Why the Camera Companies Suck Balls

I present to you a photo of two remote shutters. One of them is a genuine Canon, the other is a cheap Chinese knock-off. Actually, no! It's not even a knock-off! It may look like a Canon, but it doesn't have the Canon logo on it, nor is it even for a Canon. It's for my Panasonic GF-1. But that's not important at this time. What is important is that they are both remote shutters. They both look similar. And they both get the job done perfectly.


But now for the big difference. One of them cost $70 and the other cost $8.99, which included shipping FROM HONG KONG.

Have you ever wondered why the remote shutter for the Canon Rebel line-up costs $30, or even the IR wireless shutter can be had for around $20? But then, the shutter for the next camera up costs over twice as much even though it does exactly the same thing? Because Canon is fucking you, that's why. They've made the cable connection different for every camera, which means you can't buy the cheaper shutter and use it on an expensive camera.

They think that if you can afford the nicer camera, you can afford to throw a bit more money at them. That's scummy. And Panasonic is even worse.

Now, you'd think that since the GF-1 is targeting a somewhat entry-level pro-sumer market that their accessories would be priced accordingly. Ha ha! Not at all! The remote shutter for my GF-1 is EIGHTY dollars! Ten dollars more! Spending more makes me feel professional!

Aggghh! The shutters all do precisely the same thing. Does my Chinese version feel a bit cheaper in the hand? Yeah. But it's firm and has already taken hundreds of photos with no signs of wear or tear. It's ridiculous and I hope I can stop as many people as possible from making my mistake.

I learned from it. I ditched many of the genuine accessories early on. Some of the parts, yes, you definitely want the genuine parts even if they're over-priced, but a fucking remote shutter is not one of them.

Screw them all. Hit eBay, and remind those retarded companies why China is eating their lunch.