Yearly Archives: 2014

CanonPriceWatch’s Holiday Predictions, Follow Up to Part 1

A few weeks ago, we published Part 1 of our holiday pricing predictions — we wrote down some predictions on authorized dealer pricing over the November/December holiday season. This post takes a look at how accurate we were, and updates some of the predictions to include what we think might be coming in the next and subsequent Canon rebate.

I know many readers are waiting for “Part 2” of our Holiday Predictions series, where we’ll predict some of the unauthorized dealer (eBay) prices for Black Friday and the following Cyber Week. This isn’t it, but don’t worry, that’s coming soon…

In Part 1 we predicted:

  • Prediction #1: MAP is here to stay.
  • Prediction #2: Small drop in lens prices (because of increased rebates).
  • Prediction #3: Steady full-frame body price… for now (except for 1D-X)
  • Prediction #4: Street prices will fluctuate directly with Canon rebates.

Well, how did we do with these predictions thus far, and do we have anything to change?

Read on to find out.

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Adorama In-Store Black Wednesday Sale — Today Only, 4 PM – 10 PM

If you are in the New York City area, we’re told that Adorama will be having a Secret Late Night Black Wednesday Sale. It’s in-store only at their 42 W 18th Street location, today only, and starts at 4 PM. They are extending hours today to 10 PM due to this sale. You’ll need this special in-store coupon.

The prices in this sale are “too drastic to print”, but we are told that our readers will not be disappointed! (Any readers who choose to check out the sale, please report on your findings!) Don’t forget to bring your coupon.



Drobo 5N 5-Bay NAS Storage Array $359 at Adorama via eBay


Adorama via eBay has the Drobo 5N 5-Bay NAS Storage Array with Gigabit Ethernet for $359.99. This is the absolute lowest price we’ve ever seen for it!

This is a good deal for someone looking to get a 5-bay redundant network-attached storage array. We have been fans of Drobo ever since we survived three hard drive failures with all our files intact!



Amazon 1-Day Sale: Sony Memory Cards (32GB 40MB/s SD for $11.99)


Amazon has a one-day sale on Sony SD, MicroSD, and USB memory — some pretty good discounts here.

The best deal is likely the Sony 32GB SDHC Class 10 UHS-1 40MB/s for $11.99. This is a great deal as similar speed cards from SanDisk or Lexar go for $18-20.

This sale is only today — it ends in just under twelve hours.



EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II Announced: Pre-Order at $2199



Canon finally announced the highly anticipated EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II at a hefty $2199 USD introductory price tag, representing a 65% premium over our street price of $1329.99 AR for the Mark I version of the lens.

The new lens comes in two inches longer and 3 ounces heavier than its predecessor, but now sporting 4-stop IS (vs. the 2-stop IS of the original). The newly published MTF charts for the lens look quite impressive. Another thing is for certain, that annoying push-pull zoom is gone!

Pre-order at B&H, Adorama, or Amazon, or Profeel.



Get Notified When the EF 100-400mm IS II is Available for Pre-Order

The yet-to-be-announced EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II has been thoroughly leaked by all the Canon rumor sites. We’re expecting it to be officially announced and available for pre-order within 24-36 hours.

The lens is expected to carry a hefty $2199 USD introductory price tag, representing a 65% premium over our street price of $1329.99 AR for the Mark I version of the lens. This is the typical price increase seen for recent refreshes (namely, the 70-200 II, and 24-70 II). We’re yet to see if the performance from this long-awaited refresh justifies the higher price.

As usual, you can set a pre-order notification to be e-mailed immediately when the lens is available for pre-order, or you can marvel at our new price listing page for the lens (which is empty, for now).



5D Mark III for $2491 (Import) — eBay Price War!


All three of the major Canon unauthorized dealers on eBay (6th Ave, BigValueInc, and AllNewShop (a.k.a. GetItDigital)) slashed their prices today on the Canon EOS 5D Mark III to sub-$2500 — the lowest (for now) is 6th Ave at $2491.81.

This is the first time we’ve seen a sub-$2500 price on the Canon EOS 5D Mark III since Black Friday of 2013. This is a great price today, but bodes really well for any upcoming holiday sales! To get an e-mail notification if the 5D Mark III price drops further, click the “Notify” button on the 5D Mark III page.

As usual, these are imports; they are not guaranteed to have a Canon USA warranty, but these are reliable retailers who provide a store warranty. Our authorized dealer street price is $2699 AR.