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Messages - travelstock
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76
« on: March 26, 2012, 10:28 »
Its a well known fact that the smaller agencies work out who's voting on MSG polls and make sure they get a few extra sales just to bump up the stats a little bit. Who hasn't voted yet?? 
77
« on: March 24, 2012, 01:42 »
I accidentally voted for IS in that I read this thread to be the exact opposite to what it actually is, so subtract one from the tally. There really needs to be the option for Crestock which would have got the vote for many, including me.
Behind Crestock is FT which for me just rejects anything that's travel related regardless of quality, and accepts anything isolated on white or with a MR person in it.
I know a lot of people whine about DT, and their reviews aren't exactly perfect, but theres also many microstockers that don't know the difference between what's similar and what's not.
79
« on: March 22, 2012, 06:22 »
Just saw this. I would love a full frame camera in a more compact body with an EVF that didn't cost as much as a Leica.
http://photorumors.com/2012/03/21/canon-mirrorless-camera-concept/
The thing about compact systems is that its the lenses, especially telephoto, that really add to the weight, not so much the bodies. If Canon do come out with a new mirrorless system this year, which is highly likely, its unlikely to be FF, and will need an entirely new set of lenses because a lens optimised for traditional AF won't work nearly so well if they AF from the sensor.
80
« on: March 22, 2012, 00:40 »
Didn't know that the cropping/framing was this sensitive. So before everyone gets their knickers in a twist, I state that this was just MY opinion - that the ability to crop heavily would not be justification alone to make me jump ship for the D800 or any forthcoming high MP cameras - for ME it would feel that such "obstacles" could most often easily be overcome by using ones feet, longer lens, charm and wit to get closer to the actual subject - you can never get close enough, but not necessarily by cropping.
For sales reason, micro and traditional alike there is also no justification to move up based on my experience to be able to sell larger files in the RF market - sales of really large files are really really really few and far in between and one would not re-coup an investment based purely on being able to provide super humongous file sizes.
Also, I don't like Nikons, they are ugly!
With all of 14 XXXL files in your portfolio I can't really see how you can make that sort of assessment of the RF market. Maybe sales of large files are limited in the market for photos of Stilettos isolated on white, but in other areas, they sell far more regularly.
Seeing as we're talking about stock photography, its worth remembering that its often the end users than need the room for cropping - the original doesn't always fit perfectly into whatever layout they're producing. Larger files sometimes don't just mean the difference between an XXXL sale price and just an XL, they're often the difference between making the sale and getting nothing.
My experience is the same in the traditional RF market, but as you say it might well be very much subject dependent and certain areas might sell boatloads of XXXLs.
MY experience is that larger file sales are very few, I've heard many others saying the same thing - the majority of sales are large/medium to xs (by istock's definition), XL and above are "rarish" in my experience both on iStock and Getty, few enough that after 20MPs it is no longer a consideration for me if I was in the market for a new camera.
Anyway, I'm sure everyone knows what kind of equipment suits them and their subject matters the best. If you are certain to sell enough XXXLs to justify getting equipment to do that then of course you should, if you are the type that needs to crop heavily for whatever reason then get it too, if you just get a buzz of having loads of MPs and the latest model get it too - there is no right or wrong here, just personal preference/opinions.
I think you missed my main point which was that with 14 XXXL files in your portfolio, its difficult to assess how many XXXL sales you're missing out on, or to judge overall sales volumes. Looking at your portfolio on iStock, less than 1/5 are even available in file sizes above Large. Presumably like many of us you started with a smaller MP camer and have upgraded. When talking about these statistics, how many people are actually calculating XXXL sales as a percentage of those that are available in that format as opposed to an overall percentage? For me, yes M/L sales are dominant, but I get many L sales on files that are only available in as a large file from the days when I was using an 8 or 10MP camera. Its impossible to tell how many of those sales, if any would be XL, XXL or XXXL if they were available in that format. I'm also in the position where a majority of my files aren't in the largest formats, with only 1/3 available at XL and above, but the stats tell me that (1) it would be a big mistake to shoot at less than XL size for microstock (yes, one I made for too long) (2) that in the long term having files available at the largest sizes pays off if you're an iStock exclusive (much more marginal for non-exclusives because the highest price point for other agencies seems to be mostly at 12MP). To me the real advantage of the D800 is that its a 35MP FF camera and a 15.3MP DX crop camera in one - out in the field that difference can be massive - it potentially means one less lens to carry and a lot less lens changes. At the moment its not enough to make me jump in and swap systems, but if I was looking at it starting from scratch it would heavily influence the decision, because unlike most other areas of photography, in stock MPs do actually matter.
81
« on: March 21, 2012, 08:28 »
Didn't know that the cropping/framing was this sensitive. So before everyone gets their knickers in a twist, I state that this was just MY opinion - that the ability to crop heavily would not be justification alone to make me jump ship for the D800 or any forthcoming high MP cameras - for ME it would feel that such "obstacles" could most often easily be overcome by using ones feet, longer lens, charm and wit to get closer to the actual subject - you can never get close enough, but not necessarily by cropping.
For sales reason, micro and traditional alike there is also no justification to move up based on my experience to be able to sell larger files in the RF market - sales of really large files are really really really few and far in between and one would not re-coup an investment based purely on being able to provide super humongous file sizes.
Also, I don't like Nikons, they are ugly!
With all of 14 XXXL files in your portfolio I can't really see how you can make that sort of assessment of the RF market. Maybe sales of large files are limited in the market for photos of Stilettos isolated on white, but in other areas, they sell far more regularly. Seeing as we're talking about stock photography, its worth remembering that its often the end users than need the room for cropping - the original doesn't always fit perfectly into whatever layout they're producing. Larger files sometimes don't just mean the difference between an XXXL sale price and just an XL, they're often the difference between making the sale and getting nothing.
82
« on: March 16, 2012, 08:25 »
I'm not into videos (yet). But have you tried videohive.net? It's part of Evanto marketplaces.
Prices are just far too low - the site sets the price, but for whatever reason they seem to think a $1-30 price range is enough for footage. The majority seems to be set at around $5. At these prices video would be selling for far less than my still images, and at much lower volumes - it just doesn't make any sense to upload there. I guess that's why they have 691 timelapse clips, compared to 32,952 on Pond5.
83
« on: March 16, 2012, 00:42 »
At the moment I'm only selling video on Pond5, SS and Istock.
I'm not going to put anything on Fotolia unless they change their policy with subscriptions, and won't bother with sites like Canstock & Revostock.
For me Pond5 has the best sales so far, but then I've got more videos there than elsewhere. Istock is very limited in what I can upload, so the handful of clips that fit their restrictions are going up there, but so far 3 sales on 2 clips including an EL is pretty good going.
I'm probably going to look at a way of selling clips directly in the next few months once my collection gets big enough to make this worthwhile.
84
« on: March 09, 2012, 06:32 »
85
« on: March 08, 2012, 22:49 »
How long until you need the camera? The Olympus OM-D EM5 is coming out about the end of March - the real advantage here being that its got a very high standard of weathersealing which I think could come in handy at a festival.
86
« on: March 08, 2012, 08:23 »
They have preorders at one store in Australia for the Mk3 in Australia at $AUD4199 , the Mk2 is $AUD2399. That's a significant difference.
What did the 5dMKII list for orginally in USD ?
So basically about $900 more than the price in the US. Same as everything else in Australia - you have to pay significantly more.
And the retailers wonder why more and more people are buying online.
The price difference is almost an airfare to Hawaii
Unfortunately the GST limit for shipping camera gear is A$1000 otherwise you end up having to mess around with customs duty and pay that, but for anything below that ordering online does the trick. The big retail duopoly is trying to bring down the GST limit to stop people importing their own products and push up prices even further. Sorry for going off topic, but I'm reminded every time about the reason why prices in Australia are so high: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1et_HBmLYw[/youtube]
87
« on: March 08, 2012, 00:03 »
Well I signed up and created an account. Looks interesting and would be nice to be able to host my own private data rather than having someone else do this. At the moment there seem to be community pods, but I can't see how you create your own. If this is really going to take off, creating and hosting your own pod has to be easier.
88
« on: March 07, 2012, 04:08 »
They have preorders at one store in Australia for the Mk3 in Australia at $AUD4199 , the Mk2 is $AUD2399. That's a significant difference.
What did the 5dMKII list for orginally in USD ?
So basically about $900 more than the price in the US. Same as everything else in Australia - you have to pay significantly more.
89
« on: March 04, 2012, 22:26 »
Great timelapse! Were you using an Omnitracker on the bridge sequence?
Thanks! The bridge sequence (at. 0.28) is a sequence of full resolution raw images with a digital zoom applied in post processing. One of the challenges of doing these while traveling is that I'm not carrying heavy gear, so I need to find ways of adding motion while still just using the camera and tripod.
90
« on: March 04, 2012, 22:20 »
I saw this on another forum (for filmmakers) and had to post it here. 
http://fstoppers.com/omg-nikon-uses-5d2-phantom-hd-footage-to-promote-d800
Wow that's incredible. So their people basically just stole a bunch of clips from the net to put together their promo material. Surely someone must have recognised that they of all people should be respecting copyright of filmmakers?
91
« on: March 03, 2012, 10:55 »
Haha thanks guys! Timelapse has become a bit of an addiction at the moment, but its adds a bit of variety from shooting stills.
92
« on: March 03, 2012, 10:23 »
How good is the timelapse function in the D800? I don't mind having to use an intervalometer but it would be nice for the times when I have forgotten to put it in my camera bag.
One of the big advantages of the Canon is that the way the remote trigger is implemented is that you can do bulb ramping for time-lapse when you have long transitions from day to night. On the 5D II half the time I'm actually using the intervalometer in a way where I'm just using the camera in continuous shooting mode with long exposures. For example in this clip:
only about 2 scenes are actually using a timer setting on the intervalometer, the rest are exposures of 0.5-1.5 seconds shot continuously. If you don't actually have something to do bulb ramping, manually adjusting exposure times is much easier if you're using an external intervalometer rather than the built-in one. In practice, even if an intervalometer is built in, I'd probably still use a remote trigger most of the time. The real issue with the D800s for timelapse though is just the file size. You don't need that much extra resolution, but it is nice to be able to get the benefit of shooting in RAW, particularly for adjusting white-balance in changing light conditions - without any sRAW setting, its just a massive amount of data to handle without any benefit.
93
« on: March 03, 2012, 02:51 »
I don't think the 5D 3 is really that bad. It improves on all the areas that the mk2 is weak in, except sensor cleaning. Existing mk2 owners shouldn't be unhappy, because the result will probably mean that the value of their cameras remains high, and that there's not an overwhelming need to upgrade.
In terms of price, its almost like Canon is leaving room for the Mk2 to remain in the lineup as an entry level FF camera, maybe at a slightly reduced price.
94
« on: March 02, 2012, 06:39 »
Odd sort of month really - ended up with 3 good weeks and 1 bad one which seems to have been due to the best match shuffling on IS.
Compared to Jan: -7%
Compared to Feb '11: +84%
Video sales on each of the sites are now also starting to trickle in, so it was a BME for video sales with Pond 5 leading the way (though still with statistically insignificant numbers altogether.)
95
« on: February 27, 2012, 11:19 »
For me the analysis is more valuable in comparing my own images - for example Editorial with Creative content on IS, I find that m RPI is about 2.5 times higher on creative images. What would be more interesting would be matching RPI figures with portfolios, but I suspect not too many are going to volunteer that info!
96
« on: February 23, 2012, 18:28 »
not a great detailed review but
http://nikonrumors.com/2012/02/22/nikon-d800-vs-nikon-d700-high-iso-comparison.aspx/
I had a bit of a play with the D800 at CP+ in Yokohama it seemed very nice, but Nikon basically set up a black box with their employees wearing white gloves and explaining their cameras (in Japanese which wasn't much use). Canon on the other hand had a row of 1DXs out on a bench with some 70-200 f2.8 lenses and a bright area behind it with a whole lot of models wandering around to shoot. Guess which camera was more fun to shoot with at the show? As far as noise goes, I don't think any of the next generation of FF cameras are going to show much below ISO3200.
97
« on: February 22, 2012, 23:12 »
Well I think this version is very strongly favouring old content once again.
98
« on: February 19, 2012, 20:29 »
I'm not sure how valuable formal link exchanges really are - if you really want to help out other sites a much better approach is to mention someone in the context of a post, especially in any blog content.
Also I notice that your blog is on a different URL to your main domain - I'm not sure if you're planning to move it to your main domain, but this will give you much greater benefits than keeping it on a third party service like livejournal.
99
« on: February 18, 2012, 07:46 »
Did they mention if it was allowed for editorial use?
100
« on: February 17, 2012, 05:12 »
Will you change comission for videos from 2013 as well as images?
Answered in the 123RF forum -- yes.
Seems particularly unfair for video-only contributors, since there will be only 10 months of sales by then. And how likely it is that initial sales of new media on any site are going to be robust?
Made the decision not to invest the time to upload footage there much easier. Think I'll concentrate on Pond 5 where I can set my own prices and get 50% instead.
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