Things That Make You Go Hmmmmm

Things That Make You Go Hmmmmm

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“I get a lot of customers that don’t understand the resolution/storage factor,” says Steve Kozel, President of Pixel Outpost, a large format photo production bureau. “A lot of people are still shooting on low settings so they can get a lot of pictures, and when they try to get a decent photo, it’s like, ‘Hey, what’s the problem?’ They don’t get the concept of using a higher resolution.” Hence, a typical question for Kozel is, “Can I get a large print from my digital camera?” “I think most consumers that have 3, 4, and 5 + megapixel cameras really don’t understand they can get images enlarged.

Kozel added that 95% of his customers simply don’t realize that they can get larger sized prints stating many simply haven’t grasped the concept of the various resolution settings on the camera. “The education process is huge and it’s going to be a little bit of a long haul,” he added.

“You see (misconceptions) with a lot of electronics,” adds Allen Evans, owner of Chromatek Imaging, a professional photo lab in South Florida. “People rushed out and spent a lot of money buying what they think is the best camera, and then they’re not quite sure how to use all the features. That might be the industry’s fault for putting so many features on the cameras. It’s not the point-and-shoot that film cameras were. Maybe we’ve made it so complicated we’ve scared them away,” he says. “We also have a lot of consumers bring in their (media) cards and want prints of everything on that card—just like when they shot film,” says Evans. “I think there’s something about touching those prints that they’re more comfortable with.” Additionally, many of Evans’ customers don’t trust the new technology: For instance, some believe a film negative is more durable than a CD, which they think will break and not last. “We advise everyone to backup images on the computer and use the CD as a secondary backup. A lot of people take more pictures then ever before and just load them all on their computer,” he notes. “But we also have a lot of customers that are manipulating images, using filters, and printing on watercolor paper for a more artistic feel.”

“Ultimately,” agrees Sally Smith Clemens, Product Manager, Olympus America, “the responsibility is on the part of the person purchasing the product—whether it’s a digital camera or a dishwasher—to do the necessary research in order to get educated. Some people like to do research and some just don’t; they want you to tell them what to get. But, there are things that manufacturers, retailers, and the press can do to help with that,” explains Smith Clemens. “It’s kind of like a domino effect; if the manufacturers have not educated the press about the topics, then there aren’t going to be any articles to educate the consumer. So it’s a big circle that everyone has to take a little ownership for.

“It starts with the manufacturer coming out with the product and then developing some type of marketing campaign, a public relations campaign, and a technical training campaign to educate their customers—the dealers and distributors—and for those customers to be able to educate their customers—the end users. It’s not a one-way street; everybody has a part in it. We all work together in this task.”

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