Camera Companies are Designing Out Fundamental Photography and Their Own History

There is something increasingly strange happening in the camera industry. Manufacturers are pushing relentlessly toward mirrorless cameras, computational photography, AI autofocus, ever-higher resolution and increasingly sophisticated electronics, while at the same time a very different photographic economy is flourishing around the things they have largely abandoned: film cameras, DSLRs, old digital cameras and compact cameras.

I don't believe the camera companies are unaware of this. Quite the opposite. They know perfectly well that the used-camera market is growing, that film has experienced a remarkable resurgence, and that old "digicams" have become desirable again. They know what is happening on eBay, at used-camera dealers, in camera shops and among younger photographers discovering equipment from previous generations. The more interesting question is why they have continued moving so decisively away from those products.

I think the answer is largely corporate rather than technological. 

Faithful Readers of Photographic Central- Thank You!

Just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who come to Photographic Central. July of 2026 marks a record traffic month since the blogs inception way back in February of 2011. I have also recently added an easier way to follow the blog which is now located at the very top of the homepage. Photographic Central is in dire need of followers because that feature was so poorly hidden on the homepage for so long (that's completely my fault and oversight). If you want to help the blog, you can by following as well as share it to others you think would benefit! I encourage you to do so if you wish to keep up on all upcoming articles- there are definitely more coming! Again, thank you all so very much for the support over the last 15 years. -Stay focused, Carl.