About Press Events and Camera Reviews Drama

If you have been following the online space recently, you would be aware of a drama surrounding the Panasonic Lumix S9 launch where a particularly famous YouTuber bashed the by-invitation-only event at Osaka, Japan. The famous YouTuber boldly claimed that these events were designed to create hype and not give enough time and opportunity for the content creators/photographers/whoever that were invited to make a balanced, meaningful content. The fact that the trip was sponsored the participants were expected or required to produce positive reviews. Then he continued to question the validity of the initial reviews from such press event. He does have some valid points and sensible argument, but I think the whole situation has been over-dramatized. It was not as sensational as it was made to be, and this was not something new, or even worth making a fuss about. As someone who was very involved in the imaging industry, who still am today in some small capacity, I do have some things to say. 

Product launches and media events are part of marketing. What is the job of marketing? To create as much attention and awareness as possible to the new product that is being released, and they strategize the reach to the targeted audience, who will potentially buy their products. Marketing has always been tied closely to sales, to boost the numbers of products being moved, and to improve the brand image, or value of the products. 

Now, when the said famous YouTuber made a huge revelation in his video about these events being nothing but marketing creating hype, I don't see how this comes as a huge surprise. Everyone knows that media event is for the brands or companies to get the first released information to the people that attend the event, so they will be the first to dispense this information or share about the launch to the audience. Are you a media to begin with? If you are a media, it is your job to report the events, happenings within the scope of your coverage. Just because you don't feel like doing a press piece, or share anything on your social media, and boldly demanding the brands to send you their products later, shows that you have a strong misunderstanding of what media people do. You report news. A product is being launched. That is news. You are the first in line to get the news. How complicated is this? If you don't identify yourself as media, then why the hell are you there in the first place? If you are not media, and you don't want to do the jobs of media, you can politely decline he invitation, and let others who truly want to be there to do their jobs! 

News articles create awareness, they inform the readers on the first information available about the launched product. The press events, or special trips to exotic places, being paid in full, are not wrong in the legal business practices. They are designed to create hype; they wanted their products to have a huge awareness immediately during launch. What is wrong with that? If the creator, blogger or photographer feels they do not have enough time to make their content, they can always put a disclaimer, saying this is just a hands-on preview, first impressions and should not be regarded as full review. People can understand the lack of time to produce an in-depth review. Yet, people WANT to watch these early contents as well. Just look at Petapixel's S9 review video, or the one made by Kai Wong, they did incredibly well. If you claim that these early previews or hands on videos have no value, then why are people watching? The way I see it, it is completely fair, where there is demand there is supply. 

Then there is the claim that because these trips are being sponsored, the videos cannot be balanced and the creators tend to be biased, and only say positive things about the product and brand. This cannot be further from the truth. Both the videos I have just mentioned from Petapixel (Chris and Jordan) as well as Kai Wong, showed how they can be independent and not to be easily swayed by nice treats. I find that their reviews showcased both the pros and cons of the Lumix S9 very well. To be fair, or to be biased, that is the choice of the creator. 

Yes, there will always be a risk of you not being invited again for future events if you bash the brand of the product. That also means you are not big enough and you are disposable. Work your way up and look at Kai Wong, Petapixel and DPReview. They can say whatever they want, and they still get invited to every single event. As a small creator myself, I don't really care if the brand reaches out to me or not. If they do, they do. I understand that in some situations, you will do your best to please the brands so you can "get in". If you choose that kind of working style, you will compromise your integrity to just get invited to events and you say all nice things and intentionally leaving out the cons of the product, that is YOUR own fault. Do not blame the brand. You always have a choice. Don't make the brands the villains. The creators know what they are doing, they made their choices, and they will have to deal with whatever consequences that come along. It is not for you, me or anyone to judge their direction. 

I personally don't think Lumix did anything wrong with their Lumix S9 launch event. They rounded a large group of photographers and YouTubers from all over the world, and the early contents that were published were not that bad either. There was a mix of small and large creators, and there were also good and bad contents, but that is always the case, is that not? And seriously, are you expecting a full detailed review at this stage? If the reviewers cannot make a full review, they can state that this is an early preview. But if they have enough material, and have spent enough time with the products, and they are confident in saying what they want to say, why can't they make full review of a product?

Panasonic is not a new brand, L-Mount cameras have been around for some time, and the Lumix S9 is not entirely a new product. A lot of the invited creators have some experience and knowledge on Lumix full frame mirrorless system. They are already familiar with S5 II, which has the same sensor and 5-Axis image stabilization on the S9. They are also familiar with the LUT preview, which is made available in G9 II. There is nothing really new about the S9, it is a stripped-down camera in a body that resembles an oversized GM1, and they removed the viewfinder and mechanical shutter, and added a few cool features like customized LUT applications. What many things are there to test about on the S9? How many days do you need to shoot with the camera? If you are an experienced photographer, you would be able to pick up the pros and cons fairly quickly and be able to make your conclusions. Having the camera a few more weeks won't make your review better. 

There was an allegation on Panasonic being biased in selecting who and who to be sent to the luxurious trip to Osaka, Japan. Come on, really? Every single brand is biased! They have their preferred photographers and creators. And of course, they will remember some things you said about them in your past videos. Do you expect everyone to be fair and nice and every single photographer and reviewer is invited? My friend Matti Sulanto who was a Lumix Ambassador for years and still is a strong supporter of Lumix, made so many videos which benefited the community, yet he was not invited. He probably has contributed more to the community than anyone else about Lumix content. Yet, he did not whine for not being included in the exotic trip. Get over it. 

The drama really has been overblown and I don't think anything needs to change. The brands can continue to do whatever press trips or huge launches as they want, if they have the budget to do so, why not? They can create hype, which is not a bad thing. The creators have the freedom to choose what they want to do, who they want to work with and stay true to themselves. Those who compromise their integrity won't last long, and those who do the hard work and stay honest will win the race. 

If you are not invited to an event, maybe you are not that important to begin with. 

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