Recent opinion pieces, and camera releases in recent months (and years) have suggested that the video creator or “content creator” is the ONLY person that matters in the camera world. The only people who spend money, are apparently so-called content creators. Yet, here I am, still taking photos on my DSLR. And yes, I’m tempted by a new mirrorless camera, but it sure as heck won’t be for the video capabilities… (in fact, I might buy another DSLR if the one I’m currently using ever bites the bucket).
I think it was Homer Simpson, who famously said “You can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent, 40% of all people know that.” and the fact that Adobe think over 165+ million people in Europe are “content creators” goes some way to prove that. Digging a little deeper, Adobe, a brand synonymous with content creation, surveyed 9000 online creators, and extrapolated that data to suggest there are 16 million in the UK. Source1 (AP), Source2 (PDF, Adobe.com).
Look, I’m no statistician, but I’m pretty sure there could be flaws in taking a small group of people, and then assuming that it’s representative of a much larger audience. For example, if I asked 10 people at my local camera club whether they made videos, or mostly took stills photos, I expect 10 out of 10 would say they take stills photography. But even I can see that doesn’t mean 100% of the population is a stills photographer.
Lies, damn lies, and statistics
But, statistics put to one side, if I look at the cameras available to me, I can quite easily see that there are still brands that are introducing new cameras made primarily for stills photographers, like me. And if there wasn’t money to be made from stills photography, then these companies wouldn’t be releasing these cameras.
So, here’s a quick list of the brands that still focus on stills photographers:
OM System – the OM-3 is quite clearly designed for stills photographers – and of course it can record video (high-quality video too), but it’s not being sold as “the ultimate video camera” or some kind of “hybrid camera”. Other models in the Olympus range are also great for stills photography.
Fujifilm – the Fujifilm X100 series, and its wild success, is a testament to how many people want a simple camera designed to take photos (the video mode, I’m led to believe is down at the very bottom of a difficult to access mode menu). There are other models in the range, aimed at stills photographers first, but you’ll have to look at AP’s guide to the best Fujifilm cameras, as I’m no expert.
Ricoh – (and Pentax) – The Ricoh GR series, like the X100 series, is primarily aimed at street shooters, stills photographers, and video is just an after-thought. Yes, it’s got a Full HD video mode, but would you really want to use it? Similarly, the Pentax DSLRs are beautifully sticking with optical viewfinders, and Full HD is the highest resolution video mode available. Most content creators would scoff at such a video resolution.
Leica – It probably goes without saying, that Leica are focused on cameras for photographers and photography, not video. And long may this tradition continue. If you’ve got the cash, stills photographers should also be happy with Hasselblad, too. Even Sony makes a camera that’s purely for photography, the Sony RX1R III.
So, no thanks, I still don’t fit into the “content creator” category – unless you count photography and writing as content creation (apparently Adobe also recognise this as content creation). And, no, I don’t need my next camera to be designed for video, I’m quite happy taking lovely stills photos.
Related reading
- Forget video, this is what I really want from a camera
- Forget mirrorless, this is one thing that can’t be beaten by new cameras…
- Why traditional photographers are a statistical irrelevance to today’s camera designers
- Why are Olympus cameras so overlooked? It’s the best image quality possible for the size
The views expressed in this column are not necessarily those of Amateur Photographer magazine or Kelsey Media Limited. If you have an opinion you’d like to share on this topic, or any other photography related subject, email: ap.ed@kelsey.co.uk.
