The first $300 appears to be an discount Adorama, Amazon, etc are doing bringing the sale price to $1,999. I believe the second $300 is a mail in rebate to get a $300 AMEX card. Regarding a new version...there could be a 24-70 f/2.8 IS coming. But I am not holding my breath. I certainly do not think that this is foreshadowing a replacement to the current lens. If anything, I think either we won't get the mail in rebate, this is a technical glitch, or today is just our lucky day.

