Bad News from Japan - Ducati.ms

Bill_Anderson · Apr 6th, 2011, 11:44 am

Monday I stopped by Kenmore camera, a real camera store for those of you who live in the area. Kenmore Camera

One of the employees told me that Canon's lens manufacturing plant got hit hard by the earthquake and lens production has been put on hold. Release of recently announced new lens models has been delayed as has the development of new camera models such as the 5D MarkIII.

All current rebates have been canceled (including the recent one on the 7D) and some models of cameras (he mentioned the 7D in particular) are nearly impossible to find. Kenmore Camera has gotten no deliveries from Canon in two weeks.

Bottom line: if you have a line on a Canon camera or lens you are thinking of purchasing, I would not hesitate to buy it now, as a dealer may not be able to restock it after it is sold.

Can anyone provide info on the other Japanese camera and lens manufacturers?

DUCeditor · Apr 6th, 2011, 1:50 pm

That explains what I saw and reported re Canon lens pricing. Since that time (just two weeks ago) I have seen the lens I bought for $710 go and up until today Amazon was advertising it for $999.

-don

DUCeditor · Apr 6th, 2011, 10:20 pm

Having just bought the long-desired EF-S 10-22 ultra wide zoom I figured that my lens buying was over for a while. But seeing what is happening with lens prices I decided to at least look into the cost of replacing my 'Kit' standard zoom (EF-S 18-85) with an upgraded, non kit, lens.

Prices here of course are climbing too but so far at least not as quickly as they were with the wide zoom. (This likely because the 10-22 is a relatively rare sale and thus dealers don't have old stock to sell).

OK, there were several possible choices. Some quite frankly simply out of my price range.

The one that seemed to hit all the bases and that maybe would be within reach was the EF-S 17-85. This lens with its solid construction, 5x zoom range, (27-135 equivalent), advanced ultrasonic focusing and superior grade (3 stop and instead of 2) image stabilizer "lists" for $860, but several vendors including Amazon are still selling them for as low as $550. Hmmm.... Tempting.

But then I saw one advertised as "Used - Like new" by an Amazon subsidiary shop that had an amazing 100% satisfaction rating on numerous sales. The price? Get this... $342.

I corresponded with the owner of the shop (Lee of "Great Photography!"). He assured me this lens is truly as new - and said he'd give the same one year guaranty as on a new one. Plus a total satisfaction guaranty with him paying the shipping if I wasn't completely pleased. ("Use it for a day or a lifetime - your choice" he wrote.)

So its on its way. What a buy! And what a shop. Lee, the owner - a full time photography teacher - is a great guy. We wound up having a half dozen back and forths with each other, sharing images and the like, just for the pleasure of good conversation.

Anyway, more to follow. Including examples from both new lenses.

Ain't life fun?

-don

Bill_Anderson · Apr 7th, 2011, 1:22 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by DUCeditor

Ain't life fun?

-don

And expen$ive.

Bill_Anderson · Apr 7th, 2011, 4:51 am

Don: I bought the 18-135 zoom for my Rebel XSi.
Canon U.S.A. : Consumer & Home Office : EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

It is a very good "walk-around" lens and replaces both the 18-55 and 55-250 kit zooms. It compliments the 7D/100-400 zoom when I am out shooting birds and want to take a sunset/landscape/train shot that needs a wider lens.

The Rebel/18-135 zoom will travel with me on my motorcycle and enabled me to buy a smaller camera case since I will no longer be backing two lenses.

DUCeditor · Apr 7th, 2011, 5:01 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill_Anderson

Don: I bought the 18-135 zoom for my Rebel XSi.
Canon U.S.A. : Consumer & Home Office : EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

It is a very good "walk-around" lens and replaces both the 18-55 and 55-250 kit zooms.

Nice! That was one of the lenses I seriously considered. Isn't it amazing how far optics have come? I remember when a zoom of half that capability was the size of a bazooka and almost as heavy.

Enjoy!

-don

Mad Dog · Apr 7th, 2011, 5:03 am

price increases started before the earthquake. As I noted, the Yen is far too strong and Canon and others just can't keep biting the bullet forever.

DUCeditor · Apr 7th, 2011, 5:23 am

When I was looking at the official lens info on the Canon page I was struck by the low (obviously not updated) retail prices. Hmmm... thought I... Can you actually buy them at that price from Canon direct? The answer: No. In fact almost every lens is presently listed as "Out of Stock." Ouch!

-don

Bill_Anderson · Apr 8th, 2011, 9:31 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by DUCeditor

When I was looking at the official lens info on the Canon page I was struck by the low (obviously not updated) retail prices. Hmmm... thought I... Can you actually buy them at that price from Canon direct? The answer: No. In fact almost every lens is presently listed as "Out of Stock." Ouch!

-don

I can finally rationalize purchasing Canon's 800mm telephoto: it is an investment. My local dealer has one in stock for about $700 less than the current MSRP listed on Canon's website.

Bill_Anderson · Mar 23rd, 2012, 12:53 am

My local camera store (Kenmore Camera) received their first shipments of Canon's new 5D Mark III this week. The camera was supposed to have been released last year. I was told that deliveries of some of Canon's new series telephoto lenses are a year behind schedule. Kenmore Camera is out of stock of some telephoto lenses with no shipment dates in sight.

As a member of the planning committee of our local bird festival, I asked about the possiblity of Canon exhibiting telephoto lenses like it recently did at another bird fest. I was told that Canon is canceling its participation in all such events this year in order to regroup from last year's disaster.