10 31 August 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
THE
VEWS
EXPRESSED
NTH
SCOLUMN
ARE
NOT
NECESSAR
LYTHOSE
OF
AMATEUR
PHOTOGRAPHER
MAGA Z
NE
OR
TMED
AL
MTED
I
haveoftenthoughtthatthe
cameraindustrysharesquitea
fewlikenessesto theautomotive
industry.Brandnewcarsare
expensiveitemsto buyoutrightfrom
new,andthesamecanbesaidforthe
latestcamerasthatboaststate-of-
the-arttechnology.Takethe
PanasonicLumixS1R,NikonZ 7 or
SonyA9forexample– three
prestigefull-framemirrorless
modelsthatallputa bigdentin
yourbankbalanceat over£3,
eachforthebodyalone.It doesn’t
matterif you’rea passionateamateur
orworkingpro,droppingthiskindof
cashona newcameraisn’ta decisionto
berushed.Cameramanufacturers,like
carmanufacturers,haveacknowledged
thatwithsomuchmoneyonthelineit’s
imperativeto getproductsintopotential
customers’handssotheyhavethechance
to trybeforetheybuy– muchliketakinga
caroutfora test-drive.
TogetLumixS seriescamerasintonew
people’shands,Panasonichasrecently
launchedanincentivethatallows
photographerstoborrowkitandtryit for
free.Professionalandseriousamateurs
cantrialLumixS kitfora periodof two
weekstocovera specific projectorsimply
toenjoya chancetoseewhatit cando.
Forthosewho’dliketogetholdof a
differentcameraorlensfora one-off
opportunity,orextendedtime,thereare
numeroushirecompanieswhoare
preparedtolendyoukitfora fraction of
thepriceof buyingfromnew.
Cameraforamonthlyfee
Somethingthathasproventobehugely
popularin theautomotiveindustryis the
optiontoleasea newcar,butthisconcept
is yettofilterthroughtothephotography
market.I believethathavingtheoptionto
leasea costlycameraliketheSonyA9,
say,wherebyyoupaya fixedmonthlyfee
tousethecameraforanagreedtime
periodandnotexceeda predetermined
shuttercount,wouldbeanexcellentidea.
Suretherewillbetheusualstrictrules,
creditchecksandthecamerawon’tbe
your own property, but the thought of
beingabletoshootwitha newcamera
everyfewyears,with relativelylow
monthlypaymentsandnoworryabout
resalevalue,is extremelyappealing.
If cameraleasingweretotakeoffit
wouldrequirea bitof thought.Camera
manufacturerswouldneedtomakeit
easierforuserstochecktheshutter
count,a bitlikeweglanceat theodometer
ona car.Cameraleasecompaniescould
offerpersonalcontracthire(PCH)aswell
astheoptiontobuythecameraand
becomeitslegalownerat theendof the
leasingcontractthrougha personal
contractpurchase(PCP)scheme.The
otherthingtoconsideris thatit would
supplythesecond-handmarketwith
manywell-looked-aftercamerasthat
haven’tbeenoverused.Muchlikecarson
PCHaresoldonat theendof their
contractperiod,it wouldbethesamefor
cameras.Thisis allfoodforthought,butI
doliketheideaof payinga setpriceeach
monthfora top-of-therangecamera,
muchlikeI doformysmartphone.
Buyingacameraoutrightisanexpensive
thingtodo.Couldleasingcamerasinthe
future be the way to go?
View point
Michael Topham
MichaelTophamis AP’sReviewsEditor.In his
sparetimeheshootsweddings.Seewww.
michaeltopham.co.uk.
Doyouhavesomethingyou’dliketogetoffyourchest?Sendusyourthoughtsinaround
500 wordstotheaddressonpage 12 andwina year’sdigitalsubscriptiontoAP,worth£79.
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DAVE FIELDHOUSE
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MichaelTophamteststheNikon
500mmf/5.6EPFEDVRatLord’s
KingoftheNorth
AmyDaviestalkstoRoryLewisabout
hiscaptivating‘Northerners’portraits
ToptonaltoolsinElements
JamesPatersonexploresthetoolsfor
boosting tones in Photoshop Elements
DaveFieldhousedecidedon
a24-hourphotoshoot.How
did he solve the challenges?
24 hours
in the city
In next week’s issue
On sale Tuesday 3 September
Panasonicis
currentlyoffering
photographers
thechancetotry
LumixS series
camerasforfree
‘It’simperativetoget
productsintothehands
of potential customers’