Price increases...Pentax has an easy time

[ryan s]

(I hope this is the best section for this)

At my local photo shop The Camera Company (east Madison) last night, I was talking to the store manager and having a conversation with a couple other customers.

The other couple weren't sure if they wanted to continue with Canon or move to Nikon. Then the manager dropped a bomb that left me speechless.

Three of Nikon's most expensive consumer-level lenses were going up $300 EACH on February 1st. You would save $900 by buying all three right now versus after Feb 1st.

On some, the dealer price goes up, say, $300 while the consumer cost goes up only $200.

Example:
AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED MSRP Price
Old: $2,185.00
New: $2,400.00

A partial list can be found here. Do not click if you're going to be mad that this is Nikon site The manager also told me some other prices that don't agree with this link...but I trust his word more than the internet.

Please realize this price hike is across the entire board of accessories...from a $10 remote to a $10,000 lens.

I understand a K20 and FA price hike may disappoint. Relative to other companies, we have it easy.

Will Canon follow? We'll see...

[Samsungian]

I bought my D700 and 14-24mm 2.8 and grip on Jan 14th 2009 a day after the USA hike was confirmed. Using KEH new prices I saved between $800 to $1,100. KEH raised their prices on Jan 15th the full amount.

Canon will likely do the price hike too.

Pentax will likely do the price hike too.

You want something buy it TODAY when B&H opens tonight or your favorite shop or regret it later. I got my last B&H package yesterday, two last nikon items. In the past week B&H has raised their prices like $40-$60 on glass and $200 on D3, $10 on D700. Alot of popular items are now Out of Stock too. Write those prices down today and tomorrow morning you can see your usa dollar bill loose 20% of its purchasing power: "Overnight"

One item leaked to me last week off the Feb 1st 2009 price sheet:

The D700 msrp is going from $2999.99 to $3,699.99: UP $700 !

I paid $2,319.

I think the days of $1,750 - $2,300 full frame dslrs have passed until the dollar buys 120-123 yen instead of 87-89 yen.

Originally Posted by ryan s

(I hope this is the best section for this)

At my local photo shop The Camera Company (east Madison) last night, I was talking to the store manager and having a conversation with a couple other customers.

The other couple weren't sure if they wanted to continue with Canon or move to Nikon. Then the manager dropped a bomb that left me speechless.

Three of Nikon's most expensive consumer-level lenses were going up $300 EACH on February 1st. You would save $900 by buying all three right now versus after Feb 1st.

On some, the dealer price goes up, say, $300 while the consumer cost goes up only $200.

Example:
AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED MSRP Price
Old: $2,185.00
New: $2,400.00

A partial list can be found here. Do not click if you're going to be mad that this is Nikon site The manager also told me some other prices that don't agree with this link...but I trust his word more than the internet.

Please realize this price hike is across the entire board of accessories...from a $10 remote to a $10,000 lens.

I understand a K20 and FA price hike may disappoint. Relative to other companies, we have it easy.

Will Canon follow? We'll see...

[reeftool]

I'm thrilled to hear the current downturns in the economy worldwide haven't affected the camera industry. I'm glad I bought my camera last year while it was still affordable......