Why is film photography increasingly expensive?

I have been a fan of the ShotKit website for many years. A good number of articles about Fujifilm digital cameras and lenses have helped me in my purchasing decisions. Their content is excellent.

But when I read this paragraph in their, Guide to film / analogue photography by Andy Day, I immediately saw red.

  1. Lower barrier to entry – digital photography can be an expensive hobby, especially if you want to turn pro. By contrast, many film cameras can be obtained cheaply second-hand while still being able to produce excellent images… in the right hands, of course. When comparing medium and large format film cameras, the price difference to digital is especially noticeable.

Now I understand that this is Andy's opinion but I think the statement in the paragraph is debatable. Let me explain.

Very very few are manufacturing new film cameras. Most film cameras bought and sold today are used cameras from someone grandparents or old stock someone found in a warehouse. The 135 format camera was more popular (and less expensive) than the 120 format cameras. The used 135-format film camera supply is large enough to support a film market. I'm not so sure about 120 format. As these used film cameras fail and become unrepairable, the supply of functioning film cameras dwindles. As supply dwindles, the cost of the remaining stock increases.

The cost of quality used 35mm, and 120 format cameras continue to increase. I have searched eBay, Keh and several other websites over the last several years. A lack of supply constraints the market, and the collection keeps dwindling since no one is making new ones to replace the ones that break and become unrepairable. I have seen some used film cameras sell for higher prices than when they were new 30 years ago. Some of the popular film community blogs are starting to acknowledge this.

It only takes a visit to your local record store to understand the economics of a reemerging market. In the last decade (or closer to 12-13 years) an audio format on life support has gained popularity to the point where it now outsells CDs and nearly every new release is available on vinyl (a fact unthinkable twenty years ago). Fortunately for the music industry, and vinyl in particular, there will always be new music being created and a demand for it to be pressed on vinyl. It’s a different situation for the film photography community. ~ Jeb Inge, Casual Photophile, January 22, 2021

It seems ludicrous to spend $1000 on a used film camera that may fail at any point and become unrepairable when new, capable, easy-to-operate digital cameras are available for less.

Jeb goes on to write one of the most honest articles about the modern film photography market that I have read anywhere else on the web. If you've been thinking about starting up with analogue photography I recommend reading the post.

As recently as five years ago, the majority of these could be purchased for pennies on the dollar. But as more people have returned to film photography, they’ve brought with them a higher demand for equipment that will never increase in supply. The inevitable result of this supply and demand arithmetic, as any Economics 101 student will tell you, is higher prices.

We’re now far from the fire sales of yesteryear, and sellers have caught on to the used film camera economy and (often aided by the trends and hype of social media) are charging more than ever.

So if used film photography cameras are expensive, if modern digital cameras are cheaper and more capable, why do some photographers keep buying them? As Ryan Jones wrote in a blog post on 35mmc, once film became a choice, and not an absolute necessity, it entered the economics of emotion.

Author: Khürt Williams

A human who works in information security and enjoys photography, Formula 1 and craft ale. #nobridge

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