Archives for April 2017

(ENDED) Tuesday: Sandisk Storage Sale (16 options: SD, microSD, SSD, Flash)

This Tuesday daily deal expired, but if you missed it, fear not; storage gold box deals du jour repeat every few days/weeks at Amazonia, either on their own or as part of “PC Accessories” type of sales…

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(ENDED) Tuesday Lightning Deals: YI Gimbal, Fuji Instax Mini 26, Etc

These lighting deals expired… For future ones in the future, check the Amazon Gold Box and Camera & Photo page

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(ENDED) Fujifilm Instax Mini 26 with Rainbow Film Bundle for $50

These lightning deals expired…

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(ENDED) Pentax K-S1 with 18-55 for $265 (three colors)

This daily deal expired…

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Lowepro Format 160 Camera Bag AND the Joby GorillaPod for $40 with free S&H

This sale is back on again, To the eBay Deals where the Best Buy eBay store is having a marriage of accessories in a bundle. You get the Lowepro Format 160 Camera Bag AND the Joby GorillaPod SLR-Zoom with Ball-Head Tripod, together as a bundle for $40 with free shipping or in-store pickup. Limit three bundles per customer.

Dostyle Light Meter for $19 [WAS $16]

The Dostyle Light Meter (Range: 0.1 ~ 200,000 Lux and 0.01 ~ 20,000 Fc) is on sale for $19 as of 4/19/17 [WAS $16] by the maker (“Dostyle Online”) with the orders fulfilled by Amazon, so you get free 2-day shipping if a Prime member. Otherwise, the usual $35+ limit. Limit up to eight units per customer. This averages 5 out of 5 based on 11 customer reviews, and it is currently the #1 best seller in newly-released Light Meters (there’s only seven of them listed though).

MegaGear “Ever Ready” for Sony RX100 for $20

The brown color scheme of the MegaGear “Ever Ready” protective leather case for the Sony RX100 is on sale for $20 at Amazon by Amazon itself with a limit of ten units per customer. This is not a lightning deal. Check the 330+ customer reviews and 20+ answered questions for more details and see how it fits the various RX100 generations. This was released for the first generation RX100. The customer reviews have their own search box (bottom right side on a desktop web browser; position may vary depending on viewport).

20% back on $30 iTunes or Google Play Gift Cards (also 16% back on Netflix)

We are hitting two ecosystems with one blog stone 🙂 Good until Saturday night 4/15/17, at Rite Aid brick and mortar stores [check their Weekly Ad to verify your local stores are participating], by using the Plenti Rewards program (managed by American Express and free and easy to join in-store or online), you can get 20% back in Plenti points on the purchase of $30 Google Play or $30 iTunes Gift Cards. You earn the $6 spending equivalent (600 Plenti Points) to use in the future (as early as next day after purchase) at participating Plenti retailers (Rite Aid, Exxon-Mobil, Macy’s, etc). If you shop at any of these retailers regularly, this is as good as cash. I’ve done these a few times, they work like clockwork. Limit two per customer for this particular offer.

Of camera and photo interest is the purchase of photography and camera guide e-books (tablets and PCs are better suited than e-book readers and phones when reading e-books with diagrams, tables, and of course color pictures), along with the purchase of camera and photography apps, and the occasional photography-related movie or TV show.

Speaking of which, another similar deal is running at Rite Aid B&M for the same time period. Buy a $50 Netflix Gift card, and get 800 Plenti points back. That’s a 16% off virtual discount, assuming you have no problem spending the 800 Plenti points at participating retailers. Limit two per customer on this offer. You can load this card to your own Netflix account (you don’t have to gift it to someone else). These work like clockwork too, and it only takes about 60 seconds to scratch the code, logon to the Netflix website, and type in the goofy jumble of letters and numbers that is the gift card code. Netflix can sometimes take a couple of minutes to “digest” the gift card, so don’t panic if your balance does not refresh instantaneously [this word is a pain to type correctly!]

Of camera and photo interest, well, there are very few photo-related movies and docs on Netflix, but you can put the savings towards the purchase of your next camera and photo item 🙂 A 16% virtual discount on a $10 monthly plan would make it a virtual $8.40 per month. Assuming you can use the Plenti points on your everyday purchases.

I have done the above offers multiple times, they work like clockwork, and they are frictionless. All you have to do is show your Plenti rewards card when making the purchase at Rite Aid, or type in your phone number correctly. You pay full price at the cash register. You get the promotion in bonus points. You get instant verification on the bonus points on the cash register receipt, it shows the amount earned. The bonus points can be spend the next morning (after your purchase). You cannot roll the points (you cannot use them on gift cards anyway), so you must pay with “new money” (credit card, cash, debit card, check, gold bullion bars, live chickens, and all the other acceptable payment methods).

(ENDED) Monday: 60pk Insignia AA or AAA batteries for $9, Etc

Monday’s daily deals expired, but the battery 60-pack is a recurring offer at Best Buy…

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Lowepro Photo Hatchback 16L AW Backpack for $50

This ended: Bag the camera bags for extra OCD protection 🙂 The Lowepro Photo Hatchback 16L AW Backpack is currently on sale for $50 with free shipping at Amazon by Amazon itself (limit ten per customer).

These continue as of late 4/10/17: If you are not in a hurry to receive it, it is also available for the same price at Adorama and B&H Photo. Orders will ship beginning April 19.

(ENDED) Honor 8 Dual Camera Unlocked US-Warranty Smartphone for $260+

As of a 4/19/17 re-check, it looks like this sale ended…

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LG G6 (Sprint) for $354 with 24-month installment plan only

If you like what you saw with the LG G6 camera samples and reviews, and you don’t want to wait for the new Galaxy and iPhone and Pixel flagships to come out, and you are okay with switching or continuing with Sprint, they have a new installment-plan promotion that gets you the new LG G6 smartphone for $354 on a 24-month installment plan. Customers with “Good Credit” pay 24 monthly installments of $14.95, while “Building Credit” pay a $200 deposit with 24 monthly installments of $6.42. They both come out to around $354 total by the end of the installment discount promotion. The offer is good on both the Ice and Black color schemes.

The sale is only good on the installment plan. The pay-full-price-now price is $708. Sprint has a new “Unlimited plan” (with 10GB of mobile hotspot per month) for $50 per month, guaranteed until June 2018 (then it goes to $60/month). These prices are with Auto PAY activated. Add an extra $5/month if you don’t want AutoPAY. They also have promotions on adding lines (the second line is +$30/month, more lines for +$20/line; the prices on the additional lines will also increase in July 2018). You also get a FREE Google Home (hardware device, not a house made by Google) from LG by filing the necessary e-paperwork online.

(ENDED) Sunday: 15% off Monoprice (and other sales)

This Sunday-only coupon expired.

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AmazonBasics Carbon Fiber Monopod for $59 (and more)

Amazon has a sale on a few of their AmazonBasics branded products including the following:

+ AmazonBasics Carbon Fiber Monopod for $59.49
+ AmazonBasics Trekker Camera Backpack for $51 (blue only; limit 10)
+ AmazonBasics DSLR and Laptop Backpack for $59.46
+ AmazonBasics LCD Monitor Riser for $32.12

Home Studio/Lighting Sale at Adorama

This is lighting and studio-related products, along with general camera-n-photo and tech at Adorama, geared towards Home studios in terms of size/space and power requirements and such. There are three groups of products participating, organized as follows:

+ Home Studio Lighting (9 options)
+ Home Studio Accessories (15 options)
+ Home Studio Essentials (12 options)

30% off Flash Sale at CreativeLive

CreativeLIVE has launched a 30% off Flash Sale on their classes available for purchase over there. No coupon code is needed, the price is adjusted on their website while this promotion running.

360fly 4K Video Camera for $357

The 360fly 4K Video Camera is currently on sale for $357 with free expedited shipping at B&H Photo and at Amazon by Amazon itself (limit up to three per customer).

Day #3 of Joe McNally Lighting Class Streaming at 12pm ET

Day #3 (the last day) of Joe McNally’s Lightning Class “Lighting, Logistics, and Strategies for a Life in Photography” will begin streaming LIVE at 12pm eastern on Friday and will be free for all to watch while it is recording live.

CreativeLIVE uses a different model when it comes to online classes. Each class streams live online as it is recorded (in other words, classes are recorded live) and everyone can watch it without paying. After the original live stream is over, then you have to pay to watch or rewatch it. So if you have a flexible schedule and fast-enough internet access you can watch a LOT of content for free.

For more details, check CreativeLive’s Free On-Air Classes page. Other upcoming classes include Lindsay Adler, Jeremy Cowart, Ben Willmore, and more.

(ENDED) Sunday: Metz mecablitz 76 MZ-5 digital Flash for $600, Vanguard, Interfit, Etc

These offers expired but for more action, check their Featured Sales

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(ENDED) Saturday: Bushnell Trophy Cam HD Aggressor for $215, Etc

These Saturday daily deals expired…

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(ENDED) Friday: $5/$25+ or $20/$100+ Monoprice coupons

This coupon expired… If you are a fan of The Monoprice, they are back with their Friday coupons, APRIL5 takes $5 off $25+ orders OR SHOWERS20 takes $20 off $100+ orders at the Monoprice website. The usual restrictions apply (add coupon to cart to test it, no need to sign-up or sign-in; likewise, enter zipcode to get S&H fee estimate).

Meta: Blog Remodeling Coming

A blog remodeling is coming. Now that the default WordPress theme has been “burned it”, it is time to start adding more utility to it and fix some of the issues (for example, those GIANT blog-post headlines). This will happen in the next few days on a time permitting basis.

This is a good opportunity to change and fix things, so if there are any things that bother you or you want to see changed or updated or tweaked and such, please feel free to leave a comment or use the online contact form.

Ape Case ACPRO346W Metro Large Camera Case for $27

Bag the bags, literally. the Ape Case ACPRO346W (Metro Collection) Large Caemra Case is on sale for $27~ at Amazon by Amazon actual with a limit of up to ten per customer. It only has two customer reviews so far. Note that there is a Coldplay song inside ~ it is all yellow 🙂 Plenty of repositionable dividers inside which you can repurpose in other bags as needed. This is not a lightning deal.

Speaking of camera bags, there a few other offers running as well, check the Camera Bags archive which include a quarter of doorbuster-y Lowepro bags at Adorama going for $10 to $20 with free shipping.

5% back in Rakuten Points with coupon

The Rakuten sounds like a futuristic racoon from a Japanese anime, but it’s also the name of the artist formerly known as Buy.com, and until 4/30/17, they offer 5% back in Rakuten reward points through the Rakuten website when you promo code REWARDME over there.

In-Stock Now: Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 II PowerOIS for $1000

The brand new, second generation, Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 II PowerOIS is now in-stock and ready to ship for $1000 with free shipping at B&H Photo and Adorama.

PS: In comparison, the first generation of this lens goes for $700 bundled with a $100 gift card.

Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 PowerOIS and $100 Gift Card for $698

F2.8 zoom action on the Micro Four Thirds front now, the Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 PowerOIS is bundled with a $100 Adorama gift certificate, all together going for $698 with free shipping at Adorama. OR if you prefer free accessories instead of the $100 gift card, they have a bundle with those too.

If you are a B&H fan, they offer it for the same price, but bundled with a $50 Gift Card.

Free Profoto Air Remote with select B1 or B2 purchases

On the $$$profesisonal$$$ side of lightning, B&H Photo has another Profoto promotion. If you purchase one of select Profoto B1 or B2 models (four options, $1995 to $4148), you will receive with them a FREE Profoto Air Remote. You have a choice of a Transceiver or a TTL for Canon or Nikon or Sony. You select the free item on the product page of each participating product, screenshot below:

Day #2 of Joe McNally Lighting Class Streaming at 12pm ET

Day #2 of Joe McNally’s Lightning Class “Lighting, Logistics, and Strategies for a Life in Photography” will begin streaming LIVE at 12pm eastern on Thursday and will be free for all to watch while it is recording live.

CreativeLIVE uses a different model when it comes to online classes. Each class streams live online as it is recorded (in other words, classes are recorded live) and everyone can watch it without paying. After the original live stream is over, then you have to pay to watch or rewatch it. So if you have a flexible schedule and fast-enough internet access you can watch a LOT of content for free.

For more details, check CreativeLive’s Free On-Air Classes page. Other upcoming classes include Lindsay Adler, Jeremy Cowart, Ben Willmore, and more.

No pre-orders yet: Canon 35mm f2.8 IS STM EF-S

Stabilized macro time now, Canon revealed the new 35mm f2.8 IS STM EF-S (APS-C) lens but pre-orders for it are not available. Nevertheless the lens has a product page up and running at B&H Photo with some details and an option to get notified by email when it’s available for pre-order/purchase.

PS: this too has been added to the 2017 Tracking page of major/interesting new cameras and lenses (NOTE: these trackers are no longer comprehensive of every single P&S camera and clone lens).

Pre-order new Canon SX730 HS superzoom (40x) for $399

Superzooms are alive and kicking, partly because neither smartphones nor DSLRs/iLCs can offer the crazy zoom ratios of smaller-sensor fixed lens cameras. Which brings us to a new 40x optical zoom model revealed by Canon, the Powershot SX730 HS with a 20mp 1/2.3″ sensor, available for pre-order at B&H Photo for $399 with free expedited shipping in silver or in black, but not in Las Vegas Raiders silver-and-black 🙂