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I have been a professional photographer for more than 50 years and enjoyed working with many different cameras and formats.

I have now retired and sold all my high end gear - Hassleblad, Leica etc.etc.

Of course i still enjoy taking pictures and contributing to the main Alamy site.

I was confused when Stockimo was launched as I couldn't really see the virtue in lower spec files from mobile phones when the main site is so strict on QC.

 

I would prefer to use a pocket sized camera which would allow me to capture images whenever I'm out.

I bought a Sony Cybershot DSC RX 100 which as far as I can see is the smallest pocket sized camera on the Approved camera list.

 

Admittedly, the quality is superb with its Zeiss lens. However, old fashioned I may be but I really cannot get on with a camera that doesn't have a viewfinder. For that reason, I've stopped using it and regrettably don't have a suitable camera to shoot the occasional image for Alamy.

 

Now, I recently learnt about the Leica C 112 compact. The Leica quality is of course very high, but not high enough for Alamy it seems. I have been trying unsuccessfully to get to the bottom of the matter without any luck.

Can anybody tell me why images from a mobile phone are acceptable- indeed actively encouraged- for download to Stockimo and yet much higher quality files from a compact Leica are not? What is the virtue of an image taken on a mobile phone?

If the object of the exercise is to create revenue for the agency and the photographer, then why the distinction between mobile and compact.

I understand the approved camera list is based on the sensor size and I also understand that Stockimo is a separate operation. I'm told it would be cheating if any files not taken on a mobile were sent to Stockimo, but what is wrong with good quality images on higher res.files from a Leica C compact?

 

If I were allowed to use one it would open up great opportunities for candid pictures and I would feel much more like using it as unlike the Sony the Leica has a viewfinder.

 

I am completely mystified so any clarification would be welcome.

Many thanks.

 

Stephen

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As I see it, and I don't have a smartphone so I'm not involved, Stockimo is a separate deal. It's edited for content, not for IQ in the same way as the main collection. Not many compacts can pass QC because of the optical compromises in a long zoom.

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I would prefer to use a pocket sized camera which would allow me to capture images whenever I'm out.

I bought a Sony Cybershot DSC RX 100 which as far as I can see is the smallest pocket sized camera on the Approved camera list.

 

Admittedly, the quality is superb with its Zeiss lens. However, old fashioned I may be but I really cannot get on with a camera that doesn't have a viewfinder.

 

 

I also bought an RX100 for exactly the same reason. I also quickly ditched it for exactly the same reason.

 

I replaced it with a Sony NEX6. Still pocketable (just) if you get the 16-50 lens, but a whole different ballgame in terms of image quality and usability. I've been delighted with it and have quite a few pics on Alamy that I would simply not have taken without a pocketable camera.

 

Alan

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Thanks guys.

I'm still perplexed on the subject. As I said, if the object of the our mission is to generate income for both the agency and photographer, why make a demarcation line between a mobile phone picture and a higher spec compact.

Is Alamy missing an income potential here?

If Stockimo gets approval and generates sales, then can they not set up another site to accommodate compact camera pictures taken on a better camera with better quality files?

And btw Martin my Sony is a Mark 1 with no viewfinder. I believe the later models will take an electronic supplementary but at quite a price!

Would love to hear more on this, and if Members Services are seeing this, maybe I could hear the 'official' view?

 

Regards,

 

Stephen

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Thanks guys.

..

And btw Martin my Sony is a Mark 1 with no viewfinder. I believe the later models will take an electronic supplementary but at quite a price!

Would love to hear more on this, and if Members Services are seeing this, maybe I could hear the 'official' view?

 

Regards,

 

Stephen

 

I suspected that might be the case but as you seemed to be considering getting another camera I thought the Mk3 would make sense - you seem happy with the results from the RX100. The VF on the Mk3 is apparently pretty good.

 

Mind you if you wait another 6 months Sony will probably launch the Mk4 and the Mk3 will be available more cheaply ;)

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Martin thank you I'll take a look at the Mark 111(would still prefer a Leica though!)

 

Space cadet : you are probably right but it seems illogical to me.

If they can launch 'inferior' files from mobile phones and deem it commercially profitable then they they are missing out on another potentially good market albeit different to the main site, as is Stockimo.

Would be interesting to hear from Àlamy on the subject.

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Stephen,

 

I think the point is that quality of phone pictures is not really considered (although I am sure there will be some QC) it is all about the style - it is very "NOW" :rolleyes:

 

With compact cameras there is not the fashionable style component that there is with phone pics so they would have to compete with traditional stock standards. Hence they need to pass the QC threshold, a third (microstock priced?) tier would potentially cannibalise "proper" stock and undermine prices even further :(

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Would be interesting to hear from Àlamy on the subject.

We have, sort of. James West has discussed the two being very different in intent and target market so as not, as Martin says, no have Stockimo compete with the main collection.

Oddly enough (is this OT? Probably is; fortunately this isn't the sort of place you get told off for rambling on), before Alamy I had the sort of stuff that would later sell here turned down for microstock. Fortunately I didn't keep trying or I'd now be competing with myself.

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Hi all,

I sort of understand all the points of view but I cannot feel mystified why anybody would see a 'selling point' in an image taken on a mobile phone.

Martin says it's 'very now' but why...?

I'm sorry if I'm old fashioned but a picture is a picture and if it's good enough to market taken on a mobile then pictures from a compact must surely have the same value?

I understand the point of not competing with the more hi end images on the main Alamy site but there surely must be a market for pictures taken on a high quality compact like the Leica C for example.

Unless in desperation, I would no more think of taking pictures on my mobile than fly to the moon. Much more to the point is that I would consciously go out of my way to actually look for saleable images if I had a good quality camera in my pocket that wasn't weighing me down or ripping my pockets!

Are art buyers attracted to Stockimo simply because the pictures are taken on a mobile? Surely not. Art buyers are in the business of finding good images that suit their brief and if I were to take a picture on my phone then take the same picture on the Leica C for example and show both images to an art buyer is anyone going to tell me that they would take the mobile version just because?

That has to be nonsense and after all one has a lot more control with a camera apart from the better quality file.

 

Stephen

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The Sony RX 100 mk III has a pop-up viewfinder. I use the RX 100 mk II and I don't worry about not having a viewfinder. One gets used to it. I also have a Fuji X100 that is quite small; small enough to go into a pocket. That has a viewfinder. I also use a D800 and a D300 that do not go into pockets. I just adapt to whatever I'm using.

 

The biggest fun camera that I have is definitely the Sony RX100 Mk II because it's a challenge. Anyone can point a D800 at something and get a good picture. :)

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Hi all,

I sort of understand all the points of view but I cannot feel mystified why anybody would see a 'selling point' in an image taken on a mobile phone.

Martin says it's 'very now' but why...?

I'm sorry if I'm old fashioned but a picture is a picture and if it's good enough to market taken on a mobile then pictures from a compact must surely have the same value?

I understand the point of not competing with the more hi end images on the main Alamy site but there surely must be a market for pictures taken on a high quality compact like the Leica C for example.

Unless in desperation, I would no more think of taking pictures on my mobile than fly to the moon. Much more to the point is that I would consciously go out of my way to actually look for saleable images if I had a good quality camera in my pocket that wasn't weighing me down or ripping my pockets!

Are art buyers attracted to Stockimo simply because the pictures are taken on a mobile? Surely not. Art buyers are in the business of finding good images that suit their brief and if I were to take a picture on my phone then take the same picture on the Leica C for example and show both images to an art buyer is anyone going to tell me that they would take the mobile version just because?

That has to be nonsense and after all one has a lot more control with a camera apart from the better quality file.

 

Stephen

 

Good luck Stephen :) . . . I have asked virtually the same question in the past, and had a variety of answers that to me didn't really explain it : if I take the exact same photo twice, once on a phone and once with say a D4, and filter the bejeezus out of the D4 image so it drops in technical quality but becomes exactly the same as the phone image, why can't I upload them both?. Although no one seems to think so, to me that is saying that the equipment is the message, not the image, which in turn is (to me) saying the same thing as those posers in other forums who sign their posts with a list of all their equipment.

 

Anyway, I've been down that road a few times and have quietly conceded that I can and will live with not quite getting it, and good luck and more power to those who do and are cashing in on it all :-)

 

dd

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The Sony RX 100 mk III has a pop-up viewfinder. I use the RX 100 mk II and I don't worry about not having a viewfinder. One gets used to it. I also have a Fuji X100 that is quite small; small enough to go into a pocket. That has a viewfinder. I also use a D800 and a D300 that do not go into pockets. I just adapt to whatever I'm using.

 

The biggest fun camera that I have is definitely the Sony RX100 Mk II because it's a challenge. Anyone can point a D800 at something and get a good picture.

:)

 

Try the free Sony wifi app: you'll love it. Well you may hate it because it's terribly slow and unreliable, but it allows you to do this:

 

EA08WN.jpg
 
The phone is acting as the viewfinder btw, that was my message.
 
edit: trying to repair the link for the 3rd time.
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Hi dd,

Thank heaven! A kindred spirit...so I'm not completely crazy (or we both are!).

I hate to give in when I know I'm talking sense, but no idea what the next move could be.

A direct response and direct sensible answers from the management would perhaps put the matter to bed.

Are you hearing me Alamy management???

 

Stephen

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For mobile phone photographs to be fashionable does not need any intellectual basis, the demand for it simply says it is. It is like when I was at school (without all the advertising kids see know) and suddenly everybody was playing marbles, or whatever. Marbles were just the thing to do "now". I was not aware of anyone saying it was the thing, it sort of just happened. I guess there are leaders out there but much of it comes from street trends etc.

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Martin I understand what you mean but fashionable or not, trendy or not a la mode or not there has to be a market for everything. The market we are involved with concerns art buyers. They have one thing and one thing only on their mind and that is to get the best possible image to fulfil a brief from a publication or advertising client. They don't give a monkeys for trendy or fashionable, at least as far as how the picture was taken ie phone or camera. There is no intrinsic value in a phone image, it's a picture and if it's what they want,that's what they will buy. If I were allowed to use a high quality compact like the Leica C then firstly I would be more likely to take it out of my pocket if I saw a marketable picture which I certainly wouldn't bother to do with my Iphone.

 

Challenge: Ask any art buyer if they ever look specifically for a mobile phone image, then unless they were commissioned by Apple

or similar client, I bet you all the tea in China they would laugh at you and say why on earth would we?

 

Stephen

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Are you hearing me Alamy management???

 

Have a look at the Stockimo search results.

 

Would compact camera search results look like this if we were to allow images from compact cameras? On the whole, probably not. Yes, you can work photoshop / lightroom to create similar effects but it's far more time consuming and for many, not practical. Good mobile phone photography has a certain look, style and feel that standard photography, on the whole, has not.

 

Smart phone imagery isn't for everyone. Stockimo is a separate brand with a separate identity. We're tapping into the very popular style that smart phone photography brings. The look is distinctly different from standard stock. If you're shooting standard stock, we don't want it from compacts.

 

Challenge: Ask any art buyer if they ever look specifically for a mobile phone image, then unless they were commissioned by Apple

or similar client, I bet you all the tea in China they would laugh at you and say why on earth would we?

 

Per thousand images, Stockimo images out perform standard stock and the average price per Stockimo sale is currently $114. We sell Stockimo imagery into all markets, including commercial print advertising.

 

Alamy

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I have been a professional photographer for more than 50 years and enjoyed working with many different cameras and formats.

I have now retired and sold all my high end gear - Hassleblad, Leica etc.etc.

Of course i still enjoy taking pictures and contributing to the main Alamy site.

I was confused when Stockimo was launched as I couldn't really see the virtue in lower spec files from mobile phones when the main site is so strict on QC.

 

I would prefer to use a pocket sized camera which would allow me to capture images whenever I'm out.

I bought a Sony Cybershot DSC RX 100 which as far as I can see is the smallest pocket sized camera on the Approved camera list.

 

Admittedly, the quality is superb with its Zeiss lens. However, old fashioned I may be but I really cannot get on with a camera that doesn't have a viewfinder. For that reason, I've stopped using it and regrettably don't have a suitable camera to shoot the occasional image for Alamy.

 

Now, I recently learnt about the Leica C 112 compact. The Leica quality is of course very high, but not high enough for Alamy it seems. I have been trying unsuccessfully to get to the bottom of the matter without any luck.

Can anybody tell me why images from a mobile phone are acceptable- indeed actively encouraged- for download to Stockimo and yet much higher quality files from a compact Leica are not? What is the virtue of an image taken on a mobile phone?

If the object of the exercise is to create revenue for the agency and the photographer, then why the distinction between mobile and compact.

I understand the approved camera list is based on the sensor size and I also understand that Stockimo is a separate operation. I'm told it would be cheating if any files not taken on a mobile were sent to Stockimo, but what is wrong with good quality images on higher res.files from a Leica C compact?

 

If I were allowed to use one it would open up great opportunities for candid pictures and I would feel much more like using it as unlike the Sony the Leica has a viewfinder.

 

I am completely mystified so any clarification would be welcome.

Many thanks.

 

Stephen

 

Stephen, to their credit, Alamy have at least provided their answer, for all to see.

 

But to the forum's great discredit, an anonymous poster/s has/have given your post above and one other a red arrow. 

 

I've cancelled out the reds with a green (even this practise is scorned by some, so I'll probably attract some cowardly red-arrows too :P  )

 

dd

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Thanks dd

I was just looking up the meaning/reason for the 'Reputation' badge, as I am new to the forum.

I really don't see the purpose just because a fellow member doesn't agree with comments made it seems childish in the extreme to give somebody an anonymous red mark.

If somebody has a counter arguement or contribution to make to a forum topic then express it by posting the comments.

I thought that was the the raison d'être of a forum.

 

The only reason I joined this forum was to find answers to a sensible and professional query. If however it descends into a red or green light reputation popularity contest then it's not for me. I will continue at least until I am happy I have sensible answers to my original question.

 

Stephen

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