Man photography is getting expensive!!

Can I just whine a little and say, "Holy exchange rates! Photography is getting too expensive!!". I know why it is happening, but the effect is still the same. The average joe is starting to get priced out of photography - at least in the Canon camp (haven't checked others, really). Used prices are what new prices were last year at this time. New Prices are 20-30% higher. Bodies are getting a little cheaper, but lenses and flashes are just priced crazy! It used to be a guy like me could squeeze into mid level stuff, but now those prices just moved into the luxury class for me. I wonder if I will be able to ever buy anything but overpriced used gear from now on.

Feel free to complain if you want or gloat if you can still afford this crap. I think it sucks.

Agreed. I'm fortunate in that I was flush with some extra cash and bought in early. However, now I'm pretty much stuck and can't get anything else. I am shifting my photography a bit and now realize having a complete kit is useless (well, not really but...) and I want select tools instead. Except those select tools I want are thousands of dollars which I just don't have any more.

I guess it's just time to suck it up and work with what you have, until the good times roll back around.

Yep. And it looks like it's going to get worse before it gets better. I timed my purchase of the 70-200mm Mark II just after the price hike, so that was less than awesome.

tkbslc wrote in post #11985108
Can I just whine a little and say, "Holy exchange rates! Photography is getting too expensive!!". I know why it is happening, but the effect is still the same. The average joe is starting to get priced out of photography - at least in the Canon camp (haven't checked others, really). Used prices are what new prices were last year at this time. New Prices are 20-30% higher. Bodies are getting a little cheaper, but lenses and flashes are just priced crazy! It used to be a guy like me could squeeze into mid level stuff, but now those prices just moved into the luxury class for me. I wonder if I will be able to ever buy anything but overpriced used gear from now on.

Feel free to complain if you want or gloat if you can still afford this crap. I think it sucks.

I'm definitely seeing this effect, especially on ebay. For example, 6 months ago a used canon 50mm 1.4 used to go for $300-$320 or so. Now, you're looking at $320-$340. A 70-200 mk1 used to sell for $1350 (6 months ago), and now they're going for around $1500!!

It's the prices HERE that haven't gone up People are still pricing around what they've been for the last year or so. 70200 mk1s for $1200-$1300, 50mm 1.4s for $300... difficult to say how long that will last though.

Honestly I don't think those were ever "cheap" to start with. It's not like suddenly they go from affordable to not.

Well... if the trend keeps going... well... that would suck, lol

MOkoFOko wrote in post #11985312
I'm definitely seeing this effect, especially on ebay.

Too true. eBay has gone to sh*t with the prices of used gear. I saw a 100mm IS L Macro go for $10 less than what it can be had for at B&H. It's crazy.

Indecent Exposure wrote in post #11985385
Too true. eBay has gone to sh*t with the prices of used gear. I saw a 100mm IS L Macro go for $10 less than what it can be had for at B&H. It's crazy.

Ebay prices have pretty much always been in line with retail values (for the popular goods, anyhow)--mainly because its gotten to be the first place people shop anymore. I'm guilty of this. The only real good deals to be had are when sellers fail to research beforehand and list their goods well below the going rate--and auction style listings of course.

It's crazy how fast ebay prices fluctuate when retail prices change.

You guys in the US think it's tough.
You should see what we have to pay in Aussie even though our dollar is almost (and has been) at parity with the greenback

philwillmedia wrote in post #11985961
You guys in the US think it's tough.
You should see what we have to pay in Aussie even though our dollar is almost (and has been) at parity with the greenback

Just as bad for us Canadians. If you guys in the US buy mail order from a different state you don't pay taxes. In Canada no matter where you buy, even from the US we always pay the taxes (which for me in Ontario is 13% - so imagine how much in just sales taxes I had to pay for my 70-200 MKII). The only way to avoid such taxes of course is to buy used.

My approx. guess is that a modern body, a few lenses, filter, flashes, tripod, etc. will run 10k for a serious amateur (YMMV). To me this is a multi-year investment yielding hundreds to thousands of hours of enjoyment at the cost of a European vacation or half the cost of indulging in a luxury car purchase (say a Lexus over a similar Toyota).

It's simple supply & demand (well okay it's a bit more than that but)...if photogs quit being gear whores then the prices would start to come down...never knew a manufac. to RAISE prices when they werent selling something..Obviously raising prices hasnt hurt their bottom line (Canon at least)...not if you judge by the "I just pulled the trigger" posts on here almost everyday....so many are convinced they HAVE to have the latest & greatest as soon as it comes out..(see Ipad, Ipod etc...)

The dollar is low now. So high prices in U.S. are probably due to the weak currency situation. When the dollar regains its strenght it will be cheaper to buy equipment. Living in Europe, it was long since it last was so cheap to buy stuff in the U.S. All due to the current exchange rates.

I only buy 'new' if an item can't be found here used and in excellent condition.

dave

tkbslc wrote in post #11985108
I know why it is happening....

Quoting you because your post summarizes it nicely. We think we know what is happening. Most would say it's the dollar depreciating, which is true but is not the only driver. To me, it's corporate greed for higher profits more than anything else that's driving prices up.

tkbslc wrote in post #11985108
Bodies are getting a little cheaper, but lenses and flashes are just priced crazy!....

A perfect case in point. Relatively speaking, Body is where the crux of the R&D is. But price it higher and that messes with the consumer mindset that otherwise generally finds it acceptable to dump ~$1000 every 12 to 18 months into a camera body upgrade. Up that and the consumer outlook towards upgrades changes (for the worse from the manufacturer standpoint).

Many such examples:
* Printers are cheap, cartridges are not.
* Shaving blade arm is cheap, but shaving blades are super expensive.
* The spinning toothbrush arm with the motor is cheap but spinning tooth brush heads will cost you a fortune.

It's everywhere!

tkbslc wrote in post #11985108
The average joe is starting to get priced out of photography....

That summarizes it perfectly. It won't be long before even the lowest priced L is out of reach for a significant population.

It is getting a bit silly out there price wise, even for 30+ year old manual focus glass I'd like to get.

Lately I've been thinking about going back to school and saying to myself "if I sell my 300 2.8L IS it'll just about cover a semester at some of the places I've been looking at".