AG Schnozz wrote:
>> US$599 for the *kit*?!
>> If Nikon can actually fill the pipeline for this one, I bet it
>> will sell like "hotscakes" (per my old friend Lisa) this
>> holiday season.
>>
> Canon is a sitting duck.
>
It certainly looks like N has nailed the entry level DSLR - from the
perspective of those knowledgeable in what does and doesn't contribute
to effective image making. A very impressive package and super value.
Nonetheless, I think it is still a horse race. The 400D is very little
more money even now, and the difference may easily get smaller if N is
successful in getting the pipeline full for the holiday season. and it
starts eating into C's planned sales volume. C obviously has big plans
and a big marketing budget. My new PopPhoto came in a plastic bag with a
Rebel XTi (400D) brochure - 8.5x11", heavy, coated paper, 20 pages. An
impressive piece.
The big unknown is whether N can break the mp race. And it certainly
should be broken. With P&Ss, it's geting to the point where it is
actually decreasing the performance of the cameras. But this year, with
DSLRs? I certainly don't know, but the old adage that nobody ever went
broke by underestimating the intelligence of the average consumer
probably still applies.
From a practical standpoint, 6mp is plenty for an entry level DLSR. I
was amazed at what the 6.3 mp in my first DLSR could do. From a market
standpoint, how will buyers react to 6 mp vs. 10 mp with a modest price
difference? I know that when people see my images or me carrying around
a camera and ask anything about them, the first question is still "How
many megapixels?". Explaining anything beyond that usually gets blank
stares or polite, but vacant attention.
The other big factor is unit price from the perspective of the
retailers. If I sell 100,000 cameras at $600, my gross is $10 million
less than if I sell the same number of $700 cameras. That's why you will
never see POS info at the retailer pointing out that there is just no
difference between a 6 mp and a 10 mp camera if you never print over
8x10. Instead, you see the POS labels at the big box stores listing
simple specs that correlate nicely with price.
All he DSLR makers make products at all levels that are capable of
producing drop dead gorgeous images in the hands of a competent
photographer.
And nothing has changed from the later film days of entry level SLR
sales. They all sell them with not-actually-awful, but way short of
excellent, lenses that limit the capabilities of the pair more than
anything about the camera body itself. I notice that the D40 comes with
a new "II" version of their 18-55 mm kit lens. I wonder what that's
about. I'm pretty sure it is more about decreasing production cost than
increasing image quality. To be clear, I have no idea, nor do I care,
whether N or C or whoever, has he best entry level kit zoom. They are
all doing their best to balance cost and quality and still be able to
sell enough cameras to survive.
Moose
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