Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
We often hear smartphones are to blame for the massive decline in camera sales over the last few years. And while they have no doubt played a major part for a lot of general consumers, is it really enough to see the huge drops we’ve seen?
Photographer Robin Wong isn’t so sure. He recently published the video above along with a blog post looking into other reasons why the market may be dwindling. The man may have a point.
Well, it was bound to happen, wasn’t it? Nikon has been slacking on the mirrorless front and Nikkei now reports that they are projected to take 3rd place behind Sony in camera sales for this fiscal year. In a year where Nikon is set to record their first loss, at around $92 million (way down from their initial projections of $110 million profit), this isn’t good news for the company.
It might be a little bit early to start thinking about stocking stuffers for the photographer in your life, or perhaps to even treat yourself. But while everybody’s in a buying mood, it’s worth thinking about doing now so you’re not driving around on Christmas Eve looking for somewhere open that still has something worth getting.
So, here are some of the low budget items that we use all the time for our photography, either for DIYP coverage or for our personal work. It is by no means an exhaustive list of the inexpensive products we use, but these have been the most valuable to us. So, get them for yourself while you’re in a buying mood, or start buying your photographer friends their little Christmas gifts now!
B&H recently made headlines after being accused by the New York Attorney General’s office of being short on sales tax by at least seven million dollars over the past 13 years. They allege that B&H intentionally miscalculated sales tax in order to make their prices look more attractive to customers to outsell the competition.
A statement has now been issued by B&H spokesperson, Jeff Gerstel, disputing these claims, stating that their approach is the same way the entire consumer electronics retail industry works, and that the AG just wants to tax New Yorkers on money they haven’t spent.
The Verge reports that the New York Attorney General believes retailer B&H has dodged over $7,000,000 in taxes in a lawsuit filed recently. It’s all to do with the “Instant Rebate” offers, which are common amongst online retailers these days. The suit claims that B&H has “cheated” the NY sales tax and that they “chose profits over principles”. The investigation and lawsuit come as a response to a whistleblower they say approached them in January 2016.
Well, this is a bit of a surprise. Sigma appears to have finally made a camera that’s a sales hit. At least for Japanese retailer Yodabashi Camera. Yodabashi Camera is one of the largest camera retailers in Japan, with online sales second only to Amazon. Their latest report says that for the last two weeks in October, the Sigma FP was their most sold camera, ousting Sony from the top spot.
Even though Canon only makes two full-frame mirrorless bodies, they have been working on their EOS M APS-C mirrorless line up. And it seems to be paying off. According to the BCN ranking, which collections point of sale data at retailers throughout Japan, Canon is leading the way, at least for September.
In April, Canon’s Q1 2019 financial report presented a 23% decline in camera sales, with an 81% drop in operating profit vs Q1 2018 and an anticipated 25.8% drop in operating profit across the year as a whole. Now, three months later, Nikkei Asian Review is reporting that the projected figure has now increased to a 40% reduction for the year.
The massive drop in operating profit, they say, is down to “a slowing European economy and slumping chip market”. And the projections are expected to drop further when Canon presents its first-half earnings next week.
If there’s one certainty about Amazon’s Prime Day… uhh, Days? It’s that it’s pretty hectic. Everybody’s rushing to pick up the deals before they rush out, and staffers are trying to get listings up as quickly as possible. It seems that somebody was a little too eager to get a listing live without properly checking it, though.
According to Fuji Rumors, a member of the Fujifilm X100 Facebook group managed to pick up a Fujifilm X100F for $102. And it was sold and shipped by Amazon themselves. The regular price is $1,299, making for a pretty massive 92% discount, and according to the group member, the order is marked as “On the way” and is currently in the hands of UPS.
Ahead of the Amazon Prime Day sales, B&H is offering some big savings on select Sony, Nikon, Canon and Panasonic cameras and lenses, with instant discounts of up to $1,000. We’ve had a look through their current specials to find the best deals with the biggest savings for photographers and filmmakers.
You can find out more about John on his website and follow his adventures on YouTube and Facebook.
His videos have over a hundred million views, have been extensively published by news outlets, and has even received recognition from a few film festivals, such as International Ocean Festival
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