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#1 |
Regular Crew
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 40
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FX1 price drop
Hi, I noticed B&H has the fx-1 for 3000$ - perhaps a replacement is coming soon? Any ideas?
-p |
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#2 |
Major Player
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Toronto, ON, Canada
Posts: 479
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Sony just released the newer version of the A1, so it's entirely possible.
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Mark Utley |
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#3 | |
Major Player
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Inland Northwest
Posts: 490
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#4 |
Inner Circle
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Minnesota (USA)
Posts: 2,171
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It just occurred to me that possibly B&H might simply have lowered the price on the FX1 to be a little more competitive. I forgot which dealer, but I noticed that another reputable dealer has been offering them for a tad under 3k for a while. B&H is usually pretty competitive pricewise (among the reputable dealers).
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#5 |
Inner Circle
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Burnaby, BC, Canada
Posts: 3,053
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Still waiting for the Z1's price to drop...
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#6 |
Posts: n/a
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I agree with Robert.
I believe B & H lowered their price to that of One Call (Washington) and Vann's (Montana) prices. Who are both Sony Internet Authorized Dealers. |
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#7 | |
Inner Circle
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Minnesota (USA)
Posts: 2,171
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#8 | |
Major Player
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: France
Posts: 578
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Quote:
I've been thinking the same thing since I got my FX1, surely the porduction costs can not be that much greater, to add XLR's and what must only be firmware enhancements. Anyway I'm happy with my choice and it gives superb results. By they way dig the name of the place you live in...LOL cheers Gareth (Watkins) |
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#9 | |
Regular Crew
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Saskatoon, Canada (was London, UK)
Posts: 138
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Quote:
Plus every dollar they cut from the Z1's price is a dollar of profit gone: depending on the margin, it could take a large increase in sales to compensate for a 10% price drop. From a business viewpoint they're probably better to sell as many as they can at a higher price while there's no real competition: for a professional user it's still an amazing camera compared to what the same money would have bought you eighteen months ago. |
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#10 | |
Sponsor: VASST
Join Date: May 2005
Location: New York
Posts: 516
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I think Sony has a right to recover the money they have invested in developing more sophisticated firmware. (don’t forget, I’m a software developer so I’m sensitive to this kind of stuff. It’s like saying downloadable software should be free because there is no physical product, therefore it must cost nothing to make) ;-) ~jr
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Developer: VASST Ultimate S, Scattershot 3D, Mayhem, FASST Apps, and other VASST Software plug-ins Web Site: www.johnrofrano.com |
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#11 | |
New Boot
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 8
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Quote:
What's the new version of the A1? Tell us please! ...I hope you don't mean the HC3.... |
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#12 |
Major Player
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: France
Posts: 578
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Hi John,
I was in no way criticising Sony for their business stategy, as I'm in business myself and profits are profits.. and need to be worked in the game plan.. the extra price of the Z1, in what I maintain is not a great deal of extra development, is perhaps to offset the cheaper FX1... Personally not needing NTSC, or Cinegamma a Beachtek was a far cheaper option for me... Whatever both cameras produce stunning images..I really enjoy using mine, which is the first handycam I can say that about...I've used Betacam's before and the level of manual control is pretty darn good on the little Sonys. Regards Gareth |
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#13 |
Regular Crew
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Saskatoon, Canada (was London, UK)
Posts: 138
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Don't forget that the Z1 price also includes their 'pro' warranty service: that probably justifies a fair portion of the difference in price.
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#14 |
Inner Circle
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Minnesota (USA)
Posts: 2,171
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The number of man hours required to code the algorithms for the extra features found on the Z1 should have been fairly minimal. It's pretty straight forward math. I would think it could be done in less than a month by a good programmer (of course, I have been somewhat amazed at times, at the level of inefficiency in some software development projects). The lion's share of the software development for the FX1/Z1, all but had to be in getting it to the level of the FX1 (reliable, functional software). Adding the additional features for the Z1 represents a relatively minuscule portion of the work, when viewed as a whole, from a software development prospective.
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#15 |
Inner Circle
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 2,488
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I got my FX1 from B&H last August for under $3000 as a WEVA show special, so this isn't an unheard of price for the camera. I don't see a big need for Sony to upgrade their current HDV cameras unless they can come up with a more light-sensitive sensor, and I'd be surprised to see that this year. As far as the Z1U is concerned, the price differential seems steep to me too, but it is what it is. What's funny is that when you see an FX1 and a Z1U side by side you can tell they probably came off the same assembly line, with just a few external differences involving some part swaps and presumably similar internal changes.
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