Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?
dpreview.com
Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?
1–10 of 77 posts
Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?
#2Supply and demand.
Everyone has a capable smart phone now. This removes the middle market for cameras, and only the pro/prosumer high end cameras which adds all sorts of bells and whistles.
Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?
#3Supply and demand. Everyone has a capable smart phone now. This removes the middle market for cameras, and only the pro/prosumer high end cameras which adds all sorts of bells and whistles.
Isn't that more "economy of scale" than "supply and demand"? The latter only really works as an explanation when there's a supply/demand shock (ie. surge in demand or crash in supply).
Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?
#4Lower volume, higher unit price. Also cameras and lenses are (generally) much much better than they used to be. Perhaps people are willing to pay more for a better thing.
Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?
#5Supply and demand. Everyone has a capable smart phone now. This removes the middle market for cameras, and only the pro/prosumer high end cameras which adds all sorts of bells and whistles.
But... shouldn't there a "thriving" market of used lenses as people have moved to phone camera only ditching the old D/SLRs? Or were most of the dedicated cameras point-and-shoot with a kit zoom lens?
Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?
#6Supply and demand. Everyone has a capable smart phone now. This removes the middle market for cameras, and only the pro/prosumer high end cameras which adds all sorts of bells and whistles.
Not sure precisely where you draw the prosumer line, but the article is also comparing the prices on the same models of pro camera over time and still seeing an upwards trend.
I'd suspect this means that smartphones eating the middle-tier of cameras has had a spillover effect to also hurt the pro/prosumer market. I'd speculate that although even a cheap DSLR is still better than a good smartphone camera, the phones are good enough that the upgrade (and hassle) doesn't appeal to most people. Thus the high end market shrinks despite not being competed with on its own terms.
Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?
#7My new cellphone literally has a Hasselblad camera on it. I get all the things that make better cameras better, but I already have stupidly high end living in my pocket. It's not like that company would put their brand on anything crap.
So, it's really basic economics. The middle of the market is getting eating by what used to be the bottom. So all that's left is the top
Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?
#8Supply and demand. Everyone has a capable smart phone now. This removes the middle market for cameras, and only the pro/prosumer high end cameras which adds all sorts of bells and whistles.
But... shouldn't there a "thriving" market of used lenses as people have moved to phone camera only ditching the old D/SLRs? Or were most of the dedicated cameras point-and-shoot with a kit zoom lens?
I don't think we've yet gotten to the point where everybody is unloading their old consumer-level DSLR equipment that they no longer use because their cell phone camera is almost as good. Give it another 5-10 years.
Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?
#9Supply and demand. Everyone has a capable smart phone now. This removes the middle market for cameras, and only the pro/prosumer high end cameras which adds all sorts of bells and whistles.
But... shouldn't there a "thriving" market of used lenses as people have moved to phone camera only ditching the old D/SLRs? Or were most of the dedicated cameras point-and-shoot with a kit zoom lens?
Article doesn't present any data on that -- it ignores used prices entirely, discussing only what the manufacturer is charging. So, it's certainly possible!
Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?
#10Supply and demand. Everyone has a capable smart phone now. This removes the middle market for cameras, and only the pro/prosumer high end cameras which adds all sorts of bells and whistles.
But... shouldn't there a "thriving" market of used lenses as people have moved to phone camera only ditching the old D/SLRs? Or were most of the dedicated cameras point-and-shoot with a kit zoom lens?
I read it as implying that there are far fewer entrants into the market because people are using phones where they would previously have used mid-grade specialized equipment. The demand for mid-market equipment is drying up, but the high-end demand for professional equipment isn't.