Is the cost for canons teleconverters too high?

[Lawliet]

Sadly it is what it is.  Your choice is the aftermarket, but Sigmas 2X APO DG is a surprising $299.

The other TCs are a good point - a good bit cheaper, but there is also a performance delta.
When looking at the overall money spent on that gear I wouldn't want a mere 200$ saving to have any impact on the final picture.
Also: Canon did their homework when designing the current generation of TCs, there is some R&D to be paid for as well as some compensation for the 300/2.8 and 600/4 I won't get.

[Edwin Herdman]

there is some R&D to be paid for as well as some compensation for the 300/2.8 and 600/4 I won't get.

Actually, I use my 2X on a 300mm f/2.8 lens, which happens to be a zoom.  It's just Canon's misfortune not to have a comparable offering (that and the fact that their 300mm 2.8 prime is much, much more expensive than the Sigma zoom).

[DanoPhoto]

VALUE is what matters to most to me when I invest in my gear.


Are they higher priced than other TC's...obviously.  However, IMO, they also provide significantly higher results than other TC's. 


Every decision is a trade off.  Make a decision based on the VALUE you personally are willing to settle for and go from there.

[real memories]

if you have to worry about the cost of gear then you dont need to be in this BIZ i do very well for my self as a photographer and this is something that lets me afford the best of the best after market doesnt even come out of my mouth and the photo is the most important thing to be so is you worry about price maybe you need to find something other to do cause your not making money cause your gear is sub par and that will show in your work and IN YOUR PAY GRADE

[Edwin Herdman]

if you have to worry about the cost of gear then you dont need to be in this BIZ i do very well for my self as a photographer and this is something that lets me afford the best of the best after market doesnt even come out of my mouth and the photo is the most important thing to be so is you worry about price maybe you need to find something other to do cause your not making money cause your gear is sub par and that will show in your work and IN YOUR PAY GRADE

Most photographers have enough pride not to claim that it's only the price of their gear that is keeping them competitive.  Please don't go around insulting random strangers.

If Canon released their new stuff for Medium Format prices, I'd bet you'd be complaining too.  There is a price that is too high for any person.

[Hesbehindyou]

We don't have the data to draw a supply and demand diagram to demonstrate the optimal price, and the issue is complicated by teleconverters cannibalising sales of super teles, but it basically goes like this:

You can sell more for less, or sell less for more.  There is a point at which the amount you sell and the amount you charge returns the most money, and that is the 'right' price to charge.

I suspect the teleconverters are not optimally placed on this chart, but that this is for calculated reasons.

[Kobayashi]

I agree that Canon`s percentage from every bit of photo gear it makes is high. But you have to consider that these are not cellphones or some kind of consumer device that will sell in millions of copies. But even cellphones are selling for quite a big price compared to what it costs the manufacturer to produce. How much is an iphone going to sell contract free? $600? How much it costs to make? Probably $120-150. Or so people say. Nevertheless, you can purchase it with a contract so you`re getting in cheaper, but you`re still paying for it.
Now, how many tc`s Canon is gonna sell? I really don`t know the numbers, and i don`t really care, but it`s not millions. Not by a long shot. It`s probably in the tens of thousands, at best. They need to make a big profit from tc`s, lenses, accessories and everything, because those money is going into r&d, and paying all those engineers to satisfy your cravings for new and better lenses, cameras, etc. They cannot afford to stay behind everybody and sell these cheap, and you need to realize this. And i`m not talking about Canon only, i`m talking about every major photo gear brand out there. You can point to Sigma, but is Sigma a major player? I think not. Granted, they`re big enough and they`re doing ok, but they`re not among the best and that is because they are not making the profits Canon or Nikon does. And they also cannot charge more because everyone will then go buy brand item, not third party. They`re being the underdog, offering cheap items which don`t work as good as brand ones.
You cannot beat big companies as their game, you need to come with something else, in this case Sigma and all the other third party manufacturers are doing just that. I remember their quality control being less than satisfactory, and why is that? You guessed it, not big enough of a budget to work with, costs need to be cut somewhere.
And another point you may want to consider: How often would you buy a tc? Seriously! You bought that 1.4x, and that`s that. You may get the 2x sometime down the road, and you`ll stick with those for many many years. If you think about it, that`s a bargain.