My hope is that well built cameras that will last years and have professional capabilities will be sold at a price in the $2000 range. It seems cameras and lenses today are getting too expensive. And plastic prosumer cameras that will have failures in a few years, have moved up in price. I am thinking Canon here, for me to consider the modern equivalent of my 5D MKIV that sold for around $3200 years ago, today would be the R5 MKII. Today at B&H that camera with a kit lens is $5,400. Isn't that what Canons top of the line flagship used to sell for? Greedflation. Sorry I am not Daddy Warbucks.
Paying that is not happening. Of course, they still the 5D MKIV DSLR body for $1999. It is still a good camera and works with all my lenses. , My 5D MK IV has a lot of miles, I bought it when they first came out. It has traveled from Key West, Florida to Denali, Alaska and Maine to San Diego, crossed the USA over a dozen time in jets, cars, RVs and trains. I have photographed through 44 states and Canada. I can't imagine the shutter count. In the last year it has shown some wear. The sensor needs a good cleaning since dog beach in San Diego last year. A couple months ago the rubber ports cover fell off and last week the top of the Mode select knob broke while I was loading it in the car at my brothers. (My fault, carrying to much stuff on my shoulder with straps trying to open the car door. The mode is stuck on Manual, which is where it has been for years. I use no shutter priority or apertures priority and never full automatic, I am a photographer, not the camera. So, I make the decisions.
I am a full frame user, not saying crop sensors are bad, I used them for years. I did pick up a Sony A7RIII years ago selling off my old 7D and 40D and 6D and some old lenses. That with some money I made doing some shoots got the camera body and a Metabones Canon lens to Sony Body adaptor. That camera while small and is a serious learning curve with complicated menus and learning what works and what doesn't, depending on what features you have toggled on or off, can take amazing photos.
The A7RIII does have drawbacks. I have never own a camera that is so prone to dust on the sensor. And you really don't know there is dust there until you download the images in post sometimes.
So my Canon is my go to rig. My options now, is to send it back to Canon for a professional cleaning, repair the dial and a sticky button, ok stiff shutter dial, replace the port cover and I probably should have a new shutter as the one on there is high mileage. Not sure what all that would run, but I am guessing over $500.
I do sometimes look at other brands, but being at my age, I am not ready to start over. Maybe a new 5D Mark IV.
For the future of cameras, i would like to see well built, well performing cameras built to handle daily use in all environments like extreme cold to extreme hot, able to survive a war zone, with all the pro features for hooking up flashes, computers, multiple cards...and I want it to be full frame, at least 40-60 megapixel and cost $2000 or less. Oh, and the ability to go manual on aperture setting would be nice. Autofocus, with lots of full cross focus point, eye tracking and face tracking would be nice. One more thing, be resistant to dust on the sensor.
All this and not have to go into the poorhouse to acquire that, and new lenses and batteries, and grips and filters and flashes....
Do the manufacturers consider perhaps professional camera sales have slumped in the decades possibly because they made the hobby something only rich people and well paid photographers can afford?
And no I am not buying a cheap plastic prosumer camera that will start having issues in 3 years and need you to toggle through menus to select features that should have a button on the camera to handle.
Am I asking a lot. Perhaps something that will not happen. I know. But that is where I would like the direction to go. Make a quality product that will last a life time and make it affordable.
