Hat Tip: Imaging Resource
Bloomberg posted an article yesterday on Getty's current financial issues. (The story cites two anonymous sources. Take that as a warning as to potential accuracy problems.)
Getty apparently burned through a third of its cash reserves during the last three months of 2014.
Getty took on $2.6 billion in debt to finance the $3.3 billion purchase of the company by Carlyle Group. The loan terms limits Getty's ability to borrow money when certain conditions are met. The 7% drop in the company's fourth-quarter earnings resulted in debt being more that 6 times earnings. This triggered a clause limiting Getty's ability to borrow against it's $150 Million line of credit.
The news caused the price of Getty's debt instruments to drop. (Bad news for those that own them.)
Frankly, the news doesn't surprise me. Getty has made some troubling moves since the Carlyle take-over. Those moves antagonized the people Getty needs to be successful (photographers) and part of their current issues can probably be traced to that antagonism.
Photographers ending their association with Getty leaves Getty with less material to sell or license. It could also result in the material still on hand being lower quality, lowering the price Getty can charge for those materials.
This seems to be reflected in the fact that Getty Images year over year profits are down 17%
Carlyle apparently thought they could leverage Getty's stock image library in order to turn the company into an Internet giant. Unfortunately, many of the moves made in an attempt to leverage that image library undermined Getty's core business, stock photography imaging.
Undermining your core businesses is never a recipe for success.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Higher Megapixel Count Not Necessarily Bettter
Shutterbug has an interesting article today on just what increasing megapixel counts actually means when it comes to digital photography.
The article is largely in response to Canon's introduction of a full-frame camera boasting 50 megapixel resolution. That pixel count puts the full-frame camera in the same league as many medium format cameras, but Canon can offer their camera at a much lower price.
The Canon 5DS and 5DS R have price tags under $4,000. The cheapest medium format camera with at least 50 MP resolution costs just over twice that. As an additional bonus, the lenses should also have similar price differences. (The lenses for the smaller full-frame cameras need smaller lenses. Less glass usually equals lower price. Emphasis on "usually").
The 50 MP offerings from Canon do look like an attempt to compete with medium format cameras without actually creating a medium format camera. The move makes a certain amount of sense given all the Canon lenses currently available for Canon full-frame cameras.
There is a drawback here, though.
A 50 megapixel full-frame sensor requires smaller individual photoreceptors when compared to a 50 megapixel medium format camera. This impacts performance at higher ISO settings. Some photographers will find a camera with a lower pixel count more suitable for the images the capture.
The article is largely in response to Canon's introduction of a full-frame camera boasting 50 megapixel resolution. That pixel count puts the full-frame camera in the same league as many medium format cameras, but Canon can offer their camera at a much lower price.
The Canon 5DS and 5DS R have price tags under $4,000. The cheapest medium format camera with at least 50 MP resolution costs just over twice that. As an additional bonus, the lenses should also have similar price differences. (The lenses for the smaller full-frame cameras need smaller lenses. Less glass usually equals lower price. Emphasis on "usually").
The 50 MP offerings from Canon do look like an attempt to compete with medium format cameras without actually creating a medium format camera. The move makes a certain amount of sense given all the Canon lenses currently available for Canon full-frame cameras.
There is a drawback here, though.
A 50 megapixel full-frame sensor requires smaller individual photoreceptors when compared to a 50 megapixel medium format camera. This impacts performance at higher ISO settings. Some photographers will find a camera with a lower pixel count more suitable for the images the capture.
Monday, February 16, 2015
Deal Alert: Save on PNY Memory at Amazon
Amazons deal of the day features up to 50% off on PNY memory cards and power banks.
The sale includes USB drives and both SD and micro SD cards.
One of the USB drives offers 256 GB of storage for $69.95. The 128 SD card is currently $48.99.
The sale includes USB drives and both SD and micro SD cards.
One of the USB drives offers 256 GB of storage for $69.95. The 128 SD card is currently $48.99.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Italy Confiscates "Lost" Da Vinci Painting
Hat Tip: The Telegraph
The painting in question is a portrait of Isabella d'Este and has been attributed by some art experts as having been painted by Leonardo Da Vinci. It turned up in a Swiss bank vault in 2013 along with hundreds of other art pieces.
The current owner of the painting was attempting to sell it when the Italian Police had it seized with the cooperation of Swiss officials.
The reason? The painting was "illegally exported" and needed to be secured before it was sold.
The assertion by Italian authorities that the painting was illegally exported seems to be extremely dubious. The painting was lost for 400 years. Nobody knew where it was until it turned up in Switzerland. There is no way for the Italian authorities to know when it was exported. The painting could very well have left Italy in the 17th century.
There is no official record of this painting. What proof could they possibly have that it was "illegally exported"?
They can't even prove it was ever in Italy.
Then there's this gem:
Unless we are dealing with a painting that has been stolen, I think it's fairly clear who owns it. That would be the person from which the Italian authorities seized it.
This case does point out some of the problematic art laws that exist in some countries.
The owner of a work of art can't treat it as their property. It is instead treated as public property and can be confiscated if the owner attempts to export it.
And it's not just Italy. This is true of any member of the Euro Union or signatories to 1970 UNESCO convention.
One big problem I have with these laws/treaty is that they are applied to works that predate them. Countries are using them to confiscate art that was exported from their countries before the laws went into effect.
There is something about that behavior that strikes me as just plain wrong.
The painting in question is a portrait of Isabella d'Este and has been attributed by some art experts as having been painted by Leonardo Da Vinci. It turned up in a Swiss bank vault in 2013 along with hundreds of other art pieces.
The current owner of the painting was attempting to sell it when the Italian Police had it seized with the cooperation of Swiss officials.
The reason? The painting was "illegally exported" and needed to be secured before it was sold.
The assertion by Italian authorities that the painting was illegally exported seems to be extremely dubious. The painting was lost for 400 years. Nobody knew where it was until it turned up in Switzerland. There is no way for the Italian authorities to know when it was exported. The painting could very well have left Italy in the 17th century.
There is no official record of this painting. What proof could they possibly have that it was "illegally exported"?
They can't even prove it was ever in Italy.
Then there's this gem:
“Once it arrives back in Italy, we will conduct further investigations to establish who really owns the work,” Italian prosecutors said in a statement.
Unless we are dealing with a painting that has been stolen, I think it's fairly clear who owns it. That would be the person from which the Italian authorities seized it.
This case does point out some of the problematic art laws that exist in some countries.
The owner of a work of art can't treat it as their property. It is instead treated as public property and can be confiscated if the owner attempts to export it.
And it's not just Italy. This is true of any member of the Euro Union or signatories to 1970 UNESCO convention.
One big problem I have with these laws/treaty is that they are applied to works that predate them. Countries are using them to confiscate art that was exported from their countries before the laws went into effect.
There is something about that behavior that strikes me as just plain wrong.
Monday, February 9, 2015
Corning Upgrading Gorilla Glass Scratch Resistance
This is slightly off-topic when it comes to photography, but I though it was worth mentioning.
In response to the artificial sapphire used by Apple in its Touch ID sensor, Corning is working to increase the scratch resistance of its Gorilla Glass.
While artificial sapphire is harder than glass (making it virtually scratch-proof) production costs and other concerns have prevented its use in electronic device screens. Glass costs far less to produce and can be given shatter-resistance and scratch-resistance properties depending on how it is produced. This gives Corning an advantage over artificial sapphire if it can create a glass that is strong enough and resistant enough to scratching to make sapphire pointless.
The challenge for Corning has to do with the physical properties of glass, including its natural hardness rating.
Glass typically has a hardness between 6 and 7 on the Mohs scale. Quartz particles are one of the main components of dust and it has a hardness of 7. For a material to be scratch-resistance, it needs to exceed the hardness of quarts. This means achieving a hardness over 7.
Silica when melted does not crystallize when melted and then cooled to form glass. Glass is sometimes referred to as a super-cooled liquid instead of a solid. There are also other materials added to the silica that can alter the properties of the glass. This additives are used to produce desirable properties in the end product, but can negatively effect the glass's hardness.
Corning can take a couple of approaches when attempting to produce scratch-resistant glass.
The first involves finding additives that increase the hardness of the finished product. (Similar to how adding carbon to iron produces steel.)
The second approach would be to apply a scratch-resistant coating to the exposed glass. A thin layer of aluminum oxide comes to mind.
In response to the artificial sapphire used by Apple in its Touch ID sensor, Corning is working to increase the scratch resistance of its Gorilla Glass.
While artificial sapphire is harder than glass (making it virtually scratch-proof) production costs and other concerns have prevented its use in electronic device screens. Glass costs far less to produce and can be given shatter-resistance and scratch-resistance properties depending on how it is produced. This gives Corning an advantage over artificial sapphire if it can create a glass that is strong enough and resistant enough to scratching to make sapphire pointless.
The challenge for Corning has to do with the physical properties of glass, including its natural hardness rating.
Glass typically has a hardness between 6 and 7 on the Mohs scale. Quartz particles are one of the main components of dust and it has a hardness of 7. For a material to be scratch-resistance, it needs to exceed the hardness of quarts. This means achieving a hardness over 7.
Silica when melted does not crystallize when melted and then cooled to form glass. Glass is sometimes referred to as a super-cooled liquid instead of a solid. There are also other materials added to the silica that can alter the properties of the glass. This additives are used to produce desirable properties in the end product, but can negatively effect the glass's hardness.
Corning can take a couple of approaches when attempting to produce scratch-resistant glass.
The first involves finding additives that increase the hardness of the finished product. (Similar to how adding carbon to iron produces steel.)
The second approach would be to apply a scratch-resistant coating to the exposed glass. A thin layer of aluminum oxide comes to mind.
Friday, February 6, 2015
Canon Dominating Photography News Today
The news on the various photography web sites has been largely dominated by the latest releases announced by Canon.
This includes the announcement of
A new Canon 11-24mm F/4L USM Wide-Angle Zoom Lens
2 new Canon Rebel cameras
2 new Canon EOS 5DS Cameras (50MP sensors.)
(Pop Photo just happens to be the first site in my RSS feed. The other sites cover the announcements as well. I just didn't see the need to link to all the articles.)
I'm also a bit amused at the timing of the posts. The posts were all times to be published at roughly 10:00pm Central last night. On most of the sites that announced the releases, not just Pop Photo. Apparently that's when Canon's news embargo was lifted.
There are a few product announcements not covered by Pop Photo. Imaging Resource has a post on the PowerShot SX 410 IS, ELPH 350 HS, and G3 X.
They also have first impression reviews on the EOS 5DS cameras (the links are at the bottom of the post.)
Digital Camera world goes into detail comparing the new Canon 5DS full-frame cameras to Nikon's D810. While the Canon now offers larger resolution (50.6mp vs. 36.3) there are still valid reasons to choose the Nikon over the Canon. The higher resolution requires certain concessions in other areas and those concessions could result in the Nikon being a better choice for some photographers.
Canon also announced the EOS M3. This is a mirrorless camera that will only be available in Asia for the time being.
This includes the announcement of
A new Canon 11-24mm F/4L USM Wide-Angle Zoom Lens
2 new Canon Rebel cameras
2 new Canon EOS 5DS Cameras (50MP sensors.)
(Pop Photo just happens to be the first site in my RSS feed. The other sites cover the announcements as well. I just didn't see the need to link to all the articles.)
I'm also a bit amused at the timing of the posts. The posts were all times to be published at roughly 10:00pm Central last night. On most of the sites that announced the releases, not just Pop Photo. Apparently that's when Canon's news embargo was lifted.
There are a few product announcements not covered by Pop Photo. Imaging Resource has a post on the PowerShot SX 410 IS, ELPH 350 HS, and G3 X.
They also have first impression reviews on the EOS 5DS cameras (the links are at the bottom of the post.)
Digital Camera world goes into detail comparing the new Canon 5DS full-frame cameras to Nikon's D810. While the Canon now offers larger resolution (50.6mp vs. 36.3) there are still valid reasons to choose the Nikon over the Canon. The higher resolution requires certain concessions in other areas and those concessions could result in the Nikon being a better choice for some photographers.
Canon also announced the EOS M3. This is a mirrorless camera that will only be available in Asia for the time being.
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
The Value of Professional Photojournalism
In response to all the recent cuts made to their photography staffs by news media organizations:
In short, there is a great deal of difference between the output from professional photojournalists and other photographers (especially amateurs.)
Eliminating staff photographers, especially those that routinely produce high quality images, can negatively impact the quality of the images used by a news outlet. Using "amateur" images, in turn, undermines the reputation of the news organization utilizing them.
A news organization using amateur or low quality images are themselves seen as amateur or lacking in quality.
It's this last point that news organizations can't seem to grasp.
(Hat Tip: PetaPixel)
In short, there is a great deal of difference between the output from professional photojournalists and other photographers (especially amateurs.)
Eliminating staff photographers, especially those that routinely produce high quality images, can negatively impact the quality of the images used by a news outlet. Using "amateur" images, in turn, undermines the reputation of the news organization utilizing them.
A news organization using amateur or low quality images are themselves seen as amateur or lacking in quality.
It's this last point that news organizations can't seem to grasp.
(Hat Tip: PetaPixel)
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