As the Pound sinks Photography will become a lot more expsensive

[TarMoo]

The pound is sinking against most of the currencies of countries where camerase are made - Japan, Thailand (Nikon), China etc.

Most companies hedge their exchange rates 6 months in advance so that they can be guaranteed a profit for sales in foreign currencies. So when Canon, Nikon, Sony etc have to determine the exchange rate for sales in 2009 they are going to a lot different to what they were mid-2008.

The Yen has risen from 220 to 150 to the pound, so a Japanese manufactured camera/lens priced at £1000 in Aug 2008 should now cost £1,466. I recently bought a Nikon 70-200 VR which is made in Japan. Perhaps we can expect 50% + price rises on such items when all the current "hedged" stock has been sold.

Perhaps that photography Xmas gift should be bought sooner rather than later.

[senu]

Originally Posted by TarMoo

Perhaps that photography Xmas gift should be bought sooner rather than later.

That would apply to pretty much every thing..

[Fozzybear]

Well it's a good thing I bought my D300 now then!

[Just call me Al]

At a time that people are tightening their belts, they will charge MORE for their products. I somehow don't think so.

[gpa]

Already big increases on ebay that prices are going up especially imports etc.

[johnaalex]

Originally Posted by Fozzybear

Well it's a good thing I bought my D300 now then!

The way things are going it could be a great investment if you want to sell it in a couple of weeks

This whole financial mess is a very big cloud with little, if any silver lining.

[Mike.P®]

I used to get some used bargains off the USA Pentax user forums with the dollar being so weak but I have stopped buying now as it is nearly as cheap to buy here plus I get the bonus of warranty.
Saying that I have just bought a Sigma 17-70mm and Sigma DG EX 50mm macro from a member in Australia as their currency is doing worse than ours

[Yandros]

By the sounds of it the Yen figure is a bit of a mad overshoot, but even so...scary times we live in

Oh well, if they drop IRs by 1% this week that'll help my 'D400' fund along a bit.

At this rate DSLR camera bodies are a better short term investment than my private pension scheme

[peskywinnets]

Originally Posted by Yandros

Oh well, if they drop IRs by 1% this week that'll help my 'D400' fund along a bit.

I'm intrugued...how can 'they' dropping interest rates help your fund? (a fund suggests you're saving...lower interest rates can't help there!)

[SonicHedgehog]

One thing you have to remember is that these are multinational companies that will have whole departments dedicated to maximising the benefits of currency fluctuations. We may see a small change in the price of official UK camera gear, but nothing to put someone off a purchase. The days of cheap Asian imports on eBay do, however, seem to be numbered for the forseeable future.

[SonicHedgehog]

Originally Posted by peskywinnets

I'm intrugued...how can 'they' dropping interest rates help your fund? (a fund suggests you're saving...lower interest rates can't help there!)

If he has a variable rate mortgage he'll be quids in. Also, if he intends to borrow any money it is about to get a whole lot cheaper.

As an aside, anyone with balls of steel and a few quid to spare could make an absolute killing in the midst of all this financial turmoil. Invest your grand wisely instead of spending it and in 2/3 years you'll probably have enough for a nice 70-200 f2.8 to go with that fancy new body.

[pixelpixel]

But if you have the money does the so called market status matter ? I just think its another farce. Thats imo.

[Yandros]

Originally Posted by SonicHedgehog

If he has a variable rate mortgage he'll be quids in. Also, if he intends to borrow any money it is about to get a whole lot cheaper.

Yup, base+0.64% tracker mortgage

A 1% drop will save us about £80 a month. No I wouldn't borrow to buy something as frivolous as a new camera. I don't think lending is actually getting a whole lot cheaper though - that's the whole problem with the 'credit crunch', BOE base rates are now largely detached from high street lending rates, apart from for those of us on tracker products.

[stylgeo]

I think that we are all forgetting an important factor here. Just to put it in simple economic terms, if you take basic demand elasticity, the demand for cameras will drop considerably. Cameras are considered a luxury product. In times of recession or in this era, in the edge of a depression (prolonged recession), the demand for luxury goods will drop dramatically. There will definitely be a rise in demand for inferior goods, pushing luxury good prices down. I am not saying that the prices of cameras will drop, but this will balance out the depreciation of the pound against the Yen. If the factories were in the UK, then yes, we would definitely see a huge drop in camera prices.
Don't forget the decreased costs now. The price of crude oil has plummeted from $145 a month ago to $62. Oil is a major part in production costs, due to raw materials (plastics), the energy to produce and assemble the final product and the transportation costs.

Companies would be foulish if they were to raise prices now that everyone is tighting their belts. People go to ASDA or Tesco's and buy SmartPrice products now, they wouldn't spend more on camera equipment! This is an era when our great grandchildren will be studying at history classes, this is the end of Brenton Woods, this is the end of the "End of History" theories.

This is the time to make investments guys.

[tapzilla2k]

I bought my Canon EOS 450D for this very reason. Prices will go up in the short term, but may well come down as the likes of canon and co struggle to make profits.