Alt Shoo

Depending on which source, we're the third, fifth, or sixth highest.  But that also comes with highest prices for a lot of things including health care.  My after-insurance cost for a dental check-up, two cavities filled, and a crown was over $2,000.  To have a skilled laborer (like a plumber or electrician) come to your house will usually cost $300+ for all but the most basic things.
The trend started before the current president and is applicable to every country.  In general, fewer cameras are being released in the $2,000 range than are released in the $3000+ range - and far fewer still under $1,000.  Even if the median salary is $40,000 (according to the SSA), after state+federal taxes, that'll come to under $3,000/month - barely enough to cover rent, food, and insurance.
https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/COLA/central.html
 
 

US has the third highest median wages (PPP) of all countries in the world (only Luxembourg and Switzerland are ahead in this metric). I think it's remarkable that Americans would complain about prices when those prices are much less within reach to people living in almost all other countries in the world, and even make it a point how supposedly THEY are feeling strained. 

That said, camera and lens prices in the US have increased because the US government has increased/created tariffs which the customers have to, in the end, pay in the form of increased prices. Yes, manufacturers also feel this in reduced sales and because of this many of them probably have gone into the red (making a loss), but there is not much they can do apart from concentrating on other parts of the worldwide market and trying to make up for the reduced US sales by trying to sell products elsewhere. 

The tariffs affect low and middle classes more than the upper class because they are flat taxes without progression. The US government is using the tariffs to increase relative taxation of the majority of the population to fund tax breaks to billionaires. This is not the camera companies' fault. It's the people who voted in the latest elections who selected these politicians into office.
 
If you have working cameras and lenses, keep using them until they stop working, then have them repaired, until there are no more parts and the repairs are unsuccessful, and only then consider the purchase of new equipment. Now, of course, marketing will try to get you to buy new stuff. Stop following internet gear forums and concentrate on your work and art. 
 
 

I think there are a few things at play.
We're in a place where cameras from 2019 (and maybe a bit earlier) are still totally great and usable.  The Z-Cam E2-F6 was released in 2019.  The EOS R5 was released in 2020.  The A7s III was also released in 2020, as was the OG Red Komodo.   You can go pick up any of those cameras right now and make great-looking content with more than enough resolution/quality to be played and look good in any theater.
Because of that, there's not a huge reason for everybody to upgrade.  If I look at upgrading my R5 to the R5 II, I see nothing that would be worth me spending $1500-2000 for it (assuming I sold for standard used price and bought for standard used price).  What am I getting?  A bit less overheating, slightly better DR, and more 8K frame rates that I won't use a lot?  For $2,000?  🤷‍♂️
Assuming that most enthusiasts have purchased a new camera within the last 5-6 years, they have a camera that's good enough to produce professional results, either in still photos or video.  I can sort of see what manufacturers would focus on high-end gear with big margin instead of chasing a share of the shrinking low/mid-range market.
But!  The good news is that if you're in the category of a person who bought a decent camera in the last 5 years, there's no need to get stressed by the hype around new models.  Watch people going for corporate gigs and the like these days and you're apt to see most of them carrying a 5-year old FX3 or FX6.

Lately I’ve been thinking about how fast new cameras and lenses come out, and it made me wonder, do these companies actually realize a large portion of the world (especially here in the U.S.) is feeling some real financial strain right now?
Between rising living costs, inflation still lingering in daily budgets, and shoppers saying they plan to cut spending because things are less affordable, people in many income brackets are tightening their belts rather than splurging.
At the same time, camera gear prices keep going up, with manufacturers leaning heavily into higher end products and even having to increase prices due to tariffs and costs and used gear demand is surging, which suggests many photographers are turning away from new purchases and toward more affordable options.
Meanwhile the constant cycle of marketing, hype, and new products can get overwhelming. It starts to feel less like “new tech we need” and more like noise pushing us to buy things even if budgets are tight.
I’m curious, do you think camera companies are aware of this, or does it not matter to them because their target audience is high end buyers? And has the constant churn of new gear given you a kind of “second hand fatigue” not necessarily because you want nothing new, but because it feels relentless and disconnected from what most people can realistically afford?

Lately I’ve been thinking about how fast new cameras and lenses come out, and it made me wonder, do these companies actually realize a large portion of the world (especially here in the U.S.) is feeling some real financial strain right now?
Between rising living costs, inflation still lingering in daily budgets, and shoppers saying they plan to cut spending because things are less affordable, people in many income brackets are tightening their belts rather than splurging.
At the same time, camera gear prices keep going up, with manufacturers leaning heavily into higher end products and even having to increase prices due to tariffs and costs and used gear demand is surging, which suggests many photographers are turning away from new purchases and toward more affordable options.
Meanwhile the constant cycle of marketing, hype, and new products can get overwhelming. It starts to feel less like “new tech we need” and more like noise pushing us to buy things even if budgets are tight.
I’m curious, do you think camera companies are aware of this, or does it not matter to them because their target audience is high end buyers? And has the constant churn of new gear given you a kind of “second hand fatigue” not necessarily because you want nothing new, but because it feels relentless and disconnected from what most people can realistically afford?

Now they are trying to take away our free press rights. Don Lemon was arrested for doing what journalists are supposed to do.  Show up, document, and report. Not for inciting violence. Not for committing a crime. For pointing a camera and telling the public what was happening.
That is a line you do not cross in a free society. When the state starts treating  the cameras we use and reporters as threats, that is not about public safety, it is about control. This is how authoritarian systems work. You intimidate the press, you criminalize documentation, and you teach people that witnessing power is dangerous. The camera has always been an anti fascism tool. That is exactly why they are trying to silence it now. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/30/don-lemon-minnesota-protest-charges

I think a lot of people wrote Micro Four Thirds off before really paying attention to what changed. Once you start working with the newer Panasonic bodies as a system not just a sensor the color, IBIS, and real time LUT workflow start to make a lot of sense, especially for documentary and run and gun work.
I’ve been baking looks in camera more and more instead of relying on heavy grading later and it’s honestly sped everything up. I just put out a short video showing how I’m using that approach on the GH7 if anyone’s interested: 
My YouTube is more of a testing and experimenting space rather than where I post my “serious” work, but a lot of these ideas end up feeding directly into professional gigs.
 
 

@MrSMW yea, once clients trust your taste and the look becomes part of what they’re hiring you for, baking it in just makes sense. It shifts the work from “fixing” to actually shooting with intent.
I’ve found it especially useful on doc and news style projects where speed matters and consistency is more important than endless options later. As long as the look is designed thoughtfully up front, it’s hard to want to go back.

It turns out I am a bit wrong.
... That Micro Four Thirds was dead. Well near me, the G9 II came down to a much more sensible 1299 so I thought I'd give it a try.
This thing... oh my gawd.
Feel like putting the rest of my gear in the bin!
This little box of joy is pure art in the handheld 4K/120p mode (and also in 5K open gate). The colour science, slow mo and IBIS are so, so good. The new GH7 sensor is quite something. Beautiful filmic quality to it.
And I thought IBIS was good on the full frame Panasonic cameras or Olympus OM-1 but this is taking the biscuit now.
You can just stand there and get a completely static frame especially in 120fps. I keep putting shutter at 1 second for long expose stills, pin sharp...The first camera that can really lay claim to being a tripod killer, in my view.
Then there's the image processing... It totally defies the price. The new sensor just looks so clean in low light and dynamic range is fantastic. The real-time LUTs look stunning here. No other Micro Four Thirds camera has nearly as good colour processing (except the more expensive GH7), so in this sense I prefer it even to the Olympus OM-1 with the lovely Olympus skin tones.
In some ways it is better than a flagship $4k full frame cam... I am not joking.
Not missing a full frame sensor that much to be honest. It has the dynamic range, the low light, the resolution, and with a fast enough lens... the full frame look as well. The Metabones Speed Booster 0.64x fits without scraping the sensor-box.
Also, the EVF is enormous and totally defies the price.
Criticisms? Autofocus is very lens dependant - it's still a bit rubbish with the older stuff and adapters. Also no ProRes LT like the X-H2... With two SD card slots, it limits you only to 1080p in ProRes mode which is a bit silly... but the high-res stuff is available if you plug in an SSD via USB. GH7 has an advantage there for sure.
But in plain old 10bit H.265 the image is superb.
I think this body design suits the smaller lenses too... You know I'm not the greatest fan of the S5 II body design, well it is growing on me here... Micro Four Thirds and small stuff seems to go well with the G9 II / S5 II body design. It starts to make more sense. The sharp angles cut in less, camera as a whole is lighter, the grip is sufficient for everything and it's got that "GH2 feel" when you put the tiny 20mm F1.7 pancake on there whereas the S5 II with the larger lenses doesn't have that same charm to it.
I am inclined to say Micro Four Thirds LOOK is back too... It's an antidote to predominance of a super shallow depth of field in commercial work and Netflix.
It really makes me want to fully commit again to the system as it just does SO MUCH, far more than any full frame camera remotely affordable.
It does more than a Sony a1 II FFS!

I get the appeal. Full frame makes that look easy. The medium format comparison is flattering, not literal. M43 can still do it, but only by design, not by accident.

Because I will do literally anything to avoid eBay, I am willing to let some of my favourite gear go for knock down prices.
I have a mint GH5S which wants to find a good home 🙂
I also have a Nikon Zf if anyone is interested in some full frame Fuji-style shooting. This is loaded with my pre-release Fuji film styles for the Nikon Z mirrorless cameras.
£500 should do it for the GH5S and the Nikon Zf price is negotiable.
The stuff is in the UK - collect over coffee in the Peak District or Manchester. Or post within the UK or Europe. I'll be going back to Berlin soon.
I also have a couple of compacts which wish to depart the crowded EOSHD HQ and go on a shoot.
Canon G12 (CDD) and a Sony RX100 VA. Prices of those can be discussed below if you're interested!

It’s definitely been a tough stretch. Budgets are tighter and clients seem slower to move, even on things that would’ve been quick approvals not long ago. I’m seeing the same pattern where more content is being made but with less real investment behind it.
The best move might be putting more time into personal projects that could eventually be licensed or streamed. Even if it only brings in small checks at first, it adds up over time and keeps your creativity active.
I still think there’s room for people who know how to make something feel real. The tools are everywhere now, but the connection and emotion still come from experience.

@Snowfun
This really hits home. Especially the part about sitting in front of Resolve for hours trying to fix something that might have lost its purpose before the grade even started. The gear cycle has become its own kind of trap. We keep upgrading tools that already do more than we need while forgetting what we were trying to say in the first place.
What you’re describing feels less like disillusionment and more like realignment. It’s that moment when you start asking what actually matters and realize the art is in the process, not the specs. Whether it’s a Leica M11M or a P6K, the camera only matters if it helps you express what you feel.
I’ve gone through something similar. I’ve realized that storytelling and emotion always outlast sharpness or dynamic range. A phone clip that feels alive will connect more than a perfect cinematic shot that says nothing.
You summed it up best at the end. Art in both process and product. That’s the part that stays with me.
 

Art…
Over the last couple of years I have become increasingly disillusioned by “video”. Far too much emphasis on gear. Buying the latest drone or gimbal or battery solution and upgrading this or that or, preferably, both. And to what end? To produce something that a handful of people will watch once on a phone screen? Last year I had the opportunity to produce a couple of short promotional films for a heritage steam railway. They got in the order of 10k views. Were they “art”? No, they were artistically dreadful. Was there any joy in making them? Not really - far too many hours sitting staring at a screen trying to remember how to use Resolve. (And, to be honest, the parts people liked most were the iPhone bits - the “artistic” sweeping views and thoughtful sequences were redundant…)
All the time wondering whether a Canon might be better (whatever that means) than my Sony? A LUMIX better than my P6k? Or should I look good and get a RED badge? Or a Nikon? All, of course, irrelevant… the quality of today’s stuff is way more than what I’m capable of.
So a change of scene. I’ve bought a M11M to produce art for the wall. Something which will last beyond a quick Vimeo view. It’s gorgeous to use. I got a mix of Leica and Voigtlander lenses (the latter’s 28/35/50 Apo are fabulous). The results are incredible. Ok, so I still need to sit at the computer with Capture One but protecting the highlights and pulling up the shadows reveals staggering levels of detail. And standing by the side of a Scottish loch debating whether to use a green, yellow, orange or red filter? Well, it ticks the pseudo-intellectual hipster box. 
Of course, the P6k will come out of the cupboard every-so-often but the focus - the passion - is now on monochrome art. 
Art. In both process and product.

Tianluokeng Tulou clusters, Fujian Province, China.
These buildings have a very thick outer wall of earth and a 3-5 storey inner wooden structure that houses dozens of families.  The structure is designed to be stable during earthquakes and secure against bandits.  The oldest if the ones we visited was built in 1796.
These are just with a quick grade, mostly Resolve Film Look Creator. The DR in the scene is extreme, and while all the required info is in the files, I'm going to have to go heavy on the power-windows when I grade these properly.
Grabs from GH7 + 14-140mm zoom.








Grabs from iPhone 17 Pro shooting Prores Log with default app.
The Prores HQ Apple Log files grade really nicely, have heaps of DR, and are great to work with. The DR isn't quite as much as the GH7, but it's more than enough for these scenes.  These were graded at a different time to the above GH7 shots so probably don't match.





All-in-all, the iPhone well and truly punches above its weight when you take into account it's pocketability, the size of the sensor, and the incredible range in focal lengths.  Imagine how much you'd have to pay to get a lens that can do 13-200mm FF equivalent FOV and has exposure levels between F1.78 and F2.8 across the whole range.

Absolutely.  Use a tripod or stabiliser when required and use an ND to shoot manually with the iPhone and you'll get top notch results with a very light setup.
Great to hear people using modest tools and putting out work.

For me, the iPhone has been competent for filming since the 13 pro max. I’ve produced whole documentaries with it. Now with the 17 pro max out, with an iPhone and maybe an action camera, I can document high quality content while being extra nimble and incognito. 

Enjoy.
Do you prefer cinema when it's busy or borderline empty? I think I prefer to go on quiet days.

This take is a bit much. Plenty of bad films were shot on film, and plenty of great ones were shot digitally. It’s not the format that makes a movie good or bad it’s how you use it. Preferring film is fine, but saying digital ruined cinema is extreme. 
That said, I’m interested in Fuji’s upcoming Eterna film camera. If it delivers high quality in camera color, it could push DPs to lock in the final look while shooting, which is an interesting approach.

Got it, I see what you’re saying about the DP shooting for the edit rather than fixing things in post. That’s a solid approach when you know exactly what you need, and I respect that.
As for pros not talking about gear, I’m not saying they never do. Of course, people in the industry test and discuss new tech, but the difference is that those conversations usually focus on how the gear serves the work, not endless debates over minor details that don’t make or break a project.
I don’t have an issue with people being passionate about cameras, I just think the discussion gets lost when it’s more about obsessing over specs than actually applying them to real world filmmaking.

Got it, I see what you’re saying about the DP shooting for the edit rather than fixing things in post. That’s a solid approach when you know exactly what you need, and I respect that.
As for pros not talking about gear, I’m not saying they never do. Of course, people in the industry test and discuss new tech, but the difference is that those conversations usually focus on how the gear serves the work, not endless debates over minor details that don’t make or break a project.
I don’t have an issue with people being passionate about cameras, I just think the discussion gets lost when it’s more about obsessing over specs than actually applying them to real world filmmaking.

I get that people love to dissect every little thing, but as someone working with some of the biggest media companies, I can tell you that a lot of these so called issues don’t even come up in real world professional work. The S1R II delivers solid image quality, stabilization, and dynamic range. More than enough to create high level content. I’m not saying don’t analyze your tools, but at some point, you have to ask, is this actually making you a better filmmaker, or just keeping you stuck in analysis paralysis? If your priority is making great content, you’ll be just fine.

I’m going to check this out. Thanks for sharing this. 

Regarding technique and creativity, has anyone seen Adolescence on Netflix?
Among the most viewed TV series on Netflix is Adolescence, a four-episode British miniseries that is receiving rave reviews from audiences and critics just about everywhere. The praise is partly about the story it tells, and partly about the way the series was written, performed, and, above all, directed: each episode is in fact shot in a single, very long take, that is, all at once, with no cuts between shots and therefore no breaks for the actors and crew, and no editing required.
Adolescence was written by Englishmen Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham. In addition to contributing to the screenplay, the latter also plays Eddie Miller, the protagonist's father and one of the main characters. The director, on the other hand, is compatriot Philip Barantini, who four years ago had directed Graham himself in the film Boiling Point - Disaster is Served, a thriller that was a good success in the United Kingdom and which, just like Adolescence, was shot with a single long take.
Adolescence centers on the story of Jamie Miller, a 13-year-old student who is arrested on charges of committing murder. However, the detective plot is set aside fairly early on because the point of the series is not so much to get to the resolution of a case, but to analyze the motives behind the actions of a teenager in our times, and to place them in the social and cultural context in which he lives.
For me, who has a 13-year-old son, the first two episodes were a punch in the gut. Perhaps the absence of editing also helps to give you no respite and lower you even more into the story. Truly a peculiar product.
Two scenes in particular struck me. For the first, at the beginning of the first episode, I had thought of a crane being moved on a trolley or truck. The second one is even more peculiar because the camera goes through the window and flies high above the houses. Netflix has released a BTS showing both scenes. (Spoiler: they used a drone)
Sorry, I couldn't find a YT link:
https://x.com/NetflixUK/status/1901617851192033326
It was entirely shot on the Ronin 4D:
Spoiler alert:
https://variety.com/2025/artisans/news/adolescence-one-take-episodes-netflix-1236339292/
 

There are moments here I enjoy but this forum feels more like a place to vent about gear than to actually discuss the craft of filmmaking. Where are the conversations on creative problem solving? How are people pulling off run and gun shooting in restricted areas without permits? What are some cost-effective practical effects techniques for horror films? Are certain shot compositions or camera movements more effective at evoking specific emotions in an audience?
I know I can find some of this on YouTube, but part of the appeal of a forum like this is the ability to connect directly with professionals, exchange real world experiences, and even spark collaborations. Is anyone still having these kinds of discussions here?