Eos system lens prices!

[Trommel]

Is it only me or has other shooters also noticed that Canon are sneaking new pricing in under the disguise of new lenses and new coatings. As a example the price of the new 27-70 F2.8 is nearly if not double that of the lens its replacing. The new 24 and 28mm F2.8 usm lenses, Yip they might have IS but compare the price to the old ones, double. It all seem to have started with the release of the 100mm macro a couple of years ago. I wonder if any of these lenses will provide double the resolution.

Makes me wonder!

[Ernst]

I think Canon just feel that many / most / all of their lenses are just as good (if not better in some cases) than Nikon and they have aligned their next generation lenses with Nikon's prices.

Also many of the current / older range of lenses have been around for 10 or more years and Canon have long since recovered the R& D costs on those designs. Also it must have taken lots of research to make the new lenses even better, faster, lighter and with better IS - which might justify the higher prices.

Still, the DOUBLING of prices every time 'MkII' appears in the model name is very worrying, I agree.

I, for one, am not sure the new 24-70mm f2.8 MkII is worth the expected price tag of R22,000 plus...

[Mike Wrankmore]

Their pricing structure makes it extremely difficult if not impossible for middle income earners who are serious amateurs.....to buy these lenses.I have spent a huge amount on Canon gear for an amateur.....but i cannot afford these prices.What it means is......if i want one......i have to wait years to try and pick up a second hand bargain.
That's not very encouraging for me as the main reason i picked Canon in the first place was because the lens line up was more affordable than Nikon......!

[elsahoffmann]

It is scary if you really start adding up. Sadly the more camera manufacturers launch new products - the more people buy. How do they do that.

[Trommel]

Elsa, I hope a lot of "those" people buy the fancy lenses, it means Mike and me will be able to pick a bargain up soon. It is truly surprising to see the number of L lenses out in the market. You just need to look at whats for offer in the classifieds. I am a firm believer in the "vanity theory" and that there are customers buying these lenses purely to keep up with the Jones's

Mike I agree with you. I invested heavily in equipment from the L brand but at the going rate it seems impossible to keep up with their plans. It is a pitty though that they seem to put less R&D into the development of good stuff at the F.4 range such as the 17-40 F4 or 70-200 F4 which appear to be aimed at the serious photog but not only pro's giving everyone the chance to own a good piece of glass.

The problem remains that it appears that sensor capabilities are to exceed what a lens can allow a sensor to capture. Maybe that is why the big L are keeping the Mpixels of their new cameras at reasonable levels.

[Mike Wrankmore]

Elsa.....suckers like me buy in to the marketing hype and think that by getting the better gear with all the bells and whistles....we become better photographers.....instead of learning to actually master what we do have and can afford!
Luckily for me.......they have out priced my little addiction.....so i now have to have a long hard look at reality......which for me is a good thing.
But it makes you wonder.....if i as a middle income earner.....am out of the equation for the first time since i started this hobby 5 years ago......who actually is their market?

[Deon RacePics]

Together with one of my mates we decided to move across to the mkII range of Canon.
First up for replacement was my 70-200F2.8L. It was 9years old and I paid 5K for it. Sold it for 7K, and bought the mkII.

The new 24-70 is on my list most certainly. I agree it is double today's asking price.

I am not going to any length to replace my 16-35F2.8 though. I use it little enough.

Where I foresee a huge problem is with the new 400F2.8. Whilst we arent looking the price changed. The first time I gave it a look over it was under 100K, but a price from a week of two ago suggested 108K. For many photographers this is going to be a problem to buy.

Considering the price of a new 1Dx, the question is whether the lens is expensive or the body.

I feel the time arrived to give serious thought to the composition of one's bag.

[Henk Coetzee]

There's been a lot of talk about this in the Pentax forums over the past few months. The general consensus is that we have to learn to live with a strong Yen and a weak dollar and particularly Euro.

The problem remains that it appears that sensor capabilities are to exceed what a lens can allow a sensor to capture. Maybe that is why the big L are keeping the Mpixels of their new cameras at reasonable levels.

Let's not go there again. Something has to limit resolution. It's either going to be the lens or the sensor. Learn to live with it. Years ago, your 6MP APS sensor couldn't see the flaws in your lenses. Now, your 14+MP sensor can (particularly if all those pixels are crammed onto a small sensor). The nett result is that while you can still make larger prints than you ever believed possible, the laws of physics are still there to be respected and obeyed.

I feel the time arrived to give serious thought to the composition of one's bag.

Wasn't it always? Or are there really people who buy camera gear just because they can .

[elsahoffmann]

Like Mike says

there will ALWAYS be a market for new gear. there will always be new photographers entering the market. Statistically the "amateur" togs are able to afford better equipment (on average) as they have a real income to fund toys - whereas a pro mostly battles his ass off to make ends meet. We all go thru a faze of wanting new or more but its a faze and can pass - thank the pope. Then there is Makro. and after every mother's/valintine'/secretary/father's day - we have a Lot more togs on board. (we call the ladies Makro-mommies)

[Henk Coetzee]

Then there is Makro.

I was in there yesterday - buying a fridge. Some cameras are a little like household appliances. Makro could be the place to buy them as well.

[visagieh]

I think the Rand $ affects us more than most countries.
Imagine 1979 when the Rand was stronger than the $. R100 000 lens down to about R12 000.
What a pleasure.

[Chris F]

should probably post this on the other thread - but here goes ....

At the Canon roadshow the following statement was made: "In the East people change cameras every THREE to FOUR MONTHS" !!!

Clearly it is only "us" that sees these prices as problematic ....


(granted - this statement was made while talking about P&S cameras)

[Henk Coetzee]

I think the Rand $ affects us more that most countries.

Apart from Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland the Rand/$ doesn't affect anyone else. It's the strong Yen that is helping to drive these prices.

[Deon RacePics]

Wasn't it always? Or are there really people who buy camera gear just because they can .

Some people does in fact.
But to people like me, I really have to sit down and plan carefully what I need in my bag, not what I want. At the moment the mk2 lenses shifted quite a notch in prices. Buying equipment which is going to be used occasionally now becomes a costly exercise.
However, there is consideration here, it is not really a flat rate increase..

[Jaco de Klerk]

20 years ago when I first became interested in photography, I was filled with all sorts of emotions when spotting a big L.. and drooled for many years before I could own one too.
Nowadays they're so common, I know of newbies...

I'll be skipping both the 5diii and also 1Dx. One benefit of using prime lenses is that they'll probably continue to outperform the upgraded version of the equivalent zoom lenses.
Or so I tell myself.

[Nqina Dlamini]

Luckily for me.......they have out priced my little addiction.....so i now have to have a long hard look at reality......which for me is a good thing.

This.
I'm a regular on the classified section, it is for self torturer and bargain hunting.

[Ernst]

I see some posters mention that the Canon kit is becoming too expensive for 'amateurs'.

Ironically, in my experience the 'professionals' seldom earn enough from photography to be able to afford or justify the high end equipment!

It is often the doctors, lawyers, small business owners etc that have all the most expensive / latest high end equipment, along with all their other status symbols like big houses, cars etc.

Maybe the 'real professionals' just wait for the 'amateurs' to get bored with their expensive new toys and then buy the kit second hand.

[Forgiss - Sean Nel]

Yes, the prices are going up, Just like you coffee, tea, mince and milk... (no real improvement on the milk developing system, so I cant see why I should be paying more...)

However, the new lenses really are good, and although I decided I didn't need to upgrade, every time after taking a lens or body out to review, I end up upgrading in any case... The old lenses are not bad, but the new lenses are better.

Great benefit though is that especially on the canon side, you can now pick up, "Last year's" 70-200 f/2.8 L IS for R10k-R12k in a very good condition... something that would leave many shooters still extremely happy! (I saw three come in at ODP alone over the weekend)

[Henk Coetzee]

Perhaps this is the reality check which separates what we want from what we need.

[Fanie]

Perhaps this is the reality check which separates what we want from what we need.

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