Bad news........

[trev2401]

Ok.. Forgive me if this thread pisses anyone off..

So.... I work 20 mins from Shinjuku, tokyo, and pass by Yodobashi Camera (this uber huge camera/electronics superstore) daily get to my other line.

So, i dropped by Yodobashi to pick up some 120, and was paying for the film when the Fuji rep happened to stop by to hand out some papers for the new finepix series.

So i popped a qn about the 667 folder.

His reply:

1. Around 210,000Yenn MSRP, prob 190,000 in the stores. (2.1k usd)
2. Out March 1st 2 wks, 5k bodies for the first batch.

ok..... for oursakes, i hope his information about the pricing's wrong. @$#@$@

[fbf]

I actually thought 2k usd mark is not "too" bad.

[trev2401]

ok... just found that it's 218 000 yen (minus 10% as cashback for next purchase) via the next thread.

sigh... so it is true then.

[Steve Bellayr]

US dollars $2150 to $2400 with 5k first run. Looks like they want to keep the price firm or are testing the market...so as not to loose money.

[Fotohuis]

US$ 2100 is not too bad while an expected Euro price was just under Eur. 2000.
Unfortunately they put an 3,5 lens on the camera, 2,8 could be better on such a nice piece of work for 6x7 or 6x6 rolfilm RF folder camera.

[kbg32]

In this market right now?? Good luck!

[trev2401]

ah well...... we'll see :)

[dazedgonebye]

Well, it looks like they're targeting folks who aren't much affected by short term economic ups and downs.
They'll sell their firs 5k, I would imagine, without too many issues...just not to me.

[Solinar]

I'm definitely not up to purchasing a $2000 medium format folder this year - I hope the price comes down later.

If the Fuji 667 is at $2400 in Japan, I don't think the Voigtlander Bessa III will start out for much under 2K here in the US.

5,000 Fuji-branded cameras is a 12 million dollar / 1 billion Yen market - which seems pretty insignificant compared to Fuji's total gross sales.

[Andrew Sowerby]

I don't know what people expect. Any currently-available new medium format camera that I know of costs over $2000. If you don't want to pay that, wait a while to see if the price drops or used ones come on the market. All this hand-wringing over the price is absurd.

[Pickett Wilson]

Just good business by Fuji, I think. They know they have an extremely limited market for a new MF rangefinder film camera and need to make their investment back quickly over relatively few units. The price really isn't surprising.

[Eric T]

About $2.1k is not too bad for a new medium format rangefinder. But for that amount of money, I would rather spend a little more and get a Canon 5D Mark II. Especially since I have Canon lenses in hand already.

[Spider67]

I am afraid that rather means 2500 to 3000..... € for us in Austria an Germany wher the humble Bessa R commands up to 700 €.....on the bright side they will be available new for a very long time!

[Tuolumne]

I'll just get an 80mm lens for my Mamiya 7II and call it a day.

/T

[Solinar]

I believe that you can pick up a second hand 80mm lens and 7 II body for less.

[fgianni]

Ouch!

Nuff said.

[Terao]

Japan Exposures (formally Megaperls) are taking pre-orders @ $2400, shipping in March:

http://www.japanexposures.com/shop/product_info.php?currency=USD&products_id=259

[Keith]

Closing in on three and a half grand here in Oz if it's true ... not for me thankyou!

[Keith]

Japan Exposures (formally Megaperls) are taking pre-orders @ $2400, shipping in March:

http://www.japanexposures.com/shop/product_info.php?currency=USD&products_id=259


Make that ... A$3,815.29 :eek:

[Pickett Wilson]

To give Fuji some slack, when they designed this camera, the world appeared to be awash with money. Had they gotten it to market a year ago, before the world economy went completely wonky, they might have easily sold them at $2,400 a pop.

[craygc]

I believe that you can pick up a second hand 80mm lens and 7 II body for less.

For that price I can buy a brand new Mamiya 7II + the 65mm or 80mm lens

[ZeissFan]

This just goes to show you how price is relative.

Consumers have no problem paying $500 for a point and shoot digital when a $100 film point and shoot would give them better results.

A full-frame digital body will cost at least $2,000 and up to $8,000 -- just the body and no lens. And this is for a product that you know will be replaced within the next two years or sooner. There's no way that you would pay $8,000 for a film body.

"Yeah, but it's digital," will be the argument to support the lofty price.

In any case, while the cost of the new Fuji folder is higher than a lot of people would like to see, especially those used to buying used cameras for $200 or less, the pricing isn't out of line for a new limited-production camera.

[antistatic]

Make that ... A$3,815.29 :eek:

You could get a pre loved Leica MP for that ;)

[kully]

I don't understand - you can always buy something 'better' used vs. something new. Am I missing something?

[ChrisPlatt]

After all the hype (especially here on RFF), wouldn't it be ironic
if these remained largely unsold on dealer's shelves? ;)

Chris

[Krosya]

I'm sure they'll sell them. Mostly to collectors. As far as users - well, we have many other cheaper and often as good or better options - thanks to ebay. To bad though - I wanted to try one of these, yet at $2100 USD I'd rather get that M-Hexanon 50/1.2 I wanted for a long time - it'd get a lot more use than a folder with 80/3.5 lens. My old Weltur has faster lens! And I'd pretty happy with it. But as I said - some collectors will be happy.

[kuzano]

I'm sure they'll sell them. Mostly to collectors. But as I said - some collectors will be happy.

I'm a bit disappointed, but not surprised. Also, I don't think anything is written in stone, until we see them on the market.

I'm hoping there is something in the "Stimulus Package" for photographers and camera manufacturing companies. The latest is that there is something in the package to bolster the large motor home and RV market....Wassup w/that???

Regarding collectors, I am quite aware that collectors are strange people and tend to FU the used market for actual users. I can see collectors in Nikon, Canon, Rollei, and some others. But, are there actually people out there collecting Fuji and contemporary Voightlander cameras.

I love my Fujicas and Fuji's, but collecting them,... Hmmmm?

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Kuzano,

RVs are made in USA, cameras are not. I'd be angry if the US government wasted money supporting foreign companies, especially ones who do not make anything here.

[ElrodCod]

$2400 for a $300 camera....amazing.

[P C Headland]

You could get a pre loved Leica MP for that ;)

But Leicas take miniature format film - this Fuji is a proper full frame camera :D

[Solinar]

$2400 for a $300 camera....amazing.

If you run the original cost of high end folders from the 1950's through an inflation calculator - their prices started at about $1000 USD in today's dollars - with the most expensive models pushing somewhere between $1400 and $1700 in today's dollars. Entry level folders were priced at $300 to $400 in today's dollars, if their original price is indexed to inflation.

Keep in mind that the cost of a movie ticket in the 1950's was 50 cents, $.25 for the early matinee. It surprises me - that the high end folders sold as well as they did back in the day.

As for myself - anything over the $1400 range for the Bessa III will be beyond the reach of my current household budget. Such is life.

[emraphoto]

perhaps the point was that one could obtain a very fine medium format folder on the used market today for $300? regardless of "relative" original pricing today they are plentiful and cheap'ish.
i certainly don't want to jump the gun on price but sub $1000... for sure i would have bought one. was kind of excited to. $2400? nope.