Focus on Imaging 2013 -Deals to be had?

ChrisHeathcote

ChrisHeathcote

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Hi everyone,
I am looking at buying a couple of new lenses for my collection, and what with FOI around the corner I don't know whether or not to wait and see if there are any deals there?

This will be the first year that I have been and wondered if anyone knew what kind of discounts were available. I will be looking around the Sigma stands, thats for sure. That is unless Canon can do the 100-400 for circa £800 :clap:

Thanks for your responses

Chris
 
Hi, last year Canon didn't have kit for sale. Jacobs were there but sadly no longer exist. Calumet might have some offers.
 
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Jacobs was definitely the place to get good deals last year. I went with a friend buying Canon gear and he bought at the Jacobs stand on entry - it was the first thing you hit.

BUT Calumet were there, and had good deals on kit as well, certainly they were selling refurbished 1D MKIV bodies at the same or lower price than Jacobs - they were just half way back the exhibition hall. I think cameraworld were there also with offers.

It is worth going if you are looking at dropping £2000+ on gear. Just make sure you have the current lowest price from Camerapricebuster so you don't impulse purchase at Focus and end up spending more.

You often wont see actual deals unless you rock up - especially on refurbs as the stock is very limited.
 
Thanks for that, thinking that what with the current economic climate and online prices going up, any deals might not be as good as what they once were
 
ChrisHeathcote said:
Thanks for that, thinking that what with the current economic climate and online prices going up, any deals might not be as good as what they once were
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True, but if you don't have a time machine you have to purchase at today's prices. I will be clutching my smartphone so I can check all prices before I buy.
 
Be very careful. Its very easy to get caught in the moment and end up spending a fortune on stuff you didn't actually need! Last year I spent £150 on a bit of software that I haven't actually touched since. The year before I bought a bag that ended up being to small for my camera, some filters I rarely used, a strap that I never used and something else that I can't even remember!
 
TCR4x4 said:
Be very careful. Its very easy to get caught in the moment and end up spending a fortune on stuff you didn't actually need! Last year I spent £150 on a bit of software that I haven't actually touched since. The year before I bought a bag that ended up being to small for my camera, some filters I rarely used, a strap that I never used and something else that I can't even remember!
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Good advice, I'm hoping to buy a new lightmeter to use very infrequently and a tilt shift lens which I hopefully will use a bit more.
 
This year I will be going on the Monday.....:thumbs:
 
The trick is to go not shopping but buying! Know what you're after and try resisting impulse purchases... Be ruthless with yourself, set your spending limit and stick to it. Know the going rate for the kit you want/need. If necessary, play dealers off against one another.

Stock will be more plentiful on the early days but prices will probably drop to their lowest levels on the last day but of course the kit you want will be sold out if you wait!

I was going to go up but have a problem with GAS and poor self control! Besides, I'm lucky enough not to want anything or need anything, so any purchase would be an unnecessary expense. (Oh, and I did the same drive a week or 2 ago and although it wasn't too unpleasant, it wasn't fun!)
 
ChrisHeathcote said:
Hi everyone,
I am looking at buying a couple of new lenses for my collection, and what with FOI around the corner I don't know whether or not to wait and see if there are any deals there?

This will be the first year that I have been and wondered if anyone knew what kind of discounts were available. I will be looking around the Sigma stands, thats for sure. That is unless Canon can do the 100-400 for circa £800 :clap:

Thanks for your responses

Chris
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The manufacturers such as Canon, Lowepro etc won't sell to the public. It's only the retailers such as Cameraworld or Speedgrahic who willl sell to you
 
There are usually some good lighting deals plus show specials, especially on camera bundles and printers, but be prepared to do some serious shoulder-barging at times - it can be a horrible place when all you want is some quick service, as you get people who seem to take up acres of space with all their kit hanging from around their person.
 
In my experience the items i've wanted have been the same price and in some cases still cheaper online. Like a lot of the things the "Show Special" might not always be so special :)

I think the best bargains tend to be on refurb or un boxed etc.
 
Bear in mind that it costs a fortune for Companies to exhibit there, so it's very difficult for them to sell discounted goods - with the costs of going, the prices there actually need to be higher...

So expect some of the new goods on sale at low prices to be old stock, or ex demo etc (nothing wrong with that).

On our stand we'll have a very small amount of ex demo stock that can't be sold through the website because it isn't technically new, at very good prices, and selling it cheaply is good all round. I'm guessing that other manufacturers will be doing the same.
 
1st Cameras always seem to be doing deals on kit, had some stuff from them last year and saved a bit. As peeps say, with no Jacobs this year the kit sellers will be down a bit in numbers so deals will be harder to find maybe.

Don't think there's any kudos to the thoughts last day is bargain day as most have deals on throughout to try and catch those that can't make last day. Be a bit silly to miss potential clients on Sun/Mon/Tues by restricting offers till last day.

Shame the old fella Mr Cad isn't at the show, he's old school and always does mad deals on the last day of a show as he doesn't want to have to lug everything back! BOGOF on stuff, everything half price! He was a character! Think he's still got his shop but he's not doing so many shows. Shame.
 
mortimerhill said:
The manufacturers such as Canon, Lowepro etc won't sell to the public. It's only the retailers such as Cameraworld or Speedgrahic who willl sell to you
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I have it on good authority that lowepro will be selling there this year. Check out the Daymen International exhibit... Also displaying Tokina lenses for those of you who are interested....
 
ink and paper can normally be bought from their manufactureres - fotospeed and permajet normally have decent deals on
 
specialman said:
...be prepared to do some serious shoulder-barging at times - it can be a horrible place when all you want is some quick service, as you get people who seem to take up acres of space with all their kit hanging from around their person.
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:agree:

I've never understood the point of bowling up to a camera show with a few grands worth of camera hanging from your neck! It's almost like watching a cage full of peacocks! :shrug:

The funniest bit is near where any company has a model or two on show. It's a struggle to get around the fat, middle-aged, balding blokes who never, ever get to shoot a good looking woman UNLESS it's at Focus! I think Kate Middleton gets less attention by comparison! :D
 
I'd agree about not taking the camera, especially those that turn up with their full backpacks with every bit of kit.

However, I'm debating it this year just so I can write on my learning log and I wanted to look at UWA lenses, thinking about the Samyung 14mm. I may just resort to the camera phone though.
 
Don't see any problem taking your camera as it does allow you to try lenses you might be thing of and allows you to take the images home and study them.

But thats taking your camera only, not everything you own in a massive backpack ...
 
andyred said:
Don't see any problem taking your camera as it does allow you to try lenses you might be thing of and allows you to take the images home and study them.

But thats taking your camera only, not everything you own in a massive backpack ...
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I suppose just taking a body is acceptable. What I really don't understand is fat old men walking around with three bodies, each loaded with a completely inappropriate super telephoto lens.
Last year I saw a guy walking around with a 400mm lens on his canon body... And a tele converter!!

I'm tempted to hire a sigma 300-800 and carry that around with me just so everyone thinks my willy is bigger than it really is.
 
TCR4x4 said:
I suppose just taking a body is acceptable. What I really don't understand is fat old men walking around with three bodies, each loaded with a completely inappropriate super telephoto lens.
Last year I saw a guy walking around with a 400mm lens on his canon body... And a tele converter!!

I'm tempted to hire a sigma 300-800 and carry that around with me just so everyone thinks my willy is bigger than it really is.
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Hahaha.

Think the last comment just about sums it up. :)
 
Well there certainly were a lot of peacocks flocking around the lighting stands,poking there cameras and flashes in your face lol.
 
So for those who have been , were there any good deals ?
 
No, not really. Nothing that stood out to me as a bargain. Well, I think calumet had new canon 70-200 ii for around £200 off the lowest price on camerapricebuster but nowhere near as healthy discount for nikon stuff.
 
I'm looking forward to going Tuesday. Don't expect to buy anything just gonna try and get in on Karl Taylor seminar.
 
£94 for the Lee big stopper at Speedgrahic, we treated ourselves to one of these. Just need the holder now.

We werent in the market for anything big so cant comment on much else.

Camera World seemed popular. And had some lensbaby stuff at good prices.
 
went there today, yes a few bargains, but the shock of the day was the Tamron stand!!!! :(

they only had canon bodies, and not being a canon user I was struggling - no one there knew how to change the ISO (!!!) and when I eventually manage to take some test shots with their 90mm macro lens, someone had filched the memory card so I couldn't view any images!

And to top it all, the Nikon version wasn't available for sale until next month anyway!!!

I don't honestly think the show was as good as last year, however, Wacom/Adobe get a :thumbs: as do calumet and lens-pen.

Four hours was enough, the canon 'wedding reportage seminar' was incredibly busy and tbh, not that relevant as it was a bit of a self promotion thing and techniques were lacking. The Nikon stand was heaving with people, but info was readily available and we found lots of knowledgeable helpers and cameras to try which was good. The Fuji stand also gets a :thumbs:, the lady we spoke to was incredibly helpful and knowledgable.

There was definitely some good stuff going on, but be warned, get there about 40mins before it starts if you want to see any of the live 'shows'.

I didn't find it as busy as last year, nor as many things to look at, but still an enjoyable day out :)
 
I'm just back from focus, over a thousand quid lighter..... But I'll confirm that the show wasn't anywhere near as busy as last year ( didn't even have to que to get in to the car park or the halls, and food was bought in seconds rather than the usual minutes ) the majority of the kit was the same as on the web. There were some bits to be found with 10% or so knocked off though, so if you know what you're after you might get lucky as I did.

But remember to take fuel, food and parking into consideration before you decide it's the deal of the century. :)

There seemed to be even more printers and wedding album suppliers there than last year too :eek:
 
Triggaaar said:
re Wacom, why? Good deals or just good products (anything new)?
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it looked like an Abobe/Wacom co-habitation thingy ;) some really good (and inspirational) demos on CS6 using the wacom.
 
I'm going to seriously 'big up' 3 Legged Thing... Outstanding service and a really knowledgeable and helpful crew!

Bought myself a 'Keith' which is a brilliant bit of kit and an impressive bit of engineering! I can't wait to get out and try it! :thumbs:
 
Bowens are offering 20% everything they sell for anyone looking at their stuff. Have to agree with the comment people walking round with all their camera kit - particularly the old guy with 70-200 zoom and the pop up flash trying to lean over me at the bowens stand and get a shot of the model, what was he thinking!

Haven't been for a couple of years and it did look to be pretty much the same exhibitors as usual from what I saw.
 
Spiritflier said:
I'm going to seriously 'big up' 3 Legged Thing... Outstanding service and a really knowledgeable and helpful crew!

Bought myself a 'Keith' which is a brilliant bit of kit and an impressive bit of engineering! I can't wait to get out and try it! :thumbs:
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I agree, really helpful staff and excellent product. Bought myself a Dave with ball head.
 
Three legged thing was great. The show was good. I did take my camera, as I knew there was a place to get the sensor cleaned. Also saw several 300mm and even one guy with a 400mm on his camera taking shots of models... I actually photographed him...

Deals wise, nothing amazing for me as an amateur but some of the seminars I thought were very good.

Oh i also finally replaced my 17-85 kit lens with a 24-105L. They gave me a good price and took my old lens as trade in. That was 1st cameras
 
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andyred said:
Hahaha.

Think the last comment just about sums it up. :)
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andyred said:
Don't see any problem taking your camera as it does allow you to try lenses you might be thing of and allows you to take the images home and study them.

But thats taking your camera only, not everything you own in a massive backpack ...
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Completely agree. Daughter and I went today and we are presenting a case to ban all camera backpacks from future shows: We reckon as a result the organisers will be able to get twice the number of people into the show! ;)

Alternatively, it could start a trend whereby at say future Motorsport/Car shows, everyone has to take a steering wheel :cool:

As for bargains: Well...I finally parted company with large sums of money for the following from Camera World:
- Canon 5D III: £2139 (inc £160 cashback) - inc. spare Canon battery + Lightroom 4.
- Canon 100mm macro: £389.

Also picked up a gold brolley for a fiver (they were doing 3 for £15 or £7.99 ea, but the seller did me a deal :thumbs: ), plus a s/h hood (for the 100mm macro) for £1.00 from the Disabled Photo Society stand.

1st Cameras were doing 'B' grade 5D III bodies for £1999 with full warranty, but I chickened out and went for the Camera World deal instead.

Alternatively, Calumet were doing the 5D III body for the same price as Camera World, but with one of their spare batteries and a 16GB card.
 
I bought a samyung 14mm lens for £65 less than elsewhere, with a show offer.

Anyone spot George Williams sat talking to perou surrounded by displays of their photos? I said hello but he seemed a little preoccupied.

Some incredibly rude old people. I was chatting to the samyung rep about the 14mm lens prior to buying and an old woman physically pushed me out the way and started her own conversation accompanied by her husband who then spread out to monopolise the counter. I had to have words with one old gent aft he deliberately barged into my zone some could look at a display my son was in front of.

Lots of d3's and 1dx cameras being carried around, also a lot of long lenses on cameras, 70-200's etc.
There was one model with the most amazing spray on rubber trousers but otherwise most seemed sensibly dressed. An amazing, athletic male model/dancer on the photo training 4 u stand. Nice different touch that I thought

Lots of camera sling companies, a few nice ideas picked up. It was packed around 10-12 and quiet ended down around 1pm.
A good day out I thought.
 
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