For Sale!!!!!!

Just got back from shooting another night of fireworks at the Casino Sound of Light, the Italy edition.  This time I only took my Sony RX100 Mark VI, Sony Remote and a little Joby tripod.  I didn’t want to carry around a big DSLR camera, lens and tripod.  I was a bit hesitant shooting fireworks with the Sony RX100 Mark VI.  I’ve not shot fireworks with this camera before.  To say the least, I am not disappointed whatsoever.  Focus was spot on in manual mode.  Colours look just awesome.  No noise whatsoever.  I shot at 2.5 seconds, f9 and ISO 100.  I am truly happy with this little camera that fits right into your jean pocket.  I have no need for a DSLR whatsoever.  I will be selling the Sony a7ii body with the lens and battery grip and I’ll be getting rid of the Canon Vixia HF G40 as well I think.  I just have to wait for the Sony RX100 Mark VII to come out at some point this month.  I’ll only be shooting with the Sony RX100 Mark VI and the VII and editing all my photos on the 2018 Apple iPad Pro 12.9” with the 512GB hard drive.  Once iPadOS comes out next month, I will no long need a desktop or laptop computer.  I’ll be able to do everything on the Apple iPad Pro.  I can’t wait.  I am so excited.  Photography makes feel happy to be alive.

It's been busy

I haven't been out with the cameras in weeks.  I miss it.  I really do miss doing photography and shooting footage.  I think it's time to make a few changes in my personal life.  I have to clean house as they say.  I think a few life changes are in order again.  Work has been busy as I'm training two new guys.  We've been going to the gym 3-5 times a week.  I've got two hernias that I have to take care of.  Went to a clinic to get some ultrasounds done today and actually get some pictures taken of the hernias.

Thankfully it's the weekend in one more day and I get to relax.  Girlfriend has a lunch date with some girlfriends so I get some time alone finally.  So I'll just take the camera out and do some photography on Saturday since I haven't done it in ages.

Shutterstock has sunk to a new low

When I say a new low, I mean a new low.  Today I sold a footage clip for a whopping $1.80.  You read that correctly.  A whole $1.80 for a video clip.  What resolution are you going to get.  Less than Standard definition?  A $1.80 for a video clip.  That's more than insulting.  It's amoral to sell a clip for less than $10.  Who in their right mind would buy a clip let alone sell one?  I did not agree to this.  Typically I sell my footage from $14 to $199.  My best sellers typically sell $96 and above.  And that's my profit.  I'm sure Shutterstock gets more than I do.  On Pond5 I sell my footage for $199 and I get $99.50 for each clip sold.  A $1.80 is insulting.  Does Shutterstock not realize they're ripping off the contributor and their client?  I mean really?  How insulting.  My camcorder cost me $1500 before tax.  My Apple iMac cost me $2000.  My editing software cost me $199.  All of course before tax.  So I spent a grand total of $3699 pre tax to sell a video for a $1.80.  It's insulting.  It's immoral.  It's a kick in the nuts.  Shutterstock beats you down and when you think they're done.  They come back and beat you some more.

I have 12,425 photos and 1487 clips currently being sold at Shutterstock as of October 3, 2018.  I've tripled my portfolio in that last 3 years.  Some day I sell absolutely nothing on Shutterstock.  I admit some of my stuff is uninteresting and should not really be up there.  Then again I have photos and footage that I though were crap and have been my best sellers.  But a $1.80 for a 1080p/60fps clip sells for $1.80?  This is the exact reason I've stopped uploading to iStock.  They sell my photography for 2 cents.  2 cents!!!!!  People are pissed with micro stock agencies like Adobe Stock, iStock and Shutterstock.  They are completely devaluing contributors.  They are devaluing photography and videography.  It's an insult to any hobbyist, amateur, semi pro and pro.

The clip I sold for a $1.80 was a 4k clip as well.  The lowest price I see it being sold for is $65 for a standard definition edition.  That's an even bigger kick in the nuts.

Like I stated above, I spent $1500 for a camcorder, $2000 for an Apple iMac, $199 for Final Cut Pro X.  I spent $32 to get into the park to take photos and videos.  I spent roughly $45 for gas.  I probably spent roughly $25-$30 on food during the day.  Plus my time.  In the end, all of that is worth $1.80 for a clip.  

I just have a simple question.  Where and when will the spiral to the bottom end?  Contributors like myself work hard.  We enjoy doing what we do.  You cannot recreate a photo.  Or a clip.  We create memories.  We capture a moment that will never, ever occur again.  The race to the bottom will eventually hit rock bottom.  The question is.  Who will start digging to continue the longer race to a deeper bottom?

The best camcorder ever!!!!!

Yes.  It's the best prosumer camcorder ever built.  It shoots 1080p/60fps.  No it does not shoot 4k.  I'm glad it doesn't.  Yes 4k televisions are falling in price.  In Canada, the major cable providers only have 1 or 2 4k channels.  With dwindling cable subscribers  I don't see the major providers upgrading their equipment to fully support 4k in the near future.  I have a 4k television at home with an Apple 4k TV set top box which we, being my girlfriend and I don't hardly watch.  We don't watch a whole lot of television rather looking at our phones or iPads or computers which only support 1080p or 1440p.  But on a phone, you cannot differentiate between 1080p and 1440p.  There are a few phones that have 4k displays but again, they're a small screen factor.  That is why I'm still shooting 1080p.

Lets get back to the Canon Vixia HF G40 camcorder available for purchase here.  Like I've written previously it does shoot at 1080p/60fps.  What Canon does right with this camcorder is colour reproduction.  It does come with 20x optical zoom and 300x digital zoom.  Thanks to the sensors enhanced sensitivity, the Vixia HF G40 provides vivid, accurate recording through an improved signal to noise ratio.  The camera shoots in both MP4 and AVCHD with MP4 being web ready.  The camera provides dual SD card slots for never ending storage.  I have 2 64GB cards in the camera and I can shoot the whole weekend and not fill up both cards.  You can record to both cards at the same time just in case one fails.  I did buy an extra battery for longer shooting.  I can shoot about 90 minutes with the battery that comes with the camera and with my larger battery I can shoot over 220 minutes on a single charge.

The OLD screen is big and bright even during sunny days.  The electronic viewfinder shifts to 45 degrees and is easy to use and see thru.  For a guy with glasses, it's a big help.  The optical image stabilization is great when you want to shoot that is far away from you.  The lens is great on this camera being a f1.8 to f2.8 which means it's great in low light and is extremely sharp.  

Here are some of the pros of the camera:

1. Great price
2. Great lens
3. Portable
4. 1080p/60fps
5. Focal lenght
6. Multiple hot shoes to attach accessories
7. OLED screen
8. Viewfinder
9. Comes with remote control and lens cap
10. Weight of 1.7 pounds
11. Reach of 26.7MM to 576MM (35MM equivalent)
12. Wide angle and zoom lenses available
13. Has Wifi and FTP 
14. Superb video
15. Superb colour reproduction

Here are some of the negatives:

1. Does not shoot 4k (is that a negative?)

You can buy two teleconvertors.  One wide and one a telephoto.  I currently have the wide lens and it's amazingly sharp.  The camera does have audio in which unfortunately doesn't provide phantom power.  I currently use the Rode Video Mic Pro+ available here.

When I was in Calgary last year for work I brought this camera with me.  I decided to buy a Sony 4k camcorder thinking 4k is the future.  Let's just say I sold the 4k camcorder and I kept the Canon.  With the Canon I don't need that many hard drives as the files are smaller and I don't need as much processing power.  If I wanted I could use my iPhone 8 Plus running iMovie to edit my Canon clips for my portfolios.  You can check my portfolio links on my blog to see what the camera is capable of.

Canon Vixia HF G40

So today I finally picked up the Canon Vixia HF G40 camcorder.  I wanted this prosumer camcorder so bad.  I upgraded it from the Canon Vixia HF R62.  The G40 provides a few bit more controls when shooting video like Exposure and ISO settings.  I can actually physically attach an external mike as well to the G40.  It's more of a prosumer camcorder rather than a top of the line consumer camcorder. I will post a better review when I actually start using the camcorder in real life situations.

Glad I went!

I seem to be shooting a lot of video lately.  More video than photography.  I didn't even bother taking my cameras today.  Only took my Canon Vixia HF R62.  I'm glad I went to the Gatineau side of the Ottawa river after work today.  There were big puffy clouds that were moving at a quick pace over Ottawa today.  

I'm sitting at a Timmie's right now editing the videos while listening to a YouTube video on Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC and the Google Nik Plugins.  Pretty cool software.

Shooting video for stock.

I've started to shoot video for uploads to the various micro stock agencies that I deal with.  If you asked me 2 years ago or even 18 months ago, I'd say you'd be crazy saying I'd be shooting video as well.  I was all photography, all the time.  I knew Photoshop and Apple Aperture 3.0 inside out.  That's all I wanted to know and do.  Now I just use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC to edit my photos and Apple Final Cut Pro X to edit my videos.  I am learning Photoshop CC again to get my certification.

As far as shooting video I just use a Canon Vixia HF R62 to shoot 1080p 60fps video that I upload to sites like Pond5, Videoblocks, Fotolia and Shutterstock.  I mostly edit the video on my early 2013 Macbook Pro which has enough horse power to edit 1080p video.  Last year I bought a 2015 iMac with a 27" 5k monitor to do 4k videos.  After shooting with the Sony FDR AX33 4k camera and uploading to the various websites, I only sold 1080p video.  Nothing 4k.  So I sold the Sony FDR AX33 4k camcorder earlier this year.  Since my early 2013 Macbook Pro has the horsepower to edit 1080p 60fps video, I'm looking to trade or sell my 2015 iMac for a Canon Vixia HF G40 video camera which is more of a prosumer camcorder than the Canon Vixia HF R62.  Mind you the R62 is a great little camera which does what I want.  Another reason I want to sell the iMac is that I want to be portable.  My 2013 Macbook Pro allows me to do that.  I just add an external hard drive to my laptop for off line storage and I'm ready to go anywhere at anytime.  

So if you're looking to buy a mint 2015 iMac with a 27" 5k monitor with upgraded RAM, let me know.