Was the Nikon Coolpix A justifiably priced at $1100?

[kxl]

Is it now justifiably priced at $500 (limited supply at this price @ B&H)?

A P&S with an f2.8 lens (28mm FOV) and an APS-C sensor. Sounds pretty nice. Not that I'm in the market for one, but some of you might be, so FYI...

 

[David_Manning]

It's a great deal at $500. It was too expensive at $1100/$1300. Its a Nikon D7000 in your pocket with a 28mm prime fixed to it.

I looked at it, chose the Ricoh GR at $700. I'd still take the ricoh at $700 over the Coolpix at $500, but only because I love the GR interface. No functional difference in operation (minus snap focus).

Good cameras, both...good price.

 

[ZeissFan]

I'm not a fan of cameras without viewfinders. But I'm in the minority. Nice camera, but I'd find it to be a better deal at about $350, which means a used camera.

 

[daveleo]

When it came out, I started a poll here about what it should cost, and I believe the average answer was $650.

 

[John E Earley]

I'm not a fan of cameras without viewfinders. But I'm in the minority. Nice camera, but I'd find it to be a better deal at about $350, which means a used camera.

For only $400 you can get the Nikon optical viewfinder for it.😱

 

[trisberg]

If you buy the camera there is an offer to buy the finder for $96.95. That's IMO a steal. I bought this combo a while back for a lot more and I'm still very happy with it. The finder is one of the best 28mm finders I have ever used and is much lighter and has higher magnification than the Voigtlander one.

-Thomas

 

[burancap]

Beyond the GR, the better camera, there are simply WAY TOO MANY other choices new or used at the original price point. Ya' think they would have learned from Canon and the EOS M mount!

 

[B-9]

Ide really like one, but I can wait another 5 years for that 150$ price point 😉

 

[kbg32]

If I had to choose between the Nikon or the GR, I'd get the GR.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Nikon does that with their cameras when they are out of date. Picked up a Nikon 1 J1, brand new with a 10mm and a 10-30mm lens, for $229 last spring. It was like buying the 10mm lens at a discount, and they threw in the J1 camera, and the 10-30mm lens to boot.

Best,
-Tim

 

[FrozenInTime]

Nikon missed a trick - instead of directly competing with the well established 28mm Ricoh; they should have make a 40mm view fixed lens premium pocket compact with in to body collapsing lens.

 

[boomguy57]

If I had to choose between the Nikon or the GR, I'd get the GR.

I think everyone would, and that's the problem (for Nikon)--which leads to it being on a steep discount.

 

[GaryLH]

I also decided on the Ricoh gr over the Nikon due to price, even though the Nikon had better low light af according to the reviewers of the time. If it had come in within 50 to 100 of the Ricoh, for me I might have gone the Nikon way.

Now that I have the GR, the Coolpix A even at 500 is just a side note of no interest. For those that are still looking, I think this is a good buy. I wonder what Ricoh will do this Christmas season to respond?

I also wish someone would come out w/ a fixed 40 fov w/ or w/o and evf in this form factor. Or that Ricoh would do a tele adapter to go along w/ the wide angle one to get a 35 to 40 fov.

If this 500 price point is permanent, then used prices are going to get very interesting for those who have always wanted one as well.

Gary

 

[Archiver]

Nikon missed a trick - instead of directly competing with the well established 28mm Ricoh; they should have make a 40mm view fixed lens premium pocket compact with in to body collapsing lens.

Nikon were not, technically, competing with the GR. Nikon announced and released the Coolpix A shortly before the GR. Maybe a case of parallel evolution or development, who knows. But if the Nikon A had a 35 or 40mm prime, I would have definitely bought one. Especially a 40mm prime.

 

[David_Manning]

^^^^^^^^
Exactly...that's the hole in the compact lineup...a 35 or 40.

 

[Wouter]

I have the coolpix a and it is simply one of the best cameras i've ever had, both IQ wise as build quality wise. It's a superb little gem. But the price was too high - 800 would have been better.

 

[Archiver]

I think the problem with creating a dedicated 40mm prime compact is whether the camera company believes it will sell. Over the years, the shortest wide angle I've seen in a modern camera is 38mm, and that was in a Casio point and shoot from 2005. The Fuji Klasse S from 2006 was 38mm f2.8, but since then, it has been discontinued and the Klasse W (28mm) has stayed. The Leica X1 was 36mm, but the X 113 is 35mm.

The Fuji X100 is a slightly different matter, as it is a camera that appeals very specifically to a certain market: the photography minded retro/film/rangefinder people (us). Everyone who is into this 'stuff' knows the Ricoh GR series. But a pocketable compact like the Nikon A has to get past the immediate visual impression of 'consumer camera'.

I'm sure if Ricoh made a 40mm GR it would sell like water in the desert, because photographers and enthusiasts already know and love the Ricoh compacts. Nikon, not so much.

Edited to add: since the Coolpix A has gone on sale, I've been thinking about grabbing one, almost for the sake of having one at such a good price. But I already have the GR and love it, and as far as I can see, image quality is the same and functionally the GR is as good and better. Getting a Nikon A would be a waste for me.

Edited to add more: I just found a Ricoh patent for a 27mm f1.9 lens for aps-c, which would be 40mm! I know that companies often create patents without creating the product, but this gives a bit of hope. Either that, or it's a Pentax DSLR lens (ugh).

http://ricehigh.blogspot.com/2013/01/new-ricohs-aps-c-lens-patents-23mm-f25.html

 

[YYV_146]

I think the problem with creating a dedicated 40mm prime compact is whether the camera company believes it will sell. Over the years, the shortest wide angle I've seen in a modern camera is 38mm, and that was in a Casio point and shoot from 2005. The Fuji Klasse S from 2006 was 38mm f2.8, but since then, it has been discontinued and the Klasse W (28mm) has stayed. The Leica X1 was 36mm, but the X 113 is 35mm.

The Fuji X100 is a slightly different matter, as it is a camera that appeals very specifically to a certain market: the photography minded retro/film/rangefinder people (us). Everyone who is into this 'stuff' knows the Ricoh GR series. But a pocketable compact like the Nikon A has to get past the immediate visual impression of 'consumer camera'.

I'm sure if Ricoh made a 40mm GR it would sell like water in the desert, because photographers and enthusiasts already know and love the Ricoh compacts. Nikon, not so much.

Edited to add: since the Coolpix A has gone on sale, I've been thinking about grabbing one, almost for the sake of having one at such a good price. But I already have the GR and love it, and as far as I can see, image quality is the same and functionally the GR is as good and better. Getting a Nikon A would be a waste for me.

Edited to add more: I just found a Ricoh patent for a 27mm f1.9 lens for aps-c, which would be 40mm! I know that companies often create patents without creating the product, but this gives a bit of hope. Either that, or it's a Pentax DSLR lens (ugh).

http://ricehigh.blogspot.com/2013/01/new-ricohs-aps-c-lens-patents-23mm-f25.html

My own preferences is that with fixed lens bodies, the wider the better. As long as the lens is reasonably fast, having a wider FOV means stuffing more into the frame and greater ability to crop in post. This may be what Nikon was thinking with the GR. Of course, a 40mm lens is in no ways limiting...

But while I like the 28mm view, both cameras impressed me as a bit on the slow side/not as pocketable as I'd have liked. My lightest kit is now a GM1 with the 15mm attached. It's not really smaller than the GR, but I can stick a zoom on it as need.

 

[bonatto]

The 500$ deal seems to be gone now! price back to 599.

 

[kxl]

The 500$ deal seems to be gone now! price back to 599.

I just looked. Yup, B&H has raised the price by $100.