a comment I wrote on a YouTube page in response to the deluge of hype regarding this camera;
Ok. Some of you will know of a design company called Teenage Engineering, who are probably most known for their OP-1 Synth. It’s an ergonomic YouTube dream. Cute fun boxes get ticked. A very lusted after bit off gear, and bloody expensive. Well, a few years ago production was halted (company couldn’t source the screen) which sent the s/h market sky-high. Mine cost £600 ish from amazon, official TE site retail £800. Once folk couldn’t buy it anymore the eBay boom kicked up the second hand price way above £1,000.
And would you like to know what happened next?
On Valentine’s Day the company announced; no-one should have to pay xxxx money for an OP-1.
They then released their ‘new’ OP-1 for roughly £1,200. It had a new screen that was still as dull as the first version. Then two years later they released the OP-1field. The same machine but greatly updated. £2,000. Seriously.
If you are going to lay out a pretty high wad of cash for a camera then chances are you already had a pretty capable camera already. You don’t need the fuji. You want it because it looks cool, and that genius blend of retro/modern aesthetics sells the thing over everything else. You certainly don’t need to pay silly money right now. How is it that most of their other camera’s are still available to buy? Don’t fall for this cynical marketing swizzle.
It will be back on sale soon enough, just with a far larger price-tag. Then, a couple of years from now there will be a newer model, even more old-school authentic looking and that will be the video that you just can’t avoid on YouTube.