Some niche markets are irrationally expensive e.g. bicycles.
Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?
11–20 of 77 posts
Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
I see. I think that makes sense. As the EOS "Rebel" market is replaced by phone cameras, the pros still need their equipment which tend to be the higher end equipment which would drive up the median price.
I just looked at the Sony site and the 70/80-200, 200-400, prime 2.8s, etc., look to be in the normal range.
Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?
#13Lower 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.
Yeah, hard to justify buying a low end camera when your phone has a better one built in
Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?
#14Supply 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?
That’s an interesting point, so I went and checked briefly on what used Canon lenses are going for, at an online dealer that specializes in such things.
https://www.keh.com/shop/lenses/canon--canon-eos.html
And whoa. None of that is cheap.
So, my guess? It’s as you said: a lot of the market was APS-C cameras, like Canon Rebels or Nikon D3xxx. And those were overwhelmingly paired with the 18–55mm kit lenses, and then with either a 70–300, or perhaps an 18–250-ish superzoom. Most DSLRs were effectively welded to the lens that came in the box.
Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?
#15Some niche markets are irrationally expensive e.g. bicycles.
I was shocked when I started shopping for an electric bike, to see that in my city, there are multiple bike shops selling e-bikes from 5K to 15K a piece. I'm surprised that these businesses can all survive, because the median income before taxes here is about ~62K. I mean who's actually buying this? But I guess if you're selling 15K bikes, you only need to sell about two a month to pay the bills.
Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?
#16Lower 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.
Yeah, hard to justify buying a low end camera when your phone has a better one built in
Your phone camera is not as good as a cheap DSLR paired with a cheap 35mm f/1.8 in absolute terms.
Your phone camera is way better at the job to be done, which is to quickly share pics of your cock, cats, or kids, depending on what age bracket you are in. Traditional cameras, in which I include mirrorless, are still terrrrible when it comes to quickly bouncing a photo to Instagram, and arguably even worse when it comes to quickly making a video for TikTok.
Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?
#17Lower 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.
The cause and effect you imply here are backwards I think. The products are better to justify their higher price, not higher priced because they're better. The first sentence has it right - if you're faced with lower volumes, the best way to cope is by raising prices.
Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?
#18Lower 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.
Also cameras and lenses are (generally) much much better than they used to be.
They really are. The cheap-o kit lenses they include nowadays use molded aspheric elements, and they are designed in such a way to take advantage of in-camera distortion and vignette correction. They are far better than the kit zooms you’d get back in the film days.
Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Note that much of the demand for professional equipment isn't coming from actual professionals, just from ambitious amateurs who want good stuff.
Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?
#20I'm a prosumer hobbyist with a Nikon D850 and a handful of expensive lenses that I enjoy, but I'm not sure I would buy them again. I love the experience of shooting with them and loath the experience of getting my images off the device and onto a computer or phone. It creates a film-like experience where by the time I get around to processing images I've often forgotten what I've shot.
What I really want is an iPhone software experience paired with the physical ergonomics of a specialized device like a DSLR/mirrorless camera. Whoever can deliver that will get a lot of money from me. I want real connectivity built into the device made an integral part of the experience, not what you have today which is usually some half-baked thing where you have to attempt numerous times to pair over bluetooth with the unpolished companion iPhone app.