$1900 A77 Body Only in Japan

EddieinNiseko · Sep 1, 2011

So I went to my local Yodobashi Camera here in Osaka Japan. I came by some promotional material for the a77.

Looks like its priced at 148,000 Yen body Only
and 208,000 Yen w the 16-50 2.8 kit lens......

Just to put things into Perspective. The 7d is 118,000 Yen body only and the d7000 is 110,000 Body only. A 60d is 97,000 Yen.

Most shocking of all though perhaps is the GH2 which is 69,000 Yen body only. So I can buy 2 gh2 cameras for the price of the a77.

I was really hyped for this camera as a future upgrade from my a55, but at this price I will have to consider the competition.

Things the competition I have which I prefer.

More video options, adjustable audio levels, larger buffer.......

greenieadi · Sep 2, 2011

Ok, let's put things in perspective.

Panasonic GH2 announced on Sep 21 2010, 18Mp, 4/3 sensor
Nikon D7000 announced on Sep 15 2010, 16.2Mp, APS-C sensor
Canon 60D announced on Aug 26 2010, 18Mp, APS-C sensor
Canon 7D announced on Sep 1 2009, 18Mp, APS-C sensor

Sony A77 was announced only last week on 23 Aug 2011.

Electronic stuffs depreciates once newer technology comes out. Yes, you could get 2x GH2 for the price of the Sony A77 but it can never do 12fps or have better EVF or a more high res video with better manual control than the A77.

Nonsense to compare last year product to this year's one based on price.

At least should wait until Canon or Nikon comes out with something comparable or at least wait until retail copyof the A77 is available and reviewed.

I simply cannot comprehend your logic.

Stephen Carpenter · Sep 2, 2011

What was the RRP of the 7D on release?

Frenske · Sep 2, 2011

First adopters always have to pay the premium price. Great for companies to get such a large profit margin on the first days because some people just need to have it first for some kind of idiotic reason.

--
http://frenske.zenfolio.com

Henry Richardson · Sep 2, 2011

All the talk here about you can't compare the prices of these cameras is nonsense. They are all current prices of current cameras. Of course it makes sense to compare them.

--
Henry Richardson
http://www.bakubo.com

Frenske · Sep 2, 2011

In the electronic retail there are cycles in the price. Often the first days shops use the Sony's RRP which is often20% higher than the normal price. Hereafter it drops to the normal price level. Towards the half life cycle of the camera the price drop further and finally towards the end you might find one for cost price.

Now comparing a camera that is not even brought out yet with a cameras that are on their 1/2 half life cycle or even further is not right.

--
http://frenske.zenfolio.com

EddieinNiseko · Sep 2, 2011

What Im getting at is that I am disappointed. Everyone was heralding the a77 as an alternative to both the 7d and d7000, likely undercutting them on price as well as features. I remember not long ago, talk of the a77 being $1000 body only. Now this is almost double the price. I know the other products are longer into their life cycle but when you dont have an abundance of cash lying around, it makes sense to take price into consideration.

Its just I thought the a77 would be around 120,000 Yen max, Not 148,000 .

EddieinNiseko · Sep 2, 2011

I really doubt also that the a77 has better manual control for video.

1) It crops the movie mode for stabilization.

2) It has no audio gain control.

3) It only has 2 available frame rates.

JimmyMelbourne · Sep 2, 2011

The issue here is not so much the high start price, it is the retail price compared to USA.

1,4000.00 in the US versus 1,999.00 in Japan. It also seems this camera is going to be highly priced in EU and Australia.

It is just a rip off price by powers to be and will be a blocker in terms of not buying it in the short term IMO.

Considering price and also some of the limitations that are causing me to rethink (buffer limit, NTCS/PAL unable to switch between etc) I am also looking at alternatives, or will be getting longer life from my current cam and waiting until next year for successors to current line up, or waiting for the price to fall significantly in line with US prices and exchange rates.

Darrell52 · Sep 2, 2011

My thoughts exactly. People will be making choices today based on today's options. If the 7D is significantly cheaper then that will factor into a prospective buyer's decision. The reason the a77 is more expensive (newly released) won't matter one iota.

Steve West · Sep 2, 2011

an a770 would have been if the A700 simply got the 5N sensor and new processing engine--and what a great camera this would have been....
--
Steve W
weather photos: http://home.comcast.net/~scwest/atmo/

Henry Richardson · Sep 2, 2011

Frenske said:
Now comparing a camera that is not even brought out yet with a cameras that are on their 1/2 half life cycle or even further is not right.

For someone thinking about buying a camera the prices are completely relevant. If on Day X a person is interested in Camera A and Camera B then the price of those 2 cameras on Day X is what is important. No one who is buying cares about the price life cycle that a company is using. Camera A and Camera B are current cameras so their current price is important. Of course, that doesn't mean the person will necessarily choose the lower price camera since choosing a camera and system depends on lots of things that vary by person. Price is certainly somewhere in the equation, often an important factor, for most people though.

--
Henry Richardson
http://www.bakubo.com

Henry Richardson · Sep 2, 2011

EddieinNiseko said:
What Im getting at is that I am disappointed. Everyone was heralding the a77 as an alternative to both the 7d and d7000, likely undercutting them on price as well as features. I remember not long ago, talk of the a77 being $1000 body only. Now this is almost double the price. I know the other products are longer into their life cycle but when you dont have an abundance of cash lying around, it makes sense to take price into consideration.

Yeah, this forum seems to have completely forgotten that not long ago everyone was excited that the A77 was going to be $1000. Anyway, here in the States the price is $1399. A bit high, but it will probably come down in awhile. If you are in Japan getting paid in yen then the 148,000 yen is a bit easier to swallow, but if you are converting dollars to buy it there then I would definitely not buy it since $1900 is way, way overpriced. By the way, in the past Sony DSLRs sold in Japan only had Japanese menus and you could not change them. I first noticed this on the A700 in 2007, but it has been the case in other Sony DSLRs too:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1037&message=25686616

Can the A77 menu be changed to English and other languages?

By the way, I lived in Japan for a few years and have traveled there a lot. Where are you? I have some Japan photos on my website:

http://www.bakubo.com

I was thinking about going back there this fall, but with the current terrible exchange rate I am hesitating a lot.

--
Henry Richardson
http://www.bakubo.com

mikiev · Sep 2, 2011

EddieinNiseko said:
What Im getting at is that I am disappointed. Everyone was heralding the a77 as an alternative to both the 7d and d7000, likely undercutting them on price as well as features. I remember not long ago, talk of the a77 being $1000 body only. Now this is almost double the price.

I always love how people's expectations are formed from pie-in-the-sky postings on the forums.

Its as if people feel they were lied to by the manufacturer...

--

Yemble · Sep 2, 2011

Wait a few months, then import from China. The prices will be MUCH lower.

sye46 · Sep 2, 2011

wow, you guys are ridiculous.

when the Canon 7D was released, it was $1700. The Nikon D300s retail price is $1700.

Sure sounds like Sony is undercutting the competition with the A77. You can bet that the updated 7D and D300s will cost more than $1400.

You guys are seriously asking too much at a lower price. Get the A65 or A55 if the A77 is out of your price range.

Henry Richardson · Sep 2, 2011

sye46 said:
wow, you guys are ridiculous.

when the Canon 7D was released, it was $1700. The Nikon D300s retail price is $1700.

No one who is buying a camera cares (many don't even know) what a camera cost before. What is important is what it costs today. Anyone looking at the Canon 7D and Sony A77 will look at what the price of those 2 cameras are the day they buy, not what they were a few sometime back.

--
Henry Richardson
http://www.bakubo.com

sye46 · Sep 2, 2011

ok smart guy... let's take a look at prices TODAY

Canon 7D Body

Amazon.com - $1600

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NEGTTW/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B002NEGTU6&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0B8YBHN346BEYFP2SC30

bhphoto - $1600

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/646908-REG/Canon_3814B004_EOS_7D_SLR_Digital.html

Adorama - $1600
http://www.adorama.com/ICA7D.html

Nikon D300s Body
Amazon.com - $1608.99

http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-D300s-Digital-Body-Only/dp/B002JCSV6M/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1314997674&sr=1-1

Bhphoto - $1599.99
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=nikon+d300s+body&N=0&InitialSearch=yes

Adorama - $1699.99
http://www.adorama.com/INKD300S.html

all are well above the cost of the Sony A77 body of $1399

Henry Richardson said:
sye46 said:

wow, you guys are ridiculous.

when the Canon 7D was released, it was $1700. The Nikon D300s retail price is $1700.

Click to expand...

No one who is buying a camera cares (many don't even know) what a camera cost before. What is important is what it costs today. Anyone looking at the Canon 7D and Sony A77 will look at what the price of those 2 cameras are the day they buy, not what they were a few sometime back.

--
Henry Richardson
http://www.bakubo.com

JimmyMelbourne · Sep 2, 2011

You have completely missed the point. The OP is in Japan, your US retails dont apply, except to highlight how overpriced the A77 is outside of the USA at the moment.

Henry Richardson · Sep 2, 2011

sye46 said:
ok smart guy... let's take a look at prices TODAY

If you read the context 'today' meant the day of purchase, smart guy.

By the way, the OP is about the prices in Japan, not the U.S. so it doesn't matter what you discovered for prices in the U.S. on 2011/9/2.

sye46 said:
Henry Richardson said:

No one who is buying a camera cares (many don't even know) what a camera cost before. What is important is what it costs today. Anyone looking at the Canon 7D and Sony A77 will look at what the price of those 2 cameras are the day they buy, not what they were a few sometime back.

Click to expand...

--
Henry Richardson
http://www.bakubo.com

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