What's The Best Time To Buy a Camera

WRITTEN BY:  BRUCE LOVELACE

PUBLISHED ON: NOVEMBER 14, 2023

I'm constantly following the advancements in camera gear and started wondering if there is a best time to buy a camera, so I decide to do some extensive research for saving money. In today's world, with the online photography equipment marketplace fully developed, you can get good deals on digital cameras 365 days a year.

Calendar-best time to buy a cameraWhat month to buy a camera

That's great, but is there just one best place or one best time to buy a camera? Here's the short and the long of it. After scouring the web and looking at statistics, I found the 3 potentially legitimate ways to time your camera purchase if you want to save money.

One quick note before diving into three ways to save.....


Now Is The Best Time To Buy A Camera

  .......this post is all about saving money when you decide to invest in a digital camera. There is a flipside to this discussion that you may want to keep in the back of your mind. The technology bult into even the beginner DSLRs and mirrorless model cameras is remarkable nowadays.

If you wait too long, you'll be missing out shooting photos right now with all that available technology.

You can save money by buying one of the more affordable models, rather than one of the prosumer or professional cameras. If you're upgrading from an existing camera and are relatively happy with it, then it's no problem for you to delay your purchase for a few months and get the best deal.

when to buy a camera

Here are the best times to buy a camera:

1. NEW MODEL RELEASE.  When you've got your eye on a specific camera, it's price will drop when a newer version is announced. According to Lifehacker, digital cameras will go on sale in February, after the new ones are released at the January consumer Electronics Show.

Camera price drop timingPrice Drop Timing Graph

2. JANUARY, APRIL, OR DECEMBER. According to data gathered by TomsGuide, these 3 months are the best time to buy digital cameras.

3. HOLIDAY DEALS. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are great times to buy a camera. Often the retailers are offering bundles where you get at camera and a lens, sometimes another lens ro two, along with camera accessories to save you money.


As an Amazon affiliate I may receive a small commission from qualifying purchases, at NO added cost to you.

As an example, you can just check camera prices on Amazon right now to see what I mean. You don't have to buy there, just check the prices and get helpful insights by reading the Amazon Reviews. 

4. and 5. other best time to buy a camera

Best time to buy a cameraBuy to maximize your use

Let's not forget two other factors that will affect the best time for YOU to buy a camera. In addition to finding a good time to buy a camera financially, you should factor in when you want to use it and when the money you need becomes available. I'm not saying that saving every dollar you can isn't important. Don't forget that you want to get the most use out of your new camera too. 

Part of the value of having a new camera in your hands is the benefits you receive from the fun of using it and from the making of photographs that you'll enjoy. If you're traveling on vacation in August, the best time for you to buy a camera is a month or two before. You'll want some time to learn how to use it before you depend it it to take some great vacation photos.

Secondly, if you've been periodically saving money toward your purchase, the best time to buy a camera may be as soon as you have enough money. The truth is you can get a lot of camera for your money these days at any time of the year. The technology and the strong competition for your money keeps prices down.

In addition to getting the best timing on price, it's also important to be selective and use a safe online seller when you're going to buy your camera.


when is the best TECHNOLOGY going to happen with cameras

As we've seen through out history with technology products, as the technology advances the prices decrease. Should you wait until more advances makes cameras super cheap to buy? It's a tactic that some people use, but I'll tell you a quick childhood story on that one to make a point.

When I was a young boy microwave ovens were just hitting the market. Digital cameras were decades away. Like camera equipment, the technology wasn't nearly as advanced as it is today. I remember the enthusiasm my father has for being able to warm up or cook things without using a traditional source of heat. It was quite a novelty.

It took our first microwave oven about 5 minutes to heat up a glass of water, but the newness of this newly invented kitchen contraption  made us the talk of the neighborhood. It was so great for heating up leftovers without the stove or the conventional oven. It's a convenience my father decided to invest in and the family benefited from for many years. Its cost was over $300 if my memory serves me right. Now that same microwave would only cost a fraction of that.

The point is, if we had waited too long for the technology to drive the prices lower, we would have missed out on all those uses.

The first consumer digital camera had about a .3 MP sensor and cost about $750. Now you can get cameras with sensors that have 100 times more resolution for substantially less money. That alone makes it a great time to buy a camera.


Most popular time to search for camera deals

My research included an investigation of when the general public is seeking a good deal on a camera. This It's not the only criteria that determines the best time, but let's face it, we all want to buy when the price is the lowest.  I found the following trend as quite fascinating.

Check out the remarkable spike in interest for "camera deals" that happens each year in the U.S.A. around the week of Thanksgiving. Clearly this is due to "Black Friday Deals."

Interest in Camera Deals GraphYearly surge in searches for "camera deals." Source: Trends.Google

This graph shows you that people are searching for a bargain on a camera, whether it's for themselves or for someone else, at a feverish pace before the holiday season. Retailers know this and there' a lot of competition and that should drive down prices and make it a good time to buy a camera.


As an Amazon affiliate I may receive a small commission from qualifying purchases, at NO added cost to you.

You can always see what's selling too, simply by noticing the camera deals on Amazon being reviewed the most by other buyers on Amazon. If you feel this post was helpful in giving you some food for thought about the best timing for buying a digital camera, please share it. Thanks for stopping by!

Article published by Bruce Lovelace

ABOUT BRUCE LOVELACE

Bruce is the publisher of this website. He is the author of the book "Improve Your Photography Instantly."  Read more on Bruce on his Bio Page. He's been known as The Traveling Photographer ever since 1994. Read more about this website.

View some of Bruce's photos on Instagram.   Visit the Facebook Page. Watch him on YouTube.  Bruce runs photo workshops for kids and adults, and provides one-on-one photography coaching.

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