[monochrome]

KX w/1.4 $285

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this kit would cost $1,080.36 today. My grandmother gave me a black one for my college graduation in 1977. That was quite a present.

CPI - Inflation Calculator

[Nesster]

Yep, this substitution and nickle/diming still goes on... I try to scan only ads from reputable stores - yes, one could, and I did, buy exactly at the price with all the bits, from 47th St Photo, several times. Of course, in-store they did try to sell me filters, camera bags, and other knickknacks.

[vinzer]

Leica M4 - $700, Summicron 50/2 $237 = $937
Yashica FX-1 silver with f/1.4 $310
Pentax 6x7, Penta prism, 105mm $650
Nikon F2 Photomic $380, 50/1.4 Nikkor $137 = $517
Nikkormat EL chrome $270 + 1.4 = $407
Olympus OM1 with f/1.4 $275
Olympus OM2 with f/1.4 $435
Pentax SPF with 1.8 $210
Pentax ESII w/1.8 $330
K1000 w/2 $165
KX w/1.4 $285
K2 w/1.4 $379

I'm split on what to think about the prices after adjusting for inflation. On one hand, we spend more today on our kits. On the other hand, the stuff we buy today have a whole lot more technology included in them than these cameras of yore.

[chhayanat]

Judging from the invoice which I found recently, I bought a chrome MX with SMCP-M 50/1.4 for Hongkong $1200 in 1981. I cannot calculate the present price in USD but the HKD was pegged at USD 7.8 by then. Someone with the records could correct me. I also bought the following with it but cannot find the invoices: SMCP-M 28/2.8, 50/1.4, 100/2.8, 400/5.6, Hoya 49mm PLL circular, 25 red, orange and skylight filters; magnifier-M, Stitz gun-type cable release and a rubber hood for the viewfinder.

[8540tomg]

I'm split on what to think about the prices after adjusting for inflation. On one hand, we spend more today on our kits. On the other hand, the stuff we buy today have a whole lot more technology included in them than these cameras of yore.

On the other hand I am certain that our technological wonders will be obsolete and useless in 20 years.
There is a very good chance many of these old film cameras and lenses will still be functional.

Cheers

Tom G

[tibbitts]

On the other hand I am certain that our technological wonders will be obsolete and useless in 20 years.
There is a very good chance many of these old film cameras and lenses will still be functional.

Cheers

Tom G

Those old film cameras probably wouldn't be very functional without being CLA'd occasionally. So while today's cameras tend to be more "disposable", we have to consider that when we kept cameras for 25 years, we were paying something for periodic service to do that, and had to deal with the resulting downtime. Maybe the cost was not as much as to replace a DSLR, but not a trivial amount either.

Paul

[8540tomg]

I not a big fan of conspiracy theories as a rule but lets face it the camera makers will sell a lot more cameras in the digital age. Time was you would buy a mechanical SLR and it would last a lifetime. Yes, like any mechanical device, they required maintenance from time to time. But with routine servicing the average user would never wear out a SLR. He might drop and break one but never wear it out.

This will not be the case in our digital age. The typical user will blast away shooting far more frames than they would ever dream of shooting with film. You have to pay to process film after all. Not so with digital. My K10 is rated at 100,000 actuations. I suspect to reach this number easily in four years time. I understand a digital shutter can be repaired or replaced but it is so costly you might as well buy a new camera. Essentially we have built in obsolescence. Toss the old digital in the dumpster and buy a new one every four or five years. It is a camera makers marketing department dream come true.

I doubt if my old K2 and MX have 100,000 shutter trips combined. They have been serviced twice in 25 years for a fraction of the price of a new digital camera. They still work perfectly and will probably outlast me.

Don’t misunderstand me here. I doubt if I have shot more than five rolls of film in the two years since I went digital. I love the instant feedback and ease of the digital camera. I like all the technological advances that have been made. I just wish we could replace the CPU in the camera and recycle the digital bodies rather than throw them away. It seems like such a waste.

Cheers

Tom G