Camera Deals

Latest deals and specials summary

After a big wave of new specials and discounts, there is a break in the action, so this is a good time to recap some of the best current deals and specials that might be of interest. We are trying a new summary format, broken down by brand! (Prices and availability are as of the time of writing, and are not updated automagically).

Canon
+ One day left to enter in the Canon-Amazon Yellowstone mega-sweepstakes (winner gets 7D, lenses, free trip to Yellowstone, etc)
+ G11 for $450 at Amazon
+ G10 for $430 plus S&H at Calumet Photo
+ EF-S 55-250mm IS from various sellers at Amazon for around $220

Nikon
+ $200 instant discount: D300s body only ($1575) + Nikon 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 ($530) = $2105 - $200 = $1905 (expires November 28) at Amazon
+ D3000 with 18-55mm DX VR at Amazon ($500 by Amazon herself, $489 via 6ave)
+ refurbished Coolpix S220 (plum color) for $85 with free S&H at Adorama

Olympus
+ E620 two-lens kit for $710 at Abe's of Maine

Panasonic
+ Panasonic LZ10K for $108 delivered by J&R World on Amazon
+ FZ35K superzoom for $324 by Amazon herself ($318 by 17th Street and 6ave)
+ Hard to find: 20mm pancake for $400
+ Hard to find: GF1 + 14-42mm for $900

Pentax
+ Black Pentax K-x with lens and bonus Sling bag for $610 at NewEgg - see via Kx stock matrix
+ Refurbished older DSLRs at Best Buy
+ Optio W80 with bonus 4gb SDHC for $230 at Amazon
+ Star Wars Pentax K-X with 18-55mm lens and bonus 4gb card for $640 with free ground at Abes of Maine

Samsung
+ Instant rebates on the TL225, TL220 and HZ15w at Buy.com (intermediate level deal - must pay attention)

Fuji
+ F200-EXR steady at $285 at Amazon

Casio
+ EX-FC100 speed-demon with bonus 4gb SDHC card for $220 with free S&H by Amazon herself
+ EX-FS10 (choice of colors) ships for under $180 at Amazon

Sigma
+ Sigma DP1 for $400 by Amazon herself

Other Discounts
+ Last day for the Staples $50 Gift Card promotion with camera/camcorder purchase over $150
+ $50 off DSLRs over $500 at NewEgg
+ Last day for Best Buy special on T4300-powered laptop for $430
+ Instant discounts on select magazines at Amazon including American Photo and National Geographic
+ $20 Gift Card with purchase of 8gb iPod for $200 at Best Buy (Saturday only!)
+ 1gb RCA Jet Sport mp3 player with arm-band, headphones and FM recording shipped for $12 as today's deal of the day at NewEgg (Saturday only)

Storage
+ 16gb Lexar UDMA Compactflash for $121 (no rebates) by WolfCamera.com
+ five 2gb Sandisk Extreme III Compactflash cards for $50 with free S&H from Adorama (no rebates!)

Olympus E620 2-lens kit for $710 (50mm f2 SOLD OUT at $400)

If you are looking for an entry-point into the Four Thirds system, or you are thinking of upgrading from your current cameras, then these two specials might be of interest.

The best price on the Olympus E620 two-lens kit remains at $710 with free ground shipping at Abe's of Maine.

UPDATE: As of 11:21am on Friday, the 50mm f2 lens has sold out Adorama (add to cart to see price) where it was priced at $395 with free shipping. You can still place an order, but there is no shipping estimate. The $400 price at Amazon or $403 is also gone, now the best price there is $450 from third-party sellers.

Nikon D3000 w/18-55mm DX VR ships for $500

The Nikon D3000 with the 18-55mm DX VR kit lens has reached the half-century mark already thanks to a new discount, sold and shipped by Amazon.com. So you get it for $500, with free shipping, and 55 free prints from Shutterfly. Also, and this is optional, they are offering a no-interest financing promotion if you use the Amazon Store card (not to be confused with the Amazon Visa card).

And this is quite a competitive price as the old but trusty D40 + 18-55mm non-VR goes for around $460, while the best D60 + lens price is $600.

For more on the camera, be sure to check its list of reviews at the DSLR Review Organizer.

Canon 50D body-only ships for $950

Release the discounts! The Canon 50D price had been sliding the last few days, and now it has dropped down to $950 with free shipping at J&R World. Meanwhile, the kit with EF 28-135mm is at around $1150.

Refurbished Nikon D2Hs ships for $1200

Adorama is offering the refurbished Nikon D2Hs DSLR for $1200 with free shipping. This is an older DSLR, Nikon's previous generation of speed-demons before the D3/D3s duo. It has four BIG megapixels :)

Canon T1i two-lens kit for $784 (18-55/55-250 EF-S IS)

If you can wait for a couple of weeks for delivery, the current price of the Canon T1i instant-rebate bundle is $784 at Amazon. The T1i w/18-55mm goes for $750 and the EF-S 55-250mm goes for $234. Take $200 off with the instant rebate, and the price drops to $784. Be sure to add both of them to your shopping cart, and both must be sold and shipped by Amazon, not by any of the many third-party sellers that do business there.

If Amazon is not the featured seller, you must seek Amazon as the seller in the right sidebar of the Amazon product page, under the "More Buying Choices" segment. Look for "Amazon.com" there. The discount only qualifies if _both_ items are sold and shipped by Amazon. If you don't see the discount in your checkout page as seen below, it means you are not doing it right or the instant rebate promotion has expired.

The lens currently "ships in 1 to 3 weeks". However, the discount is still good as you can see in this screenshot we just took from the Checkout page:

Pentax K-x zoomier two-lens kit now shipping

We have a shipping alert! Those who had placed pre-orders of the "zoomier' Pentax K-x two-lens kit should be having their orders shipped, because right now, on the Amazon.com product page, the K-x + 18-55/55-300mm kit is shown as in-stock and shipping for $843. This is $7 off the starting price, but less than the special pre-order price of $751 that was live a few days ago.

PS: "Zoomier" refers to the 55-300mm lens having more "zoom" than the 50-200mm

(SOLD OUT) Panasonic GF1 with zoom for $900 (also pancake in) (corrected)

We have an in-stock alert for you! The Panasonic GF1 with the 14-45mm zoom lens pancake lens is now in-stock and shipping at Amazon, by Amazon herself, for $900 with free shipping! (Corrected: The text was incorrect!)

The 20mm pancake lens itself is also in-stock and shipping for $400 from Amazon, which is its standard opening price.

All apologies for the confusion, it is one of the unintended side-effects of information-overload blogging.

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!

Refurbished Pentax DSLRs: K100D ($280), K200D ($380) and K10D ($400)

If you are a fan of factory-refurbished DSLRs, and you are looking for a K-mount dSLR or two at a low price, Best Buy continues to offer a trio of refurbished Pentax dSLRs:

+ factory refurbished Pentax K100D body only for $280

+ factory refurbished Pentax K200D body only for $380 (new-in-box with 18-55mm lens is $580 at Amazon)

+ factory refurbished Pentax K10D body only for $400

+ for a quick refresher, be sure to check the list of reviews for the K10D and K200D at the dSLR Review Organizer. Unfortunately we do not has a review cluster for the K100D.

Nikon D300s new low price: $1575

The Nikon D300s body only has reached a new low price, you can now get it sold and shipped by Amazon.com herself, for $1575 with free shipping and handling. The previous low price we noticed was $1600. This also qualifies for a no-interest, no-payments financing promotion if purchased with the Amazon Store card (not to be confused with the Amazon Visa credit card issued by Chase). As usual, be sure to carefully read the terms+conditions of financing offers and store cards.

Also, the kit of the D300s + 18-200 DX VR II has dropped in price, the lowest price at Amazon is $2449 via Beach Camera.

Olympus 50mm f2 lens ships for $400

Four Thirds users looking for a prime may be interested in the Olympus 50mm f2 lens currently shipping for $400 by Ace Photo Digital on Amazon. Already, B&H and Adorama, and Amazon-proper have sold out at this price.