Saturday Shout: The Hidden Costs of Digital Cameras

#1 Dave B

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

12:16 pm - Saturday, November 26, 2005

#2 GARY POGODA

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.

8:35 pm - Saturday, November 26, 2005

#3 Eric

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.

9:44 pm - Saturday, November 26, 2005

#4 Alan Tobey

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.

11:27 pm - Saturday, November 26, 2005

#5 Itai

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.

11:28 pm - Saturday, November 26, 2005

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5:59 pm - Sunday, November 27, 2005

#7 Gordon

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

7:42 pm - Sunday, November 27, 2005

#8 Nicholas

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

2:24 am - Monday, November 28, 2005

#9 Disappointed of Ealing

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.

3:24 pm - Monday, November 28, 2005

#10 Nicholas

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

3:31 pm - Monday, November 28, 2005

#11 derek barrett

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.

3:15 pm - Friday, December 2, 2005

#12 Bob

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.

9:10 pm - Friday, December 2, 2005

#13 Tepin Kirdin

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.

2:43 pm - Saturday, December 16, 2006