# Pro. vs pro-sumer vs consumer



## Ozarker (Nov 10, 2016)

I don't get the labels.

1. Everyone is a consumer, pros and non-pros alike.
2. Only people who get paid for their work as their primary income are professionals (Pro).
3. Pro-sumers are people who have pro level gear (according to some can only mean red ring or 5D series camera or higher)
4. But there must somewhere be people with non-pro level gear making a living as professional photographers.

Or, the label pro-sumer is just a way of saying, "I am not the average consumer because I have pro gear, but don't sell enough or not anything at all to be a real professional."

It is sort of the difference between giving sex away and being a "pro".

I say that pro-sumer should be dropped for our lexicon. Yucky word.

A chauffeur driving a Bentley is a professional driver. He doesn't even have to own the Bentley. 

Is the man who drives his own Bentley for no pay a "pro-sumer"?


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## dak723 (Nov 10, 2016)

It's all marketing semantics and neither you nor anyone else should care, in my opinion.


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## Don Haines (Nov 10, 2016)

dak723 said:


> It's all marketing semantics and neither you nor anyone else should care, in my opinion.


+1

I can go into my local Crappy-Tire store or my local Home-Despot and buy "pro tools", or I can go to a specialty shop and just buy "tools".... and the ones from the specialty store are far better. "pro" is marketing hype..... no different than "new and improved" or "for a limited time only!"


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Nov 10, 2016)

You are mixing up professional tools with professional photographers. One does not imply the other.


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## c.d.embrey (Nov 10, 2016)

AFAIK, prosumer was invented by a hack magazine writer a long time ago. I can't remember where I first saw it, Petersen's Photographic maybe. The writers at most Petersen magazines (Hot Rod, Motor Trend, Teen, etc) always were to-cute-by-half.

Many Pro-Bodies are owned by Doctors, Lawyers and other Professionals  A pro-camera is any camera used by a pro photographer to make money, including iPhones and Point & Shoots. Some pros even use view-cameras.


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## ajfotofilmagem (Nov 10, 2016)

A taxi driver is certainly a professional as well as a Formula 1 race pilot. Obviously a normal taxi car, does not meet the demands of the race pilot, while a race car does not meet the demands of the taxi driver.

Certainly there are many photographers who make their living, photographing with T5i and 70D. I'm not kidding. Believe me, when I say that many photographers in the underdeveloped countries never put their hand on a Canon 1DX or 5D Mark iii. The day will come when the 5d Mark iii will become obsolete, and then it will be acquired by some of those professionals.

I live in a city of 3 million people, where the vast majority of weddings are photographed with APS-C cameras.


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## Mikehit (Nov 10, 2016)

I always thought prosumer was to describe the equipment rather than the customer. A pro-sumer camera had many of the features of a full pro camera without the high level of build and weatherproofing.

With the advances of technology I think the lines have become increasingly blurred.


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## unfocused (Nov 10, 2016)

ajfotofilmagem said:


> A taxi driver is certainly a professional as well as a Formula 1 race pilot. Obviously a normal taxi car, does not meet the demands of the race pilot, while a race car does not meet the demands of the taxi driver.
> 
> Certainly there are many photographers who make their living, photographing with T5i and 70D. I'm not kidding. Believe me, when I say that many photographers in the underdeveloped countries never put their hand on a Canon 1DX or 5D Mark iii. The day will come when the 5d Mark iii will become obsolete, and then it will be acquired by some of those professionals.
> 
> I live in a city of 3 million people, where the vast majority of weddings are photographed with APS-C cameras.



As usual, another excellent post from ajfotofilmagem. But, it's not underdeveloped countries. Go to any park in the United States on a fall morning, and you'll see dozens of professional photographers doing their thing with clients, using Rebels and XXD cameras. Not to generalize too much but it does seem like male photographers are more concerned about the status of their gear than many women pros.


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## Ozarker (Nov 11, 2016)

unfocused said:


> ajfotofilmagem said:
> 
> 
> > A taxi driver is certainly a professional as well as a Formula 1 race pilot. Obviously a normal taxi car, does not meet the demands of the race pilot, while a race car does not meet the demands of the taxi driver.
> ...



Yes, but my lens needs the larger rain cover.


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## Don Haines (Nov 11, 2016)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> You are mixing up professional tools with professional photographers. One does not imply the other.



What I meant is that it is just a label..... it has nothing to do with skills, abilities, getting paid, or knowledge. Also, photography covers such a wide range that you may be fantastic in one part of the spectrum, yet sub-par in another part. For example, I might be the world's greatest cat photographer, yet suck at weddings, and the next person might be a great studio photographer, yet terrible at astrophotography.....

I get paid for technical photography..... that makes me a pro....
I don't get paid for weddings.... that makes me "uncle bob".....
I shoot the kid's soccer games...... that makes me a "soccer mom"......
I shoot birds as a hobby..... does that make me a "pro-sumer"?......
I shoot landscapes on vacation..... that makes me a tourist......

We are all over the map.... no simplistic label applies to any of us...


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## IglooEater (Nov 11, 2016)

Don Haines said:


> dak723 said:
> 
> 
> > It's all marketing semantics and neither you nor anyone else should care, in my opinion.
> ...



And what'a more is that the "tools" at the specialty store are normally more "pro" than the "pro tools" at a big box store. You got to know the tools and check the model numbers to find out, though. Take it from a "pro"


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## takesome1 (Nov 11, 2016)

ajfotofilmagem said:


> A taxi driver is certainly a professional as well as a Formula 1 race pilot. Obviously a normal taxi car, does not meet the demands of the race pilot, while a race car does not meet the demands of the taxi driver.



Very debatable, obviously you haven't used Uber.


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## pwp (Nov 11, 2016)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> You are mixing up professional tools with professional photographers. One does not imply the other.



+1 for the clearest observation on this topic. CanonFanBoy stop worrying about marketing minutiae. There are bigger fish to fry.

-pw


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## AcutancePhotography (Nov 11, 2016)

I would not worry much about marketing labels. 

The word professional may be one of the most misused words in many contexts.


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## Maximilian (Nov 11, 2016)

dak723 said:


> It's all marketing semantics...


I agree with this part but not with the rest of the sentence.

When I go on the local German Canon website (http://www.canon.de/cameras/dslr-cameras/) and look for EOS cameras the site is asking me, if I am looking for cameras 
[list type=decimal]
[*]for beginners (Ger. "Einsteiger") equals to "consumer, budget in focus"
[*]for enthusiasts (Ger. "Foto-Begeisterte") equals to "pro-sumer, quality in focus"
[*]for pros (Ger. "Profis") equals to "professionals, making their money with it"
[/list]

So even Canon is doing a labeling.

If I am asked by friends about which gear and why I am so much into gear, my answer is somewhat like that:
If you are not really interested in photography, you don't have to think about a system (ILC).
And even if you are, a compact camera could be the better choice for your purpose. 
If you are now one of the interested, it is depending on your budget and size expectations whether to look at "beginners" or "enthusiasts" gear. 
And I always focus them to spend more on the lens than on the body.



CanonFanBoy said:


> ...
> 4. But there must somewhere be people with non-pro level gear making a living as professional photographers.
> ...


But being a "pro" doesn't mean your job necessarily requires a 1D body. 
Any equipment that serves the "pro" to do the job is the right one. 
But I must admit that I am yet to come across a press photograph using a rebel instead of a 1D or 5D body 

So if I was a professional race driver I wouldn't expect me to drive a Bentley but something more agile. 8)

And I am with you, CanonFanBoy, to drop "pro-sumer" and replace it by "enthusiast" or something more appealing.


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## romanr74 (Nov 11, 2016)

Hmmm... I go and have a glass of wine...

PS: Pro level wine, before anyone asks.


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## romanr74 (Nov 11, 2016)

Maximilian said:


> So if I was a professional race driver I wouldn't expect me to drive a Bentley but something more agile. 8)



Seems too me that not everybody looks at this the same way...


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## Mikehit (Nov 11, 2016)

Maximilian said:


> And I am with you, CanonFanBoy, to drop "pro-sumer" and replace it by "enthusiast" or something more appealing.



In UK, they have already

http://www.canon.co.uk/cameras/dslr-cameras/


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## romanr74 (Nov 11, 2016)

Now that i look at this picture a little more: dunno what equipment was used, but horrid banding all over the place, both vertical and horizontal...


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## Ozarker (Nov 11, 2016)

pwp said:


> Mt Spokane Photography said:
> 
> 
> > You are mixing up professional tools with professional photographers. One does not imply the other.
> ...



 I'm not worried my friend. Just sparking a thread. Very lighthearted with the post. I know better than to take my posts too seriously.    See all the smileys on the OP?


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## Ozarker (Nov 11, 2016)

romanr74 said:


> Now that i look at this picture a little more: dunno what equipment was used, but horrid banding all over the place, both vertical and horizontal...



They used a 5D Mark IV and pushed 11 stops for the photo.


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## rfdesigner (Nov 11, 2016)

CanonFanBoy said:


> I don't get the labels.
> 
> 1. Everyone is a consumer, pros and non-pros alike...



I don't know about anyone else but I really REALLY HATE the term "consumer".

The term customer seemed more polite, more deferential, (The customer is always right, anyone remember that?), but somehow consumer just brings images of gluttons stuffing their faces.

is it just me?


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## Maximilian (Nov 12, 2016)

romanr74 said:


> Maximilian said:
> 
> 
> > So if I was a professional race driver I wouldn't expect me to drive a Bentley but something more agile. 8)
> ...


*LOL* There you've got me. ;D


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