or will it remain stable at different price points? There's a similarity. Remember how high the prices were for the Razr phones when they first came out? Now you can get them as the free phone with some cell plans.
As for digital cameras, there's a honeymoon period when the price is relatively high. After the initial feeding frenzy of the public, prices stabilise and you'll find rebates. Within months (for point & shoots) or a year or two (for DSLR cameras) new models will come out. An example is how the Nikon D70 evolved into the D70s and then begat the D80. For a short time, the old and the new model will be available (until stocks are depleted) and the older one will be drastically dropped in price.
Think about video game consoles (PS, PS2, PS3, PS?) and cars. If you buy at the end of the model run, you get perfectly fine equipment, but no bragging rights. As far as I'm concerned, bragging rights don't buy lenses. The low end cameras are stable but at the higher prices you are getting more capability (such as more pixels per inch) at a given price. Not quite the same way as phones. Phones are all electronic and so therefore relatively simple to make (even though the electronics are complex). A camera is more of a mechanical device, most of them have moving parts. I predict they will be more like computers have been for the last few years. They will slowly drift downwards in price, but more to the point you will continue to get a better camera at each price point. yes...but they will just keep comming out with better ones that will be expensive when they come out. And if you are like most Americans you will have to have the newest one...and it will be expensive....ya know there are digital cameras out there for about $40! Cell phone prices aren't really down.
Go try buying one, with no service agreement signed.
The cell phone companies are subsadising the cost of the phones now.
But digital cameria prices will come down, as memory prices come down.
But for a good digital camera, the prices will always be about what they are now, you will just be getting more memory , better lens and more features. The only proven fact about digital camera prices is that they WILL come down and usually a week after you buy yours.
Years ago, my sister wanted to get a digital camera for her graphic arts business. At the time, my "dream" camera was a Nikon Coolpix 5400. The stinkin' thing sold for a solid $1,000. This was about 4 years ago. While she was "thinking it over," the price dropped to $700 and she took it as a sign that "now" was the time to buy. This was in the summer of 2004. In February 2005, Nikon dropped the price to $500 AND there was a $200 rebate, meaning a camera that sold for $1,000 in February 2004 dropped to $300 in one year. She is not one to follow the photo equipment market, so I never told her what I paid for mine.
We just had a member here buy a new 4 year old camera for about 20% of the original list price.
The Nikon D40 came out in November 2006 and it sold everywhere for the suggested list price of $599 with the lens. By May 2007 - only six months later - it was commonly available for $525, which is where it still sits today. Vegan is on to it
its like this glass ans thats quality glass like $20,000 worth that is the getting towards the optimum in optics. the price will only go up it is a bussiness asset.
so the price of the lens stays the same and the price of the camera stays the same, what happens is they ad more megapixels, but a crap lens recording 3 megapixels is much the same as a 6mp behind cheap glass
i know they are the ravings of the insane - but only genius can be so lamented
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