In the Vietnamese press market, there are many reporters who are willing to spend a large amount of money to invest in their career instead of using it to enjoy life. This shows that not all photographers put profit above other factors.
The characteristic of the photojournalist profession is that the remuneration received is many times lower than the field of service photography for organizations and individuals. In addition, initiative must be placed above all, including each individual having to search for topics, invest in equipment, expand many relationships as well as exploit sources of information for themselves.
Photojournalists must invest in additional cameras and lenses to work appropriately in each situation right from the beginning of their career. Since the advent of digital technology, equipment has become increasingly expensive. Owning a good and complete set of cameras and lenses to serve the job has never been simple for the majority of journalists because if they want to be more perfect and not miss important moments, a photojournalist must have two sets of equipment to continuously replace during the work process.
For a long time, some news agencies and press agencies in countries around the world have always provided 100% of the equipment for photojournalists to work. However, there are also some newsrooms that only provide a part (basic equipment, or 50%). According to the "life cycle" of the machine, every 5 to 10 years it is completely replaced with a new one.
For many press agencies in Vietnam, being provided with video and photography equipment is only available at a few major newspapers. Some newsrooms only provide equipment for photojournalists, but at a limited level. Individuals have to buy more themselves, while the price for one person is always at a level equal to many years' salary to earn enough.
To buy a Nikon D5 or D6 body and a telephoto lens from 300mm to 400mm, the unboxing price is nearly 500 million VND, not to mention some lenses of other focal lengths. Photo: Minh Hoang
Sharing about this with VietNamNet, journalist Tien Tuan (Dan Tri) said that the place where he works does not provide any equipment for photojournalists. He and his colleagues in the department have to use their own money to equip themselves completely. His own equipment includes a Nikon D6 camera, 8-15mm lens, 24-70mmVR, 70-200mmFL, Fix200mm F2, Fix600mmFL F4, X2 lens, SB910 flash. Other necessary accessories include a 16" Macbook laptop, 10 hard drives storing 30T of data, an instax 360 camera, a Gopro11, a tripod, a control trigger, and some other small accessories... The total cost he had to pay out of his own pocket was over 600 million VND.
Tuan said that professional equipment has much better image quality, standard colors, sharpness and detail than conventional equipment, especially in low light and high speed environments. “The work environment always requires fast equipment, the best image quality to meet the needs of reporting current events,” he revealed.
In fact, photojournalists are people who have to work in a variety of fields, taking pictures of everything from politicians to the working class. In addition, other specific fields such as sports , storms (harsh, difficult environments) are the factors that "destroy" the camera the most. To meet that, a reporter needs to own a durable, fast-speed, high-sensitivity ISO machine, not to mention the lens must have many different focal lengths.
When asked why he had over 600 million VND in hand but did not buy a car for travel and work convenience, he said because he did not really have the need and there were many expenses to cover in life such as housing and investing in children's education. "The total value of machinery and equipment is thanks to small savings, gradually purchased and upgraded. If I sold it, I would lose a lot and it would not be enough to buy a car worth about 300 million VND," Tuan said.
In addition, Mr. Tuan also said that it is necessary to determine that camera equipment used for work is a consumable, not an asset, and that depreciation is quite large and loses value quickly due to the continuous launch of new modern camera lines.
“However, not everyone can immediately buy a professional camera worth several hundred million dong. Most reporters and I are the ones who buy gradually and upgrade equipment over a long period of time,” said the male photojournalist.
However, he also admitted that in this profession, one should not care about investing in equipment for profit or loss, but rather determine what needs are most suitable for investment, not an "arms race".
Sharing the same opinion as Tien Tuan, photojournalist Giang Huy (VnExpress) also spent about 600 million VND on his own camera and lens set to practice his profession. Huy invested in Nikon D6 and Z9 mirrorless cameras to serve the editorial office as well as readers. He said: "If it brings good quality photos in terms of color and sharpness, I am willing to sacrifice all other personal interests."
Unlike Mr. Tuan and Mr. Huy, an anonymous journalist has the opinion that machinery and equipment are only a part. Qualification and love for the job decide everything. He revealed that in recent years, he has only invested about 80 million VND in all equipment. If he had more money, he would buy an old car to travel to distant provinces and cities for work convenience, although his daily need for a "car" is not much.
"Good photojournalism products not only serve readers better but also bring many "surplus" values, such as recognition from the editorial board, the opportunity to win some awards and then have additional compensation for the investment," Mr. Tuan affirmed.
Sharing about the investment and use of cameras and lenses by international press agencies, Ms. Thai Linh (EPA news agency) said that before the 2011 SEA Games, she was given the latest camera models at that time such as Canon 1D Mark IV and 1Dx Mark II. The lenses were still used because they were not too outdated, but when the reporter requested to be given additional super telephoto lenses to serve her work, they were all approved immediately.
Mr. Tuan Huy (QĐND newspaper) affirmed that the equipment he spent more than half a billion VND on means bringing necessary efficiency to his work: "I think such investment will ensure quality and my personal requirements first because other normal equipment is not qualified to work."
In this comparison, Mr. Tuan expressed his opinion that each reporter should carefully calculate the need for machinery to meet their work, financial capacity and their own qualifications. "Many photojournalists in Vietnam are equipped and provided with modern machinery and equipment by their agencies, but the photos taken are still of poor quality. That is due to their skills as well as lack of desire and enthusiasm for the profession," Mr. Tuan commented.
To do his job better, a reporter must invest twice as much with two sets of cameras and lenses. Photo: Quoc Tuan
Looking back about 10-20 years ago, when the digitalization of cameras began and the strong development of electronic newspapers, cameras that seemed outdated and discarded today such as Canon 5D, 1D or Nikon D800, D70... the generation of photojournalists at that time still had excellent press photos, even better than many photojournalists today. "Therefore, I think the human factor is very important and decisive in the quality of press photos. A precious sword for heroes", said the male photojournalist.
In the current camera market, a body like the Canon EOS R1 has a listed price in the US of 6,299 USD/body (equivalent to about 163 million VND); Nikon Z9 is 4,996 USD/body (equivalent to 129 million VND); Nikon D6 and EOS 1Dx Mark III both cost about 168 million VND/body. That is not enough for reporters to practice their profession. Accordingly, to take photos of all areas of life to publish in newspapers, a photographer needs 2 to 3 lenses of different focal lengths, each lens costs from 40 million VND, not to mention that to be even better, they have to carry 2 to 3 sets of equipment on their shoulders.
Vietnamnet.vn
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/co-tren-nua-ty-dong-phong-vien-mua-o-to-hay-dau-tu-may-anh-2411191.html
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