Alpha 230-380 series cahsbacks announced

[David Kilpatrick]

Calumet is the first to show them:

http://www.calumetphoto.co.uk/store/alp ... M02&a=CM02

£70 ($105) off A380 bodies or kits, £50 off most else. That brings the A380 body real price down to £380 not the £405 shown, as the kit 18-55mm SAM lens is definitely worth £50 for resale (£420 with lens - officially only adding £15 to the body price). My loss, I will now tell my local photo store to drop the price of my A380 kit (slightly used) to £399 from £450.

I thought this would happen - they could not keep on having the original retail price on these cameras. So, the cost for me of testing and writing up the A380 (not available from Sony to review on time, at the right time, and would almost have been irrelevant by the time it was) will have been a rather staggering £225 between purchase on July 3rd for £585 and resale (if it happens) for £360 net after my local dealer takes 10% commission.

To make matters worse, simplyelectronics.net took over £600 from my credit card via Monbeybookers.com on July 3rd, and failed to deliver the camera by July 20th, when after cancelling my order with them (they simply lied to me about stock repeatedly) I got one from Warehouseexpress. That money has never been refunded, I have been obliged to use the TSB card's chargeback request system. Today they sent me an email telling me that they had tried make a refund and it had 'bounced' - this is complete nonsense. I make refunds to credit cards and I can tell anyone who is itnerested that to make a refund, you don't need the expiry date of the card or the security number - neither. All you need is the card number for a refund. I have never known one bounce even with expired cards, the recipient eventually gets the refund. So, another lie.

David

[Greg Beetham]

Ouch! the foibles of reviewing...that simplyelectronics.net crew sound like they may be a bit of a shonk, $1000+ AU equiv. then 17 days later and still no camera...hmmm.

Sony are doing some marketing here as well, just got an email from them tonight announcing an A380 with 'bonus' 7" photoframe (SRP $199) for the first 1000 registered purchasers. (are 7" digital photoframes worth that much?)

Also $200 cashback on qualifying Carl-Zeiss and Sony G Lenses...I haven't looked yet, as to which ones 'qualify'

Greg

[alphaomega]

I am not surprised at the cashbacks. In view of the prices, lack of features and re-cycling of old sensors this was bound to happen. I guess that the cameras are just not selling as predicted by some, including bfitzgerald.

I wonder when I can expect a cashback on the A550. It will be worth holding out for. I will not purchase until next year or when Sony obliges with a cashback.

I am really beginning to think that Sony do not understand this market and the old Minolta hands have been showed aside from the decision making.

[bfitzgerald]

Not shocked about the cashbacks..the prices on the entry models were not nearly as cheap as they should have been.
I think it's time we abandon the concept of Sony being the new Minolta (aka photographers making cameras for photographers), rightly or wrongly Sony have their own ideas. It's a simple wrongly for folks like me!

What I will be interested in, is if they stubbornly stick to this "newbie" feature stripped concept/weak handling design/small grips, in the next round of models, or take note of the overwhelmingly negative response to the new entry models.

It's almost scary to even think about what a new A750 might be like..

If it's not broke...

All they needed to do was re-vamp the A200-350 bodies..improve some areas, tweak a few things.
All they need for the A5xx ones, was to shoe horn a CMOS sensor into the body of an A100/5d or something like that.
Really, that's pretty simple..camera companies don't do radical body changes, if they do, it tends to be a failure (take note of Oly's E300 etc) And look at Canon..very consistent..cameras might look boring, they are not meant to be fashion statements, but practical devices/tools!

[Birma]

...they are not meant to be fashion statements, but practical devices/tools!

I suspect you will continue to be disappointed Barry, especially around the entry level stuff. Look at what Apple has done to the the design of PCs, mp3 players, lap tops, phones, etc. etc. Sony also likes to put pretty/clever design high up on the feature list. IMHO the Oly Pen is creating more market noise than the Pany GF1 as the Oly is prettier and has a retro thing going for it.

I'm not saying I agree with the idea that entry level users all want a bright red, pretty camera, with matching handbag accessories, but I think several camera manufacturers think that this is an important feature in selling their wares.

[Heidfirst]

I am not surprised at the cashbacks. In view of the prices, lack of features and re-cycling of old sensors this was bound to happen. I guess that the cameras are just not selling as predicted by some, including bfitzgerald.

The cameras were already selling under SRP which was to be expected as they were no longer "new"
The cashback imo however, is just seasonal marketing - Canon, Olympus & Pentax all have money off/free accessory deals recently announced in the UK running into January.
I haven't checked Nikon but I would be surprised if they were an odd man out.

[pakodominguez]

The cashback imo however, is just seasonal marketing - Canon, Olympus & Pentax all have money off/free accessory deals recently announced in the UK running into January.
I haven't checked Nikon but I would be surprised if they were an odd man out.

Canon just started in the USA: http://view.e.adorama.com/?j=fe65157071 ... 741770&r=0