Saturday Shout: The Hidden Costs of Digital Cameras

This week’s Saturday Shout considers the hidden costs of buying a digital camera. Digital Cameras are getting ever cheaper. So cheap, in fact, that you can now buy a 5 megapixel model for £100, a 7 megapixel model for £200, and a DSLR with a lens for £450. But are those prices misleading the consumer? What do you actually get in return for your money? It’s long been an accepted fact in the digital camera industry that you don’t necessarily get everything that you need in the box. You almost always get a memory card that’s far too small, or in the case of digital SLRs, no memory card at all. Often the camera is supplied with completely inadequate batteries (non-rechargeable AA’s that last for a couple of hours spring to mind). And sometimes, a camera manufactuer will even talk about certain functionality in the user guide, but not actually supply the required part in the standard camera kit. An analogy to this situation is buying a car - you wouldn’t expect your new Ford Golf Megane to have no engine or petrol tank, but that’s exactly what a lot of digital cameras are supplied like when you buy one (although it’s obviously a lot easier to fit those parts yourself in a digicam!).

Does this make you hot under the collar, or do you actually prefer to have the choice of buying your own accessories? Which camera manufacturers are the worst offenders? How much is the real cost of buying a digital camera? Shout out now…

Published: Saturday, November 26, 2005

Reader Comments

1. No manufacturer is going to give you ‘stuff’ in the box that he can get out of supplying. They are trying to keep the price down to be competitive. They all do it. It’s a level playing field.
   
   The analogy to a car without an engine is a bit out of proportion, like saying the camera has no processor or lens …… a better analogy would be a car without a stereo.
   
   I can’t imagine any buyer, apart from the most casual / spontaneous, not being aware of what is included in the price and therefore being surprised at having to shell out for the ‘extras’
   
   Keep it lean, pay for the basic unit then it’s up to you what kind of memory, batteries etc you put in just like choosing what stereo you want as an optional extra in your car.
   
   You don’t get high quality speaker cable when you buy hi-fi speakers
   You don’t get a set of blank of DVDs when you buy a DVD drive
   You don’t get a pair of cufflinks when you buy a shirt which uses them only
   Etc etc

   Dave B at 11:16am on Saturday, November 26, 2005

2. Everything you say makes sense, except when it comes to memory
   cards. If they really wanted to keep the price down, manufacturers
   would be doing us a favor by not including ANY memory card, since
   those 32MB cards are absolutely useless and will just get discarded
   (or used to level uneven table legs in restaurants ).
   
   If they are intent on not letting the camera go on the market with less
   than 32MB, then just make 32MB the size of the internal memory, like
   HP has done, most recently with their Photosmart R817.

   GARY POGODA at 07:35pm on Saturday, November 26, 2005

3. I belive a camera should at least come with rechargeable batteries, a charger and a cable to transfer photos to a computer. I'd rather they skip any annoyingly bad photoediting software and just have the camera show up as a drive when hooked up. Skip the mediocre storage card, I can get a better one myself.
   
   If you don't want to buy add-ons, don't buy a DSLR. I love my D70, but I've spent thousand more buying lenses. However, I think they're a decent investment. When I buy a newer Nikon, I know the lenses will still work. If I ever decide to get rid of one, it'll fetch a decent price on Ebay.

   Eric at 08:44pm on Saturday, November 26, 2005

4. Let's keep a little historical perspective here. A 7 MP camera for £200? That WORKS? And takes REALLY GOOD PICTURES, in fact? Two years ago you'd be laughed out of the pub for even dreaming about it out loud.
   
   Be grateful for the opportunity, add-ons annoyingly needed or no. An extra 20% to make such a camera more fully fit your needs still leaves it an amazing bargain.

   Alan Tobey at 10:27pm on Saturday, November 26, 2005

5. Sorry but I generally - but not completely -
   disagree. The included memory should be
   considered as a free 12-pose film. It gets
   you to try the camera immediately and if none
   is included that's OK. I certainly don't want
   camera makers force me to buy a large card
   from their brand and choice of size by
   including a larger one and charging for it.
   People's photo habits are different, some
   people will already have memory cards, some
   will want real big cards which are economical
   and some will want to pay for faster cards.
   
   As for batteries, proprietary batteries are
   and should always be included because of high
   costs and there's no real choice about them.
   For standard AA batteries, camera makers do
   well by not buying some on the behalf of
   users. Some people want to pay more for high-
   capacity batteries, some not. Some people may
   have batteries and chargers already for AA
   batteries.
   
   In order to keep costs under control of
   buyers, camera makers should -and most do-
   provide minimal bundles with a camera, its
   straps, lens-cap, cables and proprietary
   battery and charger. Even DSLR bundles with
   a kit lens remove choice from the buyer -
   both the choice of lens and he choice of
   price.

   Itai at 10:28pm on Saturday, November 26, 2005

6. It is one of the best blogs and very informative, keep it up.

   buntibubli - indian dating at 04:59pm on Sunday, November 27, 2005

7. It is just like when Apple used to sell computers with ancient modems. People would buy them thinking they had everything (they had just bought a new one) and then find out they needed more. The end result is lower custimer satisfaction, which is bad for brand image. But brands like Kodak need to make up for the loss of revenue from selling film cameras. A film camera was cheap but you needed to constantly buy film and processing for it.
   
   Gordon

   Gordon at 06:42pm on Sunday, November 27, 2005

8. Before my Fuji S9000 I would agree with you due to my owning a Canon D30, D60 and Sony F-828.
   
   With my S9000 I used my Compact flash cards. Did not buy the XD card, I keep the one provided with the camera in the camera to keep the XD slot protected.
   
   Took my 58mm off my F-828, put it on my Fuji S9000.
   
   I use my AA's that I used for my flashes.
   
   I was ready to shoot without any additional costs.
   
   With 28-300 mm I am all set.
   
   Regards, Nicholas

   Nicholas at 01:24am on Monday, November 28, 2005

9. I still haven't found the beautiful model who holds the camera in between
   shots. She wasn't in the box, which is fair enough, but she isn't
   mentioned in the manual at all and there isn't a redeemable voucher for
   her either. Nix, nada, zilch. She's the only reason I chose that brand, so
   not including her even as an optional extra is a real swizz. Last time I
   ever buy a Hasselblad based on their brochure, that's for sure.

   Disappointed of Ealing at 02:24pm on Monday, November 28, 2005

10. Be careful: She may have been photographed a very long time ago by some Stock Agency, and could very well be on her way to your door as you read this.
    
    I wouldn't put it past Hassy.
    
    Regards, Nicholas

    Nicholas at 02:31pm on Monday, November 28, 2005

11. Aren't we all getting things out of perspective here?
    Looking back to when you bought a film camera, none of them included batteries, film, lens hood, case, etc. Why should it be different now that we have gone digital?
    
    Look also at similar fields, if you buy a cheap radio do you expect it to include batteries and a charger? Chances are that it won't even include a mains lead.
    
    The analogy to a car is valid; the adverts always show their most expensive model but quote the price for the cheapest one. Only when you go to buy it do you find most of the useful bits missing.
    
    It's called advertising. It's why Tesco, Comet, Dixons, DFS, et al always quote the cheapest prices and today’s offer. It's just to get you into the store. It has always been that way and always will be.

    derek barrett at 02:15pm on Friday, December 02, 2005

12. For a professional level camera, you generally want to add the specific accessories you need. I found the price of the D2X made me grit my teeth, but when I'd added the 4G memory cards, the strobe lights, the extra batteries, the software upgrades, the additional hard drive space required and the DX series of lenses, well, I went into shock and now it doesn't bother me at all.

    Bob at 08:10pm on Friday, December 02, 2005

13. Do you homework when you buy and there will be much fewer suprises. Companies are there to make money in business and have many ways to get customers into the store.

    Tepin Kirdin at 01:43pm on Saturday, December 16, 2006