I was buying photographic kit in the early 1990's. Prices then went through the roof, 30% plus
, due to the state of the UK£ v Japan Yen, so this is no surprise to me at all. In fact I did mention this possibility somewhere in an earlier thread and made a couple of purchases on the back of that thought.
The UK government made much of how a low UK£ is great for exports making them far cheaper in overseas markets, but were silent about the flip side of that coin. Expect most imports to be similarly affected.
I think Japan industry across the board is facing hard times due to the strength of the Yen. Attatched link from BJP that shows this applies to Canon, Pentax, Olympus not just Nikon.
http://www.bjp-online.com/public/sho...ml?page=834436
I have 08 and 09 Nikon price lists for UK, Australia, and now France - those with an announced price rise. UK rise a bit less than I expected.
For UK Nikon I can give the following info.
Cameras increase by between 2.17% and 12.39%
Lenses apart from budget zooms (+2.17%) are increased between 12 and 15%
Accessories between 15 and 20%.
I have read a lot on the web where people are really steamed up about these rises but seem to expect those companies to take the hit to their profitability and in fact reduce prices while continuing to invest in R&D and keep pushing new product to market.
Thoughts ..................... ie: Do you expect the cyle of new releases to ease off over the next 2 years ?
For my part I am used to a camera that lasts at least 10 years, and on that basis I will worry about that in about 8 years time.
I have attatched graphs for a few currencies that illustrate the falling values of some currencies against the JapanYen as illustration.
Don