Page 1 of 11 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 104

Thread: View Camera

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Dec 1999
    Posts
    1,905

    View Camera

    Here are some thoughts about the future

    offering a first class subscription to people in the US. This would cost about 40/year for 6 issues

    offering an online sub to people in the US

    dropping retail distribution. This is close to a loser for magazines such as View Camera.


    ????????????????


    steve simmons

  2. #2
    Kirk Gittings's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Albuquerque, Nuevo Mexico
    Posts
    9,864

    Re: View Camera

    I know from even large magazines that news stand sales are a wash, but do they not attract customers to become subscribers? Or is a that not so important for niche magazines that serve a well defined and informed community?

    About online magazines.....I might feel differently if I had a huge computer screen, but I don't......I still vastly prefer a real magazine to an online magazine. A print magazine is much more user friendly and portable. There are places I like to read that a laptop is just not very handy.....
    Thanks,
    Kirk

    at age 73:
    "The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
    But I have promises to keep,
    And miles to go before I sleep,
    And miles to go before I sleep"

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Jacksonville, Florida
    Posts
    136

    Re: View Camera

    As my interest in the contents of View Camera varies from issue to issue, being able to only purchase the ones I'm interested in has been a good thing. Removing it from retail stores will make a niche magazine even more obscure (I have doubts about LensWork's decision to do that), and I wonder if out-of-sight will lead to out-of-mind completely, let alone being completely invisible to first time buyers who are also unfamiliar with this website.

    As to charging $6.67 per issue for a first class mail delivery, if that's an improvement over the current delivery mode, it'll likely be very welcome.

    From what i recall of Magnachrom's on-line offering, though it was beautifully made, it was a pain to scroll through in PDF form. Besides, there are some favorite reading places that aren't available with an on-line magazine.
    ----------------------------------------------------

    www.johnvossphotography.blogspot.com

  4. #4
    Lascassas, TN
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Lascassas TN
    Posts
    262

    Re: View Camera

    My online service is dial up. I don’t see that changing for many years. An online magazine becomes slow and painful. I will vote for the current system.
    Bill Kumpf

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Dec 1999
    Posts
    1,905

    Re: View Camera

    As to charging $6.67 per issue for a first class mail delivery, if that's an improvement over the current delivery mode, it'll likely be very welcome.

    A regular sub is 25 so 40 is for the extra expense of first class mail.


    I understand about laptops not being taken everywhere.

    We could offer both printed and online to US subs so people could make a choice or get both.

    All magazine publishers have the fantasy that we can turn all retail buyers into subscribers. It just does not happen. The bookstore gets a small piece of the price but the distributor gets most of the money. We just get a few cents per issue. However, with gas prices going up people who like going to the bookstore may decide to have the copy sent directly to them - especially if it comes first class which would now be the same price as the retail price.

    steve simmons

  6. #6

    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    La Luz del Oeste, Albuquerque NM
    Posts
    538

    Re: View Camera

    Well, I usually don't read from my laptop while I'm in bed. Never have, in fact. But novels, View Camera, the Bible, other magazines, the newspaper--all are very enjoyable before turning the light out for the night.

    Also, the images! View Camera comes to me on high-quality paper; the images have power because the printing process better serves the silver print than other media. How is a pdf on a glowing laptop screen going to produce the same quality of images?

    So, if View Camera were only available electronically, that would be a big disappointment to me.
    Peter Collins

    On the intent of the First Amendment: The press was to serve the governed, not the governors --Opinion, Hugo Black, Judge, Supreme Court, 1971 re the "Pentagon Papers."

  7. #7
    IanG's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Aegean (Turkey & UK)
    Posts
    4,122

    Re: View Camera

    As an overseas electronic subscriber to View Camera I have to echo the comments made above.

    The magazine certainly loses much of it's appeal in PDF format, you can't casually browse, flick through etc. I would rather have a printed copy in many ways, but the extra cost in postage, plus the fact that post doesn't always arrive means the online version has to suffice for now.

    Ian

  8. #8

    Join Date
    May 2006
    Posts
    2,588

    Re: View Camera

    I'm not in the magazine business so what do I know, except that it seems to me that the web is the way of the future, like it or not -- and with ad-supported models, not subscription based models.

  9. #9
    Louie Powell's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Saratoga Springs, NY
    Posts
    865

    Re: View Camera

    As the Editor of a technical journal that is also archived on line, I have a definite opinion about hard copy versus electronic distribution.

    Electronic distribution makes a lot of sense when two conditions are met:

    1. The magazine primarily serves as a publication of record - that is, when the main purpose is to to provide a repository in which information can be published for retrieval by those who have a need for that information, and not when the primary objective is that the content will be read as issues are published.

    2. On line publication is part of a permanent scheme of archiving - that is, once having appeared on line, the content is available on line in some kind of perpetual archive accessible to subscribers.

    But for casual readers, there is no substitute for words (and pictures) on paper, so that would clearly be my choice.

    The idea of offering first class mail distribution is fine, but in my experience, the issue is more associated with distribution beyond the borders of the US. About half the subscribers to my magazine are in the US, and while there is some variability in the delivery date, readers generally receive it within one or two weeks of the formal publication date. Its very unusual for a reader in the US to not receive an issue, and when this happens, it tends to be because of a problem in their local post office.

    On the other hand, the delays in getting to readers in other countries are very long, and in some countries, delivery is a real hit-or-miss situation. And from the dialog that has appeared in LF Forum in the past, this seems to be the major complaint with Large Format. Offering a first-class/airmail option may be a better answer for those folks - but the premium price could be a show-stopper.

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Dec 1999
    Posts
    1,905

    Re: View Camera

    Since we began working with a series of distributors in Canada, France, the UK and Australia and China overseas delivery has improved considerably. Actually, overseas subs are increasing with this new system. We also offer readers outside the US an online version which is increasing in popularity as well.

    The increased cost for a first class US sub is due to the cost of mailing each copy in that manner - it does not give us any additional profit, just better delivery.

    steve simmons

Similar Threads

  1. View Camera vs. Field Camera
    By radchad in forum Cameras & Camera Accessories
    Replies: 27
    Last Post: 3-Oct-2006, 14:45
  2. Field Camera vs. View Camera
    By Mark_3705 in forum Cameras & Camera Accessories
    Replies: 23
    Last Post: 26-Nov-2003, 03:03
  3. Camera delivery and service stories :an alternative view
    By bob moulton in forum Darkroom: Film, Processing & Printing
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 6-May-2002, 12:15

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •