[benjikan]

I'm going to wait until the camera's are selling for $1.95 and you get a $1.00 rebate from the manufacturer before I pay for a camera...

[rfortson]

Leo,

I'm very interested in how your purchase from best price camera goes. They do have unbelievable pricing. Please let us know how it goes.

Thanks,

I'll be amazed if you actually get what you purchase. They have a ZERO rating on resellerratings.com, which is pretty incredible considering all the fake positive comments those scammers usually post.

In other words, avoid bestpricecamera.com like the plague.

[LeoTaylor]

I'll be amazed if you actually get what you purchase. They have a ZERO rating on resellerratings.com, which is pretty incredible considering all the fake positive comments those scammers usually post.

In other words, avoid bestpricecamera.com like the plague.

Well that is a bit scary. I'll post my results with their service. Since this will be the camera I experiment with I went with a company I had had never heard of. My other DSLR came from B&H whom I've dealt with for years. I check out the link you mentioned.

Thank you for the warning.

[*isteve]

You can make anything cheaper if you build factories in cheap labour areas (china, vietnam) and are careful about sourcing, and the price of electronic components tends to come down in time as technology matures and volumes increase. Also, reusing existing components (D80 and D40 use many parts from previous Nikons) reduces development costs considerably, and I assume the K10D chassis has plenty of expansion potential too.
Thing is everyone already outsourced manufacturing and component costs have tumbled in real terms, especially APSC sensors and fast DRAM. There is only limited scope to reduce further, mainly through re-use and reduced component costs.
Its also quite hard to reduce the cost of R&D and development, packaging and distribution, sales and marketing below a certain level without impacting sales. Pentax have restructured already and the cost savings will work through, but I would guess the lowest price you are likely to see for a DSLR is about the cost of the equivalent film system (manufacturing and distribution costs about the same) plus about a 50% hike for the additional electronics and R&D costs. That would put the lowest likely entry level camera cost at around $300.
In other words we are not too far away now. I would expect to see about another 30% reduction in real costs in the next 2 years at most as the new economies work their way through to the customer and new plant investment is recouped. But only for the mass produced, volume market and nothing like the 50% or greater cost reductions we saw over the last 2 years.
I would be far more sceptical about high end pro bodies following suit - there were plenty of pro film SLR bodies in the $5000+ bracket and the volumes are so low, and R&D costs so much higher, that recouping these costs requires a much higher price per unit. Pros can write that off as a fairly minor business expense, so this has never been a problem, which is how most camera manufacturers (and car companies, etc) can afford to continue the R&D effort. Thats how even base car models now have ABS and airbags just as all DSLRs have AF and Program AE.
Much of that R&D effort can trickle down to lower end models once the costs are amortised - thats exactly how Canon managed to make the 5D so cheap- but Nikon did even better with the D200 (weather sealed, faster AF, 5fps) by reusing some elements from the pro range cameras with off the shelf APS sensors and IP units and made a much cheaper camera with far better chassis quality. So there is still considerable doubt that full frame cameras will ever be "cheap" compared to comparable APS versions.
Plus, I am sure there is mileage in the APS format yet. A more efficient use of surface real estate could still yield useful improvements in well size and hence DR and noise without increasing pixel pitch, whilst APS lenses can provide better resolution over the smaller image circle at lower cost. Its still the sweet spot for all but the top end pro systems where the margins can carry the extra cost. It also allows room within the image circle for sensor stabilisation. Plus, there is probably some serious room for development in the Nucore IP system.

[LeoTaylor]

Thanks to Russ' warning I looked up Best Price Cameras in resellerratings.com and BBB.org. They are really bad so I called as soon as they opened Sunday to cancel. The fellow said my order is cancelled without asking any questions. I'll wait a few days to be sure, then order a K110D from B&H where I've done business for years. The price there is $349 after rebate plus shipping but I will have peace of mind.

I don't usually buy on impulse, but this time I got the idea and placed an order on the same day.