All entries for Wednesday 14 May 2008

DSLR price competition is all in the 'up–sell' accessories.

Writing about web page http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/CanonEOS400D/

Years ago buying my first SLR required a trip to Leicester. The original huge Jessops shop and competition from Jacobs in the centre of town made it the best place for photographic kit. The $ was also well over 2 to the £ making it a great time to buy. The volume Jessops sold in that period started their growth to the national chain they still hang on to much of.

Recently I finally bought a DSLR, the Canon EOS 400D. The price was much the same everywhere with the biggest discount being the Canon £45 cashback promotion. I ordered online with Jessops to pick up in Coventry. The process was not perfect but the trip was short and they threw in a camera backpack. The Canon cashback process, below, appears to be an excellent mechanism to monitor selling prices as they end up a copy of the retailers receipt:

• Register online.
• Cut out the barcode from the box.
• Photocopy the receipt.
• Send to Ireland.

The competition still is keen between the different manufacturers as the real business follows with glass and accessories.

I priced a 2GB Sandisk Ultra II CF card, generic spare battery & UV filter comparing the Jessops bundled discounts with www.7dayshop.co.uk on Jersey. Paying for the £6 accelerated shipping option this was still half of Jessops price at under £30. (Plus this included 4 AA 2700mAh NiMH batteries!) It is the necessary extras that can cost you. Canon do not include a CF memory card.

I went for the Canon partly because we already have 2 Canon digital cameras with software, cable and memory module compatibility. The huge range of Canon lenses was also a factor. The first SLR camera I used was a borrowed Canon AE1 in Morocco in ‘79.

The biggest bonus of going to the DSLR over the digital compacts is the fast, smooth, manual zooms. I took the plasticy EF-S 18-55 mm kit lens and bought the EF 50 mm f/1.8 II as a portrait lens. This is the equivalent to a 35mm film focal length of 80mm. Whether this truly replaces my favourite lens of all time the Tamron SP90 remains to be seen.

Robert McGonigle : 14 May 2008 14:56 |  Tags: Canon Eos 400D Dslr |  Comments (3) |  Close comments |  Report a problem