The Recent rise of Digicams
I haven’t been that active with cameras in the last year with work commitments. Every once In a while I would go on a photo walk and not look at what’s popular.
It has struck me that Canon Ixus cameras have rocketed up in value. I take a Canon SD1000 I bought for under £20 it now seems to cost over £80 in good condition.
And digicams you could pick up any day of the week a year ago for under £20 have multiplied in value.
I think it’s down to tick tock, youtube and the Fujifilm trends and people wanting to emulate early norties looks. Liking the size, design. As well as the of the moment unpolished quality of the photos.
I think this occurring has pros and cons.
It’s important that wider knowledge gets out that these cameras aren’t E waste and so more people won’t throw them away.
A new generation of people into photography.
More people realise cheap cameras aren’t necessarily bad.
For me the major con is a hand full of digicams are no longer the stop gap buy; between the next big camera purchase any more. Which used to allow me to have fun with a new buy whilst still saving.
I am seriously considering buying an early canon APSC camera and lens instead, of trying out more digicams as it seems to be a more cost-effective option. Early DSLR’s seem to be more immune from trends and appear to be in good supply.
I wonder how long this will last, I would appreciate other people’s thoughts.
Does anyone think MPB and WEX may start selling used digicams for instance?
In my opinion, I think the digicam craze will die down. Currently, the prices are so high, even higher then older MFT cameras and lenses. I don't think MPB and WEX will stock digicams. It is too risky as a business. This is also the reason why camera shops in general do not sell used digicams. They can't give out warranties for these.
I am with you, I would rather buy an old DSLR or mirroless camera than a digicam. If I were to buy a compact camera, I would go for an LX10 or one of the RX100-series.
Yeah I 100% agree it'll have to die down eventually. It's fun when it's cameras no one has heard of and they are super cheap and still good, but when they start getting pricey there's just no reason in my mind to get them. The price was always the #1 reason for me.
Older DSLRs are definitely the best buy right now. It's amazing what $100 will get you, and there's so much cheap and good glass. Some early mirrorless cameras are alright too, if you want the ability to experiment with adapting pretty much whatever lenses (the only reason I own mirrorless cameras, personally haha).
All that said, I still constantly am finding great cameras no one seems to notice or talk about that are still cheap. So, I think it's a matter of resourcefulness on a budget.
While I think the Digicam craze will end what's driving it won't die down any time soon. Look at how much money Fuji make from Instax, the X100 series never mind the like of the X30/70s and what they can go for on the secondhand market, you can include Ricoh GR cameras in that also. Then there's Pentax going back into the world of compact film cameras.
For me the common denominator is people want simpler often more pure photography experiences. On the low end that's digicams/Instax on the higher end it's Fuji X100VIs, Ricoh GR IIIs etc. When you seen rumours about a new compact Leica camera, Lumix hinting at a return to smaller MFT cameras and even the recent Logitech streaming camera you could even argue that people are perhaps looking for more practical specific photo/video tools. Companies are starting to recognise this, which I think is exciting for all of us
I think people who get into digicams as first time photographers are just sick of phones. They want a nice hobby, especially durring and "after" a years long pandemic and resulting (and also unrelated) social unrest. Photography has always been a popular choice so many people jump to it. People in 20s-30s who were around and conscious durring the rise of compact digital cameras before smartphones got everywhere can go on a nostalgia trip by buying a cheapo soap camera on ebay for 30$, that sounds like a good deal. And for once it's not easily coopted by businesses spoon feeding you products as salvaging what might as well be Ewaste is half the appeal (and is also orders of magnitude cheaper, hell, even free sometimes). I think board games and alike becoming more popular since 2020 is pretty simmilar.
I got into film in the tail end of 2022 after a pretty rough patch, so that's how I see it. Then I got a pentax cause I was sick of paying for film development. Using referbished old film cameras or early digital cameras feels very nice, you get to use a tool with a long history; especially if you're a fan of right to repair and simmilar movements.
For non first time photographers theres also an artistic elements to using otherwise bad equipment as imperfections, be it film grain or noise from a 1' sensor, often add to a work in an eviorment where so much of it is sterile. Makes you pop out from the smoothed over background noise if done well. I see it alot in indie animation where character designs warp anatomy, composition and other conventions in ways lightyears ahead of what big studios could keep up with. Same story with video games. Also historically that was the case with music alt culture but we don't have much of a mainstream music culture now anyway.
I don't think it's going away any time soon, it altered the broad photography culture and the residue will never truly leave. It will just stop being new and we will think it's over. I think that's great: more people enjoy photography, less people will feel the need to go bankrupt over GAS and limiting yourself like that is a great for learning.
Old digicams produce something different than modern, clinically accurate cameras.
Having lived through the era when these now nostalgic old digicams were new, I am less inclined to buy a bunch of them. I spent a decade+ trying to buy cameras that were better. And now the younger crowd finds something different in them which I think is totally normal. I think the novelty will wind down from where it is now. But everything goes in cycles and eventually people will start paying attention to them when they are rare, cheap, and more obscure.
What I enjoy most about old cameras are the kinds of discussions they raise ( James is good at this ) around quirks and strange design choices. Kodak history alone makes me want one for my shelf. It's that kind of interest that will always be there but not as mainstream as what the craze is now?
Dunno but I'm glad the craze exists in a world where phone cameras are (or soon could be) be all we really need.
I think the trend will stick around but popularity will ebb and flow, just like film photography. I think this was said already but I think DSLRs will eventually become the next "craze." I mean if people are acting this way over those old digicams... just wait until DSLRs start to feel that old. We're almost there already, and I know of at least one or two notable youtube personalities who have largely set aside their modern mirrorless for an older DSLR.
I think part of what drives the trend is not just photo nostalgia or wanting a different look to your photos, but wanting to be unplugged from phones and computers and more in touch with reality. Yeah, our phones can do a lot of photography now and even setting aside all the weird processing etc that comes with that it can still feel like, "Great. I'm looking at my phone again. This is hour 8 of 9 I've been awake on this thing." 😂 And for a lot of people, a modern mirrorless feels as much like a computer as a camera and doesn't feel like "unplugging" so they look for something else.
I'm just parroting what I've heard/read that resonated with me. Not sure any of these are my original thoughts. 😆 But there ya go. I'm happy it is happening though, the more people interested in photography the better. And the more varied the hobby is (vs all the sameness we have from new cams), the better! Lastly, I love that people are breathing life into old, once-forgotten items. 🙂
