No, I'm not. I was correcting jctriguy's post - to point out that only mispriced/uncompetitive products get deep discounts just six months after introduction.
chez wrote:
So I take it then you are one of the herd that charges in and over pays for your gear. Good on you. Canon depends on people like you.
I actually buy almost all of my gear used. Can't remember the last time I bought camera gear new at the store.
Just trying to make a point that everyone on this board, including myself, is simply speculating on the sales and popularity of various gear based on our own subjective perception or personal observations.
All electronics go down in price over time. And it is actually the regular consumer that depends on people buying products at higher initial prices. If they didn't have that large influx at the beginning of a product launch the overall prices would need to be higher in order to achieve the same profits over the life-cycle.
I could easily have afforded a 5D3 on release...definitely now the prices have bombed...but last week I went and bought a mint 5D1...to use alongside my 40D and film bodies.
There might be things I could have done if I bought the 5D3 that I can't do now......but I know the images I produce are not limited by the gear I own and so there was nothing in the 5D3 I needed, and the price wasn't reasonable enough to make me 'want it' and part with cash...if that makes sense!!
I don't think my situation is unusual......in the current economic climate people are looking to get more out of what they already own.....and new gear has to be something of a bargain to find a buyer.
Frankly....much of the latest camera gear release prices are looking more and more like a rich man's indulgence....at a time when there are fewer rich men. I say men as I suspect men are the main consumers of this stuff...not for nothing have cameras been called 'male jewellery!.
I am a long time Canon user and I am also pissed at canon. Not because their cameras don't make coffee, but because each time a new product is released it enters the market with 30% higher price that the predecessor. No one can convice me that R&D cost / distribution cost are that much higher, nor is the value of money so drastically changed. (i.e. Speedlite 600, 24-70, 5D....) I am not exaggerating, I was here last time 5D and 5DII was released in line at the store to get one.
This is simply a greed for revenues. I am seriously considering switching to mirrorless
zeljkito wrote:
I am a long time Canon user and I am also pissed at canon. Not because their cameras don't make coffee , but because each time a new product is released it enters the market with 30% higher price that the predecessor. No one can convice me that R&D cost / distribution cost are that much higher, nor is the value of money so drastically changed. (i.e. Speedlite 600, 24-70, 5D....) I am not exaggerating, I was here last time 5D and 5DII was released in line at the store to get one.
This is simply a greed for revenues.
Well, it is not just Canon that tries to maintain or improve their profit position. It is also distributors and retailers who'd like to make more money. Where do you usually shop for new gear in Croatia ?
zeljkito wrote:
I am a long time Canon user and I am also pissed at canon. Not because their cameras don't make coffee, but because each time a new product is released it enters the market with 30% higher price that the predecessor. No one can convice me that R&D cost / distribution cost are that much higher, nor is the value of money so drastically changed. (i.e. Speedlite 600, 24-70, 5D....) I am not exaggerating, I was here last time 5D and 5DII was released in line at the store to get one. This is simply a greed for revenues. I am seriously considering switching to mirrorless...Show more →
You neglect to consider currency fluctuations. The Yen has been strong in the last few years compared to the dollar and the Euro.
Between the 5D2 and 5D3 releases it got about 60% stronger against the Euro. So, actually, your 30% higher price is a bargain.
There is not much choice here I use local "official" distributor here, because as a long term customer a get rather good discounts and chance to test and try the eqipment which is rare here - as there are rew dealers and that is it. I could order online, but with shippingg, customs/taxes calculated in, it just isn't worth the hassle.
And you are right, eveybody wants a piece of the action (dealers, distributors, currency fluctuations, bigger demand on the market, more users capacity limitation etc...). The point is, what I see as an end user, I see price increase that is not proportional to the improvements introduced .
Some might disagree, but this is merely an opinion, and you know what Harry Calahan says about it :-P
PetKal wrote:
Well, it is not just Canon that tries to maintain or improve their profit position. It is also distributors and retailers who'd like to make more money. Where do you usually shop for new gear in Croatia ?
zeljkito wrote:
The point is, what I see as an end user, I see price increase that is not proportional to the improvements introduced .
Then don't buy. Buy something else.
If your camera still works almost exactly as the day you bought or works exactly, then don't buy.
If your camera stopped working when the new product was announced, then buy the new product or buy the competitive product if you think the competitive product is better.
This is not hard to figure out. Nor is it worth a lot of angst.
For July to Sep 2012 period, in their respective imaging products division,
Nikon net sales = 190.9 billion yen, operating profit = 22.2 billion yen
Canon net sales = 322 billion yen, operating profit = 52.6 billion yen
For the same quarter in 2011, in the imaging division,
Nikon net sales = 157.4 billion yen, operating profit = 15.6 billion yen
Canon net sales = 347.4 billion yen, operating profit = 75.1 billion yen
So, Nikon net sales in the imaging department for the Jul-Sep 2012 quarter improved by 21% and their operating profit increased by 42% vs the same quarter in 2011.
And Canon net sales in the imaging department reduced by 7.3% and their operating profit reduced by 30%.
The most impressive part is that sales of Nikon's interchangeable lens cameras increased by 30% (Jul-Sep 2012 vs Jul-Sep 2011) and their lenses by 28% while Canon bemoaned a decrease in sales (no specific numbers) of their interchangeable lens cameras.
Serves Canon right for putting out expensive, underperforming/uncompetitive/handicapped products. Also, it appears their huge investment in professional video gear has just gone down the drain, judging by the specs of Sony's upcoming releases. This will help explain the slight decrease in their net sales but massive cuts in operating profit.
