I've been waiting because I wanted to buy from a sponsor... They were one of the last to drop the price on PriceGrabber. It's now $4499.

hi rich,

i see you have XL2. when you have it, let me know (hint we're both in boston) =). heh heh heh.

So the next question is: will any of B&H's legitimate (by that i mean non-gray market) competitors slash their prices to compete? Zotz, etc.?

I knew that was going to happen, but for someone who purchased it early, makes me wonder if I shouldn't have waited a bit to save that extra $500. Looks like it's a great time to buy what with three excellent cameras available now (AG-DVX100A, Canon XL2, and the Sony HDV for those who want HDV).

heh heh. that's why i'm waiting til next year =). hopefully the body price will drop as well. looking at the price drop for the package vs body-alone means that 20x is "only" $500? what? doesn't make sense.

<<<-- Originally posted by Yi Fong Yu : heh heh. that's why i'm waiting til next year =). hopefully the body price will drop as well. looking at the price drop for the package vs body-alone means that 20x is "only" $500? what? doesn't make sense. -->>>

You would have to be almost stupid to not get the full kit at that price. $500 more for that awesome lens is a steal. Even if you use it rarely it is still very valuable

this is why i'm hoping for the body-only kit to drop to $3.5k. THEN it'll be a STEAL (notice the sacrasm)! the problem is people like me have sold their XL1s body but kept the 16x for use with the XL2. if we knew that 20x was only gonna cost $500 we would have sold the 16x as well!

I have seen the xl2 being sold for 3999 at the B&H website.

<<<-- Originally posted by Jose di Cani : I have seen the xl2 being sold for 3999 at the B&H website. -->>>
Are you sure that's not the body only kit?

it is the body kit =^).

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=339004&is=REG

what i DO find funny is if you lookup price for XL2 whole kit they make you enter your name to look at the price of $4500. why is this? it's just another extra step.

That price might be below the manufacturer's Minimum Advertised Price (MAP). If so, B&H would not be allowed to "advertise it", but if you type in your name they're allowed to quote it to you and not violate their contract with Canon.

I have no idea if $4499 is below the MAP or not, but it's one possible explanation.

At B&H today: $4299.00 Free shipping!

<<<-- Originally posted by David Clark : At B&H today: $4299.00 Free shipping! -->>>

Now that is a steal.

I'm picking up my XL2 on Monday from a retailer in New Hampshire. There's something to be said about putting your hand on the camera you want before you buy it. Granted, I'll be paying $4700 for it, but I'd pay a little more to ensure that I get it safely.

i see that the body kid is now $3,600. WOO HOO! this is awesome! think it'll go lower?

PS does this mean the 20x is worth just $700? i mean $4300-3600=700 ya know?

Full retail on the 20x lens is about $2000. Here it's looking like it's worth $1700, because it's always assumed that you're saving about $1000 when you buy the full camera kit with the lens.

4300$... Things start to be interesting. But here in Canada, the price have not changed that much. I should consider buying from B&H.

For those of you who look frequently to the evolution of the price in this market, do you think that the price will still drop in the three or four next months? I was planning to upgrade to the XL2 somewhere around march.

Prices don't change according to any set trend, they change based on how the product is selling vs. what the competition is offering, and also currency exchange rates may come into play as well. There's no way to predict what the price will be a few months from now, although it has usually been fairly axiomatic that consumer electronics prices don't go back up (except for commodities such as RAM, where pricing is quite volatile).

So the price shouldn't rise, unless demand picks up substantially, or the dollar plummets in value compared to the yen. Other than that, prices should probably stay about the same or head slightly downward.

chris,

do you know how much the 16xII stock lens that comes with XL1s is worth? it seems to me that XL1s with lens and without lens are being sold for around $3,000. does that mean th 16x lens is "worthless"?

A new standard 16x IS II lens should sell for about $1200 from an authorized Canon dealer.