Sony lens price hike due shortly

[bfitzgerald]

Ran across this..

http://photorumors.com/2012/02/14/sony- ... -1st-2012/

Some of the price increases are quite large (if the information is correct)

[Greg Beetham]

Poor struggling Sony, loosing millions here and there, maybe a lens price hike will offset the other losses, (I doubt that) the A-mount lens buyers won't mind as it's all in a good cause.
Greg

[Philip]

Not good news, although reports suggest that Europe and Asia are not affected. Could be worse - the price is out for the new Canon 24-70 F2.8 - yours for a mere £2299 http://www.calumetphoto.co.uk/eng/produ ... anon12lens

Philip

[Dusty]

My question is why the great disparity in the increases? The CZ16-35 is up 5% , while the CZ16-80 is up 17%. If it were truly a yen/dollar adjustment you would think they would all be up the same percentage.

Dusty

[bfitzgerald]

The CZ16-80 is fast becoming rather pricey not that is was cheap to start with
If they shoved SSM in there and beefed up the build I could see some reason for that

[Greg Beetham]

Maybe the extra price of the 16-80CZ is evidence that they re-designed the lens and fixed it’s poor design (ha ha), or maybe they just want people to think they did, or even maybe they think the lens is desirable enough to withstand a little extra increase and people will still buy it anyway; I’m sortof liking that last one myself although the ‘they just want people to think they did’ is pretty cool, you have to admit.
Greg

[bfitzgerald]

I've not tried one for a good while so I have no idea if they tweaked anything I know Walt complained about issues he had and said something along the lines of "cheapo plastic" build esp internal components.

Greg on Nikon (which I'm obviously paying a lot more attention to) they have increased prices, but not really for the more affordable range. And if they do an "updated lens" it's got a higher price..but AF-S, new optical design, better bundle (hood/case etc) Heck even the 18-105mm impressed me with the bundle
They'd want to stay clear of the European market with price increases though I'll say that.

[Greg Beetham]

I think I’ve only ever read a few Nikkor lens reviews Barry so I’m not that up on them but I guess the company has a pretty good reputation for QC on the whole I think so I’d tend to trust that you wouldn’t have to sift through multiple copies of their lenses to hopefully get a good one. I did read through that list of lenses that Ken Rockwell thinks is good value, and there again I wouldn’t have a clue if he was spot on or wide of the mark with any of his recommendations.
But anyway I checked up on the value of the Yen at the moment and actually the Pound, the US dollar and even our dollar have all gone up against the yen in the last month so it would actually be a little odd if Sony raised its lens prices in the UK at the moment. Even the Euro has gone up 6Yen in the last month from €1 = 97.1Y to €1 = 103.3Y. The £ actually gained more, 117.3Y to 124.4Y in the past four weeks.
Greg

[bfitzgerald]

Greg I don't think it's down to currency rates. The trend has been up on lens prices for quite a while now..which probably makes it even more surprising that Sony are increasing prices on so many lenses, even some cheaper ones.

I do look across makers from time to time. Canon and Nikon are def up on prices but they tend to hold them on the more affordable ones a bit better than Sony. Pentax are down on a few lenses but they were so highly prices in the UK it was not even funny Hoya went nuts price ramping lenses and did massive damage to K mount despite some decent bodies. Sony will have to remain competitive with the big 2. Sigma have gone a bit mad lately replacing models with OS ones and with massive price hikes the new 105mm macro HSM OS is "double the price" of the old one! I can't say I find Sigma very competitive or appealing in many areas.

Sony's premium lenses are taking the biggest price hit as expected. As for the CZ 16-80mm it bucks the trend of "older lenses" generally becoming cheaper the longer they are in production. You can see this on Canon and Nikon they have older versions that are cheaper or you can get the newer more expensive ones. Choice is good for the buyer

[alphaomega]

bfitzgerald wrote

Sony's premium lenses are taking the biggest price hit as expected. As for the CZ 16-80mm it bucks the trend of "older lenses" generally becoming cheaper the longer they are in production.

Well, It is a good lens and hopefully will stay in the lens portfolio for some time to come. Even David seems to be intent upon keeping this lens although he will also hang on to the new 16-50.

Now you may understand why I want to keep this lens even though – unlike some enthusiastic new owners – I find that its sharpness across the field is not actually as consistent as the CZ. It is a far better overall match to the Alpha 77 especially for video work. But in January, I chose the CZ in preference for a week abroad, and I would most likely do so again.

If I had not made the decision essentially to make any further investment in the NEX system, I would certainly have sold my old CZ 16-80 (kit lens with my A700) for a new one as my current one has the "wobble" at 75mm and "zooms out" when carried in a downward position. Not particularly concerned about the lack of an inbuilt motor as I have never experienced focusing problems.

[bfitzgerald]

It's not a great time to be buying lenses across the makers with the exception of some of the more value based primes/zooms. Sigma are increasing prices heavily, and Tamron whilst they're up look like a bargain deal right now.

The 16-80mm is horribly expensive right now the Nikkor one isn't cheap but quite a bit less, and that's slated for an update too (should be interesting)
Even the 16-105mm is too pricey IMO

[pakodominguez]

It's not a great time to be buying lenses across the makers with the exception of some of the more value based primes/zooms. Sigma are increasing prices heavily, and Tamron whilst they're up look like a bargain deal right now.

where?
UK? Europe? USA?

[bfitzgerald]

I know more about European pricing and the trend has been up for a good 2 years or so (or near there)
USA well I suspect that same. Of course with the weak economies in the EU I don't expect that is sustainable (ie more price rises)

And even on bodies we never got back to those golden days of a DSLR for £299 ;-0

[Heidfirst]

And even on bodies we never got back to those golden days of a DSLR for £299 ;-0

Jessops are currently selling A390s with the old kit 18-70 for £302 on clearance ... (they were £330 when new).

However, I agree the exception rather than the rule & lens prices from all the majors have gone up noticeably over the last 2 years.

[Mark K]

Although I failed to get the 300/2.8, I was able to grab a 16-35ZA and 85/1.4ZA at local shops, even at the prices 50% than the rumour started. The rumour turned out to be true.