Was the Nikon Coolpix A justifiably priced at $1100?

kxl said:
I just looked. Yup, B&H has raised the price by $100.
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So they draw attention to the product with a fire sale, then bump the price back up a bit when enough people seem to know about it. It's still a good deal compared with before, though.
 
Looks like B&H has dropped the price of the Coolpix A even lower than before. It's now $484 for the silver and $485 for the black model.

I'm now really tempted...
 
The GR for me.

I like the Ricoh/Pentax color aesthetic. It looks the most natural to me of all the digital cameras.
The GR has a very nice and simple UI and custom button programability.
Lastly the DNG raw format is something I wish all the camera manufacturers adopted.
Ricoh uses it .... I like the compatability right out of the box.
 
If you buy the finder at the same time you save another $1. The finder is $300 off and the price is $299. If I didn't have one I would have bought one, actually considering getting a backup.

-Thomas
 
Justifiably priced and realistically priced are two different things of course.

I really wanted one of these when they were announced but simply couldn't justify the asking price especially because I would have preferred a 35mm equiv focal length.

But with the combination of build quality (made in Japan), great sensor and a great lens I think Nikon's original asking price could probably have been broken down and shown to be justifiable. It just happened to be too much.

It's taken so long to drop that I picked up an EOS M and can't buy the A even at this reduced (and extremely tempting) discount.
 
Archiver said:
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.
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FYI the Klasse W is also discontinued. Both the S and W were discontinued around the same time (apologies for the tangent from the original topic).

http://fujifilm.jp/personal/filmandcamera/filmcamera/35mm/klassew/index.html
 
Seems to me the old fixed lens cameras were aimed directly at the consumer so they came in cheaper than the SLR. Nikon missed the boat on the price point with this camera - designed with the masses in mind but priced for the top 20%. Another one they did that to at the same time was the Df. When they fire sale that one I will sell everything I own and start over right there!
 
2 weeks ago there was one for 299.- very good condition with charger, was trmpted to get it, but my gas resolutions kept me back, those fixed lenses bodies are no investments for sure.
 
Contarama said:
Seems to me the old fixed lens cameras were aimed directly at the consumer so they came in cheaper than the SLR. Nikon missed the boat on the price point with this camera - designed with the masses in mind but priced for the top 20%. Another one they did that to at the same time was the Df. When they fire sale that one I will sell everything I own and start over right there!
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Some yes. But I see the Coolpix A more in the tradition of the Contax T2 and T3 cameras, the Minolta TC-1 and Nikon's own 35ti and 28ti cameras. Adjusted for inflation, I would think the original list price of any of these film cameras was probably the same, if not more, than the Coolpix A.
 
I've long been interested in one of these, but could never bring myself to spend the original asking price. Not that it wasn't worth it, just had other cameras that fulfilled the purpose. Regarding pricing, as it has already been mentioned, a case can be made for Nikon's $300 bonus on top of the GR's pricing. Made in Japan vs. China, arguably uses more expensive to manufacture components (machined buttons etc). Additional cost of charger and neck strap, as well as engineering resources that were possibly used to a greater extent when compared with the Ricoh team who was starting from an already proven design.

That being said, it's interesting how this camera has received such negative response - especially from posters who have never even handled one, and were mainly aimed towards the asking price. How about the RX1, SD1 and pretty much every Leica released in the digital era?

At $484 with the viewfinder from B&H, considering the original viewfinder retail price, it's like getting the coolpix A for about $100. If the image quality is indeed as good as some reviewers have reported, it might just very well be the modern equivalent of the 28ti (a camera that itself is not free of quirks).
 
When it came out, the APSC GR was not out yet. $1100 seemed high. Then the Ricoh GR with APSC sensor came out at $800 and the Nikon had no chance other than its brand name. To most, the GR is the superior camera.
 
f16sunshine said:
The GR for me.

I like the Ricoh/Pentax color aesthetic. It looks the most natural to me of all the digital cameras.
The GR has a very nice and simple UI and custom button programability.
Lastly the DNG raw format is something I wish all the camera manufacturers adopted.
Ricoh uses it .... I like the compatability right out of the box.
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I totally agree, not many people talk about the .DNG RAW format its an open standard and not many camera companies use it.. Its a big selling point if you ask me the fact you can open it in any version of Lightroom or Photoshop..I wish all camera makers would get off there high horse and offer it as option along with there own RAW format..
 
A single prime lens outside of 35-45mm equiv is not really of very great use IMO. 28mm is a nice wide angle, and I've taken a lot of photos at this focal length, but as a prime? Daft really.

The Coolpix does have a very nice lens, and a lovely sensor, but honestly, I wouldn't trade my existing digital compact for it.
 
trisberg said:
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.
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Looked for and did not find the finder deals… Not at B&H and not at Amazon.

If anyone knows how to get the finder for $100 with the camera, please post.
 
I want that Nikon Finder :eek:
If anyone figures out how to get it for $100 stand alone please do be the hero and say so !! .. :D
 
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Rodchenko said:
A single prime lens outside of 35-45mm equiv is not really of very great use IMO.
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Most cameraphones I've seen or eyed for specs have 28-25mm lens. Wide angle lens has pleased masses for last decades, starting from automatic film P&S cameras.
 
Probably the best P&S

Probably the best P&S

kxl said:
Is it now justifiably priced at $500 (limited supply at this price @ B&H)?
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No, but... it does hold the top position of three excellent cameras that Nikon priced way, way too high (the other being the Df and the V1).

I bought the NCA used (a refurb I think) and it delivers the best IQ/pixel size of all my many cameras.

The GR is probably better for B&W, but the NCA is better for colour. It beats the other "compactish" camera it is often compared to (the Fuji X100) in each and every way bar the hybrid viewfinder. The NCA viewfinder is good, but is an OVF and costs too much.

The lens is simply excellent and you can use all apertures with no punishment, whereas the X100 is only acceptable between f:2.8 and f:8 and really only good between f:4.0 and f:5.6.

The sensor is brilliant with no mush or smudge and it lives in a happy marriage with the lens.

I see prices are down again and I can really recommend this camera. My guess and hope is that Nikon is launching a full frame variant in February with the D750 sensor. I just hope Nikon does not price itself way above the competition.
 
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