"Digital Camera Not Suitable for Alamy"

[Timothy Burke]

Hello All, 

I am brand new to Alamy, my first 4 photos were not accepted with the following response "Digital Camera not Suitable for Alamy"...I have read the QC PDF and thought I had met the criteria and will definitely keep trying.  

I have two questions:

 

1.  Is there a specific list of camera specifications available?  I am shooting with a Nikon P510, 16MP.

2.  Is there a chance my camera is suitable but there were other reasons why my photos were not accepted?

 

Just curious if I should get a better camera before going forward.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Tim

[alphaomega]

This issue has been discussed repeatedly over the years. That Nikon P510 has a sensor "1/2.3-in. type CMOS; total pixels: approx. 16.79 million" which is just about as small as they get and also seems to be discontinued. You will never get through QC with that camera. Try somewhere else or get a decent camera. I suggest that you aim for a minimum of 1 inch sensor and preferably APS-C. If you cannot afford a new camera, e-bay will have plenty of second hand cameras that will enable you to pass QC as long as you can master the preparation stage with a decent program. If the images don't look reasonably sharp at 100% you won't pass. Look at the "How to sell images on Alamy" instructions and particularly the Guidelines.

[spacecadet]

The problem is the optics. Few fixed-lens cameras can pass QC- there's discussion on the forum about which ones- and a 42x zoom has no chance.

Even a kit lens on a DSLR will pass- I've never used anything else.

If you post your images at 100% opinions will be offered.

[pazmander]

Hi Tim

 

Additionally, the P510 doesn't have a RAW option. Working with JPEGs is not ideal.

 

If you want to use a compact camera, pictures taken with the Sony RX100, which has a one-inch sensor, are readily accepted by Alamy.

 

Alamy no longer has a list of recommended cameras.

 

Good luck with it.

 

Gareth

[spacecadet]

Jpegs per se aren't necessarily a problem- I used them for some years- but they won't help in that camera. They will make a wooly image woolier.

[Timothy Burke]

Thanks so much to all of you for the information below.  I am extremely new to photography and I guess its time to get a new camera.  Also, I appreciate all of you taking the time to help me out.

[Niels Quist]

The Alamy recommended camera list - and unsuitable camera list have been deleted by Alamy.

You can, however, trace the old pages at certain sites (like this one: https://archive.org/web/  ).

These pages seem to be from 2015 - OUT OF DATE AND NOT VALID ANY LONGER, and may not have been updated by Alamy for a while before this, but they could give you a hint perhaps.

Recommended (out of date - autumn 2015 - NOT VALID ANY LONGER):
https://web.archive.org/web/20150703172445/http://www.alamy.com/contributor/help/recommended-digital-cameras.asp


Unsuitable camera list (out of date - autumn 2015 - NOT VALID ANY LONGER)
https://web.archive.org/web/20151015035838/http://www.alamy.com/contributor/help/unsuitable-cameras.asp

[Ed Brown]

I've said it before but on signup why cant there be some wording along the lines of professional equipment only, or dslr like quality? Anything that would give wouldbe contribs some idea of the kit they need to use.  Would be very simple, people would know where they stand & whether its even worth signing up to Alamy in the 1st place.

[Inchiquin]

I've said it before but on signup why cant there be some wording along the lines of professional equipment only, or dslr like quality?

 

 

You don't need professional equipment to succeed on Alamy. And "DSLR-like quality" is way too vague for many people.

 

Alan

[Alex Ramsay]

I've said it before but on signup why cant there be some wording along the lines of professional equipment only, or dslr like quality? Anything that would give wouldbe contribs some idea of the kit they need to use.  Would be very simple, people would know where they stand & whether its even worth signing up to Alamy in the 1st place.

 

Like others here, many of my Alamy pics these days are shot with an RX100 (MkII), including stitched panoramas

[Ed Brown]

 

I've said it before but on signup why cant there be some wording along the lines of professional equipment only, or dslr like quality? Anything that would give wouldbe contribs some idea of the kit they need to use.  Would be very simple, people would know where they stand & whether its even worth signing up to Alamy in the 1st place.

 

Like others here, many of my Alamy pics these days are shot with an RX100 (MkII), including stitched panoramas

 

 

Ok so maybe the wording needs some working on, ive got stuff on here with an old canon 400d & olympus epl1, neither of which are anywhere near professional so maybe professional kit is not the right term.  I still think since the recommended camera list disappeared there needs to be something, anything, that gives a bit of guidance & help to newcomers 

[Alamy]

 

 

... there needs to be something, anything, that gives a bit of guidance & help to newcomers 

 

 

Full guide here and a detailed PDF of submission guidelines which includes full visual examples. 

 

We removed the recommended camera list as it was not possible to always keep 100% up to date and we didn't want the focus (excuse the pun) to be about the camera used.

 

That said, if we spot a camera being used that will never produce suitable results, we inform the contributor (like in this case).

 

Cheers

 

Alamy

[zionvolta]

I have the Panasonic Lumix Fz70 and it is denied for alamy for the same reason. I bought this because of the great zoom.

 

But the 1/2.3'' sensor at least for alamy isn't enough as they require larger. Apprently it doesn't matter if your shot looks good at 25% or 80%. It's mean to still look clean and crisp at 100%.

 

Notice that many camera's from 100-500 dollars rarely have pictures that you can zoom into 100% and still look good in quality.

 

I believe that 1/2.3'' is something like 14mm or so.

 

I believe that you should get at least a 22mm sensor camera, and if you can get something like the nikon d610 which has a 36mm sensor (that's like basically 1.5'') then you won't be rejected by any website.

 

Of course you will be paying a lot of money, 2k for the camera and then a bit extra for the lens.

 

You probably won't even make your money back unless you are a really good photographer and travel and find great things to photograph.

 

So don't invest too much and think you are going to make much money.

 

 

You are better off posting your photography for free on a website and just having ads on the top and side of the website to earn you money. (especially if you are wanting to use a 1/2.3'' camera).

 

 

 

Alamy has these restrictions because they want to make sure that it was taken with a high end camera, not a low end or medium range camera. Regardless of how good the shot is, because a business may want to display the image at 100% blown up on a big poster or something. And with a 1/2.3'' camera that doesn't work very well, it only looks good printed probably on an A3 sheet and no larger.

 

They want to probably give the buyers large enough MP photo's with good sensors so they are clean at 100% so you could print them even at A2 and A1 sizes and still have it look crisp and nice.

 

 

And to do that you also need enough MP also, you want high MP and a large sensor. 24MP with a 36mm sensor is very high quality. It should be able to print even at A1 size and look very nice.

[Betty LaRue]

You might try one of the Sony RX100s, the first one can be had at a reasonable price. They are 20mp.

The Fujifilm X-T1 has been reduced in price after the X-T2 came out. It is 16mp but I have several hundreds of images on Alamy shot with it.

I'm sure there are other cameras to be had without your needing to deplete your bank account. Look at the previous cameras that have been recently replaced. Usually some sharp discounts have been applied.

We could all list the cameras we have used and know is accepted by Alamy.

I'm only listing what may be reasonably priced. I have shot with higher end, too, but won't list those.

For me,

Nikon D7000

Sony Rx100

Sony RX100iii

Fuji X-T1

[spacecadet]

I have the Panasonic Lumix Fz70 and it is denied for alamy for the same reason. I bought this because of the great zoom.

 

But the 1/2.3'' sensor at least for alamy isn't enough as they require larger. Apprently it doesn't matter if your shot looks good at 25% or 80%. It's mean to still look clean and crisp at 100%.

 

Notice that many camera's from 100-500 dollars rarely have pictures that you can zoom into 100% and still look good in quality.

 

I believe that 1/2.3'' is something like 14mm or so.

Nothing like. 6mm x 4.5mm, barely 1/13 the size of APS-C.

Not a hope with a 60x zoom.

You don't need £2000 to pass QC. Most recently I spent just over £200, second-hand, admittedly.