Canon XL2 Price Drop

[Patrick Bartolo]

OK, don't shoot me for this question, but on the Google groups forum (rec.video.desktop) there was a rumor that Canon was planning on dropping the price on the XL2 after January. Now, this post was back in November so I am sort of skeptical that Canon would announce that they were going to drop the price 3 months in the future- wouldn't that kill sales? Has anyone else heard anything like this? If this is a stoopid question I apologize,

[Chris Hurd]

Well, it's not a stoopid question, Patrick, but it is a rumor, so take any response you may get here with a grain of salt.

[Patrick Bartolo]

Thanks Chris. When I saw it had been moved to Area 51 I thought, Good Lord, it was a stupid question.

I did figure it was a rumor and more than likely not true. I won't be able to buy the camera til February anyway, so it's a moot point. I just wondered if anyone else had heard the rumor. The more I think about it the more unlikely it seems.

[Richard Alvarez]

I wouldn't expect any kind of price drop till after NAB, and then only if they think they need it to compete.

[Barry Green]

The question is, are you meaning an official Canon MSRP price drop? Or a drop in the price that you can actually buy it at?

I don't know that Canon would officially drop the retail price -- that would seem like an extraordinary move to take for a camera that's only a few months old.

However, the "street price" has come down about $700 in the last couple of months; B&H held firm at $4999 for months, but now they're down to $4299. Street price is dictated by market supply & demand, but MSRP is set by the manufacturer and frequently bears little relation to actual street price. Street price can and will fluctuate, as it does with basically all consumer electronics items, but it would be very surprising if Canon changed the actual MSRP.

One thing Canon has done in the past is offer rebates, there's a continuing rebate on the GL2 and there was a rebate on the XL1 for -- how long was it, half a year? A rebate is a way to change the MSRP without changing the MSRP. It would be an unusual move to put a rebate on a camera this new, but not unprecedented -- Sony put a $300 rebate on the PD170 very shortly after it was released.

[Patrick Bartolo]

From what I read in the forum (and remember, it does sound shady) someone said that a representative from Canon was talking about the whole reduction in price thing. Because sale of the camera was not what they expected. But the more I think about it, the fishier is sounds (or should that be smells?).
I am going to buy the camera regardless, I just wanted to know if anyone here had heard anything similar.
You are right, though, it is way too soon after the release of the camera for Canon to discount it... I guess I was just being wishful.

Thank you for all the replies.

[Patrick Bartolo]

Ps Barry, when is that XL2 book and DVD coming out? I know you were working on some details... Tell me, does it include a way to get the Panasonic settings? In the DVXuser shootout I noticed the colors on Panasonic were real nice and I thought I read that it was a matter of boosting the Blue instead of the Green... damn, did I just go all off topic?

[Don Palomaki]

Price history is that street price drops as the initial demand (gotta be first on the block with one) is satisfied. This may be accompanied by dealer incentives as the model ages, and even rebates as it approaches end of model production. Consider the pricing of cars as an extreme example.