Ashanali Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 We have been putting off buying new lenses (they were going to be christmas presents to ourselves)... been keeping an eye on price. In the last TWO DAYS the price of the lenses we were after has increased from 100 - $500!!! So I quickly did some super-sleuthing and found a Canon 70-200 2.8 IS for $2188 online. We called up as we are going to collect it and pay for it when we got there tomorrow. The guy on the phone said the price is going up in the morning to $2700!!! He recommended paying online so that we got the web price. ( camerasdirect.com.au) I then found the lens that I wanted. With postage and insurance it was $475 (50mm 1.4). Have been looking everywhere online and most places have it over $580. (quickshop.com.au) If you want your camera gear, I suggest you get onto asap. Either that or wait out the financial crisis for the next year before committing to bigger gear. I just wish I had a little bit extra so I could grab an 85mm 1.8 I will just have to wait for that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripley Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 (edited) You might be waiting a while. It's dropped dramatically, just in the last fornight apparently (saw the conversation on a board at the post office today and was shocked). I'm dreading my Visa statement coming in, when I left for our hols, the AUD was very strong against the British pound, god knows what the conversion will be now - I'm too scared to look on line at my statement. Eek! Thank goodness I bought that Canon lens from B&H way back in April when the dollar was up around 90. ETA: I got my Canon 70-200 f/4 for a song from BH NY as I got my boss to pick it up for me when he was on business in NY. I thought I'd get the same lens (as it's great) with IS and just looked on BH, did a conversion and it's going to be not $AUD600 more than my non IS like I thought (I'd sell my lens here in Aust first to upgrade) but $1,000 more! Stuff that, I'll stick with a monopod I think. edited for clarification Edited October 9, 2008 by Ripley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripley Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 Here's a prediction from a Macquarie bank advisor: ''Stephen Koukoulas has been watching the Australian currency fall from his vantage point in London, working as a strategist for TD Securities. He told Radio National this morning, a lot of the drop in value is down to profit taking from overseas investors in the wake of big changes to Australian interest rates. STEPHEN KOUKOULAS: Banks that have got liquid assets, that have made the money, they're selling them and taking their money back home, so for an investor based in Boston or Tokyo or Frankfurt or London, and if they've been holding Aussie dollar positions in the bond or the stock market, they're selling them, getting their cash, taking it home and that's just forced the dollar down quite massively in the last couple of weeks. SIMON SANTOW: Steven Koukoulas is also convinced that lower global commodity prices are also driving the dollar down sharply. And he's not alone. RORY ROBERTSON: The global economy is weakening dramatically and therefore there's been a big down trend in commodity prices and one of the reasons that the Australian dollar has been strong is that the commodity prices have been buoyant. Now commodity prices are falling, global growth is decelerating and so the Australian dollar has been down shifting. SIMON SANTOW: Macquarie Bank's Rory Robertson agrees the Australian economy is fundamentally sound and better off than many others. Still, he's not necessarily predicting the same rebound for the currency. RORY ROBERTSON: The Australian dollar is at its lifetime average, since the Australian dollar was floated in the early 1980s, the average against the US dollar has been pretty well 70 US cents. Now that the Australian dollar is around its long-term average, I think everyone should be a bit more modest about, you know, anyone's ability to forecast that the next big move. It could be either way. I, you know, because it's come so far, so fast, there's probably a reasonable chance that it will bounce. Lots of people still see value in owning the Australian dollar at these levels. However, if the global credit crunch keeps intensifying, the global panic continues, then there'll be some investors who had themselves set with the Australian dollars for the past several years who will be forced to dump their position, and that would put downward pressure on the currency." "SIMON SANTOW: So is this the end for the climbing Aussie dollar. STEPHEN KOUKOULAS: The Australian economy is still, despite the problems that we've got, superior to that of the US, the Euro, to the UK, to Japan, to Canada, the list goes on, and yet we weakened even ten per cent against those currencies. Look I think we're probably going to move back into the high 70s, or even we could see 80 cents again and that's probably fair value level for the Aussie dollar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubiton Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 NO t happy have to pay my photoshop user subscription adn the dollar free falls! And then kochie starts saying how great it is for exporters (yeah but not for the other 90 per cent of the country - note higher prices of everything coming in) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripley Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I'd love to slap that David Kochie, cannot stand the man and his reptilian smirk. I went into OH's office today and noticed he had an ad for a lens I wanted for my birthday pinned to his corkboard. I said don't bother as it will cost him too much now. Ah well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashanali Posted October 10, 2008 Author Share Posted October 10, 2008 I went into OH's office today and noticed he had an ad for a lens I wanted for my birthday pinned to his corkboard. I said don't bother as it will cost him too much now. Ah well. We bought the lens you wanted today. It's purdy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubiton Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 If its advertised at a certain price and the catalogue is in date how can they refuse to sell at that price? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripley Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I went into OH's office today and noticed he had an ad for a lens I wanted for my birthday pinned to his corkboard. I said don't bother as it will cost him too much now. Ah well. We bought the lens you wanted today. It's purdy. It was the Sigma 10-20mm. Hmm, that would make for some interesting wedding photography. So you mean the one I want with IS? The 70-200 L? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashanali Posted October 10, 2008 Author Share Posted October 10, 2008 So you mean the one I want with IS? The 70-200 L? yep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashanali Posted October 10, 2008 Author Share Posted October 10, 2008 If its advertised at a certain price and the catalogue is in date how can they refuse to sell at that price? They can't and they wouldn't. But apparently it would have meant overriding the computer after the price change. I have worked for a manufacturer and in retail and totally understand why they would want to avoid doing an override. Lens is here and it is great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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