Who Is In Denial?

[Mike Farley]

Thom Hogan's views on post capture workflow are well known, as he has written about them often enough. This article is much the same as before.

http://www.dslrbodies.com/newsviews/so- ... orkfl.html

His argument? In essence camera manufacturers are losing sales as users are not able to share their images the instant they are taken. Anyone one who thinks differently is a "grumpy old man". Speed is the reason that Apple removed the SD card slot from its latest MacBook Pro models, as no one wants to wait while images are transferred from a card. No explanation is given for the removal of other interfaces such as the HDMI port. Surely Apple would not be so cynical as to want to increase its already substantial profits by upselling dongles its customers.

I will admit to a certain amount of sympathy with Hogan's views. Lightroom is a great tool, but by golly it can be sloooow, especially in the initial stages when viewing images. There are applications such as Photo Mechanic which do that much faster and if Adobe were to fix just one thing, I would ask for quicker previews. That whole aspect of Lightroom is more than a bit kludgy at the moment.

But as for instantaneous sharing? Count me in for grumpiness induced by great age. As a photographer who takes pictures to show the world as I see it, rather than in a reporting or documentary style, I do not expect the mages to come out of the camera the way they finally end up. In fact, that's part of the challenge, producing an image enhanced to increase its aesthetic appeal. Preferably as a print*. Capture is the start of the process, not its conclusion.

The real problem for the manufacturers is that there are relatively few people who want or are willing to do that in a 24/7 always on, always connected world. Those in the "cannot wait" generation are also the same people who want everything in a single, small, user friendly device which has been simplified to remove any decisions which might require skill or experience. Carrying a separate camera which is bigger than a smartphone and has a lot of "unnecessary" controls is unlikely to appeal. Until the manufacturers can meet that challenge, which would seem to involve addressing both human nature and the fundamental laws of physics, sales will continue to fall.

* Oh my, that is so old fashioned. I'll get back to my cave.