Are camera companies out of touch with the current financial reality?

[Alt Shoo]

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?

[eatstoomuchjam]

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.