Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-02-22)

14 22 February 2020I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113

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I

nthisweek’sissue,I

reviewLeica’slatestM

Monochrom,a

rangefindercamera

thatshootsonlyin black&

white.It’sveryspecialindeed,

butthenagainit probably

shouldbe,giventhatit costs

£7,250withouta lens.I paid

considerablylessthanthat

formycar.

Whilethisis anextreme

example,it doesoftenfeelas

thoughcamerasaregetting

increasinglyunaffordable.For

example,Sony’soriginalCyber-shot

RX100– thefirstcameratofeature

a 1-inchsensor,of thekindthat’snow

ubiquitousacrossadvancedcompacts–

seemedinconceivablyexpensiveforits

typewhenit waslaunchedbackin 2012

for£550.Butby2019,theseventh-

generationversionappearedforan

eye-watering£1,100,fullydoublethe

price.Weoftengetaskedwhyweonly

reviewexpensivecameras,buthere,in a

nutshell,is theproblem.Wereview

cameraswhenthey’refirstreleased,and

at thatpoint,they’reexpensive.

In essence,thissimplyreflectshowthe

marketnowworks.Whereoncea new

camerawouldcompletelyreplaceits

predecessoronthedealers’shelvesin a

matterof weeks,nowtheoldmodelsstay

availableformuchlonger,at ever-

decreasingprices.Thisin turnallows

manufacturerstopitchtheirlatestand

greatesttechat a higherpricepoint,and

recouptheirdevelopmentcostsfrom

earlyadopters.Sothisis wherebargains

aretobefound– notwiththeshinynew

releases,butwitholderdesigns,which are

oftenstillverycapableindeed.

Thebargainsareoutthere

Let’sconsidera fewexamples.Wanta

brilliantfull-frameDSLR?Takea lookat

theNikonD750,whichcannowbehad

forunder£1,000,lessthanhalftheprice

of itsrecentlyannouncedsuccessor,the

D780. How about a high-quality 4K-video

shootingmirrorlesscamera?Panasonic’s

verycapableG80costs£600witha

versatile12-60mmlens,makingit £

lessthanlastyear’sG90formuchthe

samespec.If it’sanentry-levelDSLR

you’reafter,theCanonEOS2000Dcosts

£369withitsimage-stabilised18-55mm

kitlens,havingstartedlifewitha £

priceticket.Andgoingbackto Sony’s

premiumcompacts,at thetimeof writing

thatoriginalRX100couldbeboughtfrom

reputableretailers,brandnew,forjust

£249,withintermediategenerationsat

practicallyeverypricepointin between.

Wereviewedallof thesecameras,it’s just

thattheylookedquitea lotmore

expensiveat thetime.

Sowhatareyouroptionsif you’veonly

gota coupleof hundredquidtospend?

Unfortunatelythebottomendof the

markethasbeendecimatedbythequality

andubiquityof mobilephones,sothere’s

notmuchtobuynew.Butthisis whatthe

second-handmarkethasalwaysbeenfor,

andthereareplentyof reputableretailers

outthere,soyoudon’thavetotakeyour

chancesoneBay.Thebottomlineis that

bargainsarestillaround, just rarely with

thelatestcameras.

AndyWestlakeis currentlytheTechnicalEditor

ofAmateurPhotographer. Forsixanda halfyears

hewroteforDigitalPhotographyReview, writing

numerous lens and camera reviews.

It’sclearthatcamerabargainsareavailable,

just don’t expect the latest technology

Sony’soriginalRX100currentlycosts

a fifth as much as the latest version

View point

Andy Westlake

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS COLUMN ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER MAGA ZINE OR TI MEDIA LIMITED

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