Hilarious study shows GEN-Z wants film cameras but have little clue how those work!

MyNavi interviewed store owners to investigate why the Gneration Z loves Film cameras. There are also a couple of hilarious stories:

  • One thing they all have in common is that most people come to the store without any knowledge of film cameras or processing. “When people come to the processing reception and ask if they can take out the film from their camera, there are many people who just open the back cover on the spot. They don’t understand how film development works, and there is no need to develop it. That’s why some people say they just want the data.”
  • “Most people say they just want to put the photos they take on their smartphones. We tell them they can print them out, but very few people order them. Partly because of that, the standard is to send them in print. “Rather than printing, we will give you the scanned data of the film.” “I think Generation Z probably doesn’t have the concept of printing.”
  • Furthermore, I learned a surprising fact from Mr. Mori’s statement. “Most young people choose to throw away their negatives.” Surprisingly, they don’t need negatives… As someone who has enjoyed photography for a long time since the days of film, this was a bit of a shock. It’s nothing short of surprising to see negatives thrown away so easily.
  • “Young people don’t hesitate to throw away their negatives, but they still have a sense of being economical, so cheap half-frame cameras made of plastic are selling well.”
  • “The reason why young people are looking for film cameras is because today’s digital cameras, including smartphones, can take too good pictures.Cameras that don’t take good pictures, and photos that don’t look good are new to Generation Z. People ask me, “Which camera doesn’t take good pictures?” (laughs)
  • “Compact cameras are popular (among Z-generation film camera users). Among them, Olympus’ μ series is overwhelmingly popular. Apparently it was introduced by an influencer or YouTuber, and only μ is nominated for purchase. Even when I suggest that we have other cameras, most people don’t look at us, and if they don’t have them in stock, they just say, “Okay, that’s fine” and leave.”
  • As someone who knows the film era of yesteryear, it’s always a culture shock to learn how Generation Z, which is driving the film camera boom, enjoys film photography and what they think about film photography. It has been found that young people, known as Generation Z, are attracted to Lo-Fi rather than Hi-Fi images, and a slow rather than fast shooting experience.

via Digicameinfo

Just released: Topaz GigaPixel AI 8.0 with new incredible restoration and creative upscaling

Topaz just announced the new GigaPixel Ai (click here to see all new features with ton of examples).

Press text:

Gigapixel 8 brings powerful new models that push the limits of image enhancement, offering unmatched control for both restoration and creative upscaling. Whether you’re recovering lost details or generating imaginative visuals, Gigapixel 8 has the tools to elevate your images like never before.

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    • Redefine Model (Creative Upscaler): This new model pushes the boundaries of creative upscaling while staying true to your input image. With diffusion-based generative output and text prompts available for more specific results, this tool offers a new level of freedom for producing imaginative visuals.
  • Recovery Model: This model goes beyond the capabilities of our standard models, restoring missing details in images that would have been unusable otherwise. It’s especially useful for restoring old photos, scanned images, and improving faces and text, delivering results that were previously impossible.
  • Gen2 Face Recovery: With two modes—Realistic and Creative—this model offers enhanced results for faces, even in low-quality or damaged images. Whether you’re refining details to stay true to the original or creating imaginative reconstructions, this feature delivers high-fidelity, creative enhancements.

New Gigapixel Cloud Service

Alongside Gigapixel 8, we’re introducing Cloud Rendering, a credit-based, server processing option. Cloud Rendering allows anyone to offload processing tasks for faster and more efficient image enhancement, making it ideal for those with lower-powered hardware or users wanting quicker results with our Recovery or Redefine models.

Key benefits include:

  • Faster processing speeds for higher-quality results
  • Allows simultaneous enhancements for multiple images