My local photo dealer is selling a Nikon D40 with standard zoom for £220 ($330). Sure, it's not the newest model and the lens does not have stabilization, but that's insanely cheap by anybody's standard. Many people blow more on booze on a single Friday night. Like one of my oldest Net friends say, what does it all mean?
ttl said...
I think it means that the Nikon D40, and digital cameras in general, are not very valuable.
eolake said...
Aren't you happy with your D80?
ttl said...
I am very happy with my Nikon D80. I haven't regretted that purchase for one moment.
Note that I didn't say the D40, or digital cameras in general, are not desirable. Just that they are (apparently) not very valuable. This was in answer to your question on "what does it all mean?"
Conversely, and as you say, alcohol is surprisingly valuable considering it is a consumable with a relatively short effect. In fact, during times of a financial collapse when paper money stops working (due to hyperinflation) bottles of alcohol are often the most popular form of money. This is why preparedness guides often recommend stocking up on alcohol even if you don't drink the stuff yourself.
eolake said...
Maybe I'm just not sure which definition of "valuable" we are using here.
One would be "how much it helps humanity". One would be: "how much people are willing to pay for it". One would be "how people desire it right now". One would be "how much *I* desire it right now".
ttl said...
The original post talks about prices (in sterling), meaning valuation in the market place.
Even if something is very valuable to us, we generally only pay the market price. The "right now" part makes no difference as the market is open right now and there is no scarcity of the item.
Of course, when there is scarcity, valuation changes. I've seen cheap electric music gadgets go up hundreds of percents in price because some old analog chip it depends on is no longer being manufactured (and then come down again when someone discovers a large stash of the chip!) Theoretically, something like this could happen to digital cameras at some point in the future. But it is unlikely.
How much something "helps humanity" can not be measured in any meaningful way.
eolake said...
It can be evaluated, but it will usually be controversial.
Maybe I just felt protest because when you say "valuable", I tend to think of what it means to me, and not market price. To me, digital cameras have become super-bargains, and much cheaper than I ever expected them to become. (And I'm not alone, only five years ago an expert said that even if sensors became free, there was no way digital cameras would ever become as cheap as film cameras.)
ttl said...
I understand. It is a great position to be in -- to find a lot of subjective value in something the market doesn't value very high. That's one way to become rich, I suppose.
Good bicycles are still relatively expensive, but cameras are cheap. Levi's jeans still cost a lot, but computers are cheap.
Of course, many of the greatest things have absolutely no value in the market place. The technological invention I most depend on in life, the Unix system, is nowadays completely free.
And, peculiarly, it looks like all digital content is about to become free. And just when I was about to enter the content business ...
I hope it doesn't! I'd like to keep my business.
Also, who would pay for the production of movies?
9 comments:
If you are quoting me, I often say
"this means something." And usually I am not sure of the meaning. It is a way of saying that something is unexpected or different or hard to believe. One answer to "what does it all mean" is that is means something...but what?
Regards from Carter in Kansas City
I think it means that the Nikon D40, and digital cameras in general, are not very valuable.
Aren't you happy with your D80?
I am very happy with my Nikon D80. I haven't regretted that purchase for one moment.
Note that I didn't say the D40, or digital cameras in general, are not desirable. Just that they are (apparently) not very valuable. This was in answer to your question on "what does it all mean?"
Conversely, and as you say, alcohol is surprisingly valuable considering it is a consumable with a relatively short effect. In fact, during times of a financial collapse when paper money stops working (due to hyperinflation) bottles of alcohol are often the most popular form of money. This is why preparedness guides often recommend stocking up on alcohol even if you don't drink the stuff yourself.
Maybe I'm just not sure which definition of "valuable" we are using here.
One would be "how much it helps humanity". One would be: "how much people are willing to pay for it". One would be "how people desire it right now". One would be "how much *I* desire it right now".
The original post talks about prices (in sterling), meaning valuation in the market place.
Even if something is very valuable to us, we generally only pay the market price. The "right now" part makes no difference as the market is open right now and there is no scarcity of the item.
Of course, when there is scarcity, valuation changes. I've seen cheap electric music gadgets go up hundreds of percents in price because some old analog chip it depends on is no longer being manufactured (and then come down again when someone discovers a large stash of the chip!) Theoretically, something like this could happen to digital cameras at some point in the future. But it is unlikely.
How much something "helps humanity" can not be measured in any meaningful way.
It can be evaluated, but it will usually be controversial.
Maybe I just felt protest because when you say "valuable", I tend to think of what it means to me, and not market price. To me, digital cameras have become super-bargains, and much cheaper than I ever expected them to become. (And I'm not alone, only five years ago an expert said that even if sensors became free, there was no way digital cameras would ever become as cheap as film cameras.)
I tend to think of what it means to me, and not market price.
I understand. It is a great position to be in -- to find a lot of subjective value in something the market doesn't value very high. That's one way to become rich, I suppose.
Good bicycles are still relatively expensive, but cameras are cheap. Levi's jeans still cost a lot, but computers are cheap.
Of course, many of the greatest things have absolutely no value in the market place. The technological invention I most depend on in life, the Unix system, is nowadays completely free.
And, peculiarly, it looks like all digital content is about to become free. And just when I was about to enter the content business ...
I think this discussion is highly interesting, so I've put it in the post, much of it.
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