Messages

1

Lenses / Re: EF 24-70 f/4L IS & EF 35 f/2 IS

« on: November 06, 2012, 09:47:30 AM »

Canon continues to dig into its own hole.  Everything they've introduced in the past year or so has either been uninspired or overpriced with the exception of the 40mm pancake.  I can see them falling into third place behind Nikon and Sony in a couple of years.

2

Canon General / Re: Canon's MAP Pricing Goes Into Full Effect Today

« on: November 02, 2012, 10:05:37 AM »

Unilateral pricing policy is the result of B&M stores pressuring manufacturers to set price floors. 

My take on it?  It may not be illegal, but it is inefficient for the market.  It's essentially punishing larger camera stores like Amazon and B&H (which is itself not that large) because they are more efficient and can pass on their lower overhead costs as savings to consumers. 

I've stopped buying at big box stores like Best Buy because of their high prices and bad service.  I've also had better service buying from Amazon and B&H than the local camera shops (who often price higher than minimum price anyway), so UPP is not going to make me more likely to buy from them.  It will, however, make me less likely to buy camera gear in general, given the prices Canon is asking.

3

Canon General / Re: Canon's MAP Pricing Goes Into Full Effect Today

« on: November 01, 2012, 01:39:11 PM »

Just to clarify the post above, this is not a MAP (minimum advertised price) policy.  This is a UPP (unilateral pricing policy).  The difference is that under MAPs, a retailer can use workarounds like "Add to Cart to see lower price" to offer discounts, whereas with UPPs they can't (well, they can, but the manufacturer will strong-arm them not to by threatening to cut their supply off).  UPPs used to be considered illegal price fixing until a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling changed that.

Quite a few manufacturers use UPPs now...Apple, Sony, Samsung, Nikon, Pentax, Canon, to name a few.

As to how they affect the industry, it's hard to say.  The manufacturer may benefit indirectly from keeping the perceived value of its products up (no more promotions that might create an expectation for lower prices, like those sub-$3000 5D3 sales).  B&M stores and smaller retailers benefit over larger stores like Amazon, B&H, etc.  Consumers ultimately pay more because retailers are prohibited from competing against each other based on price.  When an entire industry does it (I know this is the case for musical instruments, maybe smartphones) it almost creates an anti-competitive effect, because manufacturers can effectively collude with each other not to drop prices below minimum levels.  That's how it seems the DSLR industry is shaping up to be. 

4

Canon General / Re: Canon's MAP Pricing Goes Into Full Effect Today

« on: November 01, 2012, 08:59:46 AM »

I'm not brand-loyal (bought Canon, Nikon and Fuji) but to me, Canon's appeal over Nikon since Nikon started their unilateral pricing policy 1 year ago was the fact they allowed their authorized retailers to offer deeper discounts, particularly over the holidays.  It's one of the factors that made me sell my Nikon gear and move to Canon this year, despite my feeling that Canon was behind in the tech curve and overpricing their new releases.  Now that Canon's implemented this, I don't see see any reason to continue buying Canon. 

To me it's like when Sony dug their heels in when Samsung started eating their lunch in the video/audio electronics market.  Their approach was to go conservative with product development and keep prices high.  Now Sony is reeling and Canon is in the same boat.  I'm not against unilateral pricing per se (all of the major electronics corporations are now doing it), but Canon is going to fail unless they put out more compelling products to justify the price increase.

5

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: 5D Mark III sensor cleaning noise (squeaks)

« on: October 31, 2012, 09:57:24 AM »

I've owned three 60D bodies and one of them had the sensor cleaning squeak and the other two didn't.  I don't think it's a matter of sensitivity to high frequency noise (the suggestion comes up every time this topic comes up) as my hearing range is tested in the normal range.  I think it's manufacturing variances.

6

EOS Bodies / Re: Canon EOS 6D Official Specs

« on: September 17, 2012, 11:49:06 AM »

The only possible saving grace for the 6D is that, if this is like the 60D vs. D7000 situation, Canon has been more willing to drop prices to move cameras than Nikon.  The D7000 beat the 60D in most specs but when it was still selling for $1200+ (mainly due to the Thailand floods), I was able to get a refurbished 60D for $640 + tax through CLP.  Also, because the 60D was more clearly inferior to the 7D, Canon was able to sell both in fairly good numbers.  I haven't seen numbers for D7000 sales and I imagine they were much better than 60D sales, but at the same time I would also wager that the D7000 took away a lot of potential D300S sales because of how good it was, whereas the 60D did not take away many 7D sales.

In this situation, I suspect more potential D800 buyers would be swayed to the D600 vs. 5D3 buyers swayed to the 6D.  I also think Canon will more aggressively discount the 6D than the Nikon will the D600 next year.

7

EOS Bodies / Re: Canon EOS 6D Official Specs

« on: September 16, 2012, 11:03:42 PM »

I'm looking forward to this, but for other reasons:

-Means 5D2 is going to be discontinued - perhaps there'll be a chance to snag one for <$1500 new or <$1300 refurbished come holiday season

-Canon and Nikon doing battle in the entry-level FF market = win for consumers.  Sony and Pentax will probably follow suit and in a couple of years FF may be selling in the $1000-1500 price range

I've decided to stick with a 5D classic until things shake out a bit more.

8

Lenses / Re: If you can have ONLY 3 lenses, what would they...???

« on: September 16, 2012, 12:56:58 PM »

17-40L
50L
70-200 f/2.8 II L

9

Third Party Manufacturers / Re: Nikon D600 announced - $2100, let's see how Canon response!!!

« on: September 13, 2012, 02:54:24 PM »

$2100 is low enough to pressure Canon to release the 6D more quickly, but not enough to drop the price on the 5D2.  I'm on the fence right now without a camera, looking for the best FF I can get for under $1500.  The pipe dream of a $1500 D600 is gone, so I'm hoping (but not expecting) that a discontinued/refurbished 5D2 or D700 will pop up around that price by Black Friday/Christmastime.  However, the D700 sold out so quickly at $2000 that I think it'll be a long wait.  I may just have to return to the old 5D.