Who or what is a prosumer - and have you ever met one?

dan_south · September 13, 2014

I see this word, "prosumer," mentioned in discussions on camera gear.

- The Blarkus QZ45 is a prosumer camera.

-- OR --

- Will a prosumer lens cause damage if it's mounted on the Nerkvoid XP7?

Could someone explain what this term means?

I'm guessing that "prosumer" is a concatenation of "professional" and "consumer."

Is a "prosumer" a professional who is also a consumer? That doesn't really make sense, as all professionals are also consumers. Pros buy cameras and batteries and office supplies and clothing and groceries and toothpaste, so they're already consumers. What use is calling them prosumers? It would be redundant.

Is a "prosumer" a consumer with the budget for buying professional camera equipment? Is that's what's meant by "prosumer gear?" Professional cameras and lenses that consumers use? I would think that a D4s or a 1DX is still considered professional gear even if your grandmother takes it to Bingo Night and shoots some photos of her friends (assuming that your granny isn't a pro).

Or is "prosumer" simply a dismissive term for gear that some people assume is not up to professional build standards? If a professional takes a Canon 7D to the Olympics and grabs a shot that ends up on the cover of Sports Illustrated, do we call the 7D a prosumer camera because even though professionals use that model, it doesn't shoot at 10 fps, and it's a popular camera with tourists and other non-professional users?

As you can see, this is all very confusing. The word isn't in the dictionary (I checked). So, whatever you can to do shed some like on the great prosumer mystery would be greatly appreciated.

MichaelChang · September 14, 2014

Dan, I think "Prosumer" is a little like "Electric guitar" as explained in this video that it's just a combination of guitar and electricity:

<a href="

If you ask me, though, prosumer is simply an abbreviation for a professional consumer - one who consumes as a profession.

lex_jenkins · September 14, 2014

My interpretation of that admittedly execrable term: A camera that's capable of delivering good enough performance and quality to satisfy most demanding professionals in limited circumstances - hipster musicians doing action pose sulking for their next Twitter update from Coachella Man; and affordable enough for the rest of us to pretend that we actually need 24 majorpickles, low noise high ISO performance and quick AF for our snaps of that rare motionless twig-sitting Sloth Hummingbird which we'll snap from 100 feet away with a nifty fifty and crop down to 10% of the frame, instead of admitting we'd be better off with that $300 fast superzoom that tops out with a remarkably good 1000mm f/4 lens that wrings great performance from a teensy sensor. Because there's nothing wrong with cropping 24mp down to 2mp at ISO 25k that can't be fixed with that nifty gauzy lifestyle portrait actionpresetplugin doodad.

Also, the prosumer lineup is necessary to motivate insecure Uncle Bobs to pony up for the top shelf dSLR because they don't wanna hafta explain to the Uncle Joe next to them at the wedding where neither is the pro why their prosumer Canikon D-Incremental-Naught lacks an AF-ON button and has a scene mode icon that might be a running dude or might be a reclining nude, we're not sure which.

Matt Laur · September 14, 2014

On the presumption that you're not just having a bit of fun ... The term is used by different people (manufacturers, marketers, reviewers, users, retailers) as they see fit. The term isn't meant to describe the manner in which the equipment is used (a la, using cheap stuff in a professional capacity, or using high-end gear for casual snapshots). Rather, it's used to describe the demographic for which it's intended. Best to first define "professional" gear. It's not just anything that professional happens to use - it's equipment designed to live up to the demands of full-time use when failure of the equipment would have an impact on a professional's obligations to deliver results. That tends to result in things like redundant storage, a physically more robust design, weather resistance, etc. By comparison, "consumer" equipment is intended to meet the needs of people who use the devices casually, are buying on a budget, and aren't likely to have their professional reputation injured by more fragile equipment. So-called "prosumer" equipment tries to provide a bit of both, with the intention of providing professionals with more modestly priced backup equipment, or consumers with a higher-end user experience and results that put budget pricing as a more distant priority.

Matthew Currie · September 14, 2014

I'm not sure, but on a dark rainy night driving home last week I heard a horrible thump. I may have run over one.

john_robison3 · September 14, 2014

Ah, that's easy man. Attend please this logic.

David Burnett is a professional. David Burnett uses, among other cameras, a Holga 120. (And has pictures from that camera published in national magazines) Now wait for it........ In view of the foregoing, the Holga is a "prosumer camera" .

PS almost forgot, he sometimes uses a speed Graphic with a 180mm f2.5 Aero Ektar. Not sure if that makes the Graphic a prosumer camera or not.

Jochen_S · September 14, 2014

A prosumer is an "other branch professional" who uses photo gear as a tool of their trade. Their skills / knowledge interest in involvement with photography matches consumers'.- Historically I'd guess Medical Nikkors (macro lenses with built in ringflash autoexposing slide film properly) are an early example of prosumer gear? - Dedicated aerial cameras too?

I believe I read the term was coined in the early days of digital P&S cameras for bulky buggers like the Canon Powershot 70Pro which was far from cheap but delivered 1.5MP that were enough for "on the side photography" of a mainly writing journalist or served car dealers and similar professions well, while ordinary shutterbugs probably stuck to film for image quality.

Yes I met prosumers. - The mentioned journalist, some physician with medical Nikkor and police and similar taking pictures.

The need for the term arises IMHO if the prosumer uses heavier than a consumer and has slightly different needs? - Compare a taxi to an ordinary car and a military one.

Right now the need for the prosumer term maybe vanished, since it doesn't mark an external point on the straight line between consumer - amateur - pro anymore like back in the days of Powershot Pro 70s, when it was out of consumer price range and below amateur demands at once?

Peter_in_PA · September 14, 2014

It's a made up marketing term to convince the buyer that a consumer product is made to professional standards.

dhbebb · September 14, 2014

Interestingly enough the word IS in the [Oxford English] dictionary

<h1 id="pagetitle">prosumer, n.1</h1>

Quotations:

Pronunciation: Brit. <a id="pronunciationLink" rel="10999894">/prəʊˈsjuːmə/ </a>, U.S. <a id="pronunciationLink" rel="10999896">/proʊˈs(j)umər/</a>

Etymology: < pro- (in <a href="http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/151981#eid28069176" rel="151981" rev="/view/Entry/151981#eid28069176">producer n.</a>) + -sumer (in <a id="c15" href="http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/39978#eid8411217" rel="39978" rev="/view/Entry/39978#eid8411217">consumer n.</a>).... <a id="etymologyMoreLess" href="http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/258773?rskey=Or0AoX&result=1">(Show More)</a>

<h3 id="eid10999914"> A consumer who adopts an active role in the design of the products he or she purchases, or who purchases component elements of products in order to build or administer his or her own goods and services.</h3>

1979 <a rel="0145142">Business Week</a> 3 Sept. 4/2 During the next 50 years, however, Toffler sees a Prosumer emerging, an individual who produces and consumes his own products and services.

1980 A. Toffler <a rel="0051124">Third Wave</a> i. 27 Above all, as we shall see, Third Wave civilization begins to heal the historic breach between producer and consumer, giving rise to the ‘prosumer’ economics of tomorrow.

1990 <a rel="0613635">Bellcore Insight</a> Winter 23/2 Drawing on electronic technology, the prosumer will order custom-tailored products and reject off-the-shelf standard goods.

1999 <a rel="0032637">Independent on Sunday</a> 7 Nov. (Real Life section) 2/1 In the future, he says, prosumers will force a turnaround in the way financial services are offered—tailor-made to minority tastes and needs.

<a href="http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/258773?rskey=Or0AoX&result=1">b</a>ut in an apparent earlier meaning. Today the world is quite simply used as an alternative to "semi-professional" - equipment which is of a quality which can produce professional level results but is not fully professional in terms of ultimate durability or range of features. Examples have been around for years, such as the Nikon F90 or F100 versus F5 or F6. Language is constantly growing, expanding and changing, and the word "prosumer" in its present incarnation would seem to fill a useful gap.

dhbebb · September 14, 2014

FYI, there's also this: (Definition of prosumer from the <a title=" Cambridge Business English Dictionary

" href="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/">Cambridge Business English Dictionary </a>© Cambridge University Press)

<h1>English definition of “prosumer”</h1>

<h2>prosumer</h2>

noun <a href="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/help/codes.html">[C]</a> /prəˈsjuːmər/ <img title="American English pronunciation" src="data:image/png;base64,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" alt="US" /> /prəˈsuːmər/ MARKETING,COMMERCE a <a title="customer" href="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/customer">customer</a> who <a title="wants" href="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/wants">wants</a> to <a title="buy" href="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/buy_1">buy</a> high <a title="quality" href="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/quality_1">quality</a> <a title="technical" href="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/technical_1">technical</a> <a title="products" href="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/product">products</a> or <a title="equipment" href="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/equipment">equipment</a>. This word is <a title="formed" href="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/form_2">formed</a> from the words '<a title="professional" href="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/professional_1">professional</a>' and '<a title="consumer" href="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/consumer">consumer</a>':Half of prosumers distrust <a title="companies" href="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/company">companies</a> and <a title="products" href="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/product">products</a> they cannot <a title="find" href="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/find">find</a> on the <a title="internet" href="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/internet_1">internet</a>.

Sanford · September 14, 2014

This sounds like an infomercial (also apparently a real word) .

hjoseph7 · September 14, 2014

Canon separates their camera lenses into different categories by the ring painted on the body of the lens:

Consumer: Silver or no ring

Prosumer: Gold ring

Professional: Red ring

bebu_lamar · September 14, 2014

I don't know either but I sure don't want to be one.

ilkka_nissila · September 14, 2014

a customer who wants to buy high quality technical products or equipment.

I think a lot of people use the term without knowing exactly what they mean by it; something that is between professional and consumer. However, the above definition found by David sounds like it could reasonably accurately depict what this customer segment does. They aren't happy with general consumer products and want something that is of high quality, but do not make their living from photography as a professional photographer does.

Other terms which partly overlap with this segment of users include power user, advanced amateur, etc. Though the term amateur refers to someone who does photography out of love for it as opposed to making a living. "Advanced" could be substituted with "experienced."

Damon DAmato · September 14, 2014

When you prosume, you make pros of u and me.

Even more confounding-- in the video world, you have consumer, prosumer, industrial, and professional.

andylynn · September 14, 2014

You've got your consumer stuff - say, a Nikon D5300 or Canon Rebel. It's designed for the amateur. Doesn't cost a ton, is

optimized for the sort of features marketing says amateurs want.

Then you've got your pro gear - Nikon D4, Canon 1D etc. Expensive, durable, fast, doesn't have a lot of stuff that pro

photographers don't want like scene modes.

Prosumer falls in the middle somewhere. Nikon D800 or D7100, Canon 5D etc. Less expensive than the stuff a Sports

Illustrated photographer is going to want, but more than a non-rich beginner will spend. Has enough features and caché

that a rich or demanding amateur will buy it. "Pro" enough for some pros to use it exclusively - wedding shooters for

example. I'd call the whole Fuji X line "prosumer" as well as the higher end of the M4/3 and NEX lines.

frode · September 14, 2014

"Prosumer" is a term used to address amateurs that like to be likened to professionals - I think.

cyanatic · September 14, 2014

Dan -- Your question is actually one that I have had but never asked. I always assumed that it was a merging of "professional" & "consumer". But I interpreted it more along the lines of being someone who is a "semi-pro" (not even sure what that means), meaning someone who has advanced skills, wants nearly professional gear, but is not a full time professional earning their entire living from photography. Or that was my definition until I read the different posts in this thread.

angie_nelson · September 14, 2014

In my opinion "prosumer" is a warning that the item is overpriced and underpowered. When I think I want something "prosumer" I ask myself what about it really interests me. With photography I can't usually buy exactly what I want. Example would be my printer. I know I can get a better grade of ink from a more expensive printer, but this is all I can afford, or I buy only what is the cheapest grade of professional equipment. In my experience, I'm always disappointed by prosumer "products" because they guess at what I want, and try to deliver it. But what I want is to be able to control the picture taking and making processes. Anything called a "product" has too many shortcuts for me to be happy.

In short a prosumer is someone who wants professional results without having to understand he process it takes to do that. They want something better than a point and click, but not to be required to learn about depth of field and all that. I've met lots of people who own "prosumer" cameras, but their idea of "pro" is often a larger viewscreen, and instant multiobject focusing at the push of a button. The settings have some manual features, but often are missing some key items, like cameras that have aperture priority only and they call that "manual."

dan_south · September 14, 2014

Thank you for all of the thoughtful and insightful responses. I asked because I could never figure out what this commonly used word was

supposed to mean. I'm tired of guessing.

Now that I have read the responses, "prosumer" seems to be one of those Humpty-Dumpty words that means what the speaker wants it

to mean in the moment - "nothing more, nothing less," per our old friend Lewis Carroll.

Special thanks to Matthew Currie and BeBu Lamar for making me laugh out loud (literally, not just the Internet LOL variety).

MichaelChang · September 14, 2014

The equivalent in the car business is "near luxury". What it means, no one knows.

It might be interesting if we can attach objective features to the definitions so that it will at least narrow the range of perception.

lex_jenkins · September 14, 2014

"In my opinion "prosumer" is a warning that the item is overpriced and underpowered."

</blockquote>

My interpretation is exactly the opposite. Prosumer gear is like Andy L's description of the Fuji X-series, and the top shelf Micro 4:3 and Sonys: Very capable equipment that is very reasonably priced.

In an earlier generation, photography magazines called this the enthusiast class, rather than prosumer. But that was for the film era where major product introductions and innovations were spaced apart at least a year, usually every 3-5 years. The digital era ramped up the appetites and expectations, pushing the consumerism aspect of the enthusiast market.

Fuji in particular has nailed the prosumer market with their entire X-series since introducing the X100. Fuji singlehandedly made prosumer gear respectable by winning the grudging admiration of a very diverse group of working pros who also have social media clout. I got the Fuji X-A1 earlier this year because it delivers top notch APS-C sensor performance without any compromises in image quality at a bargain price, in a package that's smaller, lighter and more economical than most Canikons in this market niche.

Perhaps most significantly, the prosumer companies - Fuji, Olympus, Panasonic, Sony, and to some extent Samsung, Pentax and Ricoh - seem to be paying attention to their market better than Canikon do. These companies are savvy to social media and forum chatter. They fix problems promptly with firmware upgrades whenever practical, and identify niches for equipment and quickly introduce models to fill those niches. Canikon lag behind with boneheaded decisions, promising products that never fulfill their potential, incremental upgrades to solve problems and save face, crippling entry level dSLRs to avoid undercutting their mid-level stuff that use the same internal bits and pieces, and generally turning a deaf ear toward their own markets.

c_watson1 · September 14, 2014

Perhaps most significantly, the prosumer companies - Fuji, Olympus, Panasonic, Sony, and to some extent Samsung, Pentax and Ricoh - seem to be paying attention to their market better than Canikon do.

In the case of Fuji, their reliance on revenue from their "Imaging Solutions" segment overall is small--and probably very small if cameras and film are isolated. The financials tell the tale here in terms of responsiveness and innovation. Aware that coincidence isn't correlation but it's tempting to see Nikon/Canon inertia in that light.

JDMvW · September 14, 2014

Ah phooey, to cut to the quick, isn't it just a trendier term for the old Pro-Am?

Or as the good farmer, Mr. Kaylor, said to me once,

"It don't make me no nevermind"

dhbebb · September 14, 2014

isn't it just a trendier term for the old Pro-Am?

Not really – pro-am has quite a clear meaning in sports as being a team of one professional and one amateur.

Surprised to see someone objecting to the coinage “infomercial” - like “advertorial”, a very useful word to describe something which looks like impartial information or editorial copy but is in fact paid-for advertising - a deception of which we should all be aware.

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