Win a Pentax Limited Lens: Raffle Now Live!

reh321 · 03-10-2019, 01:51 PM

Our daughters {now in their late 20's} have always enjoyed taking and sharing photos, but I'm not sure if prints were important of and by themselves, or whether they liked prints because that was the easiest way for them to share photos. I do know that I inherited many many prints as they moved away and on their own, so they didn't keep many over the long-term; today we share JPEG files. All this makes me wonder how "deep" the print market actually is today.

pete-tarmigan · 03-11-2019, 08:57 AM

If this business model is so profitable, what happened to Polaroid?

photoptimist · 03-11-2019, 09:18 AM

Originally posted by pete-tarmigan

If this business model is so profitable, what happened to Polaroid?

Answer: 1-hour photo labs, single-use cameras, camcorders, and then digital cameras. But the real cause is consumer boredom and the desire to chase the next big thing.

Consumer photography (as opposed to enthusiast & pro photography) is a horrible business where it is almost impossible to avoid bankruptcy -- the company makes buckets of money for a while and then the fad shifts to something the company has zero-skills and assets to handle.

reh321 · 03-11-2019, 11:24 AM

Originally posted by photoptimist

Answer: 1-hour photo labs, single-use cameras, camcorders, and then digital cameras. But the real cause is consumer boredom and the desire to chase the next big thing.

Consumer photography (as opposed to enthusiast & pro photography) is a horrible business where it is almost impossible to avoid bankruptcy -- the company makes buckets of money for a while and then the fad shifts to something the company has zero-skills and assets to handle.

My parents had one of those Kodak things, but they gave up on it shortly {even before the courts acted}, partly because of its poor build quality, and after that they used SLR and one-hour labs - then a cheap p&s digital camera. I don't know how typical their experience was.

derekkite · 03-11-2019, 12:07 PM

Originally posted by pete-tarmigan

If this business model is so profitable, what happened to Polaroid?

The amount of hardware required to get a small print of a photo is quite remarkable. Camera, some kind of computer, some kind of printer, then a bunch of software and some amount of knowledge to put it all together.

A quick and easy printout of a snap is worth something. Fuji seemed to have put together something compelling for a narrow market.

This isn't my interest, but who knows.

reh321 · 03-11-2019, 12:31 PM

Originally posted by pete-tarmigan

If this business model is so profitable, what happened to Polaroid?

Originally posted by derekkite

The amount of hardware required to get a small print of a photo is quite remarkable. Camera, some kind of computer, some kind of printer, then a bunch of software and some amount of knowledge to put it all together.

A quick and easy printout of a snap is worth something. Fuji seemed to have put together something compelling for a narrow market.

This isn't my interest, but who knows.

This doesn't address issues raised by @pete-tarmigan .... point of Polaroid system was that all you needed was camera - and by its end, operation was fairly simple.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
K-5 vs MZ-S vs LX vs PZ-1p vs ist*D vs K10D vs K20D vs K-7 vs.......	Steelski	Pentax K-5 & K-5 II	2	06-28-2017 04:59 PM
Mirrorless sales collapsing worse than -30% in Japan the homecountry of mirrorless	beholder3	Photographic Industry and Professionals	21	04-05-2017 04:58 AM
BATTLE OF THE ULTRA WIDES IN THE WORKS! 10-17 vs 8 vs 8-16 vs 10	Heie	Pentax SLR Lens Discussion	102	06-25-2016 09:42 AM
GXR-K. the 'real' mirrorless K-Mount?	illdefined	Pentax K-01	20	02-12-2012 01:34 AM
Forgive and forget or just forget	jeffkrol	General Talk	7	10-28-2010 08:24 PM

03-10-2019, 01:51 PM	#16
reh321 Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: South Bend, IN, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,185	Our daughters {now in their late 20's} have always enjoyed taking and sharing photos, but I'm not sure if prints were important of and by themselves, or whether they liked prints because that was the easiest way for them to share photos. I do know that I inherited many many prints as they moved away and on their own, so they didn't keep many over the long-term; today we share JPEG files. All this makes me wonder how "deep" the print market actually is today.

03-11-2019, 08:57 AM	#17
pete-tarmigan Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Conception Bay South, New-fun-land Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,272	If this business model is so profitable, what happened to Polaroid?

03-11-2019, 09:18 AM	#18
photoptimist Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2016 Photos: Albums Posts: 5,129	Originally posted by pete-tarmigan If this business model is so profitable, what happened to Polaroid? Answer: 1-hour photo labs, single-use cameras, camcorders, and then digital cameras. But the real cause is consumer boredom and the desire to chase the next big thing. Consumer photography (as opposed to enthusiast & pro photography) is a horrible business where it is almost impossible to avoid bankruptcy -- the company makes buckets of money for a while and then the fad shifts to something the company has zero-skills and assets to handle.

03-11-2019, 11:24 AM	#19
reh321 Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: South Bend, IN, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,185	Originally posted by photoptimist Answer: 1-hour photo labs, single-use cameras, camcorders, and then digital cameras. But the real cause is consumer boredom and the desire to chase the next big thing. Consumer photography (as opposed to enthusiast & pro photography) is a horrible business where it is almost impossible to avoid bankruptcy -- the company makes buckets of money for a while and then the fad shifts to something the company has zero-skills and assets to handle. My parents had one of those Kodak things, but they gave up on it shortly {even before the courts acted}, partly because of its poor build quality, and after that they used SLR and one-hour labs - then a cheap p&s digital camera. I don't know how typical their experience was.

03-11-2019, 12:07 PM	#20
derekkite Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Nelson B.C. Posts: 3,782	Originally posted by pete-tarmigan If this business model is so profitable, what happened to Polaroid? The amount of hardware required to get a small print of a photo is quite remarkable. Camera, some kind of computer, some kind of printer, then a bunch of software and some amount of knowledge to put it all together. A quick and easy printout of a snap is worth something. Fuji seemed to have put together something compelling for a narrow market. This isn't my interest, but who knows.

03-11-2019, 12:31 PM	#21
reh321 Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: South Bend, IN, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,185	Originally posted by pete-tarmigan If this business model is so profitable, what happened to Polaroid? Originally posted by derekkite The amount of hardware required to get a small print of a photo is quite remarkable. Camera, some kind of computer, some kind of printer, then a bunch of software and some amount of knowledge to put it all together. A quick and easy printout of a snap is worth something. Fuji seemed to have put together something compelling for a narrow market. This isn't my interest, but who knows. This doesn't address issues raised by @pete-tarmigan .... point of Polaroid system was that all you needed was camera - and by its end, operation was fairly simple.

Forget the DSLR vs Mirrorless battle here is the real battle

Win a Pentax Limited Lens: Raffle Now Live!