The rise of the automatic camera and what it means for travel

It used to be obvious when guests were taking photos but no so today and that brings a whole host of new challenges, writes Andrew Hennigan

Travellers have always taken photos but with the rise of digital and multiple devices they do so now more than ever. While destination marketers are mostly happy when visitors take photos, owners of some attractions, galleries and museums have long struggled with privacy, safety and copyright issues.

At first photography was simply banned in many venues but later with the rise of social media many companies chose a more nuanced approach (Museums and galleries rethink ‘no photography’ for a social media age, EyeforTravel, July 13 2015.) As long as visitors used point-and-shoot cameras or smartphones it was mostly obvious when they were taking a photo, but now there are an increasing number of options that make photography less visible, including action cameras and life-logging cameras.

…there are an increasing number of options that make photography less visible

Action cameras like the GoPro Hero4 were designed for cases where handheld smartphones or point-and-shoot cameras are awkward to use because the photographer has their hands busy – a common problem in sports and leisure activities. Mounted on helmets, surfboards, kayaks and anywhere else they have become the first choice for people who enjoy sporting activities but very often they end up being used for everyday non-action photos, too, simply because it’s easier to carry just one camera.

A more recent development, ‘life logging’ cameras take a very different approach and record pictures even when nothing is happening. Narrative’s Clip 2 was designed specifically for this use. A wearable device, the Clip2 simply takes a photo every 30 seconds without any action by the photographer. “We wanted to build a device that helps people capture their most important moments – often the ones you don’t see as important until after they have passed – without ruining them by holding out cameras in front of their faces,” says Narrative co-founder and CMO Oskar Kalmaru.

Once captured the photos are stored on the Clip 2 device, then when the device is being charged the user can choose to upload the photos and videos to the Narrative Cloud, where they are automatically organised. They can also choose to store photos locally without taking advantage of this service.

“We see that our users can stay in the moment more with the Clip and not worry about manually taking photos,” says Kalmaru.

However, Narrative doesn’t expect that this will replace super high definition photos that can only be captured on a DSLR.

A different approach

While action cameras like the GoPro Hero4 and life logging cameras like Narrative Clip 2 aim at one part of the market, another startup called Mofily, makers of the YoCam, has taken a very different approach.

After buying many different products that challenged traditional cameras, Mofily co-founder Ray Yang asked himself why there couldn’t be one type of camera that could do it all, just like the iPhone does the job of a traditional phone, mp3 music player and much more. “YoCam is all about functional integration, which means that it is so much more than a life logging camera,” says Yang. Not only is portable, it’s waterproof and it even serves as a baby monitor, dash camera or web cam.

Cameras that record images automatically without any visible user intervention raise questions about privacy and copyright restrictions, two concerns that impact hotels, resorts, galleries and museums.

Anyone hoping to restrict photography will need to train employees to recognise non-traditional cameras, just like they did for the now-defunct GoogleGlass. Most people would recognise a GoPro as a camera but other devices – especially wearables – are much less obvious to anyone except gadget fans. At the same time, however, anything that helps guests take more photos can also mean more free advertising through social media. So maybe there is more reason to encourage rather then restrict their use.

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