Question about 300 or 350 purchase prices

[wicksy]

Hi My first post , and I realise there has been some debate about which is the best purchase the 300 or the 350 but the question I have is about which way the prices will go on these models.
I want to but a new canon - having used a eos 500 in past, but have a limited budget - in the uk the few remaining 300's are down as low as £479. with the kit lense, the 350 has already dropped to £610. at one supplier - I am assuming that stocks of 300 will run out soon and not be replaced ( it is happening with a number of suppliers already) - what I am wondering is if the 350 will drop lower once the 300 is no longer on the market. I was wondering if anyone could advise in light of previous new models? I can't go much abouve £500 so the 300 looks a good buy to get into digital slr's but would wait if there was a chance of the 350 dropping further in near future. Any advice greatly appreciated.

Chris Wicks - wicksy

[smittymike19]

if you wait long enough, the 350 will have a succesor and it too will be off the market. but then again the 350s successor will be off the market too by its sucessor. so if youwait say 15 years youll be able ot get one for 50 bucks.:) you have to get in at some point, jump in the waters nice.

[Andy_T]

Chris,

welcome to the forum :D

I think that there is little chance the 350D will drop in price once the 300D is no longer available.

It is a new camera with great features and sells like hot cake. Canon has a reputation of keeping the price of their DSLR's constant ... as opposed to P&S cameras.

Also, I was not aware that the production of the 300D has been ended. My knowledge was that it is the 'entry' model and will be in production for some time to come. Of course, I could be wrong.

Another option, of course, would be to get the camera from Germany. E.g., the price at www.digitalpear.de for the camera (body only) is EUR 705. Should be around 500 GBP (without the lens, however).

Best regards,
Andy

[wicksy]

Thanks for comments - I was told that by local branch of major camera chain that the production would be coming to an end - may be that they simply have decided not to stock anymore!

Wicksy

[condyk]

It is a new camera with great features and sells like hot cake. Canon has a reputation of keeping the price of their DSLR's constant ... as opposed to P&S cameras.

I think Andy is spot on ... The 350D will remain priced close to its nearest brand competitor. It's basic marketing ... unless they adopt the 'short supply' model of Apple, i.e. highly desired product that is constantly selling out results in premium prices and even more desire!!

A thought ... I paid £345 delivered for my 300d kit via Ebay import from US. Even if I had paid VAT and Duty (say add 20% extra) I would still have been around £65 better off than buying UK. There is a risk with warrentee issues but I believe Canon to be a reputable company making reliable products on the whole so I thought the risk minimal. Add the Undutchables firmware and you have useful features of the higher priced Canon models too.

I think in system terms ... the body I am likely to upgrade at some point but not the lenses (at least not for a long time, I hope!) So, buying a 300D was an easy choice on value and performance terms as I knew my main investment was going to be in lenses. I also know that I will get my money back on the lenses should I sell as I tend to buy low rather than just walk into a shop and pay the asking price. Shop around. Consider second hand from a reliable individual on this forum or via ebay. Buy smart and not just to keep up with the latest models.

Buy the 300D and use it for 18 months and then upgrade to another Canon body if you need to, or just use it until it eventually falls apart. The most important determinate of output quality is 1) you, 2) lens, and 3) body ... using the sh** in and sh** out analogy, if a lens doesn't capture something then the body can't do much about it! If you don't know how to use the lens/body system then the results will be poor too.

[willg]

there is a reason why the price doesn't drop that much..the 300d is still a great camera and will be a great camera no matter what else has come out....small buffer? yes. Plastic body? yes. slow start up time? relatively but not in my opinion. these things are all relative though---you still see great photographers shooting with full manual cameras where fps depends on how fast you can wind and focus...find out what you need in a camera and then buy one

[MTalley]

I actually leveraged the fact that the 300D is being discontinued (that's the word I got from several retailers, most of whom were already out of 300D's). Now is an excellent opportunity to buy, as new prices are probably at about their lowest levels, in my opinion, on the 300D. Sure, there will be a few specials here and there (that's how I bought mine), but generally speaking, retailers will have no trouble moving the remaining 300D's until their supply is exhausted, without having to resort to lowball pricing.

I've already had a couple of folks ask why I didn't go ahead and spend the 33% extra and get the 350D/XT. Simple math. I saved $250 US over the cost of the "latest and greatest". I jumped on the opportunity while it still exists. Otherwise, I'd probably have waited around until the XT dropped a couple hundred USD, which will probably be next year, when it is being phased out due to the new 10MP 400D, etc., etc.

Like another poster mused - you gotta buy something at some point, or you'll wait forever for that good deal on the latest technology.

[condyk]

Chris

The 300D body only MAY just about drop to the £399 price point, plus P&P, in my opinion. This assuming they don't all sell out first! Any lower and the price will start to undermine the Canon DSLR 'brand'.

You can get it from 7dayshop today post free for £409 tho', so why wait? Great price if you don't fancy the import/ebay option. I would then order the Canon 50mm F1.8 lens with it, rather than going the kit lens route. It's a nice sharp prime lens for crazy money. You can then start building a nice system.

[wicksy]

Thanks again for the posts - will be going for the 300 its too good a price to miss - I had seen the body only at 7 day shop for £409. but was worried by some of the reviews. I already have 28 -85 lense on my eos 500 so had wondered about going the body only route - however was attracted to the kit lense (which I have heard mixed report about the quality of) because it would give a wide ish lense at a low price. The 50mm1.8 is on my future wish list. THe combination of the kit lense at 18mm (say 28mm in real terms)and the 85 mm on my eos (representing over 100) would give quiet a reasonable range to begin with. I had planned to add a 70 - 300 later when the bank balance recovered!The 50 mm 1.8 was going to be the next purchase. Any other suggestions about supplier (are 7 day shop reliable?) Or choice of lense if I went for the body only would be appreciated.

Many thanks for the advice

Chris

[smittymike19]

I actually leveraged the fact that the 300D is being discontinued (that's the word I got from several retailers, most of whom were already out of 300D's). Now is an excellent opportunity to buy, as new prices are probably at about their lowest levels, in my opinion, on the 300D. Sure, there will be a few specials here and there (that's how I bought mine), but generally speaking, retailers will have no trouble moving the remaining 300D's until their supply is exhausted, without having to resort to lowball pricing.

I've already had a couple of folks ask why I didn't go ahead and spend the 33% extra and get the 350D/XT. Simple math. I saved $250 US over the cost of the "latest and greatest". I jumped on the opportunity while it still exists. Otherwise, I'd probably have waited around until the XT dropped a couple hundred USD, which will probably be next year, when it is being phased out due to the new 10MP 400D, etc., etc.

Like another poster mused - you gotta buy something at some point, or you'll wait forever for that good deal on the latest technology.
what did you pay for your 300d? i just picked up an xt for $50.00 more than i found the lowest 300 d. I got the 300d for $759 total from circuit city. dell gave me the xt for 809 delivered. if you shop hard enough, the xt can be had for a reasonable price. Initially i felt teh 300d was perfectly fine, until i found some limitations to it in the first month. Namely the write speed and the burst capapbility. the noise at 800 is pretty bad too and its supposed to be improved on the xt. we'll see. if you find a good deal on the xt, get it. i am definitely a convert.

[kram]

I did the wait and watch game for real long and just bought the 300D. Yes, in many parts of the world, the retailers no longer have the 300D (I'm in Hong Kong).

But many retailers in the US seem to have it and it also seems to be a fast moving item at the current price. So, not sure if Canon will stop production. And at USD650 for the kit, it looks like a great buy. Another few months may shave off maybe 40-50 more, but two factors - a. the price drop at this level has plateaued out, will drop but much slower. b. I want it NOW.

End of the day, if its reached your budget, buy it and use it. Have never regretted such purchases.

BTW, I am getting it shipped from the US as 300D is off the shelves of all reputable camera dealers. Hoping that Canon's quality wont let me down!!

[condyk]

Any other suggestions about supplier (are 7 day shop reliable?) Or choice of lense if I went for the body only would be appreciated.

I have always found them reliable and prompt, for photo and computer gear. As with all the box shifter type operations (ebuyer is another super low price operation) all is great until there is a glitch in the system and then you may hit some customer support issues ... tho' may not!

The 300D I guess is a fast moving, everyday item and an easy order to process assuming all your credit card and address and such details are correct. The money saved is worth the very small chance of hassle in my view. If you prefer to minimise the chance of some possible hassle then you need to pay a higher price and go via a local shop route, such as jessops.

You could always see if Jessops will price match too of course ... but watch out for the high price of accessories like CF cards, bags, etc. They soon add up on a bill and they're high mark up for the retailer. I remember one guy saying he'd got a bargain 350D at £900 from Jessops: camera was reasonably priced sure, but he was then 'fleeced' in my view on CF's, guarentee extension, bag, etc, etc. :rolleyes:

I'd stick with your current lens to start with, though the kit is worth having if only for possible enhanced resale price long term. I always think maybe I'll use mine, but still never have :-) I probably should give it a go. I suspect quality very much depends on individual copies: I imagine quality control is not optimum for such a cheap item.

Enjoy your 300D if you go that route. I've never regreted buying mine for a second ... or even 1/800th of a second :lol: :lol:

[PhotosGuy]

though the kit is worth having if only for possible enhanced resale price long term. I always think maybe I'll use mine, but still never have I probably should give it a go. It's not bad at f/11, + you have the 18mm WA at a reasonable price.

[MTalley]

what did you pay for your 300d? i just picked up an xt for $50.00 more than i found the lowest 300 d. I got the 300d for $759 total from circuit city. dell gave me the xt for 809 delivered. if you shop hard enough, the xt can be had for a reasonable price. Initially i felt teh 300d was perfectly fine, until i found some limitations to it in the first month. Namely the write speed and the burst capapbility. the noise at 800 is pretty bad too and its supposed to be improved on the xt. we'll see. if you find a good deal on the xt, get it. i am definitely a convert.

I paid the $759 at Circuit City. I checked Dell's site, and all of their cameras were 10% off except for the XT. They were asking $999 for the kit.

That was the first place I looked, too, as I have a Dell credit account with enough room to buy an XT, but I didn't want to pay $999 for it. Had I not needed it so soon (I'm going to be shooting some portraits here in about an hour), I'd have held out and waited. At least I would've saved some sales tax in the deal.

[smittymike19]

I paid the $759 at Circuit City. I checked Dell's site, and all of their cameras were 10% off except for the XT. They were asking $999 for the kit.

That was the first place I looked, too, as I have a Dell credit account with enough room to buy an XT, but I didn't want to pay $999 for it. Had I not needed it so soon (I'm going to be shooting some portraits here in about an hour), I'd have held out and waited. At least I would've saved some sales tax in the deal.
yeah i live in nj which is one of teh staes dell charges taxes to. as i understand they dont charge tax to every state. had i lived in one of those states it woulda cost me 765 delivered for the kit. pretty sweet. tracking the package as we speak. i ordered it on tuesday afternoon, it is estimated to arrive by friday or monday. at any rate, i think the 300d is an excellent camera. Enjoy it!!:)

[cfcRebel]

what did you pay for your 300d? i just picked up an xt for $50.00 more than i found the lowest 300 d. I got the 300d for $759 total from circuit city. dell gave me the xt for 809 delivered. ......

Does that mean after u spent hours and hours on the phone, they finally gave it to you? Congratulations man! I love happy ending.;)

[smittymike19]

Does that mean after u spent hours and hours on the phone, they finally gave it to you? Congratulations man! I love happy ending.;)


you have a good memory. Yeah they dropped the ball and i had to irritate the heck out of them but I finally found a guy willing to give me the camera for 765 + tax. i fought like hell over the last $100. the funny thing is i could care less about the money, it was more of the principal. if i did my math correctly i got paid about 11 dollars an hour to fight on the phone. hard way to make a living!! .lol

[cfcRebel]

if i did my math correctly i got paid about 11 dollars an hour to fight on the phone. hard way to make a living!! .lol
That alone is well worth it! LOL! Glad things got sorted out at the end.

Chris, I apologize for hijacking your thread. :oops:

[wicksy]

Just to let you guys know I finally bit the bullet and put my order in for the 300d. The only problem is that with the bank holiday here in uk I will have to wait to wednesday for it to arrive. Many thanks for the advice, I am looking forward to learning how to get the best out of it.
Chris