Sad Fuji News/Happy Voigtländer News -GF670 in Japan only -Bessa III elsewhere!

[ntenny]

I would be very interested in knowing how much the Voigtlander Bessa II cost when it was first introduced on the market, with original selling price adjusted for USD in 2009.

I found an old advert at
<Dead Link Removed>, which puts it at US$115 with the Color-Skopar lens in what I guess would be about 1950. The calculator I found thinks that's $980.56 in 2007 dollars, which is the most recent it can do but shouldn't be terribly different from 2009.

So, around a thousand bucks. With the Heliar, it cost $157.50, which would be $1342.94 in 2007 dollars.

I think if the Bessa III were selling for around the same (adjusted) price as the Heliar-equipped Bessa II did when it was new and cutting-edge, we'd be lining up to buy it.

-NT

 

[DaveOttawa]

I would be very interested in knowing how much the Voigtlander Bessa II cost when it was first introduced on the market, with original selling price adjusted for USD in 2009.



Sandy King

At the link is an ad for the Bessa I with prices ranging form 59.50 - 94.50USD depending on the lens. Not sure of the ad date but I would guess mid 1950s.
Using an online inflation calculator for the US $59.50 in 1955 dollars inflates to $471.62 in 2008, $94.50 (old Bessa price with best available lens) inflates to $749.04.

ad:
http://www.pbase.com/mononation/image/108970938

PS, Personally I don't think this tells us anything about the value of the new camera but it is an interesting piece of trivia nonetheless.

PPS
"New steam train makes London trip
The first new mainline steam engine to be built in Britain for nearly five decades has made its first long-distance passenger trip into London."
OT, or at perhaps at least obliquely on-topic since it is "old tech" reappearing, it appears there is an Analogue Train Users Group in the UK:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7876162.stm

 

[stealthman_1]

I was very interested in this camera...at $1k to $1400. At $2400 not a chance. Call me crazy, but a $6k 21 f1.4 Leica lens seems like a better value than a $2400 folder...and I love folders.

 

[Chazzy]

You know, as much discussion as we have had of the price point before the camera is even available, I predict that there will be just as much discussion of the price point (or even more!) after the camera actually comes out!

 

[stealthman_1]

Well it is certain that a good number of a small niche of photographers thinks this is a very interesting product. They will have no problem selling them to $500k income households and good for Fuji on that. It remains to be seen whether the camera more resembles a German build or a Fuji build. While I love my Fuji 6X9, it is not quite a Texas Leica, more like a Fisher-Price Camera. Yes the lens is excellent, but it's still way overpriced for it's complexity and features. But it is the only 6X9 rangefinder readily available of modern design. While I can appreciate the size savings a 6X7 gives over a 6X9, if I'm going to pay big money for something it better give me something unique. 6X7 format, with a high quality Japanese lens isn't very unique. As much as I want this from an emotional perspective, a Mamiya 7II would seem like a far better choice.

 

[JMC1969]

I just saw on the Voigtlander page that they have given it a price and date of arrival. $1,999.00 and delivered in May 2009

Linky http://www.voigtlaender.de/cms/voigtlaender/voigtlaender_cms.nsf/id/pa_fdih7jzkae.html

Is this Pounds/Euro/USD?

 

[hughitb]

I just saw on the Voigtlander page that they have given it a price and date of arrival. $1,999.00 and delivered in May 2009

Linky http://www.voigtlaender.de/cms/voigtlaender/voigtlaender_cms.nsf/id/pa_fdih7jzkae.html

Is this Pounds/Euro/USD?

I would say it's Euros. All the other prices on the site are in Euros ...

 

[JMC1969]

Yeah, I just got the same answer from Photovillage (east coast distributor) though, things don't seem to match up too well. The Voigtlander page lists Bessa R3's at 699 euro and he told me they sold them for $550. By those calculations, this camera could be $1500. Speculation? Yes, but it might make a few happy that were otherwise deciding against it.

 

[Barry S]

From the poll I ran, it seemed like there was a lot of people interested, but very few willing to commit at a $2400 price point. If the street price is close to $1500, I think it will have a much better chance at success. Fuji has got to be looking at the economic picture over the next two years and trying to keep the price reasonable.

 

[AgX]

2000 €

Ringfoto (Voigtländer) states at their website that the price will be 1999,- €.

I assume that this price includes 19% VAT.

 

[Chazzy]

From the poll I ran, it seemed like there was a lot of people interested, but very few willing to commit at a $2400 price point. If the street price is close to $1500, I think it will have a much better chance at success. Fuji has got to be looking at the economic picture over the next two years and trying to keep the price reasonable.

I don't have a crystal ball, but I will take a wild guess and say that Cosina might sell as many as they can at an initial price point, and then drop the price a little after a few months to encourage further sales. I doubt that they made a huge number of them, so it's not as if they will have to sell them at a loss to get rid of them. If the camera is wildly successful, possibly they will make more. At this point, I'm sure that their first thought is to recover the cost of developing the camera and tooling up for production.

 

[Daniel Larsen]

A year ago, I would not have cared about the price as much. In today's economy, for me personally, this camera just went out of reach. Around $1500 and I would still do it. On a wild day, I might entertain bringing it up to the wife at $2000. For $2500, I might as well go to KEH and get the Hasselblad SWC in EX+ condition that I would love to have. For now, I think I'll put the $2500 into my daughters' college funds. But, I'm voting for Chazzy's crystal ball above and a reduced price eventually. Aloha. Dan

 

[EASmithV]

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

I second that...

 

[coriana6jp]

Fuji Japan just annouced yesterday that the delivery date has been pushed back until late April. Evidently, they were unprepared for the amount of orders they got and needed more time to assemble enough cameras to meet the initial demand.

Gary

 

[david b]

Is this announcement somewhere on the web?

 

[biloko]

Yes, here: http://www.japanexposures.com/2009/03/17/release-of-fujifilm-gf670-delayed-until-end-of-april/ pointing to a japanese entry http://fujifilm.jp/information/articlead_0008.html

 

[sanking]

If the stated reason for the delay in distribution is correct, i.e. "the reason stated is an excessive number of pre-orders causing production constraints, as some parts are handmade" the folks who thought the camera was over-priced for the market sure appear to be wrong.

Sandy

Yes, here: http://www.japanexposures.com/2009/03/17/release-of-fujifilm-gf670-delayed-until-end-of-april/ pointing to a japanese entry http://fujifilm.jp/information/articlead_0008.html

 

[Loris Medici]

CameraQuest quotes US price for Bessa III - USD 2250

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[archphoto]

Who said there was a crisis ?

Some people just want to have the latest toy and got money to spend.........

Peter

 

[Peter Black]

Now listed (with price!) on Robert White's website here in the UK and being trailed by newsletter/email.

http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/news.asp

 

[Vonder]

I see they have cleverly priced the camera to make it:

THE CAMERA NOBODY BOUGHT!

Bravo, Fuji, Voightlander!

 

[MattKing]

I find all these comments about the price to be somewhat ironic.

This price isn't all that different from the price of something like a Mamiya 645e when it was current.

It may be true that there is a greater need for something at a lower price point, but I'd be really surprised to see something in 6x7 format at that price point.

That being said, I do really wish that:

1) it was cheaper; and
2) I could justify buying it.

Matt

 

[Andy K]

Matt, if the Bessa III was a system camera like the Mamiya 645e, then I might be able to justify the price. But it isn't, it is a fixed lens folder, whose only 'selling point' appears to be the ability to switch between 6x6 and 6x7. Nineteen hundred pounds is simply way overpriced for this type of camera.

 

[2F/2F]

Matt, if the Bessa III was a system camera like the Mamiya 645e, then I might be able to justify the price. But it isn't, it is a fixed lens folder, whose only 'selling point' appears to be the ability to switch between 6x6 and 6x7. Nineteen hundred pounds is simply way overpriced for this type of camera.

That's what I think.

Who exactly is buying this thing?

 

[Terence]

The same folks who buy an Ebony when an old Deardorff or new Chamonix would do.

The same folks who bought SUVs when a Honda Civic would meet their needs.

It will sell. Maybe not like hot-cakes. But it will sell.

If it was sized more like an old Zeiss Ikonta, and about $500 cheaper, I'd probably sell off some stuff to get one.