A Quiet Black Friday, Best Buy – Austin, Texas
I didn’t have anything to buy this year during the Black Friday shopping spectacle. But I tagged along when my son wanted to go to Best Buy and Target yesterday. My younger son is now mobile, sporting his own driver’s license, so I got to be the passenger. Though, I’m still a little vigilant to make sure his driving skills are properly executed.
There were none of the usual shopping frenzies that characterized typical Black Fridays. Though the number of customers looked like a typical pre-Covid weekend. The price of TVs continues to impress, and though I have no need for one, I’m still astounded by how low they continue to fall.
Less impressive was the price of cameras. I also had no plans to buy one, but I enjoy monitoring prices. The typical entry-level DSLR or mirrorless two lens kits, which sold in the past for $500, was $100 more this year. Was it inflation? Or the camera companies trying to recoup something in a tough sales year. Or perhaps they realize that dropping the prices further may no longer entice entry-level buyers. Those folks have irrevocably moved to smartphones.
I’ve all but moved away from new cameras. Nearly all my recent acquisitions are at a 30% to 90% discount from the original prices. That’s the benefit of buying used. Because I have so many cameras, I have no need to jump on the latest and greatest. Of course, I am foolish enough to have over 50+ cameras. But that’s a story for another post.
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Wow! 50+ cameras?! And I felt that I had too many.
I have 11 cameras, only three of which are digital. I plan on selling most of it and keeping just a few. I dislike too many choices. It’s too much mental work to choose.
Yes, having a lot of cameras can be a challenge. Many are part of a collection and used sparsely. I probably have about 5 that I use actively at anytime.
Wow! That is a lot of cameras! I only got a 50mm canon ef lens this year. It was 26 dollars off and I needed it for a photoshoot. 🙂 Certainly the deals weren’t as good as in the past.
Really, a 50mm is all you need for much of photography. In additional to photography, which I obviously love, I like collecting film and digital cameras. However, many of my cameras were really inexpensive digital ones that have unique properties or historical value.
I have heard that the 50mm is a very versatile lens. Sadly FedEx delayed it’s shipment so I won’t have it for the photoshoot. 😕 It is really cool that you collect digital cameras! These are so many to chose from and so many with unique features!
I’ll need to talk more about my historic digitals someday. I did two posts back in 2016 for my camera museum series.
https://blog.atmtxphoto.com/tag/camera-museum/