Is there a price war looming ?

[Rooz]

bhphoto now has the canon 40d at $940 after rebates, this surely must be the best value dslr around. it wasnt that long ago that we were saying that it was groundbreaking that a camera of the xsi's quality would be under $1k, now the 40d is under $1k.

now the d700 comes out, an FX camera for under $3k and the 6d is on the way, both are FX in DX bodies. lets say the 6d hits the market at around the same price...(i reckon it will be cheaper). then we have the full size a900 which may very well be offered at that $3k mark aswell. this will bring down the prices further at the top end of the 1d and d3.

the US is in recession, the rest of the world is following them into it. gas prices soaring, disposable income dropping, competition increasing...

socan there really be any doubt here ? each one of these corporate giants wants your hard earned dollarsso a price war is right around the corner...break out a 6-pack and enjoy the ride boys and girls !!!!

[DonSchap]

And just where are you going to pull the "extra" scratch from, once all the other prices go north of your wallet?

Everything is relative ... so, you got any relatives leaving you substantial recompense? By the way, how much was that brewski you are sloggin' down? Priced the same as last month ... or is it creepin' north, too?

[JTL]

Who needs food when you have a D700?

Food and gas (like sleep) are highly over rated...

[DonSchap]

And youth is wasted on the young. Yeah, yeah ... I hear it all the time. LOL

[Rhys]

Does it really matter? I just started the process of advertising low-budget weddings on TV. I figure I can get more money from budget in a poor economy.

[faisal]

Price war....whats thats...
A 40D still costs about $1600 last time I checked.....those ripoffs here.....
The only price war I see is when they price a D60 $50 less than a XSi here...no wait that ain't a price war, the Nikon will get slaughtered...what were they thinking

[Rooz]

yes, but you pay 20c per litre in fuel so you can't complain buddy !!

[faisal]

40cents more like....

[DonSchap]

I figure if this commodity tap out keeps up ... you better have bought all your glass ahead of time, because the costs are going to just go nuts.

A couple days ago, I was talking with one of the major salesguys, at one of the larger camera equipment retailers ... and he mentioned that they are preparing for some sweeping cost revisions in the next six months. By Christmas ... you will not recognize them. If that is so, SONY glass, instead of being too high, will just be rediculous.

Price War? I think they are about to nuke the industry. LOL

[Beowulff]

Downunder, there's a subtle price war at the moment with entry-level dSLRs from Sony, Olympus and Pentax primarily, with Nikon a bit less aggressive, and Canon (as of now) not seemingly interested in price cutting.

They're obviously trying to undercut the cost of high-end point 'n' shoots (which they've done in a couple of cases) and tempt first-time ex-film photographer buyers to stick with the SLR format. I'm guessing that this's because the brand-name manufacturers see a healthy future potential in selling more glass — for a higher dollar return — than losing their potential customer base to P&Ss.

A P&S buyer will spend (say) $600 on a fixed-lens camera, and probably not buy any bolt-on bits and pieces before upgrading to another P&S in three years time. On the other hand, the dSLR buyer will spend that same $600 on a body only, and then in all likelihood spend at least the same on his first lens, and quite probably another $600 on a new lens within the next twelve months or so.

Question is — will P&Ss disappear totally in the foreseeable future as dSLRs morph into purse-sized "happy snappers" selling at at Walmart prices?

Dunno.