The launch of the ‘video first’ Canon R50 V vlogging camera, among others, has got me thinking. I noticed it happening more or less immediately after the pandemic. Perhaps you did too. With increasing frequency each press release I received heralding a new camera launch replaced the word photographer, videographer – or both – with the non-specific ‘content creator’. At first, I assumed this was just the latest ‘buzz word’ being trotted out by keen-as-mustard marketing teams. But was, in fact, a more fundamental shift taking place? And at a stealth-like pace?
It’s true that the pandemic prompted a whole slew of new YouTube accounts and podcasts, as people sought to communicate ideas further than the four walls we were restricted within. A joke did the rounds that the surest sign of a mid-life crisis was becoming a vlogger or starting a podcast. Everybody seemed to be doing it, with variable results.
And here then is my problem with ‘content’ as a descriptor; it’s a word that attempts to shoehorn together a broad church of creative output. It’s a bland, business-like term that can only ever fall short of accurately describing whatever artistic pursuit it attempts to homogenize. Photography is, and always has been, an art. However, it seems even those making the cameras I use are now happy for photography to be reduced to mere ‘content’ for social media companies to train their AI with.
But still, ‘content’ was/is a buzz word and obviously camera manufacturers were/are keen to be seen to be reaching out to the burgeoning content creator market. Quick off the mark was Sony with its ZV range of compacts; small-ish bodies, wide angle lenses and flip out screens catering to those who like to walk and talk, filming their surrounds as well as their every utterance. And now, yes, Canon is the latest to join in with its Canon EOS R50 V and Canon V1 cameras.
It may seem like common sense to pursue a market perceived as still in growth. Yet I have a hunch, however, that the podcaster/influencer customer base the big brands are now chasing is, in its very nature, far more transient than the hobbyist photographer who has been their bread and butter for years and years. And years.
When the going gets tough, podcasters and vloggers disappear, whereas when times get tough, photographers maintain focus, no pun intended. It’s proved to be the case that in any financial recession people will still spend on the things they love. Photography is one of them. As they grab hungrily at any opportunity, however fleeting, perhaps the manufacturers would do well to remember that.
Related reading:
- Best camera for photographers
- Best cameras for professional photographers
- Best vlogging camera for video and YouTube
- Choose the right camera for video – Phone vs Vlogging camera Vs Hybrid camera
The views expressed in this column are not necessarily those of Amateur Photographer magazine or Kelsey Media Limited. If you have an opinion you’d like to share on this topic, or any other photography related subject, email: ap.ed@kelsey.co.uk
