Tuesday, September 12, 2017

The Death of Cameras...

The stunted photography section at the local Meijer's superstore is illustrative of the market.

The camera selection was small when the store went in about a year ago and has shrunk even more since. When fully stocked, it has an entry-level DSLR kit from each of the big two, and a small assortment of point-and-shoot cameras of various types and prices. Usually there's a superzoom "bridge" camera or two, a couple ruggedized waterproof adventure cams, and then a smattering of generic Canikolympus in a few price tiers between <$100 and about four bills.

Film clings on like grim death in the form of disposable cameras or 4-packs of FujiFilm 200 or 400 ISO 35mm. Instax is apparently pretty popular.

I wonder who buys the disposable 35mm cameras?

The reason for the decline of cameras is apparent in the photography accessories section, where half the accessories are selfie sticks or little tabletop tripods for your phone. Even with that, they can't fill out the aisle, and so the last third or so is padded out with emergency radio receivers and FRS handhelds.