between $1000 worth of gear and $1000 phone they won't spend the money on former. My question is, when is somebody considered ready for a hobby? I have many, but photography was something that I wanted to start and was almost automatically disgusted by how pretentious and hateful hobbyists were towards people who wanted to start. What am I supposed to do to be considered "worthy" of taking pictures? I read multiple books about photography, spent countless hours on forums and watching videos and I still think that it's really expensive to start doing it. I always thought of photography as a form of art and for doing most of art I don't need to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars to be able to do it right way. Don't get me wrong but I am almost 100% sure that you didn't take your pictures with a cheap point-n-shoot and crappy lighting and didn't edit it with expensive editing programs. Gear helps, expensive gear is better than cheap one.
Just got back from Ethiopia: every small town has multiple portrait studios. It's barber shops, coffee places and photography studios. Kind of hard to believe. But the point is, there's a huge untapped demand for photography in the developing world (currently filled in Ethiopia by the few people in each town who can afford a DSLR). Maybe DSLR's are approaching saturation in some places, but when people get money for the first time, it seems like they're going to want to buy nice cameras, and this has been my experience dealing with my friends in these places. The manufacturers would be smart to pay attention to these markets.
camera sales plummeting because of their ridiculous prices..
Chiyo Late when you see the price of the 850D only people who are already professional photographers can take the risk to put such price in a camera
Agree with you, say if Canon brings a new M60 with no crop in video and ibis etc . and starts selling it for $ 350 to 400 , then there can be revolution in the camera industry ... The sales would quadruple ...
To get a digital ILC three years ago I paid what I paid for a used film camera in the 1990s. Then I save money on not buying film and not developing film.
Even though I'm pretty new at the photography thing and my major interest is landscape and drone photography. The thing I see the most and just ticks me off to no end is Photoshopping . I'm all for color grading but you can change anything, and I mean anything take a picture of a boat on the water and than move it over sliding down a ski slop. You can't believe most anything you see that's out there now. I feel this has had a huge effect on photography as a whole. So it takes you back to the phone photographer and a good editing app and your good to go. Keep up the good work you two.
Combining other work with photography can make a big difference. That's what I did :-)
Yeah you have an amazing model!
I think social media are doing pretty good job for photography. People upload pictures everyday, most of them shoot on smartphones, but some will want to go deeper into photography and buy a camera.
Anyway thanks for a great video ! :)
No matter what I would still prefer to buy dslr cameras no mobile camera could replace that excitement.
I prefer mirrorless.
well... majority of people think that instead of paying for expensive DSLR, then for powerful computer and 4k monitor, then for Adobe products you can invest into a smartphone and then you not simply covered 99% of your photo and video needs, but also saved thousands and thousands.
We had a professional photographer on our wedding, and I am so glad we did. The camera phone photos were great for documenting the day as it happened, but the lighting was challenging and so the phones struggled. There were also times when people were enjoying themselves so no photos were taken. So much goes on emotionally and financially with a wedding that cheapening out and not getting a photographer to do your wedding will definitely something you’ll regret. You also get what you pay for re photographers, so I made sure to get someone that suited what style we wanted (documentary style with some posed photos) and we couldn’t be happier :)
Many people discover photography through their phone!A big number of these people decide they really like it and proceed to a dedicated camera purchase!
I started with film, back then it was all about the Zone System and post processing in a lab. What a ride it's been. A very interesting conversation. My answer is Yes! In the traditional sense. It's increasingly all about AI. Why? People, the masses are moving more towards Smart Phones. The algorithms in Smart Phone are actually quite good and getting better exponentially. So many individuals, the masses, feel perfectly comfortable relinquishing control over to an AI device. You don't have to learn about ISO, Aperture, Focal Length of the lenses, depth of field, Hyper-focal length and on and on. No need to know the technical aspects of post processing, just upload it into Photoshop Lightroom and let it do the post editing. You don't have to worry about working with Smart Objects, luminously masks or all that comes with post process with Photoshop and any of the addons. I think except for some of us, writing and creating our own actions is an anathema. We are very much a minority. Much to Geeky tor the masses. It's interesting to me that so many people I meet are so upset about the advent of Smart Technology and yet so willing to relinquish almost everything they do to this technology. I don't think I'm being hyperbolic, it's just an observation. It's a roller coaster for sure. As a side note: Tony, I can relate to your experience working in the Tech Field. I also died as an engineer, after 35 years and 2 years before being fully vested the dot com bust hit. It was a disaster. Won't go into the Gory Details unless you're really into decapitation.
I love photography BUT cost of Digital Equipment has booted me OUT. The last new camera I bought was a Nikon 8008. Still have it with strobe and lenses but a full frame body, computer and software is just way too much money. I do shoot with my IPhone but to me the pictures are at best, crap. Toni thanks for the research. Great podcast!!!
You don't need to have the latest and greatest to take really good photos. You can buy a Nikon D5300 with a 35mm 1.8 or 50mm 1.8g used for maybe 300-350 bucks. Get an old macbook and upgrade the RAM and use an SSD and it's capable of editing or use an app on your iphone. There is free software that you can use. You can get all that for the price of an iphone and still have a few hundred bucks left.
@@appleshampoo324 Thank you for your comment. I won't buy used electronics of any kind - they could be damage, stolen have virus or malware. Also not a fan of the of the DX format.
Yeah, I'm with Appleshampoo, here. Don't bash iPhones as we have a local group that is a cell phone photography group and they are producing some amazing images! Get in there on the manual settings and learn how to use is and get creative!
I'm also a Nikon user through getting into Sony mirrorless due the the lighter weights. But yeah, you can get D5300 like they said cheap! I would bump up to a D7100 or D7200 if possible. I have 2 D7100's and a D7200 on the DX side, but use full frame lenses on my crop sensor bodies.
Heck you can even opt for factory or dealer refurbished gear at very affordable prices. That is what I did with my full frame D750, D810 and D3s and I have yet to have a single problem, other than routine cleaning as I use my gear in some dusty, dirty environments sometimes.
Software wise, you and Gimp that is a free download and somewhat comparable to photoshop, but for $10.00 you can get both photoshop and lightroom subscription.
@@appleshampoo324 Hopefully next year things will turn around for me and I can get back into a real camera. Till then it's my IPhone. Thanks Again.
@@markpolly2574 Like Dana said, you can get guaranteed refurbished camera's from the manufacturers of shops themselves. Either way, don't give up on something you love doing just because you don't have the latest and greatest. Composition, timing or time of day and the story you want to tell are way, way more important for a good photo than having 20 more megapixels.
The answer is ABSOLUTLY!!!! No question. Everyone have a camera in a pocket, so nobody will spend anything for a photographer. Video is still working because simply is difficult to be replicated easily. Regards from Bulgaria!!!
Cameras (meaning mostly phones) are so commonplace now, that fewer people appreciate the value of real photographers and what real skill looks like. A few years ago I attended a friend's wedding and they hired a pro. I took shots of my own and sent them to the couple as a gift. Whose image did they later post on FB to thank their guests? Mine. And on their anniversary postings? Mine. Which, while I wasn't paid, made me feel pretty good. That said, only wealthy individuals or successful businesses seem to really want, or afford, pro shooters anymore. Like Tony (and Deep Throat) said, follow the money.
I go to a lot of botanical gardens and other photogenic places to take pictures with my mirrorless camera. There’s usually another person or two with a DSLR or mirrorless camera, and then there’s a sea of people taking snapshots with cellphones. Cellphone cameras are apparently really good, and people carry them everywhere. It’s so convenient that people are buying less stand-alone cameras.
Photography is not dying, system cameras are dying when you think you can fool people with same shit, new wrapping.
Kodak here we come.
what's a system camera?
@@vnitto Trolling? Camera with exchangeable lenses.
@@cinialvespow1054 Im not German and it have been used since the 70s.
@@cinialvespow1054 that was also my guess because here in Germany we call the mirrorless ILC "system camera" for some weird unknown reason 😅
Nikon and Canon etc should make a film camera with today's tech , film isn't dead
It is so true that learning photography will help you with your business. I'm a personal trainer and I bought a Sony a6000 to taking more professional looking photos of the members and the gym owner loves it. He even cut me a deal for helping him promote the gym.
Good deal Dragonfist25! I'm also an ISSA personal trainer and do the same! In fact I'm a Nikon shooter and love them, but a good friend of mine and a photog too teases me about not having to go to the gym on arm days compared to his Sony 6400 being lighter weight and I'm now going that route due to it.
But back in 2005 I came a real estate agent and home inspector, which go me into the real estate photography field much the same way. I also fell into fashion design & photography when some friends and I bought a small strip mall that housed a failing swimwear company that went under due to a couple con-artist photogs. WIth all of that, I even got a gig as a consultant for a state agency documenting real estate and their construction projects in various stages.
So continue to think out-side-the box of way to make money with your photography! So many are sadly stuck in traditional methods of photography and like to complain a lot that it is cell phones and poor quality cell phones that are killing their business. It's them killing their own business and photography with 1902 way of thinking.
Keep those reps up and feel the burn with your photography!
@@danagrey3534 That's awesome! I actually learned on a Nikon d3200 and still use it every now and then. I asked some of the gym members if they would be interested in doing regular portraits outside and they really liked it! I actually just got paid the other day for doing a couples photoshoot all thanks to wanted better looking gym pics on Instagram. ☺
I wonder if new cameras, despite seemingly more technologically advanced, are producing similar images as they did 6 years ago- especially for those with good editing skills- democratization of editing and editing software skills may have a lot do with it. Why buy a new camera if you happy/successful with what you are producing?
I have a 5D and a 6D, both first version and both take grat pictures. And 12 megapixels is just enough, it looks great on a big 4K TV
Why not make the most popular editing software free
Image quality has not changed much in the last 6 years.
@@scallen3841 If it is popular then why make it free?
@@0ooTheMAXXoo0 because editing software back in the 90's and early 2000's when digital first came out was a dime a dozen . Film has pretty much been edged out of the competitive market and editing software costs an arm and leg
Is 'Picture This! Podcast' dying? No -> Our sponsor: squarespace.com/chelsea, coupon 'chelsea'
You both are awesome! I love your insights, compassionate banter and technical mastery.
I was drawn to photography early in life and when I could, in the early 1980s, I bought an Asahi Pentax SLR and a 70-200 zoom lens of unremembered brand, and was always disappointed with the focus of the pictures.
I’ve loved the progress of the smartphone pictures, but needed the additional tools that a more professional set up would provide in order to capture many of the photos I pictured in my mind, so I watched a lot of TH-cam reviews including yours of course and ended up using my tax return to get a new Canon EOS R with the 24-105 kit lens, and the Canon 100-300 MarkII, and am nothing but thrilled with the clarity, sharpness, quickness and flexibility of that glass!
I think that channels like yours are where people nowadays go to get info on new equipment and techniques, as opposed to the old method of waiting for the monthly magazine, or the TV ads to catch your eye.
Love you guys!
Hi Chelsea & Tony , I love landscape photography and I wasn’t even thinking about Doing portrait photography. But then I started taking photos of my husband , my son & my best friend kids they came out so well that I think I’m changing mind. I work a 9 to 5 so never thought about making a living at it. Now you say photography is dying not the news I wanted to hear. I admire you guys thank u for all your information
Can we just go back to film?🙌🏼
No
Noooooo thank you. What a backwards move that would be.
Doesnt matter, these dummies wouldnt understand it either.
Already ahead of you!
Too expensive by far. I also would hate to give up the dynamic range of digital images. I can capture everything on a sunny day from the highlights to the detail in the shadows in one exposure with digital.
What made a huge different to my wedding photography was to offer my clients to pay in instalments over 12-24 months. Also a big change in image style as you said, 5 years ago a wedding seemed more formal, my clients now want a fun day recorded, this has also made my job more fun and boost.
The problem is that anyone with a camera or a good cell phone claims to be a photographer.
@@KB-wb3xh because they actualy know how, this days "photographers " depend to much of edition programs, cliche photos and studios, very few can actually work with a camera and minimal support illumination.
around 2010-2012 there was a huge boom in internet culture and it's when the last of the internet was less corporate, it's also when DSLR filmmaking boomed, instagram was in vouge and new. i think this will just be the norm.
I can't believe people don't hire a photographer for a wedding. Every wedding I have been to has had a professional photographer. But I don't go to a lot of weddings.
I'm a general all-around pro shooter. I do weddings fairly regularly. We still get work as long as we're affordable. That's a day that you want to remember. What I tell my couples is that if you can afford both a photographer and a videographer, great. If not, go for the photos. Those will hang on the wall, and you'll see them every day. The video you *might* watch on anniversaries, or show to the grandkids... but it'll sit on your DVD shelf 364 days a year. Those pics are seen 365 days.
@@bryanmcguire3747 Good marketing and salesmanship but the reality is that I'm 47 most of my family and friends don't have any wedding photos hanging on their walls, or an album sitting out to occasionally look through. Now my brother and a couple of others play slideshows of picture files on their smart tvs. Those images go back 25 years and are mostly self shot candid images by family and friends.
Go in to my mother's home of 83, into the homes of her friends and yes you will see a ton more family and wedding photos displayed. It's a different time and era. The technology was far different in the days of film.
I shot 6 weddings and never again! I would rather die. But for mine, $2600 and the garage we got, I wasn't even going to pay the guy, who was rather arrogant and what pissed me off is the crap (lingo) he was using. Everything had to be staged and people complained about his lighting and being a pain. A couple of times at the reception, I told him "This is my wedding, not yours so I will tell you what I want and when!"
What really pissed us off and I commented on this in a comment above, is that he plastered his advertising mark in gold text/font all over our images and there was a dispute over "Works Made for Hire.-In the case of a work made for hire, the employer or other person for whom the work was prepared is considered the author", which I had to pen in on his one-sided illegal contract, which we got an attorney involved.
I shoot professional and all for quality images and fellow photogs making money, but so many are stuck in the dinosaur age when it comes photography marketing. Simply, there is a time and a place for professional photography. People today are getting married later in life, cellphone photography while not 100% as good as a professional body and lenses are getting those quick spur of the moment shots that you can't get a professional for!
I wonder if another thing impacting the amount of professional wedding photography is the increase of professional videography available. When my sister got married they decided to get a videography company instead, and left the photographs to their friends (admittedly containing several keen amateurs). They got a good collection of photographs, but the video was far better than anyone else could have done with them using multiple cameras in different locations in the church, decent audio recording, all intercut afterwards to produce an awesome video, and for no more money than an average photographers package.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone with a camera on Star Trek so maybe the future for cameras is not good.
Good point.
LOL.
I could not image anyone asking a photographer to shoot a wedding for free. I went with my father on a few weddings he was hired to shoot for, and it's definitely hard work. What I have observed is that images shared online through the use of smartphones has led to some people to believe that it's good enough. This is the double edge sword of digital photography, especially for product photography, when a business owner with a digital camera takes their own images, declares them good enough for advertising, and then wonders why the image doesn't bring in customers.
Photography is NOT dying... but Big cameras are, DSLR cameras are, and non creative photographers definitely are .
well said man!
ILC's are not dying anytime soon at least for pros, at low quality photography is here to stay because literally everyone has a camera.
@@randyzhu9705 Lack of market for low and mid end cameras will kill off imaging only businesses (Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Olympus...).In their desperate attempt to stay afloat, their prises for pro gear will grow exponentially, and thus they will not be able to compete with companies with wider business field (Sony, Panasonic,...) and their pro-gear.
Slowing camera sales does not mean photography is dying. There is so much fluff on TH-cam now. Your channel tops em all!
With videos like M43 is dead cropping up is there any wonder? ;)
RE: Wedding Photography - "We improvised and threw them some pictures at the last minute...." So telling of the fleeting state of mind of most people at the moment. They were blessed to have a couple around that saw the value of capturing one of life's biggest moments for them. No offense to the couple receiving your generosity but it's a terrible terrible shame that most people today can't see one foot in front of their own bubble in time and space. It's an indication of a much larger issue in our country (USA) and rapidly growing in the world. The value of human expression with artistic mastery is something that is surely going through an evolution phase right now.
Would be a sad day if camera production goes belly up and the only thing left are phone cameras.
Think I'll take up wood turning for a hobby on that day.
cheers👍👍
I do wood turning as one of my other endeavors.
There are tons of older cameras out there ,
I think that we might be overlooking the prime motivation people have always had for photography. For the most part, it was not to create great photographs (which technology now makes easier than ever); the prime motivation was to share experiences with others who were not with them on that trip to the Grand Canyon, or for Mary’s high school graduation, haven’t seen the new baby, etc. The smart phone has made it so much easier to share that it has captured all those for whom this is the basic consumer need that the Instamatic used to fill. When sharing is the prime motive, cameras never had a chance against a smart phone.
OMG am I the only one who's sick of hearing about Square Space.
Well if you want to continue to hear this great content, be patient and keep quiet.
No, you’re not the only one. Argh!
I mean it's a great service who strategically pick their sponsorships.. soo. This may be an insecurity of yours for whatever reason
I have been an avid 'photographer' most of my life. I am old enough to have used my father's adox film camera bought in a Sear's store in Venezuela in the late 1950's. And what I found that as the use of the computer became more and more prevalent since the introduction of digital photographer I found an inverse relationship with my love of photography. The more time I spent in front of the computer using a myriad of photography software, the more I resented it. I want to be out shooting, not slowly turning into a piece of furniture indistinguishable from the chair. I still go out and take photos, and upload them to my computer, but have to have a great incentive to actually edit and print anything now.
John Smith I agree, I love it as a hobby, but the edit everything to make it look unrealistically better world seems to have taken over. It’s as fake as the social media posts of 99% of users out there. I started in high school and recently picked it back up again. That was long before digital, much of that creative process is gone forever and, while I’m far from being an expert, not sure any modern photographer that started in the last ten years has any clue what it used to be....the smell of the dark room, anticipation of seeing what your skill brought you with each roll of film, was very very different.
Ive gone back to using my old Polaroid swinger
I had one. I want one for my collection. I posted something about swingers once on a website and I got a lot remarks about nude people or something.
I have had DSLR cameras for years and finally got rid of all them last year. The reason being is that when I travel, on a hike, etc. I can capture clear images and videos with my iPhone. While it is true the phone will not capture images at the same quality level. I don't shot for profit. I also have a DJI Mavic 2 Pro and an Osmo Pocket. Both allow me to capture videos that are more creative then a DSLR camera can do. I don't think DSLR is dead, there will just be fewer consumers willing to lug around a large heavy camera (while traveling, to family events, to Disneyland, etc.)