Our mission is to give creators the power to realise their dreams: Sony India's Mukesh Srivastava

Sony India's Digital Imaging Head Mukesh Srivastava chats with us about how professional photography has changed over the last year and what their plans are for 2021.

Mukesh Srivastava, Digital Imaging Head, Sony India (Sony)

Like working from home became a thing for most of us last year and it wasn't easy, the same held true for content creators and photographers for whom the outside world was shut out as well. It's been a year and we've taken things in our stride, but so much has changed. 

We spoke to Mukesh Srivastava, Digital Imaging Head at Sony India, at the backdrop of the launch of one of their flagship cameras - the Sony Alpha 1 - to learn about how 2020 has been for them and what plans they have for 2021. 

And also about how to put together the perfect camera kit for a budding content creator (yes, you are welcome). Read on to find out…

Given the profusion of good cameras on smartphones and many content creators relying on those, how do you make a case for cameras like the Sony Alpha 1 for a larger set of consumers?

Sony Alpha 1 is positioned at the high end of the series and is developed for professional photographers and videographers who like to capture wildlife, sports, news events, commercials, portraits, weddings, landscapes and other genres and want to expand their range of expression by capturing moments they could not before with the help of 50MP high resolution and blackout-free continuous advance shooting at 30 fps.

With the pandemic and subsequent lockdown, how have you seen the landscape change for content creators and professional photographers over 2020 and what do you predict for 2021?

During the lockdown and stay at home period, we observed numerous trends such as rise in OTT content creation and cinematic movie making. To cater to such demand from the industry, Sony is well equipped with a wide range of products from industry leading mirrorless cameras, professional and consumer cinema lines and a vast variety of lenses.

Professional and serious vlogging and live streaming trends also saw an upward trend. While we are very confident to tap these new avenues with our product line-up, we always work relentlessly to bring in latest technology and give power to the creators to realize their potential.

In 2021, we strongly believe the industry is going to expand and we will witness innovations both in terms of gear and content creation techniques.

How has professional photography changed over the last few years? (not just in terms of equipment and technology)

Professional photography has seen major change in terms of consumer behaviour over the last few years. With the latest trend of OTT content creation, rise in cinematic movie-making and booming vlogging segment, we have seen that consumers with time have become more serious and matured. Backed up with strong integration of evolving technology and equipment, consumers have been empowered with best of technology. 

At Sony, our mission is to give creators the power to realise their dreams and with Alpha 1, the latest Sony technology delivers unprecedented speed and resolution for new creative possibilities and workflow.

How has professional photography changed in India over the last few years?

In India, we have seen very similar trend where professional photography has evolved a full circle. Apart from the latest trend of OTT, cinema, vlogging content creation, we witnessed rise in online sessions and tutorials which clearly indicates that consumers are spending more time nurturing themselves into a professional. Serious and mature photography is on the rise.

What plans for the Indian market for 2021?

In 2021, we definitely look at expanding our consumer base. Although wedding market has a major share, we are extending our focus towards other growing segments such as wildlife, OTT, cinema and vlogging. Sony has always strived to offer industry leading products with outstanding and unique proposition, just like the Alpha 1 and we intent to continuously offer the best of technology.

For a budding content creator or a person about to set off on a professional journey - what's the ideal camera kit you would recommend?

Choosing an ideal camera kit completely depends on the very specific need and stage of a consumer. For instance, we would recommend Sony ZV-1 to a budding content creator who was earlier shooting on a smartphone to upscale their skills and content creation capabilities. Similarly, a creator using a digital still camera may upgrade to an APSC sensor camera or furthermore to a full-frame sensor or a cinema line.

To cater to the broader requirement of consumers and their very specific needs, there are a wide range of cameras and lenses, backed up with the very unique ‘One Mount' concept, that seamlessly connects full-frame and APS-C, stills and movies, amateurs and professionals through a versatile range of camera bodies and lenses that offer unlimited creative potential.