Skip to main content

Documentary filmmakers call on camera companies to offer encryption

Some 150 documentary filmmakers and photojournalists have called on Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, Ricoh, and Olympus to build in optional encryption to their cameras. The filmmakers signed an open letter from the nonprofit Freedom of the Press Foundation which expresses their concerns with how digital cameras manage images and video and outlines their reasoning behind wanting encryption.

In speaking with Wired, Citizenfour director Laura Poitras, who signed the letter, described the fear she felt when filming NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in Hong Kong. Authorities could have entered at any point, confiscated her camera, and had complete access to the footage on the memory card. “When you’re in the field filming and your camera is taken by authorities, that footage is completely vulnerable,” she said.

Recommended Videos

While Poitras transferred her footage to encrypted hard drives (and even destroyed the original SD cards afterwards), she feels that to be truly secure, encryption needs to start at the point of capture, inside the camera. Her concern has struck a chord with other filmmakers and photojournalists, especially those covering conflict zones or skirting beneath the radar of oppressive regimes. It’s certainly not unheard of for photojournalists to have their gear confiscated by government officials or simply stolen by thieves.

While encryption could go a long way to help journalists and protect their sources, implementing it is no small order. Encryption is a common feature on modern phones and computers, but camera companies unfamiliar with it would have to make a significant investment. Likely, the only reliable way to build in encryption would be through new hardware, as the bandwidth requirements of modern digital cameras don’t leave much overhead for additional encryption processing — unless photographers and filmmakers wanted to accept slower performance.

While it remains to be seen if the Freedom of the Press Foundation’s letter will have any effect, Nikon has at least responded saying that it is “constantly listening to the needs of an evolving market … and will continue to evaluate product features to beset suit the needs of our users.”

Daven Mathies
Daven is a contributing writer to the photography section. He has been with Digital Trends since 2016 and has been writing…
Space station meets aurora in this stunning time-lapse video
An aurora as seen from the ISS.

In his final days aboard the International Space Station (ISS), NASA astronaut Don Pettit has shared a time-lapse video (below) showing the orbital outpost flying above cities at night before passing over a stunning aurora, shimmering in the darkness.  

https://x.com/astro_Pettit/status/1909841414713704577

Read more
The new Polaroid Flip comes with sonar autofocus
The Polaroid Flip camera, launched in April 2025.

Polaroid has just unveiled a new camera for some instant analog fun.

The Flip comes with fewer features than Polaroid's pricier I-2 model, but is more advanced than the Go, Polaroid's most basic instant camera -- so it could hit the sweet spot for some folks looking for such a device.

Read more
The best space imagery from Don Pettit’s incredible 7-month mission
The Betsiboka River estuary in Madagascar.

Photographer extraordinaire Don Pettit is about to return to Earth following a seven-month stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

During his time in orbit some 250 miles above Earth, Pettit has been sharing breathtaking photos and videos of Earth and beyond, featuring everything from star trails and aurora to rocket launches and cityscapes.

Read more