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Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?

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Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?

#21

Post by towergratis »

chunkyks wrote: post #7

My 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

> My new cellphone literally has a Hasselblad camera on it

Sorry to bust your bubble, but no, your phone doesn't have a Hasselblad camera on it.

It has a lens that Hasselblad worked on, together with the vendor.

Which in itself tells more about brand dilution, and the market loss of cameras to phones, than the quality of your phone's camera.

Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?

#22

Post by lumost »

perardi wrote: post #16
seoaeu wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 co…

Entry level DSLRs are roughly the same price as a low-end smartphone. For many, simply switching from a low-end smartphone to a high end phone will produce better results.

In particular the software assistance for capturing dynamic range and shooting in odd lighting conditions on an iPhone is pretty spectacular. Replicating the point and shoot experience requires a pretty substantial amount of skill on a traditional DSLR.

Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?

#23

Post by underwater »

alephnan wrote: post #2

Supply 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.

That's not what supply and demand is. Supply and demand would insinuate that there are less cameras available in the market, or more people are buying them.

Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?

#24

Post by perardi »

jurassic wrote: post #20

I'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…

Preach it. Shooting on an interchangeable lens camera is still effectively like shooting a film camera.

They do have software to pair to your phone. I am most familiar with Fuji’s solution for that, which is, to put it charitably, execrable. It is painfully slow and glitchy. (I’ve heard better things about Nikon’s latest, but I haven’t used it.)

Thing is: I think that would require a partnership with Apple or Google, or perhaps Samsung. I think you’d need a lower-level API for very quick pairing and a smart handoff to a low-power mode that doesn’t suck your camera battery dry over the course of about 4 hours.

Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?

#25

Post by [deleted] »

mark-r wrote: post #19
Kalium wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

[deleted]

Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?

#26

Post by OnlyRepliesToBS »

perardi wrote: post #18
dboreham wrote: post #4

Lower 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.

incredible

Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?

#27

Post by andromeduck »

tachyonbeam wrote: post #15
epx wrote: post #11

Some 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.

I used to hear it described as the rich white people sport.

Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?

#28

Post by perardi »

towergratis wrote: post #21
chunkyks wrote: post #7

My 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

> My new cellphone literally has a Hasselblad camera on it Sorry to bust your bubble, but no, your phone doesn't have a Hasselblad camera on it. It has a lens that Hasselblad worked on, together with the vendor. Which in itself tells more about brand dilution, and the market loss of cameras to phones, than the quality of your phone's camera.

And how long has it been since Hasselblad has been particularly relevant? They were sliced into pieces, and now they are owned by DJI.

https://www.slrlounge.com/dji-now-majority-shareholder-of-ha...

Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?

#29

Post by samatman »

jurassic wrote: post #20

I'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…

The software, and integration with my other devices, feels twenty years in the past (I have a Sony) and the quality of still photography is better, but with phone cameras steadily closing the gap.

The quality of video is massively better, however. Just no comparison.

My ideal would be for Apple to buy Blackmagic. Probably wouldn't, but... can you imagine if they did?

Re: Why have cameras and lenses become so expensive?

#30

Post by mc32 »

tachyonbeam wrote: post #15
epx wrote: post #11

Some 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.

15K is decent motorcycle, very low end car territory already. That's exorbitant.
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