Dear readers,
If you’re reading this, I’m writing it in October 2024; and I’m probably at the eye doctor right now getting fitted for contact lenses that will let me see 20/20 for the first time in 14 years. For just a moment, I want you to get out of your head and understand that what I’m writing is coming from a place of love for our industry. A phone call with a friend and a long photo walk with another have pushed me to make some of the first major changes to our camera reviews in years. For several years, the Phoblographer’s testing have done things that many other publications don’t do. A few of those have involved more women testing cameras and other products — which is key as they are often an overlooked voice. In addition to this, I’m legally blind — and with the use of screens so much more, photographers are starting to lose their eyesight. This year, I’ve helped talk a few photographers out of suicide and let them know that this isn’t the end of their career. But perhaps most importantly, camera manufacturers haven’t done enough for people of color. As of my writing this article, I’m the only publisher/editor-in-chief of a Photography specialty publication that’s a person of color, a Certified Minority Business owner, and has starkly more melanin in his skin. So, starting next year, we’re making some big changes to inclusivity.
Diopters and Ease of Use for Low-Vision Photographers
With more and more photographers having vision issues due to age or overuse of screens, many problems have arisen. Companies have noticed this — Apple makes a dark-mode, more photographers are using matte screens for editing, etc. And so our future testing will involve extra tests of the diopters of cameras to ensure that folks with deteriorating vision can use them with ease.
Of course, photographers can also use the LCD screens on the back of the cameras. But this requires an easier menu system and sometimes also requires assistive technology built in to make it easier for them to navigate the camera’s interface.
The idea for this comes from an idea that I believe came from Steve Jobs; that is that with the iPod, you had to be able to get to exactly what you wanted within two clicks. If that’s not possible with the camera, then we’re going to remove an entire star from the final review rating. That will mean that at most, a camera could receive four out of five stars.
Autofocus on People of Color in Low Light
Other journalists don’t talk about this enough because often, they’re too busy trying to please an algorithm or they don’t surround themselves with enough people of color. However, many camera systems are terrible with autofocus on people of color in very low light. In fact, the Japanese camera manufacturers don’t even seem to test for this. In real life, you can’t do this in a lab of any sort or with any type of control. Indeed, real-life shoots can’t be mimicked in the lab.
In 2024, it’s degrading to shoot events with lots of people of color in low light and not have your camera be able to autofocus on them. Yet at the same time, animal and bird detection can find black cats and blackbirds in very difficult conditions.
Starting in 2025, if a camera system cannot do this with the exposure preview settings turned off, then we’re going to be removing two entire stars from the final review evaluation.
More Camera Tests and Reviews by Women and LGBTQ Humans
Did you know that the Phoblographer’s team is already mostly made up of women? That’s right. In fact, we’re the only ones around right now who are! The site has had a lot of hard issues with navigating our finances, and we’re always looking for extra assistance. In 2025, we’re going to strive to make all the women on our staff handle reviews of some sort for the site. That will include camera tests. Most camera reviews are done by men. But there isn’t enough representation in the LGBTQ world or amongst women. We’re going to work to do this.
Unfortunately, this also isn’t the type of stuff that will do well with the hype-factor that YouTube and Social Media lend themselves to. So, instead, get ready for us to be a lot more serious.
Sincerely,
Chris Gampat
Editor in Chief/Publisher/Founder
The Phoblographer