Category: Opinion – Page 12 – The Dead Pixels Society

Halide 1.7 update adds interesting Portrait and Depth modes

March 8, 2018 GaryPageau Halide, iOS

Halide, one of the most interesting camera apps for iOS, has added several new features. The gesture-based camera app now incorporates its own version of Portrait mode, which the company claims is faster than the Apple mode. The app also retains the original image data, so the user can always apply their own effects or revert to a regular shot.... Read More

Market research Opinion

Analysis: The potential of AR for printed photo products

March 5, 2018March 5, 2018 GaryPageau Hans Hartman, Suite 48a, VR

Hans Hartman at Suite 48 Analytics wrote an interesting analysis of the opportunity for printed products with augmented reality (AR) enhancements. “Fresh from our presentation at the photokina Business Forum Imaging conference in Cologne and discussions with quite a few of the assembled photo print product providers there, we see many opportunities for leveraging AR for printed photo products,” he writes. “In... Read More

News Opinion

Analysis: Are Costco photo lab closures an indicator of a wider trend?

February 28, 2018March 13, 2018 GaryPageau Best Buy, Costco, Fuji, kiosks, Kodak, photo labs, Walgreens

Mass retailer participation in a category is considered a key indicator of the overall vitality of the category. Mass retailers have access to the best analytics, and make data-driven decisions. When a high-profile retailer decides to change space allocation or even exit a category, it sends ripples across the industry. For example, Best Buy recently announced the cessation of in-store... Read More

News Opinion

Winners and losers of the Shutterfly/Lifetouch combination

February 7, 2018February 25, 2018 GaryPageau acquisition, Lifetouch, Shutterfly2 Comments

The photo industry’s biggest merger in years has brought up rampant speculation among competitors, vendors and gadflies about the Shutterfly acquisition of Lifetouch. Details of the combination are still coming out, but it’s clear there is a short-term positive reception. Shutterfly’s stock rose to more than $70 a share, after being mired in the mid-$50 range for months. From a... Read More

Opinion

Opinion: Xerox acquisition positions Fuji Xerox for not just survival, but growth

February 7, 2018February 25, 2018 GaryPageau Canon, Fuji Xerox, HP, Keypoint Intelligence, Moody's Investors' Services, Ricoh, Shigetaka Komori, Xerox

The merger announcement between Xerox and Fuji Xerox last week started the next chapter of the nearly six decades-long joint venture between U.S.-based Xerox and Japan’s Fujifilm. The merger had been long expected, and had been accelerated with the insistence of shareholder activists Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason. The combination is expected to improve the profitability and competitiveness of Fuji... Read More

News Opinion

Lifetouch purchase brings immediate benefits to Shutterfly

January 31, 2018February 6, 2018 GaryPageau acquisitions, Lifetouch, Shutterfly1 Comment

Shutterfly shares jumped nearly 20% last night on the news the leading photo-personalization company was buying the billion-dollar company in the school photography space, Lifetouch National School Studios for $825 million, as well as the report the company beat its fourth-quarter forecasts. The deal includes Lifetouch’s school business, as well as it’s ancillary businesses of church directories, preschool photography, JC Penney retail... Read More

News Opinion

Snap to let users share Stories outside Snapchat app

January 24, 2018 GaryPageau Snap, Snapchat

MarketingLand reports Snap will soon let non-users view Snapchat Stories on the web. Users will be able to share a limited number oif links to view Snapchat Official Stories, Our Stories and Search Stories on Snapchat’s site, which is a rebuke to Snap’s app-first strategy. “The new Story-sharing feature will be limited to some of the public Stories appearing in Snapchat’s redesigned Discover... Read More

News Opinion

Hardware in crisis: Can camera companies compete?

January 16, 2018February 25, 2018 GaryPageau camera, Canon, Fujifilm, Hasselblad, Nikon, Panasonic, Sony, YI Technology1 Comment

The hardgoods part of the photo industry has always been highly competitive and price sensitive. Accessory sales prop up profit margins, as dealers rely on photo printing, lenses, bags, tripods, filters and other add-ons to build comfortable margins. It’s not unusual for an independent dealer to make $50 or $60 on the sale of a $1,200 DSLR body. This is... Read More

News Opinion

Worker-owned businesses taking over for retiring baby boomers, says Fast Company

January 14, 2018 GaryPageau Chris' Camera Center, Fast Company, University Camera

A recent article in Fast Company will be of interest to baby-boomer business owners who are looking to pass on their operations. In the past year, we’ve had high-visibility photo retailers like University Camera and Chris’ Camera Center announced they will shut down their operations after efforts to turn up buyers were naught. In the article, “Can The Wave Of... Read More

News Opinion

Daily Beast looks inside Snapchat data and culture: It’s not pretty

January 14, 2018January 14, 2018 GaryPageau Daily Beast, Snap, Snapchat

Daily Beast writer Taylor Lorenz disclosed never-reported information about the culture of secrecy permeating Snap Inc. and the data regarding key features of its flagship app, Snapchat. Among the revelations: “The company operates in secret “need to know”-type bubbles, where many in sales, content, or non-engineering roles feel kept in the dark.” Employees routinely find out about Snap products and services in... Read More

News Opinion

Wall Street likes Kodak’s move into cryptocurrency

January 10, 2018 GaryPageau cryptocurrency, Jeff Clarke, Kodak, KodakCoin

Shares of Eastman Kodak Co. nearly doubled yesterday when the Rochester, N.Y., company announced a cryptocurrency aimed at photographers, called KodakCoin. While some companies have added “blockchain” as a supposed gimmick to boost share price – like this Long Island Ice Tea brand – but the press coverage has been remarkably forgiving. Kodak is getting notice because digital rights management (DRM)... Read More

News Opinion Press releases

GoPro confirms layoffs, shuts down Karma drone division

January 9, 2018January 9, 2018 GaryPageau Drones, GoPro, Karma1 Comment

Action-camera leader GoPro confirmed in a press release plans to reduce headcount by about 300 with the closure of its Karma drone division. Restructuring costs will be $23-$33 million – about half of which will be severance – recognized in the first quarter. The company also reported a price reduction in its HERO5 Black camera for the holidays significantly increased... Read More

News Opinion

Canon needs to boost innovation, CEO tells Nikkei Asian Review

January 9, 2018 GaryPageau Canon, Fujio Mitarai1 Comment

Canon chairman and CEO Fujio Mitarai told the Nikkei Asian Review the company will look beyond cameras and copiers for growth, and pledged to boost innovation efforts. The company will establish an “innovation center” in Silicon Valley, but left unsaid is how much of that effort will be spent on imaging. Most of the recent acquisitions have been in health... Read More

News Opinion

GoPro drone woes leading to 200-300 job cuts, says TechCrunch

January 5, 2018January 5, 2018 GaryPageau DJI, drone, GoPro, Karma1 Comment

The karma has been bad in GoPro‘s drone division, which may see cuts of 200-300 employees this week, according to a report in TechCrunch. The sobering news follows a series of high-profile setbacks for the action-camera maker, who has struggled to diversify into drones, VR and entertainment. Its Karma quadcopter drone was pulled from the market after technical problems arose,... Read More

Feature Opinion

Five ways to boost your photo business in 2018

January 3, 2018January 17, 2018 GaryPageau camera, Canon, GoPro, Nikon, online, retail, YI Technology

Every new year brings new opportunities and new challenges and 2018 is shaping up to be no different. After the hustle and bustle of the all-important fourth quarter, many photo businesses use this time to reflect and to plan. Let’s take a look at some practical ideas: Know your value – Many business owners think they know their business, but... Read More