will film cameras get cheaper?
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- Опубліковано 16 вер 2024
- Will Kodak's price rises cause film camera prices to fall?
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Interesting, but I have to disagree I'm afraid. Before I continue I'd just like to clarify that I love film shooting and have quite a few film cameras.
However, there's a large elephant in the room that needs to be taken into consideration.
That elephant is called recession/depression/ inflation and potentially hyperinflation.
People are struggling to get by and the first casualties resulting from that are "luxury" items and hobbies/passions such as photography.
I reckon that film cameras will face a price drop similar to what occurred when digital arrived, because people will be more concerned with their increasing mortgage and higher food prices.
Photography is a luxury and film photography is a niche luxury within that luxury, so it's going to be hit hard.
Just my two cents worth.
An interesting point. Only time will tell 🙂
I think some that are over hyped right now and maybe some like the RB67 will come down. I feel the classics like the 500c/m, Rolleiflex etc will hold their value or even continue to climb as they are known ones and sought after.
Not of course to forget Leica ... I was looking for a reason to buy another Leica iii - now I can peg it as a sound investment 🙂
Being Old Skool (or maybe just old) I used to shoot my digital like a film camera, ie: spot the shot, shoot and move on. A trip out would result in somewhere between 24 and 36 shots. I got back into film because the cost of good cameras was so low when I browsed ebay, sometime around 2008/9 (the golden age for acquisition). The cost of buying colour film and subsequent lab processing made me decide to learn B&W processing in 2022. Now the cost of s/h film cameras has got a little silly I find my G.A.S has more or less been cured. Do you think 50 plus 35mm cameras and two 120 cameras is sufficient? Loving the channel.
I think that prices for some of the more trendy cameras have at least stabilized and a couple have even gone down just a little. The Nikon 35Ti has actually come down about $100USD in the last year but the prices for the Nikon 28Ti have not and they were even more expensive than the 35Ti. Hasselblad and the Rolleiflex have remained rather stable also. The Mamiya RB67 has seen some slight reduction in price. Lenses have remained high unless you are looking for a Canon LTM 0.95 50mm in which case the sky is the limit.
mmmmmmm Canon LTM 0.95 - drool - my Barnack Leica is telling me it needs one ... my bank manager - not so much!
I remember those times in early 2000's when you could buy film cameras for peanuts. But I could afford only a thing here and there course my mortgage was still sky high. And now when I'm done with mortgage the prices for even slightly nicer cameras are sky high. I will not say that universe is unjust, but it does behave like an a**hole...
After living through 60 years of film cameras with their price hikes and falls for various reasons, I agree with the analysis of the video. Film prices may cause consumption to level off or even fall a bit, which is the tipping point Kodak has been testing the market for in the last few years. IMO the cameras which may fall in price are those which have increased in price over the last 5 - 10 years due more to social media hype well beyond their practical value as picture makers. That should hit the cheaper 35mm cameras, point-n-shoots, like the XA and Mju. For the XA, that would be the second time, as it nearly quadrupled in price to $175-200 right after it was terminated in mid-1980s, followed by a crash back to around $40 two years later. I'd expect a modest price reduction in the high end P-n-S models, like T2 and 35Ti. Time to sell my T2.) High quality users won't fall. Collectibles are film price independent, and they won't fall. Lower quality MF cameras presently over priced will probably loose favor and fall, like the Yashica TLR models, as some film users may abandon MF for the much less costly 35mm format. Apart from the Mamiya 6/7 rangefinders, which currently ride a hyped price bubble which almost certainly will burst at some point, I think the prices of MF cameras will sustain until their particular defects start to show. A good example of this is the GA645Zi, which fell 60% in price as its critical LCD cable problem started to turn many into paperweights, then rebounded 250% when a European company started offering repair parts and services for the problem. Is there a film camera which presently presents a relative bargain which should only increase in value in the future? I think so, if you want to dabble in large format. If I did, I'd start shopping for the most perfect Linhof 4x5 field camera I could find, and I'd then send it to Linhof's US office for a full overhaul while parts and service are still available. I'd also shop up some of the extraordinary LF modern lenses from Fuji, Nikon, Schneider and Rodenstock, while they are still available and relatively inexpensive. These are things which are not being made anymore, and no one is going to in the future make things which will equal them.
Brilliantly put 🙂
To my mind repair and reparability is at the heart of what is desirable in a film camera, and what the film support industry needs to work towards. We need more repair technicians trained, and possibly even more manufacturers prepared to invest in the service sector.
As an interesting aside, Gibson in the guitar world and Rolex in the watch world are now selling certified 'pre owned' classic equipment. Now Leica may already do this I'm not sure, but I'd certainly be up for a refurbished and 'factory' checked Nikon F2 or a Canon F1 etc.
Around 2012-2015 when digital reached it’s pinnacle of desirability quality film cameras reached a bottom. A good condition M6 could be had for $1200-$1400 USD. One could purchase a Mamiya 7 and 80mm for $1200-$1300. Hassleblad bottomed and has near doubled in value since.
Now decent 4x5 cameras are reasonably affordable and some MF cameras like the Mamiya C330 and say a Minolta Autocord are still available at decent prices. Fuji MF prices don’t look bad considering the market.
Which reminds me I must trundle my MPP 5x4 out for an outing shortly!
Thanks Ash for this video. I will never give up my film cameras until I am in the ground! about 90% B&W, so prices of color film really don't bother me. It's not fun for me to shoot digital, so I try to avoid it as much as possible.
Thanks for your comment Tom ... I'm similar with B&W though I'm shooting some colour again professionally at the moment (admittedly that's digital but I'm trying to educate clients).
Really excellent videos and channel!
Thank you 🙂
Everything old is new again. If you grow up with digital then film is a novelty and a fascination.
It would appear that old digital cameras are becoming more valuable now too ... who'd have thought? 🙂
It will be interesting to see, that's for sure. I have heard people say they will be selling a few of their cameras. But maybe I think the collector in us all is too firmly entrenched, and a lot will stay in collections. It will also be offset, to a degree by people shooting black and white. Generally I think we may see a drop off, with people using digital more, but only as a supplement to their black and white film.
- and black and white is certainly booming!
This could be the rise before the fall.
I certainly think there'll be a levelling out. It would be good to see large format enlargers at less silly prices .... but I doubt that'll happen.
Certain cameras will come down, but leicas, Hasselblad and rare cameras will only gain value or atleast stay where they are
If Hasselblad had only made a 6x7 I would be all over it. Much prefer 6x7 or 6x9 to a square negative🙂