Photo industry deserves better than lazy tech journalists
A respectable publication like the Washington Post tries to cash in on the gadget craze by publishing clear link-bait article:
6 way-too-late attempts from the camera industry to compete with the iPhone
It’s got all the buzzwords – iPhone, Instagram, etc. – while taking time to bash the photo industry. I mean, seriously. It’s one thing to say the iPhone 6 has a great camera – it does – but how can you do an article slamming “camera giants” and not mention Canon and Nikon? I mean, Kodak, Polaroid and Fujifilm are certainly well-known brand names, but “camera giants?” Seriously? Maybe in the point-and-shoot days (Fujifilm’s recent X-series notwithstanding). I mean, did Kodak, Polaroid or Fujifilm ever have more than 10 percent share in camera sales?
And then, the example comparing the Polaroid Socialmatic to the Instagram app? “This might be a classic example of how the camera industry completely missed the social aspect of photography enabled by the Internet.” That’s the classic example; because Polaroid is selling a piece of hardware, and Instagram is an app? More like, it’s a lazy writer not doing his homework. That’s completely apples and oranges. Yes, the camera industry has been late to the party offering connectivity, but the Polaroid Socialmatic is not the classic example of why not.
Then there’s “[Polaroid and Kodak] may have completely missed the digital photography revolution…” Missed it? Kodak invented digital photography. Also, Polaroid, Kodak and Fujifilm have had apps for years. Plus, the other examples: Lomo’Instant, Polaroid smartphone and Sony QX. Could the author have picked more niche products for comparison?
Finally, the writer takes shots at the beloved Fujifilm Instax, saying it’s somehow a failure, compared to the Kickstarter driven Prynt accessory, which raised a whopping $1.5 million. Let’s see, according to Fujifilm’s CEO, Mr. Shigetaka Komori, the company sold 2.9 million Instax cameras in the first nine months of this fiscal year alone. If Prynt sells anywhere close to 1 million units during it’s entire lifecycle, it will be a miracle. Plus, Fujifilm has it’s own portable printer, which uses readily available Instax media. When your Prynt runs out of media, where are you going to get more?
I mean, I expect this sort of short-term memory dreck from Mashable or Engadget. But the Post? Not that I expect any kind of real tech-journalism, but this piece is so flaccid and lazy, it’s annoying.
The writer, Dominic Basulto, is listed as a “futurist and blogger;” perhaps you don’t need to know anything about history to be a futurist.