Surprisingly, in this age of high-end smartphones, standalone digital cameras are still an in-demand commodity. When I began my annual camera survey in mid-November, I was expecting to see a falloff in the variety and number of models for sale. Indeed, that was the case, perhaps even a little more than I expected. However, glass remains king, and big, bright glass still rules the roost when it comes to most professional photography.
As I write, I have just over 180 camera models and packages listed on my survey website (vandigicams.ca), with a few more likely to be added. That’s down about twenty per cent from last year’s total and is the lowest total since 2016.
Cameras on the site are primarily those advertised on retailer websites. Print advertising used to be a mainstay for this project. That has all but dried up. Even Black Friday saw almost no print flyers delivered to my house.
In the metro Vancouver marketplace, the main camera retailers are Kerrisdale Cameras (KC), London Drugs, Henry’s, and Broadway Camera. All have detailed websites, the KC site being the most comprehensive and user-friendly. Tech chain outlet The Source, despite billing itself as “Proud to be Canada's largest tech retailer” and despite using a large photo of a Canon DSLR camera for its cameras section, no longer has standard digital cameras for sale.
Best Buy, at one time a dominant player in the camera market, and Walmart are also less appealing to purchase from as they both use third-party resellers in their so-called “marketplace.” Returning a defective item or having it looked after under warranty may be tricky.
Once again, then, here is a summary of my annual survey of digital cameras for sale in the Vancouver area, something we’ve been doing in this space since 2002, and, in a slightly simpler form, going all the way back to 1996 when a sub-megapixel camera sold for around $1,000.
For those considering a step up from still photography or vlogging (video blogging) on a mobile, check out vandigicams.ca. Updates are made daily through Jan. 6. Links are also provided to the surveys from previous years to enable price comparisons.
Here, for instance, are some more of the cameras making inroads with vloggers: Sony’s ZV-1 and ZV-1F, Nikon’s Z30, Pansonic’s G100 and GH5 II units, and Canon’s V10. Vloggers demand high-quality 4K/30 fps video or better, a bright lens, and a sensor that facilitates background defocusing.
Prices on the site, rounded to the nearest $5, are the lowest that were found in the November-December survey period (often occurring mid-November). If you decide to buy a unit on the list, you may be able to convince the salesperson to roll the price back to the earlier low point if it has risen in the interim.
Nearly all the cameras on the list come from the big five, Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fuji, Panasonic. Representing the remainder are the likes of Olympus, Pentax-Ricoh, Leica, and Hasselblad. The latter appears on the survey list with the H6D-400C priced at a whopping, are you ready, $6,6580! This unit is effectively a 400-megapixel camera. It is only available through online order from an outlet in Montreal.
Individual cameras and camera packages in the survey are allocated a single line on vandigicams.ca. Each listing is hyperlinked to the corresponding manufacturer’s website for that camera’s full specifications. Along with the camera sensor megapixel rating, there is an optical zoom value, an overview of around half a dozen features, and “street” pricing from up to three local retailers.
Dominating this year’s survey once again is the 24-megapixel sensor class, mostly with units from Canon, Fuji, Nikon, and Sony, representing around 43 per cent of the cameras, followed far back by the slightly lower resolution 20-megapixel units with around 20 per cent. These two classes together account for two-thirds of all the cameras in the survey. The remaining 30 per cent or so of the survey is fragmented across classes spanning from 10 all the way up to an impressive 100+ megapixels.
As in years past, the survey identifies several cameras as best buys, an optimum combination of features and price within a given class. When considering buying a camera, do check out the manufacturer’s website (they are all listed at the bottom of the survey site) to be sure that the model remains current.
Want a point-and-shoot digital camera, one of the few left in the market? The Canon ELPH 360 with a 3 inch screen, is around $400 (up $100 from last year). A starter DSLR camera such as Canon’s T7 with a basic kit lens can be picked up for around $550 (down fifty from last year). At the other extreme you’ll find a 102-megapixel unit from Fuji, a holdover from last year, for around $13,000, and that 100/400 megapixel Hasselblad for $65,580!
Looking for a rugged camera? The Olympus TG-6 (shockproof, freezeproof, waterproof, dustproof and crushproof) remains popular and has recently been replaced with the TG-7, although the “6” is still sold. Ricoh also offers ruggedized units. Prices range from $380 up to approximately $1,000, the latter for a unit designed for use in harsh environments.
As for a solid general-purpose camera, how about something like the Nikon P950 with an incredible 83x zoom lens? Priced in the $1,000 range, this unit takes fine outdoor shots and perfectly acceptable indoor ones as well, something often lacking in lower-cost units. Its successor, the P1000, is the first unit to pass a hundred times zoom, offering an amazing 125 times, at around $1,300. These two have been available for several years.
Other manufacturers still offer high-zoom models. Examples include Panasonic’s FZ300 (24x, $730) and Canon’s SX70 (50x, this year up 10 per cent to $880).
Want a DSLR package with two lenses, say a basic three-times zoom and a telephoto? Canon and Nikon used to have several such packages around the $600 mark, but these mostly disappeared last year. This year you might consider, for example, the Canon T7 package with 18-55 and 75-300 mm lenses priced at $720, the same price for three years running.
It is worth noting that MILC (mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras) units have now far surpassed DSLRs, once the mainstay of commercial photography, in popularity. Canon’s EOS M and R lines are good examples, as are Sony’s Alpha lineup and Nikon’s Z range. Just one new DSLR unit appeared this year, Nikon’s D6, at a cool $8,500 for the body alone.
MILC units represent almost 75 per cent of the listings in this year’s survey (up 10 points from last year, and up from 40 per cent three years ago). DSLR units by contrast have dropped to just 13 per cent of the survey.
Do check out this year’s survey list. You’ll find cameras at every price point, from a few hundred dollars all the way up to tens of thousands of dollars. In between, you’ll find cameras equipped with Wi-Fi, GPS, OLED variable angle touch screens, and numerous other features and technologies. Digital cameras are indeed still a thing.
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