Camera Deals

Ritz online launches their weekend specials

Ritz Camera (the online entity) has posted their BF page. Their DSLR kit prices appear to be in-line with the other online retailers, but I haven't checked each and every one. They do have some Friday-only clearance sales of SLR accessories (look for red color) that might be interesting, but due to time constraints we cannot research them one by one. That part is dIY until/unless things quiet down and we can come back to it. They have Elements 9 for $46 after rebate which is about the same as Adorama/Amazon.

NewEgg revealing their Black Friday specials

NewEgg is revealing their Black Friday specials. Last year's BF launch received a rather lukewarm response, so we can hope for more exciting things this time... Some of the current specials of potential interest:

+ all the specials in one giant page
+ camera selection: TRAGIC - "best" camera is $220 Sony T99
+ SOLD OUT 16GB Transcend Class 10 SDHC for $21 w/free S&H (limit 2 per customer, no rebates)
+ PowerEx MH-C9000 WizardOne Charger-Analyzer with 4 2700mah NiMH and two gifts for $49 (no rebates)
+ Patriot 8GB and 16GB SDHC cards have $10 mail-in pre-paid card rebates if you are interested in dealing with low-amount mail-in rebates
+ $90 eBook readers: Aluratek and Ectaco
+ SOLD OUT refurbished ASUS Atom netbook for $190
+ 20-inch 1600x900 5ms DVI-D/VGA LG monitor for $90
+ 23.6" Hanns-G LCD monitor w/speakers for $140
+ Kensington wired trackball thang for $20
+ 7-inch Viewsonic 480x234 (yikes?) digiframe for $30
+ recertified 14.1" Dell Latitude D620, 2GB, 80GB, 1280x800, 32bit XP for $278
+ oops, the page numbers change every time you load the page (soy vey!)
+ the Seagate Expansion hard disks have low customer reviews (2 and 3 eggs)
+ free shipping included with most, but not all items - check per item
+ total of 12 pages of specials
+ anything else that's good?

PS: One of their emails mentioned 3pm PT specials but it looks like that may have been a typo and 1pm pacific is the launch.

Opinion
You can tell how BAD this choice of specials was at NewEgg - nearly five hours later and only 13 items out of over 100 sold out, 3 of which were DVD sets and two were memory cards. Their previous 10% off DSLRs and 15% off fixed-lens cameras were at least two orders of magnitude better deals than these Black Friday "specials". Bring back the 10%-off and 15%-off please? :)

Office Depot reveals Black Friday specials (L110, SD1400, etc)

If you go to the Office Depot website and click on the "Weekly Ads", you can locate their Black Friday ads page. Most of the specials are good for Friday and Saturday - assuming they can keep them in-stock for both days. Of camera interest, they have the Nikon Coolpix L110 AA-superzoom for $200 which still beats internet prices ($220+ at Amazon), and the Canon SD1400 IS which still beats internet prices ($180~ at Amazon). Other specials include a $20 Vivitar camcorder stick thing, a $40 Vivitar camera bundle thing (maybe for dissecting?), the $50 Kodak Mini and a $50 GE 3X zoom P&S camera.

On the storage front, they have plenty of hard disk specials, along with blank DVD (50pk TDK for $6) and CD-R (100pk of TDK for $6). Also 8GB SDHC and microSDHC Sandisk cards will go for $13 but they are Class 2. They also have a "buy 1, get 2 free" on Office Depot branded photo paper. Also, free after mail-in rebate(s) are PhotoImpact Pro and MoviePlus X3 software.

There's more, at least half a dozen laptops are listed that seem to have competitive prices depending on what you need/want/like/prefer. Needless to say with Black Friday deals, the better a deal is, the faster they are likely to sell out. Maybe if you can find an Office Depot that is not near a super-busy shopping center?

MicroCenter reveals Black Friday ads: T2i kit for $800, T1i for $650

Don't start the Rebolution without the MicroCenter! Their Black Friday ad (opens file in full-size browser window) is out and on page #6 they list their digital cameras, which include:

DSLRs
+ Canon D-Rebel T2i w/18-55mm for $800 (Amazon's current price is $850)
+ Canon D-Rebel T1i w/18-55mm for $650 (Amazon's current price is $700)
+ considering how aggressive Amazon has been at price-matching, it is possible that they will price-match those prices on/by Black Friday but that's NOT guaranteed
+ if you are interested in two-lens kits with the D-Rebels, with the Canon Instant Rebates at Amazon you get the lenses (either 55-250 or 75-300) for almost free, so be sure to price-compare them as a bundle if you want a second lens

Fixed-lens Cameras and accessories
+ $4 Lowepro Spectrum 10 camera bag (Amazon is $10)
+ Nikon Coolpix S570 for $110 (beats Amazon by $40!!!!!)
+ Nikon Coolpix L110 for $200 (beats Amazon who is around $222)
+ Canon A3100 IS for $100 (Amazon's at $120~)
+ Sony W310 for $100
+ Fuji JX200 for $100
+ Olympus FE-4020 for $90
+ Olympus T100 for $70
+ refurbished Kodak for $50 (3x zoom)
+ some GE camera with 3X zoom for $40 (in-store, 1 per)
+ $13 monopod
+ already price-matched by the internets: Canon SX130 for $180
+ Canon A495 for $90~ (same price as Amazon)
+ Nikon S3000 for $120 (currently $109 at Amazon)

Please note prices mentioned are as of the time of writing and they are not updated automatically!

Black Friday at Staples: Olympus E-PL1 bundle for $500, free after rebate HP 8.5x11 photo paper, 100% back rewards on Duracell AA/AAA alkalines

The Staples Black Friday ad has been leaked to the internets and discussed at the FatWallet forums et al.

Free after rebate photo-paper, and 100% back in Rewards for Duracell AA/AAA alkalines
+ free after rebate 50-pack of HP photo paper (8.5"x11"). You pay $9 in-store, submit the rebate _online_ and after 4-6 weeks, you receive a cashable check for $9 in the mail (limit one per customer, good only on Friday 6am to noon)

+ 100% back in Staples Rewards for the purchase price (not the sales tax) on 20-packs of Duracell AA and AAA batteries. The scan has mangled up the terms, but it looks like it is two 20-packs per customer per week, which may suggest, that just like last year, this promotion may continue in upcoming weeks. In-store only for Friday and Saturday

+ sales tax is not refunded

E-PL1 w/14-42mm, sling backpack, extra battery/ies, Corel software, coupons for $500!
Olympus/M43rds fans will be thrilled that the E-PL1 is the only DSLR/iLC featured in the Staples Black Friday ad. The price is $500 for a bundle that includes the standard 14-42mm kit but also a sling backpack, two LiIon batteries (not sure if it is one extra, or two extra), Corel software, and $250 of Olympus coupons (not sure what these are). Considering that the current price of the standard E-PL1 w/14-42mm kit is currently $500, this could be an interesting bundle. But Black Friday is ten days away, we don't know what the E-PL1 price will be by then. We already saw the standard kit drop as low as $400 during the weekend but it has now bounced up to $500.

You can also _optionally_ get the Canon CP800 photo printer for free after a $50 mail-in rebate with the purchase of any digital camera. Please note this is specifically a mail-in rebate, you cannot submit it online!

Free Canon CP800 printer after mail-in rebate with purchase of any digital camera
You can also _optionally_ get the Canon CP800 photo printer for free after a $50 mail-in rebate with the purchase of any digital camera. Please note this is specifically a mail-in rebate, you cannot submit it online!

P&S Cameras
On the P&S cameras front, there are some interesting prices that look reasonably competitive for brick and mortar at the moment, but obviously we can't tell for sure until we know what the online prices will be during Black Friday. For now, here are some interesting prices:

+ Kodak Pocket Video Mini thang for $50
+ Canon SD1300 IS for $130 (Amazon is at $150~)
+ Canon SX130 IS for $180 (this appears to be at $180 at multiple Black Friday brick and mortars. Amazon remains at $200~)
+ Kodak Z981 superzoom for $200 (currently around $200~ at Amazon)
+ Sony W310 for $100 (a Black Friday regular?)
+ Nikon Coolpix S4000 for $130~ (same price as now at Amazpn)

Photoshop Elements 9 for $50 (no rebates) and other temptations
+ Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 for $50 (no rebates!)

+ Adobe Premiere Elements 9 for $50 (no rebates!)

+ free after rebate (rebate can be submitted online without hassle): GE universal remote, Norton AntiVirus 2011, Kaspersky Internet Security 2011

+ free Memorex CB35 earbuds with purchase of $15 iTunes card

+ 50% off all Epson, Canon and Kodak photo paper (in-store only) - this depends on what their regular prices are, because 50% off "too much" can still be "too much" :)

+ Brother plain-paper fax machine for $10 after $50 EasyRebate (submitted online) [perhaps for your personal technology museum?]

+ 4GB Sandisk microSDHC or SDHC cards for $8 each (no rebates) [another Black Friday brick and mortar recurring theme]

Best Buy Black Friday ad leaked (Canon T2i kit for $800, Nikon D3000 yawn)

Best Buy's Black Friday ad has been leaked to the internets (scan of the ad, list of items). DSLR-wise, see pages #2 and #3 of scan. The featured DSLR is the Canon D-Rebel T2i with the 18-55mm lens for $800, which currently goes for around $850 at Amazon et al. Yes, a Black Friday retail ad beats the internets! Oh my!!!

However, the Best Buy Black Friday T2i bundle (T2i w/18-55, 55-250, 8GB Ultra II, camera bag) at $1000 is handily beaten by the Amazon Instant Rebates ($858). I doubt anyone thinks a basic camera bag and a 8GB Ultra SDHC card are worth $142 :-)

The Nikon DSLR gets mistyped, the D3000 as D30000, and it is priced at $500 for the standard D3000 w/18-55mm kit and a camera bag. Yikes! You can get a much better deal on the D3000 with the Nikon Instant Rebates at Amazon or if you want the standard kit (w/18-55mm) it is currently $400 at Calumet Photo.

P&S Cameras and such
But there are some other good prices, for example the Polaroid Pogo printer (page #2 of scan) goes for $20, and the Nook (Wifi) for $100 as a doorbuster. A good price is the Canon SX130 IS for $180 (Amazon's current price is $200~).

Other camera-related items include the Flip UltraHD (4GB, latest generation) for $100, Samsung TL105 for $90, Sony W310 for $100, SD 1400 IS for $150 (Amazon's around $180 at the moment).

But some of the P&S camera prices are already beaten by the current prices at Amazon et al, such as the Nikon S70 for $170, Nikon P100 for $350 (currently $330 at Amazon), and such.

Of gadget interest, they have the 4GB Sandisk Clip+ for $30, and $50 worth of iTunes media cards for $40 (you can find this discount circulating among brick and mortar stores throughout the year - I believe it is currently "live" at Staples). Also, 4GB Sandisk microSDHC and SDHC are offered for $8 each (if you want to burn gift cards or coupons).

As usual, please note that some items may be of limited supply or they may sell out quickly. They may also have unadvertised specials. We also do not know if any of these will also be available for online purchase at BestBuy.com at the same prices. Time will tell...

We obviously can't go through the whole list of items and price-check and review-round-up, so for that, be sure to follow the long and winding discussions at Fat Wallet and Slick Deals.

Radio Shack Black Friday ad leaked: entry-level P&S cameras

The Radio Shack Black Friday ad has been leaked to the internets (click on the ADSCAN tab to see the scanned pages). Nothing exciting I'm afraid but you may find some potentially interesting items. In terms of cameras, they only feature entry-level P&S digital cameras from Kodak, Casio, Olympus, Sony, Canon, Nikon, Samsung, Flip and Vivitar. You get a bonus $10 or $20 Radio Shack gift card with purchase of some of those cameras based on price ($10 for $50+, $20 for $100+). They also have the Polaroid PoGo printer for $30, which is often at this price at Office Max et al.

If you are interested in any of those, be sure to price-check them. With nearly 500 "active" digital camera models, we can't keep up with the prices of entry-level P&S cameras anymore. If you can find a coupon to throw in the mix, then you may be able to turn them into good deals.

For on-going discussion of the Radio Shack ads, check the Fat Wallet and Slick Deals forums.

One non-camera gadget that is a good deal is the tiny 4GB Sandisk Clip Plus mp3 player (with a microSD slot) for $30. This is usually $40+ at Amazon. You can fill this one with all your favorite photography podcasts, freeing valuable non-expandable smartphone/iPod storage space.