The new reality (price increases everywhere)
When I first reported the rumored price of the new Olympus E-M1 Mark II camera, I was hoping that it was a mistake. Few hours after my post, I received a confirmation from a good source that the European price will indeed be 1,990 Euro (around $2,200). Then I noticed that the price of the Pentax K-1 camera also went up by $150... and just few weeks ago the price of the RX1R II went up by $600. I think we just have to get used to the "new normal" - a good MFT camera will cost $2,000, other prices will go up as well, product lifecycles will get longer (Ricoh, Nikon and Leica did not make any significant announcements at Photokina this year). Even Sony who announced 8 cameras last year and 17 different models in 2014, has only 4 new models this year. Some products will just die (compact cameras), others will be delayed (the new shipping date for the Hasselblad X1D is now November). Some companies will look at medium format as the savior (Hasselblad X1D, Fuji GFX) while others will try to venture outside of photography by investing in/buying small companies.
So yes, this is the new reality - get used to it.
Updates:
- Sigma lenses price increase (9% – 28%) coming to Europe in 2017
- Nikon price increase coming to Europe in 2017
- Digital camera market forecast: units shipped down, revenue up (source:Credence Research):
Here is the latest camera shipment data from CIPA (orange: 2016, black: 2015, blue: 2014 click for larger view):
