Quote from: Asthebelltolls on February 10, 2017, 18:26

For video. Just got a Manfrotto 290 Xtra for $225us. Extends 5'4". Light. Smooth head for panning and tilting. Fairly long arm. Traditional set-up. Would advise checking out tripods with camera in hand to test out and see what suites you best.

I'd love to check out some tripods in person, but no stores near me seem to have any, or any good ones.  Thanks

But you can see the problem with asking a forum. Opinions all over the place. So how do you truly know what'll best suite your individual needs? BTW. I've used Manfrotto and Sachtler tripods for over 40 years and have never had a problem.....

I sent in a service ticket, so I should be getting a response within the next six months.

You and me both. Same story. I really think IStock should be removed from the Microstock poll results for the time being. "42"  and "top tier" is an erroneous claim and feeds right into IStock's incompetent transition.

Interesting, isn't it? It's next to impossible now to follow personal sales yet somehow IStuck has swelled to second place in the poll results......how do you spell "manipulation"?

The only time personal sales have any importance, in my humble opinion, is at year's end. Collectively, if the majority of those who respond are up/down, there maybe a sliver of useful information readers/contributors can use. Otherwise, like others have stated, its nothing more than personal therapy.....

though I don't like the lower price ($16.99),

...me too. Oh, well....do with or do without? I guess I'll have to settle with "do with" and move on.

Property release? Regarding ownership of the image or regarding the subject matter of the image? Is your father-in-law still alive? If so, have him sign a document that states he took the photographs and is giving you legal entitlement to them. Submit that signed document each time you submit his photos and you should be fine.

Yes...I do, but like many of mine, I don't see any that would sell for more than a handful of times.

I'm trying to be far more critical and asking myself....are one or two sales for the image really worth submitting?

An honest, "buyers perspective" judgment of the work I submit has taken me years to apply.   

cant say it enough our only chance to fight against this monopolys is a contributor union.

Totally agree. A website created by photographers that is only available to professionals who use the site exclusively to sell their images/videos/illustrations. A small yearly fee and the photographer/videographer gets 90-95% of the commission per sale.

Let's do it.

I no longer upload to DT anymore and cannot understand why they are rating in the top tiers here. Absolutely dead.

Which prompts the plea: Dreamstime! Lower your minimum payout limit!

It takes me 6 days to reach my Shutterstock payout requirement. I'm sitting at 3 months with Dreamstime and still $40 to go. $100 is ridiculous especially if you're an agency sitting on the lower end of "middle tier"!

The Grand Total on the earnings page is incorrect and does not include August.  However, if you go to the Contributors Dashboard, the earnings box is accurate.  Must just be a bug.

Not on my page. The "earnings box" is inaccurate. It only displays September earnings.

I have the same problem: Monthly earnings for August show: $00.00. Delve deeper into daily earnings and it shows the correct information. However, my earning's total does not reflect August. Only September. My last payout was mid-August so the grand total should display more than just September.

I sent them an email today.

Everyone will have a unique and varied reaction to agencies. The one consistent is Shutterstock, By far and away my best and most consistent agency. Everyone else is unpredictable and inconsistent. But for what its worth, this has been my experience over the past 4 years:

P5: 22 clip sales last September. Still waiting for my first sale this September. The bottom fell out in April and hasn't recovered since. Of all the agencies I've dealt with, P5 is the most extreme case of "Good to Bad".
Istock: Very slow/poor sales until I reached the 1500 mark. Now it provides good, solid sales.
Depositphoto: Very bizarre behavior lately. Rejecting constantly while everyone else is accepting. I think they fail to understand that they're not the SS, they're an "also-ran" agency where buyers turn to them when they can't find the image they're looking for with the top agencies. Very easy, streamlined submission procedure and always selling images that aren't selling anywhere else.
123RF: Awkward flip-here, scroll down there interface but consistent with sales and approval system. No surprises.
Dreamstime: My first agency and best selling for the first few years before the bottom fell out. Too bad. Again, the overall system of approval/rejections are consistent and one of the nicest interfaces - I just wish sales would reflect the number of approved submissions I have with them.