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 p.1 #12 · Realistically, How Long Could a Camera Body Last? | |
col4bin wrote:
I have the Sony A7RV and for the first time in 25 years, I have zero feelings of GAS to change. Don't get me wrong, the A7RVI looks like an incredible piece of gear, but for my shooting style I cannot see a reason now, or in the near future to change. I prefer manual focus lenses and when I do use autofocus, I am not shooting fast moving subjects or firing any bursts.
I know this question is difficult to answer, but is it realistic that I could I get another 5+ years out of the A7RV? (note, I bought the body last year and I am a hobbyist and not as heavy a shooter as I used to be)....Show more →
You are very much on the right track.
Reading these forums, you could be forgiven for getting the idea that tons of people buy every new upgrade of every camera. There are a few people who do such things, just like there are a few people who trade in last year’s new car for this year’s new model, or those who upgrade their computers, tablets, and phones with every new release.
I am convinced that there are real advantages to sticking with the good gear you own much longer. For one thing, if you photograph a lot you develop a close relationship with your camera — its operation and your understanding of how it responds become so familiar that you almost don’t have to think about it. Each time you get a new camera, there is necessarily a “getting acquainted” period when you do not have those instincts, you may have to search for how to do something, and you even occasionally have to look up a feature. Those things slow you down and interfere with your photography.
The follow-on model of a camera no doubt improves on the features and capabilities of its predecessor. But it is very easy to grossly overestimate the effect of those improvements on your photography or, looked at a different way, the value of those often-incremental advances.
There is no right answer to the “how long should I keep it?” question. Some examples:
- Some people who don’t fall for the “buy every upgrade” game, believe that at least skipping every other upgrade cycle is a minimum wait time. If you camera brand updates very frequently, you might think about every third model.
- Some think that the best approach is to try to look more objectively at the real world effect of the various improvements in new models. Your Z7r5 is a pretty good case in point. The A7r6 has clearly improved on the previous model, but how much will those advances actually change your photography significantly? Certainly the change from 60MP to 67MP is virtually meaningless. The small potential improvements in DR are not likely to make much differnce. And so on.
- If you like the camera you have, and it produces the photographs that you want it to create, then why upgrade at all? If you are happy with the camera you could keep it for five years, ten years, even longer — as long as it continues to do what you ask of it.
I am about to upgrade my full frame system… after 11 years. It is a Canon system, and I’ll be moving to Sony. But even now, for the purposes I mostly use it for, it barely slows me down. I was making good photographs with it a decade ago, and I can still do that today. (I’m not implying that 11 years is right for everyone!)
Finally, there’s another way of looking at this question — basically, how long with the hardware continue to function, regardless of whether or not it is advanced enough. The answer is, “probably a very long time.” I would not be surprised ot see better cameras from the modern era still being functional 25 or more yers after their manufacturing date.
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