Camera Deals

Black Friday mega-list compilation at Gimzodo

High-tech gadget blog Gizmodo.com has compiled giant mega-lists of Black Friday specials. The list got so big that they had to create a second one to cover them all. The digital cameras are on the first list.

As usual with Black Friday, your mileage will vary and your frustration-level will rise no matter what. So if you see any items on their list that you would like - if you are lucky enough to find them in-store - be sure to price-check them now at popular places like Amazon and B&H Photo. This way you will have a good estimate of how good of a deal it is, or whether it is worth suffering through the crowds and craziness at a chance of getting it.

Of course some people enjoy the crowds and craziness, and the thrill of deal hunting (better than hunting poor defenseless animals!) :)

Some other Black Friday tips
This may be a good time to do a mini-survey of what gear and accessories you have and what you may need. So if you happen to be at a store and see something at a really good price, you'll know whether you actually need it, or you already have four other unopened 50mm prime lenses waiting for their turn :)

This is also a good time to review your gear-lust-list. Cameras are as good as their prices. So it may be a good idea to bookmark in your mind (or on the computer/paper) things you may be interested in getting if the price is right.

For example, a Sigma DP1 may be too much at $400 or $500, but what if you find it at $300? or $250? (prices for example purposes, not actual prices)

This is also a good time to ask questions like: "Would I be interesting in trying out ..." if the price was right. This can help make the on-the-spot decision easier if you happen to find a really good deal on something you were not planning on buying.

Open box and refurbished Quantaray gear for dirt cheap

Thanks to Ryan Q, one of our readers, for the tip! If you are looking for very low priced Quantaray-branded items (open-box and refurbished), TechforLess is offering two pages of them, starting as low as $15 for refurbished/open-box 70-210mm lenses. Shipping is additional and they also offer in-store pickup for those in Colorado.

Dell 8-hour sale (ends 3pm Central time today) (updated)

Dell has just launched a new 8-hour sale that runs from now until 3pm Central time today. This is a scheduled post. We do not know yet what items are discounted and by how much. We will update the post after the sale goes live and we go live :)

UPDATE: It looks like the main focus of the 8-hour sale is computers, including a 13-inch Inspiron laptop for $200 with purchase of a system. Some of their camera prices are competitive:

+ Kodak Z915 compact-zoom with 8-inch P820 Digital Frame for $220 (camera $165 alone)
+ Canon SX20 IS for $359
+ Fuji F70exr for $225
+ Canon D-Rebel XS with kit lens for $489
+ ViewSonic 7-inch VFA710w-50 picture frame for $39

And since we are talking Dell, there is a new five-day promotion, you get a free TactX Keyboard and Mouse all Alienware purchases (Del bought Alienware earlier in the 00s).

$50 gift card with camera/camcorder purchase over $150 at Staples

If you are interested in buying a digital camera from Staples and like to shop there, they have a new promotion for this week (ending November 14) that gets you a $50 Staples Gift Card with the purchase of a digital camera or camcorder priced at $150 or higher. Their regular prices are somewhere between Amazon and MSRPish most of the time, so be sure to check out any cameras of interest. More details on their cameras website.

10% off DSLRs under $500 at NewEgg ($50 off DSLRs over $500)

Thanks to one of our readers for the tip! If you are a subscriber to the NewEgg.com email newsletter that went out earlier today, you will discover coupon code DSLR10B that gets you 10% off the current price of a DSLR, with a maximum $50 of savings. This promotion is good until November 20 "while funds last" (that is NewEgg-speak, we do not know what it means).

If we put on our math hats, $50 means 10% off with prices up to $500. If a DSLR costs $500 or more, the maximum discount you get is $50. So if you are buying a $1000 DSLR, your discount is $50. If you are buying a $2125 DSLR, your discount is $50.

Considering that most DSLRs cost over $500, the 10% off marketing-speak is a little gimmicky. A more accurate and practical description would be "$50 off DSLRs over $500" :)

ALSO: In the same newsletter, you will find the Canon G11 listed for $460 after the promotional coupon code listed there!

Midnight madness sale at Sears.com (until 5am Monday Central)

It's Sunday again, which means another midnight madness 12-hour sale at the Sears.com website. There are discounts of 5% up to 15% off on different products in different categories. Not every product in every category participates in the promotion. Check their website to see what the prices are for items you might be interested. This is only for the website, not the brick and mortar stores.

Midnight madness sale at Sears (until 5am Monday Central)

A 12-hour midnight madness online sale has just gone live at the Sears website. There are discounts of 5% up to 20% off in different products in different categories. Not every product in every category participates in the promotion. This has just gone live.

Time-permitting we will check the digital camera prices there, but we can't press PAUSE on time :(

Discounts among top-selling DSLRs

We have posted a new edition of the top-selling DSLRs, and as usual, we have left a trail for bargain-hunters and price-watchers. Simply look at the last column in the table, "Price Trend", and there you will see the DSLRs that have gone up or down by $10 or more since the previous update. In this instance, the previous update was seven days ago.

Please keep in mind that the prices are snapshots, not averages, and they are as of the time of writing of each update.

$100 off Mentor Series (Egypt) photo-trek (late September)

The Imaging Insider has procured a $100 off discount for photographers interested in joining the Mentor Series photo-trek in Egypt starting on September 27. For all the details, and how to get the discount, be sure to check the Imaging Insider.

Discounts among the top selling cameras

We have just posted a new top selling cameras update at the Camera Charts blog. As usual, we have left a trail for the bargain-hunters, simply use your browser's search-function (CTRL-D) to look for the magic words "down", which points to cameras that have dropped in price by $10 or more since our previous update. Similarly, you can also search for "up" which will find the cameras that have gone up $10+.

Here are some of the aforementioned discounts:
+ Canon SD1200is for around $180 for some of the body-colors
+ Canon D-Rebel XS (1000D) kit now one dollar below $500

Best of the current specials at the main blog

We have posted a summary of the best deals at the main blog, since this blog is now in fast-paced mode and you may have missed some of the good deals if you have not been following it on a regular basis.

Save $20 on orders $100+ at Ritz online when paying with PayPal

If you were planning to make an online purchase at the online Ritz/Wolf camera stores (not the brick and mortar stores), and if you want to make your payment with PayPal, you can save an extra $20 off an order of $100 or more when paying with PayPal. As usual, there are terms and conditions on this offer along with restricted products (eg Canon 5D, Nikon D300). You can find all the promotional details by following the "Get $20 OFF" link on the front page of the RitzCamera.com website.

The promotion started on June 15 and it is good for an unspecified "limited time". Considering the age of the universe, it's hard to guess what "limited time" means :)