With selfies, the world turns the camera on itself

WASHINGTON - Stuck on a ledge halfway up a 3,000-foot (1,000-meter) cliff in Oman, his climbing rope sliced in two by sharp rocks, Jimmy Chin did what anyone else would have done in his predicament.

He took a selfie.

"I had some time to figure out what I was going to do," said Chin, a National Geographic photographer whose images of extreme climbing by the Straits of Hormuz appear in the magazine's January issue.

"That's when I took the selfie," he told AFP. "It was one of those moments when, 'Well, I'm a Nat Geo photographer'. I had to document (the moment). It was pretty classic."

Self-portraiture has been around for centuries, but the global proliferation of smartphones with built-in digital cameras -- plus the ability to share photos instantly on social media -- has taken the genre to a new level.

With 2013 coming to a close, the publishers of the hallowed Oxford English Dictionary, arguably the final authority in anglophone lexicography, declared selfie to be their "word of the year."

"Selfie: noun, informal. A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website," according to Oxford. "Also: selfy. Plural: selfies."

Internet search provider Yahoo meanwhile estimates that in 2014, about 880 billion photographs will be taken. That's 123 photos for every man, woman and child on Earth. Many will be selfies.

In Britain, a survey for Samsung found that 17 percent of men, and 10 percent of women, take selfies because "they enjoy taking good-looking photos of themselves."

"I think 'selfie' is a term of endearment for the self, in a way," said Sarah Kennel, curator of photography at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, who admits to taking the odd selfie herself.

"It does reflect a kind of narcissism in our culture," she told AFP.

US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron got tongues wagging when they took a selfie with Danish leader Helle Thorning Schmidt at Nelson Mandela's memorial service in South Africa.

"What an incredible sign of the times," children's photographer Sarah Sloboda, author of the e-book "How to Take the Best Selfies," told AFP.

"That's the kind of thing you can put in a time capsule to represent this period."

No one knows if Obama and friends had even heard of Selfies at Funerals, an equally controversial Tumblr compilation of, well, selfies taken at funerals, mainly by young people.

"When a teen tweets out a funeral selfie, their friends don't castigate them," its founder Jason Feifer explained in Britain's Guardian newspaper.

"They understand that their friend, in their own way, is expressing an emotion they may not have words for. It's a visual language that older people -- even those like me, in their 30s -- simply don't speak."

The year also saw Pope Francis in a selfie with teenagers at the Vatican, as well as pop diva Beyonce turning up in a smiling fan's selfie in Australia, to cite a couple of Time magazine's "11 most memorable selfies of 2013."

From Los Angeles, gossip blogger Perez Hilton declared a pink-haired Miley Cyrus posing for herself in a skimpy Lil' Kim Halloween costume his favorite among countless celebrity selfies over the past 12 months.

But there's no need to be famous to become famous for a selfie.

Thanks to Reddit and other social media websites, goofy selfies of a proud twentysomething dad in the Pacific Northwest state of Oregon mimicking the faces of his newborn baby daughter went viral overnight.

"We just watched the camera screen and copied whatever face she was making," explained Eddie Wheeler to his fellow Reddit users.

In Norway, popular fitness blogger Caroline Berg Eriksen snapped herself in a mirror, wearing bra and panties, showing off a firm flat tummy just four days after she gave birth.

Critics branded her selfie a "disservice" to women, but Eriksen struck back, saying she took it -- and shared it -- "because I'm proud of myself and my body for something as tough as a pregnancy/birth."

And then there was the young woman in New York who snapped a selfie with the Brooklyn Bridge -- and an attempted suicide leap -- in the background. That image caused a stir when it made page one of the New York Post.

"A selfie is a sort of perversion (and) a conquest of social virtual terrain," said Paris-based travel photographer Jean-Francois Vibert, who blogs at www.macandphoto.com.

"Happily, perversion is not prohibited," added Vibert, who namechecks the flamboyant pop star Nicki Minaj for selfies "so 'trash,' it's self-mockery. On that level, the selfie is decadence for a totally decadent era."

Kennel said self-portraits are as old as photography itself.

The National Gallery's current exhibition of the work of Charles Marville features selfies of the 19th century French photographer in which he styles himself as a suave Parisian boulevardier -- the hipster of his day.

Meanwhile, in London, the National Portrait Gallery has just put out a call for selfies to be included in a panel discussion on January 16 entitled "The Curated Ego: What Makes a Good Selfie?"

In announcing the event, organizers identified Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia as "one of the first teenagers to take a selfie." That was in 1914, when she was 13. Alas, she had no Facebook or Twitter account to share it on.

source: interaksyon.com

Canon cuts profit outlook as camera slump drags on

TOKYO — Japan’s Canon Corp cut its operating profit outlook for a second quarter in a row as a slump in the market for high-end cameras dragged on with a sharper-than-expected slowdown in emerging markets.

The world’s largest camera maker said it now expects to sell 8 million interchangeable-lens cameras in the year to end-December, down from the previous quarter’s forecast of 9 million and below last year’s total of 8.2 million.

It lowered its full-year operating profit forecast to 360 billion yen ($3.70 billion) from previous guidance of 380 billion yen. That compares with an average of 378.5 billion yen based on 23 analysts’ estimates according to Thomson Reuters Starmine.

source: interaksyon.com

iOS ‘appcessory’ for latest Canon DSLR cameras

The Satechi BT Smart Trigger is the ideal “appccessory” for prosumer photographers, allowing them to easily manage their DSLR camera directly from an iOS device.

The compact and lightweight wireless timer remote fits easily into any camera bag and features Bluetooth 4.0 technology with a range of 50 feet and a battery life of up to 10 years.

The BT Smart Trigger is compatible with a wide range of cameras including the latest Canon EOS 5D Mark III, ESO 6D, Rebel T4i and EOS 60D. The Smart Trigger app is compatible with iPhone 5, iPad Mini and iPad. www.youtube.com/btsmarttrigger




The BT Smart Trigger app features multiple shooting modes giving photographers the freedom to easily capture the perfect shot during travels, outdoor adventures or everyday events:

• Regular Shot – This mode allows the iOS device to act as a wireless shutter. Touch the shutter control button to capture an image – ideal for a group shot where the photographer no longer needs to be left out.
• Manual Shot – Manual Shot mode gives photographers the ability to take long exposures while in bulb mode. This mode includes a switch to lock the shutter open to capture photographic techniques such as star trails, capturing fireworks or light painting.
• Timed Shot – For advanced photography tasks such as time-lapses, Time Shot mode turns the iOS device into an intervalometer to capture and stitch together images of cool videos of traffic, weather or blooming flowers.

source: interaksyon.com

WiFi-powered cameras a massive hit in Southeast Asia, GfK says

MANILA, Philippines — The future of digital cameras is Internet connectivity, and if uptake figures from Southeast Asia are any indication, that future will be bright as day for camera manufacturers that take this route.

According to latest figures from market research firm GfK, WiFi-enabled cameras marked 2012 with a two-fold increase in sales volume over the previous year, as consumers from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam gobbled up a total of 776,000 units last year.

Cameras that have WiFi capabilities have been in the market since as early as 2005, but it is only recently that the category has seen massive adoption from users, given the popularity of Internet-enabled devices. In 2012, a total of 160 models from manufacturers such as Canon, Samsung, Olympus and Nikon were being sold in the region.

“By December 2012, one in every three cameras sold in the region’s more technologically advanced markets of Singapore and Malaysia were equipped with the WiFi feature, contributing to nearly two-fifth of total dollar sales in the respective countries for that month,” observed Gerard Tan, Account Director for Digital Technology at GfK Asia.

By providing Internet connectivity in digital cameras, manufacturers allow users to instantly upload photos to various photo-sharing services, including social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

The innovation came as the digital camera market faced tough competition from smartphones, whose built-in cameras have been improving in recent years, and whose mobile operating systems allow the operation of apps that make photo uploads easier while on the go.

Samsung even stretched the concept further by releasing the Galaxy Camera, an 18-megapixel digital camera that runs on the Android operating system.

In an earlier interview, Samsung Philippines AV Business Unit Head Ariel Aras admitted that these new features found in digital cameras are the market’s way of responding to consumer demand, which is increasingly preferential for the ability to share photos instantly.


“[That is why] we are responding to the demand of consumers asking for WiFi technology [to be integrated in our cameras],” Arias said. “We will not only offer a great experience in taking photos, but seamless connectivity with other devices as well.”


GfK said that with stiff competition in the category, prices of WiFi-enabled cameras went down by at least 39 percent from 2011 to 2012, making the devices affordable to a wider range of consumers.

“The digital camera market is facing strong challenges from smartphones which today are able to offer comparable functions and good quality photos of as high as 13 megapixels,” Tan said. “The introduction of the WiFi feature in cameras is definitely a right step forward to stimulate and boost the camera market in this Internet age.”

IDC projected that in 2012, the number of connected devices such as WiFi-powered cameras that shipped worldwide had breached the 1 billion mark, or about 14 percent of the total world population today.

source: interaksyon.com

Smartphones crushing point-and-shoot camera market

TOKYO — The soaring popularity of smartphones is crushing demand for point-and-shoot cameras, threatening the once-vibrant sector as firms scramble to hit back with web-friendly features and boost quality, analysts say.

A sharp drop in sales of digital compact cameras marks them as the latest casualty of smartphones as videogame consoles and portable music players also struggle against the all-in-one features offered by the likes of Apple’s iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy.

Just as digital cameras all but destroyed the market for photographic film, the rapid shift to picture-taking smartphones has torn into a camera sector dominated by Japanese firms including Canon, Olympus, Sony and Nikon.

“We may be seeing the beginning of the collapse of the compact camera market,” said Nobuo Kurahashi, analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities.

Figures from Japan’s Camera and Imaging Products Association echo the analyst’s grim prediction.

Global shipments of digital cameras among Japanese firms tumbled about 42 percent in September from a year ago to 7.58 million units, with compact offerings falling 48 percent, according to the Association.

Higher-end cameras with detachable lenses fell a more modest 7.4 percent in that time, it said.

Part of the decline was due to weakness in debt-hit Europe and a Tokyo-Beijing territorial spat that has sparked a consumer boycott of Japan-brand products in the China market.

But smartphones have proved a mighty rival to point-and-shoot cameras, analysts say, offering an all-in-one phone, computer and camera with comparatively high quality pictures and Internet photo downloading.

Those features have also dug into videogame makers such as Nintendo, which has just released its new Wii U game console, as smartphone owners increasingly download free online games or store music on the devices instead of using standalone MP3 players.

“The market for compact digital cameras shrank at a faster speed and scale than we had imagined as smartphones with camera functions spread around the world,” Olympus president Hiroyuki Sasa told a news briefing this month.

Olympus said its camera business lost money in its fiscal first-half due to the growing popularity of camera-equipped smartphones, and a strong yen which makes Japanese exports less competitive overseas.

Digital camera firms have scaled back their sales targets for the fiscal year to March in a “collapsing” market, said Tetsuya Wadaki, an analyst at Nomura Securities.

“Order volumes at parts suppliers currently appear to be down more than 30 percent year-on-year,” Wadaki said.

Firms are scrambling to keep improving picture quality, offer features such as water-proofing and expand their Internet features, like allowing users to share pictures through social media networks.

Camera makers say growth areas include emerging economies — where many own neither a camera nor a smartphone — along with replacement demand among compact-camera owners.

And the fall-off in demand has not been as stark for the pricier detachable lens cameras favoured by avid photographers and growing ranks of camera-buff retirees, particularly in rapidly ageing Japan, they say.

Another emerging battleground is for mirror-less cameras which can be made nearly as small as compact cameras but with picture quality that rivals their bulkier counterparts.

Canon insists the market has not been abandoned to smartphones.

“Demand for quality snapshots is there, like taking pictures of your friends’ weddings, an overseas vacation, or your children,” a Canon spokesman said.

“We believe there are many people who need compact cameras,” he added.

Mizuho analyst Kurahashi acknowledged that compact cameras “will not disappear”.

“But we see the current trend continuing as image quality in smartphone cameras steadily improves,” he said.

“The compact camera market is going to keep shrinking and it’s difficult to forecast any immediate comeback, or have any optimism.”

source: interaksyon.com

Nikon's latest camera runs Android

(CNN) -- The gulf between smartphones and cameras is getting smaller, thanks to a new point-and-shoot camera from Nikon that's powered by the Android operating system.

The 16-megapixel Coolpix S800c camera, announced Wednesday, will be the first camera running Android on the market when it hits shelves in September.

The addition of Android brings a few much-needed features to the point-and-shoot. Users can download mobile apps from the Google Play store and share images over cellular networks by tethering to a nearby smartphone or tablet.

When phone makers first started adding tiny, low-resolution cameras to their devices, the camera industry was not terribly threatened. They had glorious digital SLR cameras with interchangeable lenses, sleek pocket cameras with large sensors and manual controls, and features like high-ISO for low-light shooting, megazoom, and rugged bodies for the outdoors.

Anyone who loved photos would certainly prefer the high-quality shots captured on "real" cameras, right?

But the camera companies underestimated just how important convenience was to consumers, and the public's appetite for sharing photos of moments right when they happened. The resulting cellphone images were low-quality, but nothing a little sepia-filter couldn't fix.

The iPhone was not the first phone to have a camera, but it made sharing images online, over its cellular connection, a snap. In 2011, more than a quarter of photos and videos were captured using a smartphone, according to a study from research company NPD Group. That number is only getting larger.

The $350 Coolpix S800c is bringing some of what has made those smartphones so popular to a camera. It doesn't have a cellular connection, but it does have Wi-Fi. Wireless connections have been around for a while on cameras, but the addition of Android means the camera can tether to a smartphone or tablet running Android when there's no Wi-Fi network handy.

The 3.5-inch touchscreen display gives users access to the Google Play store, where photogs can go to download more apps for their camera, including editing tools and social networks, such as Twitter, Facebook and, of course, Instagram. The camera can also run all the regular smartphone apps, allowing users to send e-mail, browse the Internet, listen to music and play games.

Like Apple's iPod Touch, it draws the line at making phone calls, however.

The camera has 10X zoom, can shoot 1080p video, and includes GPS and maps for tagging images with locations. There are no manual controls. The S800c is running Android 2.3, known as Gingerbread, which is not the most recent version of the operating system.

That Nikon is the first to bring an Android camera to market is a surprise, since competitors Sony and Samsung already make Android devices and were in a better position to combine the two products. Polaroid showed off a demo camera running Android at the Consumer Electronics show in January, the SC1630, but it isn't yet available.

Nikon's Android camera may be a first in the camera industry, but it's still playing catch-up to the real competitors: smartphones with increasingly higher-quality cameras.

source: CNN