This has got to be the most exciting category on bidorbuy. If you are into photography, that is.

Photographic Equipment is exciting because that is where you can find excellent deals on all kinds of cameras and accessories like tripods and stands, lenses and filters, flashes and lightening, plus everything else you need to pursue an absorbing hobby or a professional career, at prices that are as a rule lower than anywhere else.

Since the subject matter is so broad, we’ll focus our attention only on cameras. So, this is what you can currently find on bidorbuy, camera-wise:

• For casual photographers or shoppers on a budget, there are almost four hundred compact digital cameras under R1500. (You’ll find the cheapest first in our list.)
• Photographers with grander aspirations will want to take a look at some of about 150 higher end digital SLR cameras. (The prices in our selection range from R9000 for a kit with a lens, to about R75,000 for the camera body only.)
• For those who want the performance that’s close to low to mid level SLRs but object to lugging around a massive apparatus, there are plenty of advanced compact cameras that pack considerable powers into a slim, light body.
• If moving pictures are your thing, choose from among over one thousand video cameras and camcorders of all shapes, sizes, brand names and prices.
• And for those who feel nostalgic, bidorbuy sellers have film cameras too. (Just make sure that you can count on a steady supply of the film, and, if worst comes to worst, be prepared to do the developing and printing yourself.)

So much for the offer. Now, let’s see kinds of cameras bidorbuyers buy in an average week.

In the seven days spanning from end of April until the beginning of May 2012, about 130 cameras were sold on the site: almost forty compact digital cameras, a little over twenty digital SLR cameras, more than sixty video cameras, and – surprise, surprise – eight film cameras.

In case you happen to be among the people who hold the view that dedicated cameras are redundant now that every mobile phone has photo-taking capabilities (see this article), we beg you to reconsider. Digital cameras remain obligatory for anything more ambitious than a stamp-sized photo destined for a social networking site. (By the way, a proper camera is highly recommended for those among you who hope to attain fame in one of our forthcoming Snappy photo challenges!)

So, in the name of decent images, set your sights on the bidorbuy digital cameras selection. It may help you to know that the most popular brand search keywords in this section currently are: Olympus, Canon, Nikon and Sony.