Canon's rebate on the 580EXII bums me out!

[freelanceshots]

I have to buy a new 580 Ex II because I left my older 580 EX sitting on a stump at a park and someone found it and decided to claim it. Just the other day the 580EX II listed for 479.00 on all the major sites and now that Canon is offering a 50 dollar rebate they jacked up the price to 499.00. The price according to last week should be 479.00 - 50.00 = 429.00 an not 449.00 with rebate. This makes the rebate actually 30 bucks and not 50. Whats up with this pricing game?!?!


If it where me and I could get away with it I would do without a flash and just stick with my monolights but I got talked into shooting a wedding next month which I never do and now I'm in a bind. I could buy a AlienBee 1600 for 360.00 which is waaaay mooore bang for the buck but can a wedding be shot without a flash attached to the camera or on a cord?


Has anyone who shoots weddings professionally or semi-pro ever shot the wedding portion in the church and the reception after with two or three strobes aimed up at the ceiling using wireless remote firing. I'd much rather buy an additional AB1600 then a weak 580EX. Is that to risky of a move? Might just have to rent a 580 as that is a cheaper alternative.

[DavidEccleston]

We've been through the rebate pricing discussion around here fairly recently. It turns out that in order to be an authorized Canon reseller, they need to charge MSRP during rebate periods. I'm not sure why, but the retailers don't have a choice. In some cases, there were lenses that were previously discounted by more than the rebate amount, so the prices actually went up.


CanonPriceWatch.com, or Photoprice.ca are useful sites to find the best reputable-dealer deals, and nobody has it listed for less. You'll also see on the price history graph, that the price has been rising steadily since early 2010.


edit: Fixed CanonPriceWatch link to point to CPW, instead of Photoprice.

[freelanceshots]

I'm just so bummed that I lost my flash but its my own fault of course. It made me sick for a few days but it was time for my luck to run out. I guess the good news is some my canon gear has gained value so if I ever have to part with something I'll probably make some money.


Can you get any good deals on fleebay on a new flash or is that to risky? I've been screwed a few time before while even using paypal and I never saw a cent of the money I lost.


Thanks for your links David.

[Fast Glass]

Okay so they raise there prices to msrp to control how much discount everyone gets (I guess), BUT, then gives us a discount rather than playing a monopoly and making a good profit in doing so.


John.

[neuroanatomist]

Okay so they raise there prices to msrp to control how much discount everyone gets (I guess), BUT, then gives us a discount rather than playing a monopoly and making a good profit in doing so.

<span>Canon's 'minimum advertised price' policy has gutted the rebate programs. From my perspective as a consumer, there's no meaningful incentive.

Say I wanted the 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS. A couple of days ago, everyone was selling it for $1519. Today, the price is $1599 and the $100 rebate only brings a net $20 savings. Heck, that's not even enough to cover a decent bottle of champagne to celebrate the purchase, so why bother?

[Sean Setters]

Has anyone who shoots weddings professionally or semi-pro ever shot the wedding portion in the church and the reception after with two or three strobes aimed up at the ceiling using wireless remote firing. I'd much rather buy an additional AB1600 then a weak 580EX. Is that to risky of a move? Might just have to rent a 580 as that is a cheaper alternative.

Oddly enough, I haven't used strobes in a church. I have used them in the corners of a gymnasium which was being used for a birthday party. They proved very valuable. After the last wedding I shot, however, I decided I'dgive strobes a try in the church if it was ok with the happy couple.


I think the best thing you can do is ask the minister of the church where the weddingwill be located if you can borrow the church one evening for a couple of hours because you want to test out your lighting setup. Then, assuming he agrees, go to the church and test it out. Adding strobes will greatly change the ambiance of the wedding captured in your shots; however, obtaining critically sharp shots because of faster shutter speeds will likely be worth it. And if you did set up strobes for the ceremony, it would likely cut your setup time when preparing for the couple/family shots afterward.

[Chris White]

First, sorry to hear about your lost flash. Back in my wedding days (film), the churches I shot in did not allow the use of flash. Oh sure, a relative here and there got away with it, but when you are the photographer -- and want to be allowed back for your next one -- you do as the priest/minister requests. For reception shots I used camera mounted flash.

We've been through the rebate pricing
discussion around here fairly recently. It turns out that in order to
be an authorized Canon reseller, they need to charge MSRP during rebate
periods. I'm not sure why, but the retailers don't have a choice. In
some cases, there were lenses that were previously discounted by more
than the rebate amount, so the prices actually went up.

True enough. []

I'm just so bummed

Not to bum you further, but I paid $395 for my EX580 II with the rebate last November. That was before the earthquake/tsunami and I think there were some steep increases since then. I am glad now that I got it, but at the time I had a little sticker shock at the increase since I purchased my first EX580 II. Now I wish I had bought two. Given the market, I wish I had invested more in Canon lenses and less in stock. I believe somewhere here there is a discussion on that as well.


[quote
user="freelanceshots]Can you get any good deals on fleebay on a new
flash or is that to risky? I've been screwed a few time before while
even using paypal and I never saw a cent of the money I lost.[/quote]


If you are buying new, I recommend you stick to an authorized Canon Dealer to avoid disappointment. For used, I have had better luck with craigslist dealing locally and for cash. I usually meet in a Tim Horton's and if I get stiffed, at least I have a coffee while I wait. I have never felt comfortable buying/selling used on E-Bay. My things do not leave me without my getting cash money, and I do not part with my cash until I have thoroughly examined and feel comfortable with an item. You cannot get that on fleebay.

Canon's 'minimum advertised price' policy
has gutted the rebate programs. From my perspective as a consumer,
there's no meaningful incentive.

Say I wanted the 70-300mm
f/4-5.6L IS. A couple of days ago, everyone was selling it for $1519.
Today, the price is $1599 and the $100 rebate only brings a net $20
savings. Heck, that's not even enough to cover a decent bottle of
champagne to celebrate the purchase, so why bother?

August 7th, 2011: An instant rebate on Canon lenses and speedlites begins today, and runs until September 3rd, 2011. Note that there is a Minimum Advertised Price on all items that the price will go to. Calumet
appears to be applying the full rebate amount and selling below MAP
(e.g. new 70-300L for $1419), but as with the last rebate this condition
is quickly rectified...

As it states on the cpw site, you need to act FAST! I actually had the 70-300mm f/4-5.6L on the top of my wish list. I was able to order it at the pre-rebate price within an hour of the price increase. [] I almost though about it. If I had, it would still be on my wish list instead of a FedEx truck for delivery tomorrow. []

[Daniel Browning]

This makes the rebate actually 30 bucks and not 50. Whats up with this pricing game?!

Think of it from Canon's perspective. You want to increase prices early and often, but every time you do, your peons, er, customers, are outraged. When your unwashed masses stage protests against your price increases, you have to spend a lot of ammo quelling them. Soon, you realize that all you have to do is make them *think* there is no price increase, by offering a temporary rebate. They actually *thank* you for the price increase (err, "rebate") instead of foaming at the mouth over it like they used to. Everybody wins except for the rebellious minions who are actually paying attention and realize that the rebates are just a game to hide price increases -- and are insulted by such games.


That said, on the scale of evil, this type of Marketing game is definitely towards the "only slightly evil" end, IMHO. What really bothers me is the more heinous types of evil Marketing: bald-faced lies, nearsightedness, pointless crippling, your basic Marketing 101.

can a wedding be shot without a flash attached to the camera or on a cord?

(EDIT.) Whether you end up with flash or not, another tricky part is nailing focus while the parties are moving (walking down the Isle), especially if you want to use thin DOF. I recommend working with the B&amp;G and venue to setup video lights for the isle and stage -- if the Light Value is too low then it will be very difficult to nail focus (with *or* without flash) unless you shoot deep DOF. If you get the light value up high enough, you can forgoe flash altogether for some shots. This is where there can be some good synergy between the video production crew (if the B&amp;G paid for any, and I hope they did) and the still photographers.

[Daniel Browning]

Can you get any good deals on fleebay on a new flash or is that to risky?

I've never been able to find good deals on used photography equipment on flea-bay. I usually see between 5% and 15% of the B&amp;H price, whereas when I buy off of a photography forum or craigslist, I never pay more than 30% less than the B&amp;H price.I know others who have gotten great deals, but it's only because they put a lot more time into than it I do (frequent searches,alternate spellings,reading the listing carefully for weasel words, sniping ... it adds up to a lot of time).


I do buy all my Chinese knockoffs from flea-bay, though. I've saved a ton compared to authentic Canon parts, which are evidently made out of gold and unicorns if the prices they charge are any indication.

[freelanceshots]

Many thanks for all the responses. When I worked at the newspaper I used my flash so much I might as well of glued it to my forehead but now that I'm doing different work these days I rarely use it. The one downside is when you need it you need it and that's the situation I want to avoid.


Now that I've thought about it I think I just need to pull up my boot straps and bite the bullet and buy one new. I'm also thinking that the 50mm 1.4 lens would be a nice compliment for this job and others but I read a few places that this lens has focus ring/mechanism breaks from time to time. That's not good.


I was always a zoom guy but since getting my 100mm IS macro I have fallen in love with the additional IQ offered by the prime lens so I want more.


As far as strobes I will definitely consider using them plus I'm even thinking that I need a 580EX just as backup if one of the flash tubes goes out or batteries fail in the wireless remotes for some unknown reason. What a sucky time to loose an essential part of my equipment!


Also, I put in a bid on ebay on this flash cgi.ebay.com/.../eBayISAPI.dll from a response that I got it sounds like this is a female selling the flash where I asked the question where was it bought from and when. Reply was going to try to find email with this info but flash was purchased close to two years ago. Price is close to 420.00 now where a new one can be had for 450.00. Auction does not end for another 16 hours so I'm sure the final bid will go even higher. Does anyone think a 425.00 final bid would be worth it?