Camera Manufacturers Break the Mold By Offering Consumers More

In the world of consumer goods, it is often the case that manufacturers sell us the bare minimum in order to shave costs and keep us coming back for more. One refreshing exemption to this rule is the camera industry. Quite to the contrary, most of the big brands offer products that are over built, with more features and better quality than we actually need.

The reasons for this trend are dependent on many factors. One of the most important can be politely referred to as 'perceived prestige'. Unlike most other electronic devices, cameras are bought to a great degree because they are perceived as being technological marvels. The way that people select and buy cameras differs greatly from the way they buy something like a DVD player for example. In the case of the DVD player, the consumer wants something inexpensive and functional. Bells and whistles aren't necessarily important as long as it works. Camera consumers, on the other hand, are attracted by well-designed mechanisms and micro improvements. It is not at all rare to find consumers who buy more camera than they need simply because they want to own the best.

To add to this trait a competitive consumer market and constantly improving technology it is easy to see why Olympus cameras and Cannon cameras are absolutely everywhere you look. Regardless, this tendency for over-built cameras is far from a given thing. It is quite possible that it could have gone the other way. Just before digital cameras became the focus of the industry, cardboard point and shoot cameras were quite popular. If the ground-shift of digital hadn't happened when it did, it is quite possible that disposable cameras would have become the norm. While professional quality cameras would still exist, it is possible that they would have been produced on a much smaller scale for a more selective audience.

While digital cameras also come in a wide range of qualities, a considerable section of the buying public chooses pro or semi-pro options over middle-of-the-road choices. The industry has obviously been very wise in catering to this tendency as it allows them to sell lots of expensive cameras. If they had focused on lower-grade models for the consumer market, however, and kept the price of pro cameras high, it would be a different scene altogether.

In the end, however, manufactures decided to respond to the psychology of consumers by offering them more for their money. Even though many photographers will never change the lens, let alone use all of the high tech features on their SLR camera, they insist on paying a bit more and getting the best. Surely this has something to do with the status that goes with having a nice camera, as well as the feeling that all that power is there should you need it. Perhaps buying a fancy camera is like buying a Mercedes, except much more affordable. In other words: nice if you can get it. As long as demand remains high, they are increasingly able to sell excellent equipment at decreased prices.

Regardless of the consumer motivation that keeps this trend in effect, the result is that the world is flooded with top shelf camera equipment. While the quality of consumer goods drops in other areas, the average camera is of an excellent quality. This has already proven important in the documenting of modern life and the quality of images that we have come to expect. Whatever other effects it engenders, this little quirk in consumer tendencies and manufacturer response has propelled us into a high-quality visual age, and will continue to have far-reaching impacts in the way we look at life.