Boom or Bust? Sony’s Future Prospect

Boom or Bust? Sony’s Future Prospect

Sony produces some of the most talked-about and innovative cameras. Yet the company is worth practically nothing. Credit ratings agency Moody’s — right, one that missed the U.S. suprime housing bubble — downgraded Sony’s credit rating for corporate bond status to junk. With stable outlook. Meaning Sony cameras won’t disappear from the face of the […]

Better Register Your .photography Domain Now

Better Register Your .photography Domain Now

Internet domain providers reported a surge in interest for photography-related extensions among the new ICANN generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs). With hundreds of new generic TLDs being made available over the next few months, the most popular group of new domains so far is extensions which reference the art of photography such as .photos, .photography […]

The End of Bayer Sensors Is Nigh, But What’s Next?

The End of Bayer Sensors Is Nigh, But What’s Next?

In the coming two years, major changes in sensor technology lie ahead. With the exception of Fujifilm cameras based around EXR and X-Trans image sensors and the Foveon-based camera lineup from Sigma, almost every digital camera on the market today has a Bayer color filter array, named after inventor and Kodak scientist Bryce Bayer. Bayer […]

Brandon Stanton — From Photographer Nobody to Acclaimed Humans of New York

Brandon Stanton — From Photographer Nobody to Acclaimed Humans of New York

Since 2010, Brandon Stanton has been capturing stories of New Yorkers on what is perhaps one of the Internet’s most popular photo blogs, Humans of New York. Armed with his 5D Mark III, Stanton roams the streets of the Big Apple for eight hours a day after day, crisscrossing the city, covering thousands of miles […]

Identity Crisis in Photojournalism — You Can’t Be a One-Trick Pony Anymore

Identity Crisis in Photojournalism — You Can’t Be a One-Trick Pony Anymore

If you have some spare time, read the excellent “Identity Crisis in Photojournalism” on American Journalism Review. Here are the key excerpts. There is a new question concerning every working photographer: who is a photographer and who is not. It’s the age of the advent of the “super journalist.” In news organizations around the world, […]

DSLR vs. Smartphone Debate — Somber Old-Style vs. Fun-Loving New Generation

DSLR vs. Smartphone Debate — Somber Old-Style vs. Fun-Loving New Generation

Today’s smartphones allow anyone to shoot quality images. In fact, no serious photographer refutes the advantages of portability, convergence and convenience any more. “Smart cameras” are products and services to fill or solve people’s needs. Nothing beats the look and texture of images from a high-end digital camera. But downsized to Web and personal use, […]

Canon and Nikon at the Crossroads

Canon and Nikon at the Crossroads

Yes, both Canon and Nikon recently cut their sales forecast as camera users are tired of buying nearly identical camera updates and more and more people switch to phones. But let’s not forget, Canon still estimates a massive $3.6 billion operating profit for the year. Nikon’s situation is worse with a 41% drop in operating […]

Why Digital Photography Is a Boon to Camera Makers

Why Digital Photography Is a Boon to Camera Makers

Yet another new model? Wasn’t the latest iteration of this camera released only a few months ago? Right, that lineup’s ready for another upgrade… What number eh name again? Improvements? Take Nikon, serving the high end, midrange, upper entry and entry level market with a plethora of similar names. It takes a mathematician’s analytical skills […]

Slaves of Photography, Unite!

Slaves of Photography, Unite!

The discussion continues whether photographers should stand up to the abominable rates paid these days. Well, the discussion not only concerns photographers, but journalists, writers and many artists as well. Isn’t it pretty obvious: free societies don’t exist without a quality free press, and creating value and quality with importance and excellence costs money. Photography, […]

Aging Beautifully — Has Digital Photography “Taken Away Our Humanness”?

Aging Beautifully — Has Digital Photography “Taken Away Our Humanness”?

We’re certainly a bit preoccupied with ourselves, always talking about the one behind the lens. What about those in front of it? Here’s a beautiful model talking about photography. Actress and model Amber Valetta alleges in an article on Forbes that digital photography takes away our humanness. Valetta refers to her One for the Ages […]

How Much Is an Image Worth? Rethinking Licensing in the Online Age

How Much Is an Image Worth? Rethinking Licensing in the Online Age

By YVAN COHEN, LIGHTROCKET In an era where images are so omnipresent they sometimes appear to be on the verge of replacing complete sentences, the laws of supply and demand are exerting their inevitable downward pull. The first big slide occurred in the early 2000s when newly created agencies like iStockphoto and Shutterstock sought to […]

Study in Reinvention — How to Survive as a Photographer

Study in Reinvention — How to Survive as a Photographer

By YVAN COHEN, LIGHTROCKET Realizing the professional landscape has forever changed, many photojournalists are seeking new and creative ways to continue to earn a living doing what they love. Where once editors would have assigned a photographer, today they are often able to find the image they need with a few clicks of a mouse. […]

Cut Costs and Increase Profits — Nikon Inaugurates DSLR Factory in Laos

Cut Costs and Increase Profits — Nikon Inaugurates DSLR Factory in Laos

Nikon, world’s second largest camera maker behind Canon, has inaugurated its newest DSLR manufacturing facility in Savan-Seno, a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the Southeast Asian nation of Laos. The grand opening on Sept. 23, 2013, laid the foundation for cheaper camera production costs. Just don’t hold your breath for DSLR prices to come down. […]

LightRocket — Promote, Store and Empower Your Photography

LightRocket — Promote, Store and Empower Your Photography

Press Release — Following it’s launch a couple of months ago, LightRocket, a new online website, media management and hosting service for photographers, is continuing its upwards trajectory. Entering the competitive space of established players such as PhotoShelter and Zenfolio, LightRocket offers photographers a fresh approach with a service that includes personalized photo websites, secure […]

Photography Publisher Camerapixo Is Back in Style

Photography Publisher Camerapixo Is Back in Style

Not the luckiest of names, but after a makeover photography site Camerapixo is back up and running again. Camerapixo is, in a few words, an online service which publishes several photography magazines as well as portfolios of photographers from around the world, famous, less known, beginners. The “new 1.0” site is well worth a visit. […]

Phototrails — What Instagram Snaps Reveal About Cultural Patterns Around the World

Phototrails — What Instagram Snaps Reveal About Cultural Patterns Around the World

In case you haven’t yet heard of a digital photography project called Phototrails, haven’t you ever wondered what happens to the millions and billions of photos that are uploaded day after day? What really happens to the trillion of photographs shot each year? Right, they’re not only floating as endless combinations of ones and zeros […]

Camera Makers Listen Up: Pricier High-End Cameras Revive Sony Brand Image

Camera Makers Listen Up: Pricier High-End Cameras Revive Sony Brand Image

While CaNikon — the still dominant players in the standalone camera market — keep on copying each other and incrementally improve their technologies, competitors Fujifilm and Sony are thinking outside the box. While Fujifilm is betting on the retro form factor supported by its outstanding experience in imaging technology, Sony pushes the limits — what […]

Why (Most) Women Are Camera Shy

Why (Most) Women Are Camera Shy

Here’s a photography study by, surprise surprise, consumer giant Unilever’s personal care brand Dove. Right, they want women and men to look and feel beautiful. According to a new Dove global research, self-awareness and photography are closely related. If you don’t feel confident, you don’t want to have your picture taken. Women obviously feel less […]

Reading the Tea Leaves: Olympus to Disappear in 2014

Reading the Tea Leaves: Olympus to Disappear in 2014

I’m not saying, I’m just saying that’s what 24/7 Wall St. is saying: Each year, 24/7 Wall St. identifies 10 important brands sold in America that they predict will disappear. This year’s list reflects the brutally competitive nature of certain industries and the importance of not falling behind in efficiency, innovation or financing. Not sure, […]

Defying the Status Quo — Condé Nast, Pioneer of Fashion Photography

Defying the Status Quo — Condé Nast, Pioneer of Fashion Photography

There’s a great new book out on fashion photography: Coming Into Fashion — A Century of Photography at Condé Nast. Well written, showing beautiful and artistic fashion photography, this book is much more than just a walk down memory lane. It’s an inspiration, tutorial and how-to at the same time, providing insights into the trade […]

Hedge Fund Attack — Sony Breakup Looming?

Hedge Fund Attack — Sony Breakup Looming?

I just reported on Sony’s first annual profit in five years. It reached that milestone largely thanks to the weakening yen and some belt-tightening, including the consolidation of businesses and the sale of its American headquarters. Now Sony’s back in the headlines: An American hedge fund billionaire known for starting big fights has called for […]

All Set for 2014: Sony Aiming High After First Profit in 5 Years

All Set for 2014: Sony Aiming High After First Profit in 5 Years

Sony’s corporate makeover starts to pay off. Despite weak demand for its digital cameras, video cameras and televisions, Sony books the first annual net profit in five years. While Sony’s jump back into the black was largely due to the depreciation of the yen inflating the value of foreign income and a string of asset […]