Do I spend or do I wait?

So there's lots of talk of the new D60 type of body and possibly more offerings from Nikon and Fuji eg new S2...however I'd just about made a descision to buy a D30 and found stock in the uk.

I'm now sitting here thinking D30 seems like a great camera, I've already got the Eos 30 + 28-135 is lens and 75-300 is lens and a complete Nikon outfit....and I don't want to spend my life savings on new digital Slrs every year. There's only so much I'm willing to spend on a digital Slr.

What's the concensus on buying the D30 now versus waiting on the latest and greatest version about to come out which is bound to be more expensive than the current street price of a D30? Will loads of used ones come available and enable me to save some money which the new D60 type of thing ships?

Thoughts?
Thanks--Gideon

GLuke said:

So there's lots of talk of the new D60 type of body and possibly
more offerings from Nikon and Fuji eg new S2...however I'd just
about made a descision to buy a D30 and found stock in the uk.

I'm now sitting here thinking D30 seems like a great camera, I've
already got the Eos 30 + 28-135 is lens and 75-300 is lens and a
complete Nikon outfit....and I don't want to spend my life savings
on new digital Slrs every year. There's only so much I'm willing to
spend on a digital Slr.

What's the concensus on buying the D30 now versus waiting on the
latest and greatest version about to come out which is bound to be
more expensive than the current street price of a D30? Will loads
of used ones come available and enable me to save some money which
the new D60 type of thing ships?

Click to expand...

Gideon Luke said:

Thoughts?
Thanks
--
Gideon

Click to expand...

It depends (upon your personality and motivations)!!

If you are someone who always must have the latest & greatest, then you should wait.

If you want a great value in an excellent camera, now may be a good time to buy, given the rebates and pricing.

Or if you are an equimpment junkie, buy one now, the buy the next body 3 - 6 months after it is introduced (after prices settle down a bit). In any event, remember that you are only buying a TOOL. The product is really the photographs that you produce.

Good Luck!!

--Michael

GLuke said:

So there's lots of talk of the new D60 type of body and possibly
more offerings from Nikon and Fuji eg new S2...however I'd just
about made a descision to buy a D30 and found stock in the uk.

I'm now sitting here thinking D30 seems like a great camera, I've
already got the Eos 30 + 28-135 is lens and 75-300 is lens and a
complete Nikon outfit....and I don't want to spend my life savings
on new digital Slrs every year. There's only so much I'm willing to
spend on a digital Slr.

What's the concensus on buying the D30 now versus waiting on the
latest and greatest version about to come out which is bound to be
more expensive than the current street price of a D30? Will loads
of used ones come available and enable me to save some money which
the new D60 type of thing ships?

Click to expand...

Gideon,

if you'd already made your decision to go for a D30, I assume that you have established that it will do what you require from a D-SLR. If I am right, unless your needs have also changed then the D30 is still a good camera for you.

Yes, it has its weaknesses, but who is to say that a replacement (if & when it comes) will not also have weaknesses ot teething troubles? At least the D30s are well known and documented, here and in many other places, along with ways to get around them as best as possible.

Will there be a lot of s/h ones around, who knows?
When will that be, again who knows?
How much better will a replacement be, again who knows?

The answer to those questions is , in all cases, nobody. Plenty of people know about the various rumours, which, although they sound like a good successor to the D30, are really little more than a conglomeration of wish-lists at this time.

If you want to play the waiting game, you could (in theory) be stuck in a constant loop for ever. My own view is that if I were planning on buying now and the camera that is currently available suited my requirements and pocket, then I would buy it, irrespective of whatever the rumour factories are producing.

The D30 is a great camera, and no replacement is going to instantly render it useless, anyway.

Thats' just my six eggs, take it as you like.

KRs
Chris

waiting will not hurt you unless the D30 is the only one available now and you really want it. There are a lot of rumours that the D30 shipments are drying up however there is a very very good chance that second hand D30,s will become available, and judging by most second hand electrical items resale value probably quite cheap. The new camera is unlikely to not have improved AF, which is a bit of a pain on the D30 shooting in servo mode. The only negative side to all of this is when will the new one be available based on the shortage of D30,s probably sooner rather than later.

Hope this helps

GLuke said:

So there's lots of talk of the new D60 type of body and possibly
more offerings from Nikon and Fuji eg new S2...however I'd just
about made a descision to buy a D30 and found stock in the uk.

I'm now sitting here thinking D30 seems like a great camera, I've
already got the Eos 30 + 28-135 is lens and 75-300 is lens and a
complete Nikon outfit....and I don't want to spend my life savings
on new digital Slrs every year. There's only so much I'm willing to
spend on a digital Slr.

What's the concensus on buying the D30 now versus waiting on the
latest and greatest version about to come out which is bound to be
more expensive than the current street price of a D30? Will loads
of used ones come available and enable me to save some money which
the new D60 type of thing ships?

Thoughts?
Thanks
--
Gideon

Click to expand...

After much anguished deliberation, I just ordered a D30. Here's my take on the situation. First, the successor will be a truly great camera. Most probably in the 6 MP range. Second, the successor will, in all likelyhood, be priced at the original price point of the D30, roughly $3,300 - $3,700 (incidentally, much more than I am willing to pay). Third, the D30 has, in all likelihood, already been discontinued. In other words, the supply of NEW D30s will dry up. Fourth, the successor will probably not be readily available until about May or June.

So, the question comes down to this: A truly great, proven, and relatively inexpensive camera NOW or an even greater but unproven and much more expensive camera LATER. I opted for now. YMMV.

Good luck.

Ralph

--A signature?!?! Geeee, what should I put down?!?!? Oh, gosh, the pressure, the pressure . . .

"the D30 has, in all likelihood, already been discontinued."

Okay, now we have all decided Canon has a new Camera coming out. Even though they have announced NOTHING. Then we decided they would call it the D60, NOTHING announced by Canon. Then we decided it would have all the features being discussed, NOTHING announced by Canon.

NOW, we have decided the D30 has been discontinued!

This site has just about become useless. I used to get a large amount of very good info here, but know all I can get is a bunch of rumors about what new stuff is coming out.

Maybe we need a RUMORS section here so those of use looking to learn something don't have to waste time culling through a bunch of wish lists.

Sorry to rant, I'm just soooooo tired of this.

Bobby C. said:

"the D30 has, in all likelihood, already been discontinued."

Okay, now we have all decided Canon has a new Camera coming out.
Even though they have announced NOTHING. Then we decided they would
call it the D60, NOTHING announced by Canon. Then we decided it
would have all the features being discussed, NOTHING announced by
Canon.

NOW, we have decided the D30 has been discontinued!

This site has just about become useless. I used to get a large
amount of very good info here, but know all I can get is a bunch of
rumors about what new stuff is coming out.

Maybe we need a RUMORS section here so those of use looking to
learn something don't have to waste time culling through a bunch of
wish lists.

Sorry to rant, I'm just soooooo tired of this.

Click to expand...

Thank heavens for that, I'm not the only one to think this way ;-)

KRs
Chris

The heading of this topic was pretty clear. It was not like a "sucker header" that tries to get you to read it just to find out what was going on.

I think there is a place to discuss some rumors. People are making purchases of thousands of dollars and don't want to buy something to find out it will be obsoleted later.

There are people giving what they think is legitimate help to others. It is very interesting that multiple people in multiple countries have reported that the D30 is no longer available, and nobody has contradicted them that I have seen. This seems to indicate that something is up.

I don't like the "make up a funny false rumor topics" as they are a waste of time and usually have a misleading header.

A lot of subjects are a waste of time depending on ones interest. But it appears that a number of people are interested in rumors. There are always going to be questions like "what lens should I buy." These are a waste of time for people that already know and don't want to help, but people want to ask and others seem to enjoy helping.

Karl

Chris Maddock said:

Bobby C. said:

"the D30 has, in all likelihood, already been discontinued."

Okay, now we have all decided Canon has a new Camera coming out.
Even though they have announced NOTHING. Then we decided they would
call it the D60, NOTHING announced by Canon. Then we decided it
would have all the features being discussed, NOTHING announced by
Canon.

NOW, we have decided the D30 has been discontinued!

This site has just about become useless. I used to get a large
amount of very good info here, but know all I can get is a bunch of
rumors about what new stuff is coming out.

Maybe we need a RUMORS section here so those of use looking to
learn something don't have to waste time culling through a bunch of
wish lists.

Sorry to rant, I'm just soooooo tired of this.

Click to expand...

Thank heavens for that, I'm not the only one to think this way ;-)

KRs
Chris

Click to expand...

--Karl

It sound like you only have a month to wait to see what rumors are true and which are not.

A couple of months ago, I would say don't wait as it is likely that the next Digital SLR was a ways off. The reports of D30's not being available in a number of countries has me thinking now that it MAY be sooner rather than later.

A lot depends on what you want to pay and what else (like lenses) you will want to buy, and what you like to shoot. Let's say the D60 comes out and has a 1.2X FoV reduction compared to 35mm. This could save you from needing an expensive ultra wide angle lens like the $1500 16-35F2.8. Lets say it has 1 ISO stop lower noise than a D30; people are paying double or more for a lenses that saves them one F-stop. Then there is the Autofocus issue. I shoot a lot of sports and the D30's autofocus is pretty iffy for sports (I have NO problem with the AF for anything else). A lot of people have been buying low F-number lenses to help out with the auto focus as well.

Even with the supply drying up, I expect that IF the D60 comes out, the price of a D30 new or used will drop.

I bought my D30 when it first came out. While others dithered about what to do, I was taking pictures and having a great time. The 1D just did not excite me other than for the Autofocus and with a D30 in hand I could not see getting one. But if the D60 has better autofocus and a 1.2x or so multiplier, the I will be getting one. I bet there will be a lot of nice D30's on the secondary market if the D60 lives up to the rumors (I will keep mine as a backup and and second body).

If PMA was 6 months away I would say forget it an get the D30, but it is unlikely that you will be in a worse situation 1 month from now other than loosing 1 months worth of digital pictures.

Karl

GLuke said:

So there's lots of talk of the new D60 type of body and possibly
more offerings from Nikon and Fuji eg new S2...however I'd just
about made a descision to buy a D30 and found stock in the uk.

I'm now sitting here thinking D30 seems like a great camera, I've
already got the Eos 30 + 28-135 is lens and 75-300 is lens and a
complete Nikon outfit....and I don't want to spend my life savings
on new digital Slrs every year. There's only so much I'm willing to
spend on a digital Slr.

What's the concensus on buying the D30 now versus waiting on the
latest and greatest version about to come out which is bound to be
more expensive than the current street price of a D30? Will loads
of used ones come available and enable me to save some money which
the new D60 type of thing ships?

Thoughts?
Thanks
--
Gideon

Click to expand...

--Karl

I decided because I am all-knowing and all-seeing!

C'mon. It's and 2yr-old camare that has been substantially discounted in Japan, and is MIA in both Australia and the UK. In all likelihood there will be a new and improved version. Frankly, I think there is nothing at all wrong with my logic.

--A signature?!?! Geeee, what should I put down?!?!? Oh, gosh, the pressure, the pressure . . .

You're not the only two. ;-)

Chris Maddock said:

Chris Maddock said:

Sorry to rant, I'm just soooooo tired of this.

Click to expand...

Thank heavens for that, I'm not the only one to think this way ;-)

Click to expand...

One slight factor (as intended by Canon) is the rebate offer that ends Jan 31st. However, I think prices will drop more than the value of the rebate items (also depends on whether you really need these items or not I guess)

I was about to buy the D30 but now plan on waiting. The new 24 -105 L lens sounds great also... I'm sure I will end up paying quite a bit more for the latest and greatest but I will after all have the latest and greatest... I can bide my time with my G2 until these are available/more affordable..

P

Karlg said:

A couple of months ago, I would say don't wait as it is likely that
the next Digital SLR was a ways off. The reports of D30's not
being available in a number of countries has me thinking now that
it MAY be sooner rather than later.

A lot depends on what you want to pay and what else (like lenses)
you will want to buy, and what you like to shoot. Let's say the
D60 comes out and has a 1.2X FoV reduction compared to 35mm. This
could save you from needing an expensive ultra wide angle lens like
the $1500 16-35F2.8. Lets say it has 1 ISO stop lower noise than a
D30; people are paying double or more for a lenses that saves them
one F-stop. Then there is the Autofocus issue. I shoot a lot of
sports and the D30's autofocus is pretty iffy for sports (I have NO
problem with the AF for anything else). A lot of people have been
buying low F-number lenses to help out with the auto focus as well.

Even with the supply drying up, I expect that IF the D60 comes out,
the price of a D30 new or used will drop.

I bought my D30 when it first came out. While others dithered
about what to do, I was taking pictures and having a great time.
The 1D just did not excite me other than for the Autofocus and with
a D30 in hand I could not see getting one. But if the D60 has
better autofocus and a 1.2x or so multiplier, the I will be getting
one. I bet there will be a lot of nice D30's on the secondary
market if the D60 lives up to the rumors (I will keep mine as a
backup and and second body).

If PMA was 6 months away I would say forget it an get the D30, but
it is unlikely that you will be in a worse situation 1 month from
now other than loosing 1 months worth of digital pictures.

Karl

GLuke said:

So there's lots of talk of the new D60 type of body and possibly
more offerings from Nikon and Fuji eg new S2...however I'd just
about made a descision to buy a D30 and found stock in the uk.

I'm now sitting here thinking D30 seems like a great camera, I've
already got the Eos 30 + 28-135 is lens and 75-300 is lens and a
complete Nikon outfit....and I don't want to spend my life savings
on new digital Slrs every year. There's only so much I'm willing to
spend on a digital Slr.

What's the concensus on buying the D30 now versus waiting on the
latest and greatest version about to come out which is bound to be
more expensive than the current street price of a D30? Will loads
of used ones come available and enable me to save some money which
the new D60 type of thing ships?

Thoughts?
Thanks
--
Gideon

Click to expand...

--
Karl

Click to expand...

I don't know about you but I'm waiting. I sold several of my older film cameras and am ready to buy a canon slr digital. The d-30 takes great photos BUT there are some shortcomings such as the autofocus.

In just a month you will KNOW what is coming next and can make an INFORMED decision.

I can wait one more month and then if I still want the d-30 I bet I can find one even if I have to get a used one.