Alabama Town's Photography Permit Draws Fire

MOORESVILLE, Ala. The city of Mooresville is charging commercial photographers $500 for a permit to take pictures of its historic buildings, a practice some are questioning as discriminatory and unlawful.Huntsville photographer Don Broome sent a letter to the editor of The Huntsville Times after he was served with a violation notice two weeks ago and told to leave town because he didn’t buy the permit before taking pictures.Since Mooresville also charges $30 for a business privilege license, it costs commercial photographers $530 a year to take pictures in the north Alabama town, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and has about 60 residents.“To me if I’m on a public street, whatever view I have is mine to photograph,” Broome said. “If I go on somebody’s private property to take pictures, then I’d be stealing it.”Mayor Jerri McLain said March 19 the person who served Broome with the violation must have been confused about the new policy and fee, which began in January.She said only commercial photographers who regularly book multiple clients and actually step onto the property to take pictures are required to buy the permit.Commercial photographers like Broome would be exempt because they don’t have a subject in the photo and aren’t in Mooresville on a regular basis.The Huntsville Times published a story on the matter in its March 19 editions, and the issue also drew attention from area television stations.“I think this has been helpful. When some new policy comes on board, you learn and you get better at it,” McLain said.She said the policy needs to have a description of who the town considers to be a commercial photographer. “We’ll define that in more narrative,” she said.Huntsville attorney Charles Younger helped Mooresville draft the policy and said tourists won’t be affected because it only applies to commercial photographers.A call to Younger’s cell phone was abruptly disconnected and messages left there and at his office were not returned.McLain said the $500 fee was needed to cut down on the tide of photographers who would flood the town at springtime and fight over space at the historic church, post office and tavern.She said a $25 business permit was previously all that was needed and the price was raised to $30 when the photography permit was implemented. The additional money from fees are being used to help preserve the buildings, McLain said.Younger told the Times that Mooresville’s policy was no different from any other town in the United States, but Alabama Press Association attorney Dennis Bailey said this was the first such policy he’d ever heard about.The photography permit “has constitutional issues,” he said. “It’s part of freedom of expression and assembly and to be allowed to photograph what you want and publish it.”Bailey said that commercial photographers need to have a business license with the city where they are selling their pictures, but not a license with every city they visit to take pictures.He said the permit also has a problem by not charging amateur photographers for doing the exact same thing the commercial photographers are doing.“Cities have always been able to charge a permit for doing business in a city,” he said. “But the idea of charging a photographer to come take a picture of a building ... that has First Amendment implications. That’s why I don’t think cities do it.”

credits: http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003729465

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Samsung snaps at heels of camera giants Canon, Nikon

Japanese camera makers such as Canon and Nikon have long ruled the $22-billion digital camera market, but South Korean upstart Samsung Techwin is making a serious bid to build its brand to take on the big guns.
The market for digital cameras -- particularly high-end models -- is booming as prices have fallen, and as it becomes easier to store large numbers of photos on a computer or upload them to sharing Websites like Flickr and edit images through programms such as Google's Picasa.
Japan's camera makers, including Canon Inc, Sony Corp T and Olympus Corp, control 70 percent of the global digital camera market, which research firm IDC expects to have grown 15 percent in 2007 and expand 11 percent this year.
"Japanese camera makers don't really care much about overseas suppliers. But one company they do care about is Samsung Techwin," Techno Systems Research analyst Akiko Sato said.
Samsung Techwin, a quarter-owned by Samsung Electronics, more than doubled its digital camera market share to 7.8 percent in 2006, making itself the fifth-largest digital camera maker behind Canon, Sony, Eastman Kodak Co and Olympus by sales, according to IDC.
Samsung Techwin aims to boost its digital camera sales by 46 percent to 17.5 million units this year and become the world's No.1 digital camera maker by 2010.
"Samsung Techwin's distribution network is set to increase from 70 retailers in 2007 to 150 networks in 2008. It will get a powerful boost from Samsung Electronics' retail network and brand power," Prudential Investment & Securities analyst Kim Uno said.
Japanese rivals have every reason to take heed, having seen Samsung Electronics zip past then-mighty Japanese memory chip makers in the 1990s and flat TV makers earlier this decade.
"The company's priority now is to establish itself in compact cameras, a sector where pricing is key," said Prudential's Kim. "Then it hopes to move into the DSLR category, where brand power matters more."
Digital single lens reflex (DSLR) cameras -- advanced models with interchangeable lenses -- are all the rage, as what used to be available only to professional photographers is now cheap enough for enthusiasts to buy.
Canon and Nikon Corp held a combined share of 80 percent of this market, which is growing more than twice as fast as the overall digital camera market, according to IDC.
Japanese camera makers virtually monopolised the DSLR camera market in 2006, with Samsung Techwin representing only 0.8 percent of the market, according to IDC.
It does not appear to have made much headway last year as Techno Systems' production data for 2007 shows Samsung Techwin accounts for 0.6 percent of global DSLR camera production.
Limited presence in the high-end market is reflected in Samsung Techwin's profitability. Operating margins at Samsung Techwin's digital camera business are estimated at 4.4 percent in 2008 and 5 percent in 2009, according to Prudential Investment & Securities.
Analysts generally estimate operating margins of around 20 percent at a DSLR camera business, compared with single-digit margins at compact digital camera operations.
COMPACT BATTLE
But where Samsung, in cooperation with Pentax, can really make inroads is by competing on price, firstly in the compact market.
"The battle over rising megapixel count is essentially over," said Kim Do-han, an analyst at Samsung Securities. "Samsung Techwin hopes to move the battle to the pricing arena."
And Japanese makers feel the pressure.
"It is fundamental for us to maintain brand appeal and offer value-added products," said Keiichi Ishizuka, an executive in Sony's digital camera division. "But I'm afraid we would not be able to survive competition if we don't really improve cost competitiveness."
For now Japanese manufacturers still hold a clear technological advantage over Samsung Techwin and other foreign brands in major digital camera technologies, analysts say.
"Digital cameras are not typical digital electronics. You have to have expertise not only in electronics, but in optics and mechatronics, too, to put together competitive products," Mizuho Securities analyst Ryosuke Katsura said.
Analysts say it may take a decade or so before Samsung Techwin becomes a player in the DSLR market. But they also caution that Samsung Techwin is here to stay.
"The problem with DLSR is that the market is intrinsically limited by portability issues," said Samsung Securities' Kim.
"Samsung Techwin is challenging its rivals with cheaper price, while also striving to improve profitability by offering higher-end products within the compact sector. They should be able to raise their sales very rapidly." (Editing by Louise Heavens)

Credit: Kiyoshi Takenaka and Marie-France Han
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