shivaswrath said:
it'll probably hold for around $1800...never $1200 in the next 24 months, it would take awhile to get to that point...

7 yr old D2x bodies are still going for 1200-1500 on e-bay 5 years after the D3. The lesson of the D2x and D300 is good lesson to keep in mind. The D300 had basically the same or better IQ of the D2x, and the D2x price fell rapidly. The D700 will hold at the D400 level unless the low ISO of D400 surpasses the D700 - then it will drop like a rock and settle around $1500 for a few years.

On buying strategies I agree with Adamz on the "second option" but I would add another 6 months to buying it to a full 1 year after released/announced for practical realities. Generally Nikon's higher end bodies follow the model of - Announcement (wait 3 months) release to general public (6 months of back orders and original MSRP) then easily (somewhat) available (3 months) then about 1 yr after announcement, price drops and settles what it will be for the next 2 years.

On other gear I just buy it as I need it since prices really don't move much on anything else. Lenses may drop 10% or so, but I actually like buying them second hand (that have been babied) for a cheaper price and to avoid taxes which can add quite a bit.

I agree adamz, second strategy for me. Get a chance to see if the new gear develops any issues and if it's really worth trading up, and wait for supply to meet demand and you'll see sellers not sticking rigourously to the recommended retail price. The reduction in price you get for your old equipment should be matched by the reduction in the new.

Guys, there's really no good strategy for buying equipment. IMHO there are three strategies:
- buy the latest and greatest as soon as it hits the market and sell Your stuff right away (or even prior to announcement) - pros: You always shoot with the newest technology, the price to buy new camera is not as high as when You will climb from the very bottom; cons: You can consider You as a test bunny as not always the new product is better than the older one (i.e. N70-200), You pay the "new" tax - either You like it or not it's app 10-20%;
- buy the new camera (or a used one) once it's app 6months in the market - pros: the price will be (most of the times) lower (app. 10%), You will have time to research the net and find out either there are some issues regarding the new product; cons: selling You old camera can be a little bit tricky - sometimes You will have to lower Your price additional 10-20% in order to get a client
- once the new version hits the market, buy the previous version (either used or new) - pros: You will get Your dreamed equipment for app 50% of the launch price; cons: You ain't using the latest and greatest technology :), once You decide to sell Your old equipment it's gonna be at least 2 generations old = You'll be happy if someone will pay for it decently

IMHO - the second strategy is the optimal - at least that's the strategy I try to follow. From my experience body price drops at app 25% rate annually (from the launch price) and lenses price drops app 20% once You unbox them (of course there are some exceptions, i.e. N35/1.8, D700). Also the more expensive product the faster the price will go down once it's unboxed.

Yes, if only the mirrorless camera is announced on Aug. 24th, we may not see the D800 until 2012.

it'll probably hold for around $1800...never $1200 in the next 24 months, it would take awhile to get to that point...
I sold 2 of my D700's for about $2200-2500 recently (offloaded for D4 or D800 purchase)..been renting for shoots, FAIL.

kanuck said:
Yes I agree with Niko, if you can wait a little longer you will get the awesome D700 for a very cheap price as soon as the refresh comes out. I remember when the 5D mark II came out and my brother still had the 5D. The 5D dropped almost a grand the week after the regresh came out on the market so my brother traded up before it lost more value. You will save hundreds of dollars if you play it smart the next few months and wait til the refresh which is coming very soon now.

How low do you think the D700 is going to go? It's currently selling for $2200 used, and I highly doubt it will drop to $1200 once the D800 is released.

Bestbuy was selling them for $22xx.xx a few days ago. It was still in stock. I was really tempted but I already have the D7000 so I'll wait till Aug 24 to see what they announce.

Yes I agree with Niko, if you can wait a little longer you will get the awesome D700 for a very cheap price as soon as the refresh comes out. I remember when the 5D mark II came out and my brother still had the 5D. The 5D dropped almost a grand the week after the regresh came out on the market so my brother traded up before it lost more value. You will save hundreds of dollars if you play it smart the next few months and wait til the refresh which is coming very soon now.

The D700 has been out of stock for months at major retailers. Nikon stopped making them early this year. Given the short supply there isn't much reason for a price drop. It is up to the individual retailer if they choose to discount any remaining stock, but just finding a D700 now is hard enough. For used cameras, it may take a few months after the replacement is actually released to see the price come down. Not many photographers would give up their camera until they can actually get the new one.

You can currently get a new Nikon D700 body only on eBay for only $3999.95. Wonder how many offers they will get for that one? It does have free shipping for that price.

With a new D300S at $1600, the D700 will never fall that low or as low as what the D400 will sell for. It should still command more than the top DX body.

Regardless of the price of a D400/800 there will be a huge used market of "cheap" D700s. Most shooters wanting to upgrade from DX to FX will go that route. The D700 will still be a perfectly capable camera even after any new model(s).

The current price of a new D700 is now under $2300!

The FF sensor alone will keep it around $2000 used for a few more years. It definitely should drop from the current $2200-$2600 range, though. Too many people with APS-C cameras willing to upgrade to it when the D800 is out will make the camera's value steady for a while.

No way will the D700 replacement come in at less than $3000, since the D700 was released at that price. We can expect a similar price, but with increases because of inflation and currency fluctuation, so $3200-$3500 is more likely.

The D700 price could drop if it turns out the D800 is much better than what people are expecting (ie, much more than just D700 with D3s sensor or D3x sensor). In that case, most people won't want the D700 and the market for it will collapse.

It will depend on the release price of the D800. If it's $3200-$3400 as some speculate, the D700 will hover around the same price or only drop slightly. If the D800 comes in from $2700-$3000, the D700 would surely have to drop by a decent amount.

TaoTeJared said:
All prices will depend if/when the D800 release approaches at this point.

I doubt the price will go down even if the D800 gets announced tomorrow. The price might actually rise even with a D800 announcement because of the supply problems.

All prices will depend if/when the D800 release approaches at this point.

As recently posted on NR, Nikon expects shortages of many items for some time to come. I would not expect D700 prices to fall any time soon.

I wouldn't hold your breath. All discounted Nikon prices have disappeared. Depending on several factors, Nikon products could remain in short supply for an unknown period.

I was going to buy the D700 in April, may be beginning of May, but since the price went up $300 (new and now used) I decided to hold off. Will it go back down to ~$2400, or will the price stay about the same until the replacement is released, whenever that happens?

Awesome bokeh Stan!

Thank you jonny! You are right. There are so many pictures being submitted each day. I have to check it every couple of posts.

Chris- What kind of Polaroid camera /Polaroid film do you use? and how did you scan and treat the Polaroid? I am about to start shooting film more and possibly do some Polaroid stuff as well. I have the Fuji instax 210 with about 140 shots left. I would like to know all the tips to digital scanning. I have read your post but i am more focused on treatment in post processing on the computer and along with loading the negatives.

You're welcome CHRISAMC. I've got some of their new PX100 Instant film on order.

The problem with not looking at this thread every day is you come back and there's no way to comment on all the beautiful images.

Great perpective, tcole. Nice lines in that self-portrait, smarterchild. I like the compression in that one, regulator. I love the bokeh in that Dustin one, stanschurman. That black gull is beautiful on so many levels, Adam. I just want to stare at it—one of your best ever, IMO.

Here's one from an engagements shoot I had last week.