I was able to log in, but it seems kind of slow.

I've owned both too. The image quality is about the same in my opinion (maybe ever so slightly better), and the IS works well. I only bought it because I was curious about the IS. The weight is good, and the lens does not feel cheap. But you should probably turn off the IS when you're shooting studio work on a tripod because sometimes the images turn out blurry with it on. If you're shooting flowers or something outdoors via your hands, then the IS can really help you out. I took this hand held: http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-11203590-gaillardia-flower.php

I've noticed that when I first type in microstockgroup.com I receive a page can not be found error. But if I type in microstockgroup.com/index.php it works fine. And if I retype in microstockgroup.com after using the index.php in the other url, it then works perfectly. But I guess when I reboot the machine or turn it off something goes wrong because if I turn it back on and try to connect to microstockgroup.com, the site can not be found error returns. Just thought I would say something in case it is not a problem on my end. Anyone else have this problem?

I've been using ADDR.com for around six years, and so far, I have had only very minor problems. It's funny because ADDR has such terrible reviews too. Maybe I've just been lucky.

Well said.
I have often been frustrated by the simple fact that an easy set up with inexpensive props (fruit and vegies for example) have been handled exactly the same way as a location shoot involving numerous models, assistants, property releases, insurance waivers etc, etc.

Of course one might point out that the number of downloads for such elaborate images mitigates the lost price.
I would venture to disagree with that, with the exception of the very few top shooters whose work is well known and always shows up on the the first few pages of every search.

The rest of us, might was well stick to shooting still lifes.

Doesn't iStockphoto's Vetta collection address this issue somewhat?

Which is why I did the search - I wanted to see what was already there., and actually I wasn't too impressed, I think I have a good image that would sell now and then IF the search wasn't totally skewed by popularity numbers acquired by bogus keywords.  I guess this might be an interesting experiment.

If you use the keywords two gourd containers, then you only have three pictures to deal with.

Sorry for being a Negative Nelly, but I think Ichiro is right here. 

Vast majority of sales in recent months on StockXpert are from the JIU/Photos.com sites.  Grapevine has it that Getty has pulled resources (staff, advertising, etc.) from StockXpert already.  No real reason to keep them going if they aren't going to be feeding those sites. 

And FWIW the reason this concerns me is because StockXpert (and it's partnerships) bring in 6% of my income, which for me is a significant loss.

Yeah, I did away with the JIU/Photos .com subscriptions months ago. The end result was my sales plummeting by about seventy percent or so. So unless something changes, many of you will probably experience a drop in earnings. Hopefully, if iStockphoto does shut them down, they will redistribute our money into our iStockphoto accounts. Or just send us payments of whatever is in our Stockxpert accounts at the time of closing.

The only thing I've managed to sell so far is this: http://www.zazzle.com/green_tree_magnet-147701591882419810


Go figure. Maybe I charge too much.

Did you put this search phrase in quotes? If so, it would only return files that contained exactly that phrase as a single keyphrase. And, given the disambiguation function and controlled vocabulary, a file with that as a key phrase would never make it past inspection.

I tried it with quotes and without. I was just wondering if it was a glitch or something because at other sites, it still brings up results.

Quote from: Whiz on September 23, 2009, 17:17

Really? I don't exactly like the new one better necessarily, but it's not too difficult to utilize.

To me it is a PITA to have to remember every time I select multiple images for categories to remember to check that little box so the keywords of each image are preserved.  If I happen to forget then all of a sudden I am spamming because keywords from one image is applied to all selected images.  

So far I haven't forgotten but it is probably only a matter of time...  

Also wondering if the folks who think it's easy are uploading mostly non-model released images? 

Having to break out my uploads into the similars with the same model and then go to the next screen with each group to assign releases, then back to the category/keywording area for the next batch is time consuming and clunky. 

Oh yeah, that's right. I had forgotten that all the information could be erased by failing to tick off the little check box. That is an annoyance. And I never do deal with model releases. So no opinion for that. 

I use a Sans Digital 4 bay RAID: http://tinyurl.com/n95rkb

Associated Content typically pays their authors around three to six dollars per article, and then they receive royalties on those articles for as long as that company is around. And they're also free to post their content elsewhere; thus, earning even more royalties from it. It's a small amount, but it adds up over time. Also, another company called Constant Content allows you to post your articles with them as well. For exclusive rights, it's not unheard of for a five hundred word article or so to sell for around a hundred dollars. But many members appear to short change themselves. So the amount the OP is offering is not nearly enough for an exclusive article.

Slow for me too.