Do you think canon is releasing new version of EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM?

[gandhi]

I have been seeing double dip price drop for the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM, do you suspect Version III coming into the market very soon due to which they are trying to get rid of these old lenses?

[Joel Eade]

I clicked on the links from TDP news page, put one in my cart and tried to check out but the price remained at 1999.99

[Joel Eade]

I doubt a new version is on the immediate horizon since the current version (II) is not very old.

[DavidEccleston]

"These old lenses" were introduced September 2012. No, they're not being replaced.

[neuroanatomist]

LOL. No, they're not going to replace the one-year-old 24-70/2.8L II with a MkIII version of the lens. Although this price drop will likely fuel speculation that an IS version of the 24-70/2.8 is coming soon, I doubt that's true, either.

What this means is that Canon and retailers want to move stock, to meet sales targets for the year, free up warehouse space for holiday stock, etc. Last year at this time, the price of the 70-200/2.8L IS II dropped to under $2K. Then it went back up to $2500.

[Kayaker72]

I clicked on the links from TDP news page, put one in my cart and tried to check out but the price remained at 1999.99

The first $300 appears to be a 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.

EDIT: Just saw John/Neuro's response. As usual, both logical and likely. On the technical glitch side, Amazon has at times listed it as out of stock to limited stock. For the price they have jumped around from $2,299, to "See Price in Basket" (which turned out to be $1,999) and then back to $2,299. Last time I checked (a minute ago) they were back to listing it as $2,299 with 1 lens in stock.

I am not sure what is going on...but if they are clearing out warehouses leading up to the holidays, I hope they need a lot more space .

[gandhi]

Now, I will calm down. I bought this lens on Amazon 3 days back and I thought I am the lucky and Smart guy and now I see these rebates everywhere...

[gandhi]

The Price is $1999, but you will get $300 rebated and 4% reward so the effective price will be around $1600 which is like $700 less than the introductory price.

[Joel Eade]

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.

That's almost a bait and switch.....you still are spending $2K and then you get a new credit card with $300 credit....I wish they would just sell it straight out without gimmicks. I certainly don't want a new AMEX card

[Kayaker72]

That's almost a bait and switch.....you still are spending $2K and then you get a new credit card with $300 credit....I wish they would just sell it straight out without gimmicks. I certainly don't want a new AMEX card

It is a gift card, but regardless, I agree. Instant rebates are much better. Until the retailers dropped the price, I had largely been ignoring this round of rebates. Some of which are instant...others are gift cards. I hate the idea of cutting out the UPC Barcode and having to mail it in. But, for $300, I'll do it.

Here is Adorama's website with the mail in rebate information.