Dan,
I believe Bobby's point is more like "despite all the reported negative issues why is the demand on this camera is still outstripping the supply, even after 4 months". He and I had a discussion on this particular issue. FYI, Bobby has a 5D MarkII and he has been very happy with it.
Demand is clearly outstripping supply - the problem is that we have no accurate sense of the volume being supplied (or sales numbers) so all this is just more speculation.
Demand is clearly outstripping supply - the problem is that we have no accurate sense of the volume being supplied (or sales numbers) so all this is just more speculation.
According to FM members outside the U.S., the 5DII is readily available everywhere EXCEPT the U.S. It is only in the U.S. where demand is clearly outstripping supply.
I was convinced that U.S. demand was low, but U.S. supply was virtually zero, since a month ago, NO major retailer ever showed supply, even for a few hours.
However, someone reported on DPreview about a week ago, that B&H received 100 bodies or kits one day, and every one was sold within two hours. That is over $270,000, more than 1/4 MILLION $ of 5DII sold, in the middle of the Great Depression II!
The demand for this camera in the U.S., 4 months after introduction, is simply beyond belief!
Its gone again at B&H. I think it may be better to just call B&H and see if they take your credit card info, and maybe charge, then when it comes in, ship it out to you.
Several times I've had a Nikon D700 + 14-24 & 24-70 in my cart at Amazon or B&H.
At the end of the day, the 1D series or any of the FX bodies from Nikon are solid in your hands and the AF works better, but when looking at the files from the 5DMkII they are absolutely wonderful and you fall for the IQ like a weak kneed school girl falling for a pop star. I start loving the images from my 5DMkII again and can't push checkout on my cart.
The 5D II is far from being the perfect DSLR but it is terrific value at $2,700 as you are getting one heck of a body .... more than you will get from a D700 or A900 IMO - and that's why its doing so well in spite of the appalling economic situation. Of course everyone's needs are different and the D700 is also selling well - perhaps 2nd only to the 5D II in terms of total units sold within the first 4 months of its release. These are without a doubt the 2 hottest FF bodies on the market right now.
AGeoJO wrote:
Dan,
I believe Bobby's point is more like "despite all the reported negative issues why is the demand on this camera is still outstripping the supply, even after 4 months". He and I had a discussion on this particular issue. FYI, Bobby has a 5D MarkII and he has been very happy with it.
Don Clary wrote:
According to FM members outside the U.S., the 5DII is readily available everywhere EXCEPT the U.S. It is only in the U.S. where demand is clearly outstripping supply.
Snip!
However, someone reported on DPreview about a week ago, that B&H received 100 bodies or kits one day, and every one was sold within two hours. That is over $270,000, more than 1/4 MILLION $ of 5DII sold, in the middle of the Great Depression II!
The demand for this camera in the U.S., 4 months after introduction, is simply beyond belief!
Actually, I was responding to posts that were explicitly referring to US retailers so I completely agree with your qualification - in the US demand exceeds supply (I'm not sure if it's readily available *everywhere* else in the world or not). But, assuming the DPreview post is accurate, it's not at all beyond belief to think that one of the largest camera retailers in the US, in the nation's largest retail market, responding to pent up demand, would sell 100 units in a few hours. In fact, given the posts we've been reading here, it's quite understandable ...
AGeoJO wrote:
Dan,
I believe Bobby's point is more like "despite all the reported negative issues why is the demand on this camera is still outstripping the supply, even after 4 months". He and I had a discussion on this particular issue. FYI, Bobby has a 5D MarkII and he has been very happy with it.
Hey, thanks for giving me the context on that one. I've seen so many "new product X sucks" posts on these and other forums that I guess I start to see other posts as more of that.
(Just saw another post in this forum describing a rather more positive experience with Canon bodies in challenging conditions.)
Guess I'm not living in "everywhere". I know of a couple of local stores in Switzerland that get one or two now and again and those are gone within seconds, but none of the places I usually buy have any, have large back orders and don't expect any for up to two months. If the warranty on bodies wasn't regional, I'd try to find "everywhere" and buy one on the spot.
This is where I got mine. Norman Camera is a good store, but for me it is local. Their web site is claiming they have both the kit and the body in stock.
Got mine in from Norman on Monday, ordered it Friday afternoon and had it overnighted (I thought FedEx delivered overnights on Sat.). Easy as pie, seems everything is fine. I bought the kit, and that is the most money I've spent online from someone I don't know much about. The only thing negative I found on them was that they weren't as nice over the phone as they used to be. I don't know, I never had to call them.
Got the grip coming in from BH tomorrow. Have one on my 20D and I forget how much that helps in holding the camera and for portrait oriented shots. That ISO performance is amazing! The shutter sounds like a like a piece of peanut covered bread hitting the floor compared to the mechanical machinations of my 20D.
I definately feel more lost in it compared to my 20D. Before that I had a 630 and before that a F1N and those were easy conversions, there is more meat here. Seems there are a lot more interelated functions and settings.
Just one thing, when I open a RAW in DPP and zoom to 100%, after a maybe 10-15 seconds the image changes from a noisy, sharp image to a soft, less noisy image. I don't think I've changed any basic camera or DPP settings. What is happening there?
Drew_Persson wrote:
Yep, I received almost $1,000 total from five Cashback rebates so far. There's a $200 rebate limit per fleabay transaction, so the current 9% is more than enough for a 5D2 body. (Several of my cashback rebates last fall were 30%, which was awesome for $700-ish items.) Just comes down to finding a legit fleabay seller offering "buy it now".
I'd love to know how one determines if an Ebay seller is legit. Just because they claim to be an authorized dealer doesn't mean they are. Just because they have 100% positive feedback doesn't mean they won't screw you. (happens all the time)
Cableaddict wrote:
I'd love to know how one determines if an Ebay seller is legit. Just because they claim to be an authorized dealer doesn't mean they are. Just because they have 100% positive feedback doesn't mean they won't screw you. (happens all the time)
I just bought one on e-bay from The Imaging World and received the Cashback. I have bought from them before straight from their store and have always gotten good service. Some of the others were less for the 5D MKII but I was not familiar with them and their resseller ratings were poor. I still got it for $2399 with the cashback and a e-bay coupon I had so I was happy. It will be here Tuesday.
Drew_Persson wrote:
I'm surprised nobody commented on the $2,300 price. Not that I have any affiliation with that fleabay seller or Live Cashback, but I'm tempted to give it a shot.
I was just hoping somebody else already had, and was going to post "it worked out fine for me", lol.
Drew, I just took a gamble on pyxis. I did have to call to "confirm" the order, and was pitched the warranty to which I said no, and that was that. The customer service sucked, and the people were quite rude. I can only hope I get a genuine 5D MkII Body for the $2279 I paid (after live.com rebate of $200)
I'll keep my fingers crossed for you George, I think it'll probably be okay.
Pyxis told me in one email that the $2,479 was for a body with the USA warranty card even though it doesn't say it on the auction. (Only the $2,618 package says "USA warranty" on the auction.)
I emailed again and asked them to change the auction to say "USA warranty" then (before I'd purchase), and they replied they can't because it's an import body. (same body, just no USA warranty card)
So you gotta pay an extra $140 to get the USA warranty card and a bunch of generic CF cards and accessories.
