With some Nikon cameras getting very pricey during this time of limited supply, I thought I'd share a couple of pricing tips I tend to give people who email me about the subject.
- Old generation at lower cost or New generation at higher cost? Well, let's start with this: at equal cost you'd buy the new generation, right? So the real question is how much does the previous generation need to be discounted in order to justify getting it over the new? For like bodies (e.g. D90 versus D7000) I'd say the discount has to be greater than 30%. Why? Because brand-new DSLRs historically lose about 30% in price from introduction to end-of-life. So unless you get more than a 30% discount, you're paying "retail." For example, buy a D7000 today and it'll cost you US$1199. Wait until it's being replaced by a new model and it'll cost you about US$849. Thus, US$849 for the last generation isn't exactly a bargain, it's full price. Much like cars, you couldn't turn around and sell it again in two weeks for that price if you decided you didn't like it, because it's now used. On the other hand, you could get most of your money back out of a new model in short supply if you changed your mind.
- Old generation higher end model or New generation lower end model? The D300 versus D7000 is causing this conundrum at the moment. Tech is ruthless and keeps marching on. The D7000's sensor is better than the D300's. Simple as that. So if what you need a new camera for is mostly sensor related, you have your answer. It's where features come into play that gets tricky. Nikon's habit of pushing newer models up-scale in features means they often come close to older models at a higher level. So you also have to look very carefully at features that are critical to you. A sports or birds-in-flight photographer, for instance, wants buffer depth (and to a lesser degree frame rate). The D300s and D7000 are enough different in that one feature area that it may be enough to push the decision one way or another. So examine your critical feature needs and make sure the newer lower end model doesn't crimp something you count on.
- Repair or abandon? This one is coming up more and more as some older DSLRs fail and the repair cost is high. For instance, you could easily encounter a US$650 repair bill on a D70s or D80 when something critical fails. I've got a simple method of determining the answer to this question, though: go to eBay and look at the average price that the camera is question is fetching on open auction. If it's more than the repair price, repair it. That's because you could always just auction it off and get that money back (and maybe a bit more). Alternatively, look at the cost of buying that camera used from KEH. Their prices tend to reflect about what you'd pay to REPLACE your camera instead of repair it. If the replacement cost is less than the repair cost, then strongly consider replacing (repair does bring a camera back up to original manufacturing levels and nets a short warranty on the repaired camera, which you have to factor in). And by the way, even if you decide to abandon the repair, the non-functional camera still has some value (not a lot, especially depending upon what's wrong with it). If nothing else, you can donate it to research by sending it to me ;~).