Last Camera State

[chambeshi]

A recent synopsis of a recurring subject :

https://photographylife.com/last-camera-syndrome/#more-143141

There is potential to keep refining Auto-Focus, which will continue to motivate action photographers to upgrade. Another possibility is the shift to systems built around medium format sensors, as in the Hasselblad X1D but this is still a niche market.

[David H. Hartman]

A friend wanted me to help her buy her last computer back in 2006.  , etc.

It was a Motorola based iMAC. She's bought a few since.

Dave Hartman

[Jack Dahlgren]

I can no longer call any camera purchase an investment, since they depreciate in value faster than ever

Sounds like a grumpy old man. The quote above shows he is not really thinking this through. It contradicts  his main thesis that camera development has stalled. The most likely situation is that he (and his cohort) have stalled.

[Ilkka Nissilä]

Right, if camera resale value is sinking fast it means that there is rapid improvement in the new bodies, taking away from the value of the older models.

If used equipment resale value remains high then it means development of new tech is no longer fast.

In my opinion it would be normal for a person to buy a camera once and use it until it wears out. That would be the best from an ecological point of view, and probably for the buyer's economy as well.

[David H. Hartman]

Today's dSLR is an expense. Almost all cameras depreciate in value. Even if the price increases in dollars or other currency when adjusted for inflation they loose value. We say we are going to "invest" to trick ourselves.

I the late film age a camera was an expense, depreciable if bought for business. They still depreciated if bought for pleasure. If a camera was built to last a lifetime one might with some reason call it an investment. Even if a camera appreciates in dollars or other currency once that currency is adjusted for inflation the camera is worth less.

Digital cameras are as much computer as camera. They are and expense and might also be thought of as a prepaid expense since you buy memory cards and then you shoot for "free." Today's dSLR(s) will not last a lifetime. There are too many parts that will after a time not be available so at some point the camera will be unrepairable.

Dave Hartman

[elsa hoffmann]

Today's dSLR is an expense. Almost all cameras depreciate in value. Even if the price increases in dollars or other currency when adjusted for inflation they loose value. We say we are going to "invest" to trick ourselves.
.........
Dave Hartman

Not much different to a car then    And I agree on the tricking part, and it sometimes extend to spouses as well I hear.

[Ilkka Nissilä]

It is still an investment. The fun and photographs we get using the equipment are the benefit from the investment.

[Ron Scubadiver]

DSLR's do depreciate, but these days one can get 3 or 4 years easily before improvements make a new camera compelling.  It used to be 18 months.

[CS]

It's an investment if you're getting paid to use it. If you use it for fun, it's an expense.

[Ilkka Nissilä]

The financial meaning is only one of several meanings for the word invest.

[Jack Dahlgren]

The meaning implied by the article is as a store of value which is eroded by depreciation (actually lowering of resale value)

I'd argue the opposite, that slowing improvement prolongs shelf life. So you can't say innovation is stagnant and shelf-life is decreasing - unless of course, things are breaking sooner.

My opinion is that this is the view of a person who is stagnating after a period of irrational exuberance (not that stagnation is a bad thing, nor is it entirely avoidable). We all have biases and see things through the lenses we have.

[armando_m]

Not much different to a car then    And I agree on the tricking part, and it sometimes extend to spouses as well I hear.

hmm not so sure about the last part

and if I tell her, darling your ROI is lacking I may suddenly stop posting here 

[Nasos Kosmas]

It's an investment if you're getting paid to use it. If you use it for fun, it's an expense.

Totally agree! I cannot pay for the best if is not a tool in my every day job

[David H. Hartman]

There are dictionaries if you want to know the meanings for the word invest.