Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-09-06)

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

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Sublimeprime

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’