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Contax ND

If this price reduction and rebate is accurate, Contax has lost me as a customer forever. I will not ever, ever buy another one of their products. First they unloaded their mistakes on loyal customers, and then screwed them on top of it with a price % reduction unequaled by any other maker in such a short amount of time. Even Fuji offered their customers price protection on S1s last year when they reduced their price (by a smaller % than this).

Contax is a predatory company in my opinion. It no longer deserves the loyality of dedicated customers.
 
But this is still in the category of rumor, is it not? What is the source of this info?
-Lynn
 
Marc,

Having bought mine less than two weeks ago, and having bought every RTS that came out since the very beginning, I share your pain. However, I will wait a few weeks before committing a judgement, trying to be optimistic (I prefer being happy than upset :). Also, let's see what my dealer has to say ...

Cheers,

DJ
 
Mark, nobody likes to reduce prices, but the ND was not selling and the new full frame from the competition is out/announced. it has also been customary to reduce prices on anything electronic/computer and the digital cameras are now part of this category
 
Mehrdad, never this much this fast. I didn't just fall off the turnip truck. I've been in digital and computers for a while, and realize that technology marches on and prices go down. But never this fast and this much.

I haven't even got the darned thing operating to a good enough degree to make dime one from it. In this economy a $3,500. whack is nothing to sneeze at. I have to work my ass off to make that much profit.
 
Price on digital gears come down very quickly. The first Nikon D1 had the similar price discount, except it took a litte longer. But that was over two years ago. With other competitions and better technology, I can see all digital SLR prices, not just the Contax ND, with come down very quickly. It will be always true for digital gears, printers, camera, computer, etc.

For other Contax products, such as The N and 645 camera and their lenses, prices hold up pretty well. Rebate makes its product more affordable. All other brands offers rebate too.

For the Contax ND listed in eBay for $3999, it actually sold for $4500. A good price. The same dealer now has another one on eBay, it is currently at $5200. But if you go to their web site, it is still listed for $6999. And the email price is about $6500. It mentioned that there is an additional 10% rebate from Contax. But I have not seen from anywhere else.
 
Oh please! Whine whine whine. If you are, no offense, "smart" enough to buy ANY electronics gear at the release price and to buy the first release of that product then you should have your credit cards taken away.

Let me tell you something about anything that you have to hook to a computer to get enjoyment out of. It's buggy.

You can buy Sony, Apple, SGI, Panasonic, HP, and it'll all be full of compromises, cost justifications and the effects of wars between marketing and engineering.

It's too bad that companies are basically forced by magazines, consumer electronics shows and a gullible public to bring out this CRAP that costs a ton more performance wise than even the best medium format cameras. It's worthless in resale, it's obsolete in six months to a year, and it eats batteries. Digicams are landfill material waiting to happen, and you bought into it.

If you had bought a Sony DSC-F717 to fill your need for instant gratification, and a Contax medium format, rangefinder G-system or RTS III you would not be unhappy, and you could sell the camera in ten years for a good price.

-DC, Indianapolis, IN

Computers, they can't take over the world because they run Windows.
 
Marc Williams N1 Digital posting. I can't agree more. Contax has reduced the price due to the recent Kodak and Canon announcements. I am one of the early users, and have a lot of time on this camera. It is excellent at an ASA of 100, very good at an ASA of 200, and useless at the highest levels. At ASA 400, the camera is about as good as a 3 megapixel camera at one fourth the cost. I sympathize with any manufacturer trying to keep up with changing technology. The situation we are all in is not like the good old days when a Leica or Contax held its value as new models were introduced. When the next best megapixel camera comes out, you may as well throw out your camera, because it loses near its entire value. Making the lenses custom to the body is worse yet. After an investment of 10-15K, it is painful to see it ready for the dumpster. Perhaps the 645 format is the best compromise, keeping the sensor separate from the camera and lenses. The problem is, it is entirely more acceptable to chuck a 1K or less camera, but 10K, no way. To have Contax throw this price reduction in our faces is an insult to Contax's valued loyal customers- the people that trusted Contax and purchased the camera as it was introduced. And we all know it is a result of it being significantly behind the times only one year after it was introduced. And as I spend my day job in high technology electronics research and development, I know we are all aware of the time it takes to design any product. Contax was fully aware that a 10+ megapixel camera was just around the corner. The camera was rushed to market to take advantage of its most loyal customers. I would never buy from Contax again. To make restitution, I would hope that when Conatx introduces their next camera, hopefully in the 14-16 megapixal range, they offer a very high trade-in on the N1. Only in this way would I consider to buy from Contax again. In fact, I am so engaged, I would buy an inferior camera, and more than likely at a lower cost. For years, Contax customers paid a dear premium for the name, quality, and reputation. It seems Contax does not care about this anymore, so why should we. It's starting to sound like baseball players and owners, no loyalty, no quality, just business.

David Reinfeld
 
Guys, I keep reading about Contax's great reduction and rebate offers for the ND, but I have yet to see it announced anywhere. I live in Canada and have checked with the distributor, there is currently no rebate or price reduction. At B&H Cameras in NY, there is no rebate or reduction either. The Ebay situation could be just one camera store unloading stock. Before we get all upset, can anyone be sure of this rumour?
 
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