Why the Sony RX100 Mark VII is the best camera (for me)

As a stock photographer, I carry my camera with me everywhere.  It’s either in my coat, jeans or shorts pocket when I’m out and about.  it’s just the perfect camera for me.  Some may say it’s just an overpriced point and shoot that’s a bit better than a phone camera.  I actually beg to differ.  Just because it’s got a one inch sensor with an attached 24-200MM lens, doesn’t mean it’s not a professional camera.  It is a professional camera because it’s with me every minute of the day.  I was going to buy the Sony A7RII with the 24-240MM lens.  But that combination would cost me about $4000.  And that combination would not be with me all the time just because of the size.  I carry the Sony RX100 Mark VII with me everywhere along with my 2018 Apple iPad Pro.

I can do all sorts of photography with the Sony RX100 Mark VII.  I can do portraiture, street, landscape and wildlife photography.  I can shoot during the day and at night as seen with the above photograph of the fireworks.  This was a 3.2” photograph at f9 and ISO 100.  No noise.  No shake since I had the camera on a tripod shooting with an intervalometer.  I can attach all the adapters I need to.  It is essentially the perfect camera for me.

I am a stock photographer

No weddings. No portraits.  No family shots.  Only landscapes of nature and wildlife.  With my Sony RX100 Mark VII and my 2018 Apple iPad Pro.  No huge cameras.  No heavy laptops.  If I need to get closer to something, I walk towards it.  If I need to be farther away from subject, I walk away from it.  Easy as that.  I enjoy my independence.  I would rather be in my car with my camera driving to somewhere new.  Photograph something new.  Experience something new.

I honestly don’t need the latest and greatest anymore.  I am truly happy with what I have.  I have the best camera.  I have the best computer.  Why?  They are always with me.  I have decided to just do photography and shoot footage with the Sony RX100 Mark VII.  High quality photography and high quality 1080p video.  4K files are way too big and take too much time to process.  The 2018 Apple iPad Pro just flies through 1080p footage.  I keep learning about the iPadOS everyday.  Learn something new with it.

April 2020, I have decided to move to Calgary and be near the mountains.  I want to pay off my debt and just live simply.  That is my goal.

And another lousy $1.50 footage sale

Yesterday I sold another footage clip for a whopping $1.50US.  It's the second such sale and I find it pretty much insulting that I get a sale like that.  I'd rather not sell my footage if it's going to sell for a price I can't even buy a coffee for.  Thankfully I had a video sale for almost $94US earlier this month which makes up for this lousy sale.  I'm selling a lot of photography this month as well.  Weekends suck big time on every micro stock site.  Can't seem to sell anything anymore on Shutterstock on weekends.

I think today after work I'm gonna go do some photography.  Right now it's warm and sunny.  By warm, I mean +1 degree Celsius.  Which is warm for Ottawa in January.

I got extended at work till the end of February which is fantastic.  I'm hoping to get extended till the end of March so that my girlfriend and I can get the hell out of dodge and move to Calgary.  Neither of us can stand Ottawa anymore.  Neither of us are bilingual and I can't seem to get a full time job here in Ottawa.  It's always contract work.

When we do move out west I want to focus more on photography and being outdoors in the mountains.  That is my dream for now.

1982

11:41am and I have 1982 views from Israel.  I typically get 30-65 views a day.  Not bad for a new blog.  I'm still trying to grow my views and especially them clicks on the ads which support this blog and my photography and footage sales.  But geez.  1982 views from one country?  Has to be a mistake.  I'm glad to get the views.  Helps a lot. 

No photography, no sales

Well it's been a busy week this week.  New job, problems with the bank and the weather has been stupid hot and humid.  Today it felt like 41 degrees Celsius with the humidity.  Yesterday was about the same.  Couldn't even breath yesterday it was so bad.  Luckily today we got some severe thunderstorms to take the humidity away.

I haven't had a chance to do any photography this week and my Shutterstock sales prove it.  I've had only 2 photo sales this week on Shutterstock.  With 12,382 photos and 1466 clips available for sale, I should be making 15-20 sales a day.  I have no excuses.  I know school starts next week so parents are taking last minute vacations in Europe and North America but not everyone is on vacation.  I've tried to vary my photography and my footage clips but no sales.  This year I'm down 50% in sales even though I've increased my portfolio by about 4000 photos.

Anyways, I think I'll go flying with the drone tomorrow and try and get some new photos and new footage.  I think it might be quite a surprise to know where I want to go do some photography.  It has not been overdone yet.  At least I don't think.

BTW, Royal Bank of Canada sucks.  I hope I pay my car loan off sooner than later.

DJI is looking

Looks like DJI is looking at the drone data right now.  Hopefully I will hear something tomorrow if I'm getting a credit from DJI or if it was pilot error.  I'm 100% certain that it was equipment failure and not user error.  Tomorrow DJI apparently has an event where they're going to announce new drones like the DJI Spark 2.  I was at my local camera store and from what the sales guy told me is that DJI has discontinued the DJI Spark.  With the event tomorrow, I might just stay at home and watch the event online if it's streamed.

In other news I got a new contract with Global Affairs Canada that I start next week.  I am pretty happy about that.  I'm thinking of doing some photography tomorrow as well with my Apple iPhone 8 Plus and my DJI Osmo 2.  I just have to figure out where to go.

Which micro stock agencies are worth it?

I have a portfolio on a few micro stock agencies.  There are small, medium and large agencies.  Here is my list of all my portfolios:

• Canstockphoto.com
• Bigstockphoto.com
• Depositphoto.com
• Dreamstime.com
• Pond5.com
• Shutterstock.com
• Storyblocks.com

Are they all the same?  Do all perform the same way?  The answer is of course no.  The first four on my list are not worth your time.  I make 90%+ of my sales on Pond5, Shutterstock and Storyblocks.  Shutterstock also has a referral program where if in this case I sign up a photographer or a videographer, I get a bit of a payback from Shutterstock.  Granted, it's not a whole lot but could turn into a bigger paycheque if I sign up a lot of people.

Photography and using my camcorder to crate footage is an awesome hobby for me.  I also make a few bucks with it every month.  I really, really enjoy doing it and I wish I could do it full time.  With 4 plus years experience with microstock agencies I'm only uploading to 3 agencies now where the return is half descent.  With Pond5, I'm able to set my own price where with the others it's a set price set by the agencies.  I may say 1-4 videos a month on Pond5 and generally it's a good return.  Currently I sell my videos for $299US per clip.  I get half of that.  With Shutterstock, I sell my photos starting at $0.36US a photo and videos start anywhere from $12US to $120US.  The clips are generally 5-60 seconds in length.  I only shoot 1080p/60fps so it takes a few minutes to edit my footage and about 10-20 minutes to upload my videos to each agency.  Of course this depends on how many clips I have and how fast my internet speed is.

Overall it's a really good passive income for me.  It's something I enjoy and wish I could do full time.  So if you're looking for a photographer who does photos and videos, hit me up.  I'm sure we can work well together.

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.

My experience with micro stock agencies

For the most part, my experience has been rock solid dealing with micro stock agencies such as Shutterstock, Bigstockphoto, Fotolia, Alamy, Pond5 and Videoblocks.  There are agencies that I will not work with again such as Dreamstime, Canstockphoto and 123RF.  While having portfolios on those last three agencies, the work is just not worth the return.  In 2+ years of having portfolios on those agencies, I've gotten one payout between the three of them totalling $51.00USD.  Uploading, keywording and submitting your photos or videos is just not worth the time and effort.

By far, Shutterstock is where the action is.  That's where I have my biggest portfolio and that's where I make the majority of my sales.  I've just start shooting video in the past 9 months and have had a great success with it on Shutterstock, Fotolia, Pond5 and Videoblocks.  I suggest doing both video and photo work.  Doing video as well gives clients potential options as well.  

As you can see on my blog I have links to my various portfolios.  If you want to sign up, please use the necessary links provided and sign up that way.  I spend about an hour or two a week just uploading to the various websites including editing, keywording and uploading.  It's a great return on investment and time.