Archives for November 21, 2017

New Development? No Upcoming Lightning Deals at Amazon

I don’t know if this is a temporarily technical issue or a planned system/software upgrade, or Amazon is planning to change the way they do Lightning Deals for the holiday shopping season?

If it’s the last one, it would be a major change, with no one having a heads up of what’s coming. Things would just go live when they did. More of a lightning deals Wild West like many years ago before they instituted the “Upcoming” schedule.

For a couple of hours before posting this, there were no Upcoming Lightning deals in the Amazon Gold Box. The mystery will likely be resolved in the next few hours, one way or another…

And this is where our good old Gold Box table below comes in handy, you can use this if you want to quickly check whether any Upcoming deals are loaded. You can also use it to check the currently running deals (In-Progress Now).

IN-PROGRESS NOW UPCOMING
CAMERAS (LIGHTNING) CAMERAS (LIGHTNING)
ELECTRONICS (LIGHTNING) ELECTRONICS (LIGHTNING)
ALL LIGHTNING DEALS ALL LIGHTNING DEALS
CAMERAS (SAVINGS & SALES) CAMERAS (SAVINGS & SALES)
ELECTRONICS (SAVINGS & SALES) ELECTRONICS (SAVINGS & SALES)
ALL SAVINGS & SALES ALL SAVINGS & SALES
ALL of the GOLD BOX ALL of the GOLD BOX

Refurbished Canon D-Rebel T6 w/18-55 & 75-300 & 1-YR Warranty for $310

If you don’t live anywhere near, or if you don’t want to fight the crowds and lady luck for the $300 Fry’s Canon DSLR doorbuster (most likely Canon D-Rebel T6 with 18-55 and 75-300), fear not, there is an alternative without any hassle…

… the official Canon store comes to the rescue because they are offering the manufacturer refurbished Canon D-Rebel T6 with 18-55 and 75-300 for $310 with free shipping and a 1-year Canon USA warranty.

Take that painful doorbuster 😉

Flashpoint XPLOR 600 HSS TTL Battery-Powered Monolight with Built-in R2 2.4GHz Radio Remote System for $549

Lighting doorbuster at Adorama, they are offering, for a limited time, the new condition Flashpoint XPLOR 600 HSS TTL Battery-Powered Monolight with Built-in R2 2.4GHz Radio Remote System – Bowens Mount (AD600 TTL) – for $549 with free expedited shipping.

Optionally, when you expand the yellow “Special Offers” area, you have any of options for combined purchase discounts. There are options for light stands, extension heads, soft boxes, beauty dishes, bags, and power among others.

In addition to the above, four of its main accessories are on sale, with prices ranging from $60 to $200.

Refurbished Canon 70D with 18-135mm IS STM EF-S with 1-Year Warranty for $779

The DSLR action continues at the Canon Outlet store with the manufacturer refurbished Canon 70D with 18-135mmm IS STM EF-S going for $780 with free shipping and a 1-year Canon warranty.

In comparison, the refurbished 80D with 18-135 goes for $1079, while the new condition 80D with 18-135mm goes for $1299 (eg B&H Photo with various extras).

Refurbished Canon Speedlite 270EX II w/1-YR W for $90

More action in the Canon Outlet store sales, you can get the manufacturer refurbished Canon Speedlite 270EX II for $79 with free shipping and a 1-year Canon USA warranty.

Refurbished Nikon SB-700 Speedlight for $240, Imported for $255, New w/freebies for $327

The Nikon SB-700 TTL AF Shoe Mount Speedlight is offered for $240 with free expedited shipping and a 90-day Nikon warranty at Adorama. That’s one option. Or for $247 at B&H Photo.

Another option is a new condition imported grey market without warranty going for $255 with free shipping from Canada by Quick-n-Done on eBay.

Another option is new condition at authorized Nikon USA dealers for $327 with free accessories at Adorama and

GoPRO HERO6 with $50 Gift Card for $450

Another one of the eBay Black Friday Ad specials [see 2017 BF Ads Digest] has gone live at the eBay Deals, it is the new condition GoPRO HERO 6 with a $50 eBay Gift Card (does not specify whether this is digital or plastic by mail) and a 16GB microSD card offered for $450 with free shipping by the 6ave eBay Store. Limit three per customer.

There is no mention of warranty on the listing, so assume there is none to be on the safe side. This is the same seller that is apparently offering the $1500 Panasonic GH5.

UPDATE: speaking of eBay and Black Friday, another one of their doorbusters is live, the new condition Google Home offered for $79 with free shipping by Yapper Wireless, with up to three units per customer at the sale price. The listing says it comes with a 1-year warranty.

UPDATE #2: another eBay doorbuster, new condition Apple AirPods for $150 with free S&H.

GoPro Karma Drone with HERO6 Black for $999

Another Black Friday Ads offer has been price-matched by the interwebs, it is the new condition GoPro Karma Drone with the GoPRO HERO6 Black going for $999 with free shipping at Adorama and Amazon itself (limit five) and at B&H Photo.

Refurbished Canon Elph 190 IS w/1-YR W for $80

The new condition Canon Elph 190 IS goes for $150 at authorized dealers such as Amazon but if you want to almost cut the price in half, you can get it as manufacturer refurbished for $80 with a 1-year warranty from the official Canon USA outlet store. It is available in red, black or blue at this price!

Speaking of Elves, in addition to Amazon developing a very expensive Lord of the Rings TV series, the manufacturer refurbished Elph 180 silver continues to be available for $50 (this does not have IS).

Refurbished Canon Elph 360 HS w/1-YR W for $130

The Canon Elph 360 HS goes for $200 in new condition at authorized dealers (eg Amazon) but if you want to save some and still get a 1-year warranty, you can get it for $130 with free shipping at as manufacturer refurbished for $130 in silver, purple, or black.

PS: I am trying as much as I can to keep most blog-post titles one line long. That’s why I’m abbreviating year as “YR” and warranty as “W”. Not Watt 🙂

Refurbished Canon EF-M IS STM Lenses with 1-YR W: 55-200 or 15-45 for $150, 18-150 w/hood for $280

There are so many things to post, so in order to save in the number of posts posted, I am grouping all the refurbished Canon EF-M sales from the official Canon USA outlet with a 1-year warranty into a single post:

+ refurbished EF-M 18-150mm f3.5-6.3 IS STM in black with FREE Lens Hood EW-60F for $280
++ in new condition at authorized dealers it is $500, eg Adorama (with freebies)

+ refurbished EF-M 15-45mm f3.5-6.3 IS STM for $150
++ in new condition at authorized dealers it is $300, eg Adorama (with freebies)

+ refurbished EF-M 55-200 f4.5-6.3 IS STM for $150 in black or silver
++ in new condition at authorized dealers it is $350, eg Adorama (with freebies)

Canon MX922 All-In-One Printer for $70

The new condition Canon MX922 All-In-One Printer is currently on sale for $70 with free shipping at Amazon by Amazon itself (limit up to four) and also at Canon directly and also at B&H Photo.

Refurbished Nikon D7200 w/90-Day W for $650

The Nikon D500 APS-C flagship currently goes for $1800 with a free MB-D17 battery grip in new condition at authorized dealers. But if you want a serious Nikon APS-C DSLR while almost 1/3rd of that price…

… then to the eBay Deals we go, where the BuyDIG eBAY store is offering the manufacturer refurbished Nikon D7200 body only for $650 with free shipping and a 90-day Nikon USA warranty. Limit up to three per customer.

Sony a7R II Body with One Serious Freebie (choices LR6, 4TB HDD, Creative Cloud, Tascam Mic) for $2398

The Sony a7r II was going for $2900 when I posted the Mirrorless Price Charts two weeks ago, but the combination of the impending release of the a7r III and the various Instant Savings offers have dropped its price down to $2400 and that’s not all, you also get free items with purchase!

At B&H Photo, you have a choice of serious freebies: either a 4TB WD MyPassport External HDD or a free 1-Year Photographer Creative Cloud subscription.

At Adorama you have a choice of freebies as well, either Lightroom 6 software or Tascam DR-10S Mic or the customary bundle of photo accessories.

Amazon is stingy on the freebies (none) but if you pay for it with a Prime VISA you will get 5% as a statement credit (that’s $120).

Imported Panasonic GH5 body w/1-YR seller warranty for $1500

One of the cameras teased in the eBay BF Ads [see BF Ads Digest mega-post] is the Panasonic GH5 body only for $1500, and I think I’ve found that offer. As expected, it is imported/grey-market, offered in new condition by 6ave’s eBay store with a limit of up to three per buyer. It comes with a 1-year seller warranty.

This is a $50 drop since the last time I updated the Stock Status Tracker where the same seller offered it for $1550. The new condition price at authorized dealers remains $2000 (thank you MAP pricing).

BUT another option emerged now, KEH Camera has limited supplies in USED “LN-” (Like New Minus) condition for $1829 plus shipping. And if you buy before 12/31/17, you get a 365-warranty from KEH Camera instead of the usual 180-day. Definitely better to have a KEH warranty than an eBay seller warranty 🙂

50% off Holiday Cards with Amazon Prints coupon (min 25 prints)

The AdoramaPIX Black Friday coupons are not here yet, but Amazon’s Prints service has a new seasonally-relevant coupon offer. Coupon code MERRYCARDS50 gets you 50% off Holiday Cards created on their website. There is a minimum of 25 cards per order in order to use the half off coupon.

The maximum discount with the coupon is $50. In other words if your order total is over $100, you will get a flat $50 off discount instead of 50% off. The coupon expires 11/25/17 at 11:59pm pacific time. Prime members get free shipping regardless of the order total. Non-Prime members get free shipping for orders of $15+ (otherwise it’s a $4 flat delivery fee).

eBay reveals Cameras in their BF Ad – most likely imported/grey-market

eBay has revealed their eight page Black Friday ad and it has about half a dozen digital cameras in it. The eBay ad however does not specify the seller of the camera, the warranty situation, or the condition of the product, so that’s a mystery until the deal goes live. Judging by the prices, it looks like most of them are probably going to be imported/grey-market. About half of them are 35mm full frame cameras.

We integrated eBay’s offers in the Black Friday 2017 Ads Digest. You can find all the eBay additions by using your browser’s search function looking for “eBay” (not case sensitive).

I will price-check and dig around on eBay to see if these are already live.

Mevo Plus drops to $400

On the alternative cameras front, the Mevo Plus has a $100 off discount, going for $400 by Amazon itself and by Adorama and B&H Photo. The previous non-Plus first generation model goes for $300.

Now shipping: Canon G1X III for $1300

Canon abandoned their once storied G-series of RAWsumers, but thankfully the grown-ups prevailed and the G-series was brought back bigger and stronger! The new flagship of the G-series is the G1X III with an APS-C sensor, and it is now in-stock and ready to ship at its starting price of $1300 at B&H Photo with free expedited shipping!

B&H Photo is out of the gate first, Amazon’s estimate is November 30, and Adorama is in pre-order status.

OR for the price of $1300, you can instead buy five manufacturer refurbished Canon G9X rawsumers ($250 each), and still have money left for a nice dinner 🙂

Pre-order new Leica CL mirrorless and 18mm f2.8 lens

It’s the November surprise! Leica has a new APS-C mirrorless camera out, it is the brand new CL, and Leica is boldly going with this one, it’s USB-C time! It has a 24mp APS-C (rhymes with USB-C) CMOS sensor and has the Leica L-mount, so you can use TL and SL lenses with it. And that’s before you start using adapters.

It is available for pre-order in these configurations:

+ CL body for $2800 at B&H Photo

+ CL with 18mm f2.8 for $3800 at B&H Photo

+ CL with Vario-Elmar-T 18-56mm f3.5-5.6 ASPH Lens at B&H Photo

Wait, what’s that 18mm f2.8 lens? That’s a brand new lens that came out at the same time, it is the Leica Elmarit-TL 18 mm f/2.8 ASPH L-mount APS-C format lens, and it is available for pre-order for $1300 in black or silver at B&H Photo.

These have been added to the New Cameras and Lenses of 2017. This new announcement furthered the Mirrorless lead over DSLRs in 2017 to an insurmountable 13-8.

PS: the Leica zoom lens (!?!@?#!@#?!@!) is not a brand new one. It’s been around for a a while

Starts Tuesday 12pm ET (FREE to Watch Online Class): Camera Buying Guide [World Premiere]

If you want to escape the Black Friday madness productively, we have an educational alternative for you! The Creative LIVE ON-AIR schedule where you will find a variety of photography and creative classes streaming for FREE!

ON-AIR free-streaming classes start at 12pm ET, and among today’s classes is the world premiere (recording LIVE) of a brand new class, Camera Buyer’s Guide by John Greego!

Other potentially interesting classes
+ November 24: Tabletop photography
+ November 26: One Light Wonder
+ November 27: Another Look with Art Wolf
+ November 28: Intro to Large Format Photography
+ December 6: Nikon D850 Fast Start
+ and many more

13.5″ Surface Book 2 (i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB) for $1388

We already mentioned Macs and Pixelbooks and the Samsung Chromebook Plus/Pro sale, so according to the Fairness Doctrine, we must also mention a Surface product. And what a coincidence, there’s a sale, the all new 13.5″ Surface Book 2 in the Intel i5 with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage configuration is on sale for $1388 with free shipping at Amazon by Amazon itself (limit up to three per customer).

PS: in Microsoft-speak, “Books” are detachables, “Surface” are tablets with optional keyboard cases/covers, and “Laptops” are non-detachable laptops.

BorrowLenses: 20% off with coupon and FREE Thanksgiving and Black Friday

Borrowlenses is back with a new coupon. Using coupon code BF2017 you get 20% off your rental amount. If your rental period happens to include Thanksgiving and Black Friday (the actual days), then those two days are FREE! Everything is explained as usual in their email, screenshot below:

Reminder: Sony a7r III expected November 30 for $3200

Reminder, lost in the Black Friday madness: the new deputy of the Sony E-system, coming in at $3200 [see Mirrorless Price Charts], the Sony a7r III is scheduled to be released on Thursday November 30 in 2017 with pre-orders accepted at Amazon by Amazon actual and Adorama and B&H Photo.

I will integrate it in the Stock Status Tracker after Cyber Monday madness cools off.

If you are not mesmerized by the a7r III or its starting price, there are sales on the a7S II, for $2500 you can get it with the Rokinon 35/2.8 FE or for $2400 you can get the a7S II body only.

Nikon 50mm f1.8G with Extras for $177

There are a handful of lenses participating in the current Nikon Instant Savings, one of which is the classic prime, the 50mm f1.8G AF-S FX going for $177 with free shipping at authorized dealers.

At Adorama you get a FREE ProOptic 58mm Digital Essentials Filter Kit, while at B&H Photo you get 4% promotional rewards ($7~ to spend in future purchases). At Amazon, some 3rd-party sellers offer freebies and if you pay with the Prime VISA (or activated the Discover Q4 Bonus Cashback) you get 5% back as a statement credit.

PS: there are many and more things to post, I really wish I was IBM’s Watson 🙂

Photoflex StarFire Digital Flash for $50 w/free S&H

How about a flash? The new condition Photoflex StarFire Digital Flash is a limited time sale for $50 with free expedited shipping at B&H Photo… For more action, check the B&H Featured Sales

(ENDED) Huawei sale: Mate 9 (Leica Dual Camera) + Band 2 Activity Tracker for $399

This deal du jour expired…

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(ENDED) Wedn: LitraTorch Photo and Video Lights for $50+, Lowepro DroneGuard Kit for $20 w/free S&H

These ended, but for more action, check the B&H Featured Sales

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(ENDED) Thursday: XRite Munki for $89, Tiffen VND, 23″ ASUS, Etc

These offers expired but for more action, check the B&H Featured Sales

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(ENDED) 12 inch Nexgadget Digital Photo Frame for $77

This lighting deal expired too…

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