Interest in older compact cameras grows as one Olympus model reaches $400

Over the past five years, more people have been seen using 10-year-old point-and-shoot cameras, despite their lower image quality compared with phones. One 35mm Olympus compact, which originally sold for $150 in the 2000s and was discontinued about 15 years ago, has become much harder to find: its owner recalls buying replacements on eBay for $50, then seeing the price rise to $100, $200 and, when shopping for one as a birthday gift, $400. The cameras are now almost unavailable, according to the owner.

The price figures are personal observations, not broad market data. The owner suggested that using an older camera can signal something about its user and reflects appreciation for the devices beyond their technical specifications.