Terry L. Mair
Mair's Photography
158 South 580 East
Midway, Ut. 84049
(435)654-3607
www.mairsphotography.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Dyer-Bennet" <dd-b@xxxxxxxx>
To: "List for Photo/Imaging Educators - Professionals - Students"
<photoforum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, May 29, 2006 1:42 PM
Subject: Re: The death of photo industry - Was Pentax are seeing the light
Charles Dias <deepblue972000@xxxxxxxxx> writes:
I think the crisis in the photo industry is much more deep than
they say or even want to believe in. Some people says that one of
the two last big ones (Kodak and Fuji) will end the year almost
broken and I agree.
It's clear that the "digital soluction" adopted in a hurry by the
photo industry was just like a gunshot in its own feet. For
decades Kodak, Fuji, Ilford, Agfa and Konica sold camera gear but
had most of its income from films, paper and chemicals for
processing ... nowadays with digital the number of prints sold
are decreasing drastically and they can do nothing about that
because they sold the tool for the consumer to avoid speding
money with photo labs.
Personily I am glad Kodak is having problems, they totaly abandoned the pros
who I would have thought where their bread and butter, in favor of easy on
site printing at walmart and others.
Other companies, like Nikon and Canon and Pentax and Olympus, were
solidly in the camera business. They and others would have made and
sold digital cameras anyway, and digital cameras would have taken over
from film anyway -- because it fits people's needs much better.
That's why people are switching so fast. Some of the professionals
switched because of lab costs, maybe. Snapshooters switched because
of online photo sharing and not having to finish the roll before
emailing the pictures to the grandparents.
I think in the near future things will get worse for photo
industry and a lot of other companies will bankrupt or will go
out of photo business. The biggest problem is that in this war
we, consumers, are the real losers.
You may be a loser; I'm certainly not, I'm a huge winner on the
digital transition.
I would have to say I am both on this one, I am a winner because I can do
more retouching and manipulation on photos for clients who still appresheate
good work, I am a loser because it seams there are more people out there who
do not appresheate good work and digital makes it possible for them to have
their own mediocre work!
--
David Dyer-Bennet, <mailto:dd-b@xxxxxxxx>, <http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/>
RKBA: <http://www.dd-b.net/carry/>
Pics: <http://dd-b.lighthunters.net/>
<http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/>
Dragaera/Steven Brust: <http://dragaera.info/>
