‘Cameras and lenses are getting so expensive these days.’ It’s a sentiment I hear regularly expressed, so I thought I’d take a closer look at what’s going on, and why. And, as is so often the case, it’s not as simple as it first appears.

We looked at the launch prices of products in several categories, and corrected for inflation, to see how widespread any upward trend is in real terms. All three camera companies we approached were reticent to draw any attention to price rises by discussing the issue, but it’s still possible to identify a series of factors that are involved.

Camera prices

We’ve yet to see the full impact on prices of the current silicon chip shortage, but it’s not universally the case that prices have increased. For instance, Sony appears to have steadily increased the cost of its photographer-friendly APS-C mirrorless models…

…but a look at Nikon’s roughly comparable range shows the opposite trend:

Of course, models get repositioned and aren’t always like-for-like replacements. Fujifilm’s X-E series have become significantly less expensive over the years, but the cameras in that series have become less and less enthusiast-focused over that time. But add in the X-S10 and it should be apparent that you can still buy an enthusiast-friendly Fujifilm, it just happens to be SLR shaped. The X-S10 includes image stabilization and a feature set far beyond what you got in 2012, but costs less in real terms.

The X-E4 isn’t a like-for-like replacement for the original X-E1, but you can still get a lot more camera for less than the X-E1 cost elsewhere in the range.

But some cameras cost over $6000 now!

If you’ve been watching the industry, you’ll see there are more really high-end cameras on the market, but it’s worth remembering that the launch of more expensive models doesn’t mean prices are going up, so long as the less-expensive alternatives still exist. For instance, Sony launching its a1 at around $2000 more than its previous top-end model doesn’t prove that Sony’s cameras are getting more expensive, it just means that with the a1, the company is trying to compete at a higher level than it previously had (at a price that Canon and Nikon charge for comparable models).

Are the prices of more attainable cameras going up, though? Ricoh’s new Pentax K-3 III isn’t any more expensive than similarly high-end DSLRs were in the past.

However, changes elsewhere in the market can end up undermining the apparent value of a new product. It was much easier to justify the (higher) price of the Canon EOS 7D back when you had to spend nearly twice as much to get an EOS 5D. Entry-level full-frame cameras are now significantly more affordable.

The D600, like the original Canon EOS 6D, was considered low-priced for the time, but now looks expensive alongside comparable models such as the Z6 II or Sony’s a7 series. And another tier has opened up below this: Canon’s RP and Nikon’s Z5, released in 2019 and 2020, are the least expensive full-frame digital cameras to ever hit the market. Of course both cameras are clearly part of a strategy to encourage more photographers to adopt their respective brand’s new lens mounts. Which is to say: to encourage people to buy new lenses.

Lens prices

A distinct trend in the industry is the move toward addressing fewer but more committed customers, and towards finding high-end niches to explore. So at the same time as companies pushing to sell full-frame bodies for less than $2000, we’re also seeing the launch of lenses and bodies aimed at ambitious amateurs and pros.

So while we’ve yet to see 50mm F1.4 lenses from either Canon or Nikon for their new mirrorless mounts, both they and Sony have introduced 50mm F1.2 lenses, with correspondingly rarified prices. And even the less-exotic end of the new mirrorless lens lineups seem focused more on quality than affordability.

Nikon’s latest Z-mount 50mm F1.8 costs more than twice as much as the F-mount version (launched at $261 in today’s terms), but results in a lens Roger Cicala describes as: ‘probably the sharpest mid-range prime Nikon has put out.’

Sigma CEO Kazuto Yamaki, whose company has gone from making affordable alternatives to cameras-makers’ lenses to making some of the sharpest high-end lenses on the market, confirms this in a recent interview with DPReview (which will be published soon). “Customers’ demand is gradually shifting from low-end, affordable devices to the higher-end, higher-performing lenses,” he says, “so that pushes up the average selling price in recent years.”

Competing at the top end of the market also raises costs, he says: “The customer’s demand for lenses is getting higher in terms of quality and performance. They check every detail of the lens, and that increases the production cost for us. We take more time polishing each lens element, we take more time checking the performance of the lens during assembly.”

But if we look closely at the prices of a couple of workhorse lenses, you can see the same complex picture we saw with camera bodies. Nikon’s latest Z 70-200mm F2.8 is less expensive in real terms than the two that precede it, but Canon’s novel, retractable RF 70-200mm F2.8 is more expensive than the two previous versions. It’s comparable, in real terms, to the price of the version launched in the early 2000s, though.

The latest, RF-mount Canon 70-200mm F2.8 is more expensive than its immediate predecessors but was introduced at a lower price than the version from 2001, in real terms.

Interestingly, it’s a similar story if you look at the cost of Canon’s EOS 5D series. The mirrorless EOS R5 is a lot more expensive than the recent EOS 5D DSLRs, because all four models in that series were launched for around $3500. But look back to the original EOS 5D and you’ll find that $3500 in 2005 equates to $4720 in 2021 dollars: significantly higher than the R5’s $3800 launch price. So perhaps Canon is trying to reaffirm the position its products had back in the early 2000s.

So what’s going on?

From the examples I’ve found, there’s no clear evidence that camera and lens prices are rising, overall. There are certainly instances of new models being more expensive that the older ones but, having tried to look at a cross-section of bodies and lenses, it doesn’t seem to be a universal trend. So why is there the perception that they are?

Part of it will undoubtedly be because there are fewer low-cost options as the industry focuses on higher-end users. Similarly, we’re not seeing such regular refreshes of whole model ranges, which would leave the market flooded with older models at marked-down prices. New models aren’t necessarily getting more expensive, but there aren’t so many bargains to be had if you opt for the previous version.

It’s not always the case that lenses for mirrorless cameras are more expensive. Sigma’s 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN Art has the same nominal price as the DSLR equivalent, meaning it’s less expensive in real terms.

There’s perhaps something similar going on with lenses. A lot of the examples I’ve looked at are very long-lived, so while a 24-70mm would have launched at around $2200, you probably won’t have paid that much if you bought it five years into its life cycle. The move to mirrorless means that all your options are much newer, and hence you’re more likely to have to pay the full launch price, whatever type of lens you’re looking for.

But, as with camera bodies, the new versions often perform better than the ones they replace.

But I also wonder whether it could be that we tend to remember big purchases. I have a good recollection of how much I paid for most of the bikes I’ve ever owned, but it’s only when I find old photos that I realize how long ago each purchase has been. That $2800 I remember spending is worth much less now than it was in what turns out to have been 2011. Where does the time go?

I remember how much I spent on this bike (and how much of a disappointment it was), but it’s only finding this photo again than makes me realize that ten years have passed in the meantime.

Value > price

None of this is intended to excuse any increases in pricing. This article has attempted to look at the trends in pricing and some of the rationale behind those changes, not influence your response to them.

Ultimately, the thing that matters more than price is value: what’s it worth to you? Knowing why a company has put its price up doesn’t change that calculus. Regardless of price, the decision comes down to: will this new camera or lens result in more enjoyment or better quality images, to a degree that the price is worth it? As always, that’s something only you can assess.