Should Birddog be banned?

[Glen]

For offering irresistable deals? For giving me lens lust?

Many people here know me as the resident tightarse who is hard to part from his hard earned. Well I have looked at his unbelievable price on the 70-200VR and any way I look at it is a great deal. Twisting it in my head it is too good to refuse. I tend to set an unrealistic target price and if I get that I know I can sleep at night having bought well. In another post here I mentioned to Onyx that I would buy the above lens at $1500. Remember this lens is selling at Vanbar for $3190 and at ECS for $3230. Well Birddog offered it yesterday for ......... $1825!! There are plenty of reasons I gave myself to say yes, the dollar is up, it's close to my target price, etc, etc. Bottom line my very next email is to Birddy to order!

A few words to the newer people here. When I buy property, I jump at lightning speed if it is a real bargain. The reason I can do that is because I am in the market, have done my research and can recognise good value. If it is a bargain I make it easy for vendors to sell to me. It is the same here. Do ones research, check the market out, then pm Birddog. If you then get offered a bargain, jump. Some on this board have missed bargains by trying too hard.

THANKS BIRDDOG for organising such a great facility for our community.

Good luck and enjoy.

[Kristine]

Bottom line my very next email is to Birddy to order!

I want this lens too!

I need to save some more - hope this unreal price is still around when I have the cash!


Cheers
Kristine

[fozzie]

Kristine,

RE: AF-S 70-200mm VR 'G' Lens

I also lust for this lens. The $AU1825 price tag is very tempting, but I need to rig my new tripod. It is definitely on my shopping list, so I hope the Australian Dollar remains high into the New Year, when I will be in a position to revisit purchasing this glass. When this happens, I will discuss with Birddog, and place order with HKsupplies.


Cheers,

[MHD]

I'm in the same boat... blew the cash on the tripod (and head and (please get here) L plate)

I've promised Louise I will go easy now...

[Glen]

Kristine, Fozzie,

I understand your frustration. I really believe this is Nikon's flagship lens, it has all their best technology in it. This price is unbelievable and if you look at HKSupplies website you can see Birdy has negotiated a good discount off their already good price (should I say "thank you Birdy", again?)

Even better news is when I mentioned it to my wife she said "why dont I buy that for your birthday?" (27th Dec). Being no fool my instant answer was "thank you". Bad news is she mentioned keeping it wrapped till then, but I pointed out we would need to check it out immediately. She also mentioned she had no idea lenses could cost that much (I have been showing her the s/h $60 lenses). I have not informed her it gets worse than this in case I catch up to Birddog and start really spending.

MHD, I am amazed Louise gives you this much latitude with your new arrival present (baby not tripod).

Fozzie, don't worry about the tripod, it has VR!

[Onyx]

You know Glen, having seen only the title of this thread pop up, I was readying my response that this was the most offensive post I have yet to read on this forum and ready to really dig into whichever fellow started this... then I saw you as the thread starter, and I knew it couldn't be what I thought it was.

It's a disease you've acquired, Nikonians call it NAS - Nikon Acquisition Syndrome. Lens lust, whatever you label it, it's endemic to DSLR owners, and currently there's no known cure. I guess the only treatment is to make sure what you buy counts - in that you use it to create many wonderful pictures and derive "value" from the upfront pricetag you paid. So I guess xmas came early for you Glen! There is absolutely no doubt you've got a bargain here. At $1800 it's an absolute steal - let alone a BRAND NEW one! The 70-200VR is truly one of the best lenses out there.

If you were to extended property trading to lens trading, I bet you could easily sell this lens for more than you paid for it new.

[fozzie]

Glen,

Unfortunatley I do not have anyone to buy it for me, and my Birthday isn't until the end of March, to buy it for myself. That's an awful long time away. Now this is will power, tripod rig first, 70-200mm VR 'G' lens. Did I really say that!.


Cheers,

[Glen]

Fozzie, ask Greg B from Melbourne . I asked him to buy me one in another thread but he didn't find me attractive enough. Maybe you will get the nod? (I am from Sydney)

Onyx, you can't ban the patron! I agree with your thoughts and I have seen a number of unused unopened in box 70-200 going for $2300-2500 in the papers, but no warranty and no Birddog and Mr Poon standing behind it. Birddog gave me the lust, hopefully this will cure it for a while (like 5 years) but I think not. ps you have a pm

[MHD]

hehe... Baby has been quite economical so far!

Its when they go to school that I imagine things get expensive... and when she is a teen!

I have to get her into photography... then I can "buy her" the latest and best lenses

[birddog114]

hehe... Baby has been quite economical so far!

Its when they go to school that I imagine things get expensive... and when she is a teen!

I have to get her into photography... then I can "buy her" the latest and best lenses

Wel said MHD!
I have ton of gears here and convinced my three teens and they didn't bother! BTW, I'm happy to stand strong to support this community as said.
I have Poon, he's giving me his supports and soon will be Markin online.
I perhaps have to travel to HKG and South Korea soon to meet all our supporters.

[birddog114]

Hi All,
Actually the price US$1420.00 for 70-200 and US$1160.00 for 80-400 which Poon emailed me, they're prices for all his dealers in Europe and me in Australia.
I just pass them to you as you can think about it to lust for yourself a nice Xmas present.
I'm doing the bridging for both side atm

[Glen]

Birddog, the bridging is going very well and that is one great price! You moved my purchase plans along by about a year. Great Christmas present (or in my case birthday). Good to say the directors bonus is coming along, maybe you can pick it up on your trip.

MHD, maybe you can interest Louise in photography. I am trying this on my wife at the moment so she will be primed for when the D100 replacement comes out. It will take me about that long to get her interested, so she can be passed the D70 at the appropriate time.

Birddog, I tried the same with my daughter, ended up giving in and bought her a Konica Minolta XG point and shoot. Unfortunately she has my lust for fast cars, but they are barred for teenagers in my house.

[MHD]

Lousie has one interest at the moment...
Its about 5kg, 60cm long, and cute...

[Glen]

Mate that is a great shot!! To be honest, to you, if that was the only shot you got from the D70 and it was stolen tomorrow, I would still consider that money well spent. As I say "you cant buy memories"

[birddog114]

Birddog, I tried the same with my daughter, ended up giving in and bought her a Konica Minolta XG point and shoot. Unfortunately she has my lust for fast cars, but they are barred for teenagers in my house.

Glen,
You know me, I have about 5 P&S digital camera inhouse, Canon, Nikon, Fujitsu, Olympus from 3mp- 5mp but my teens just want to go their ways, each one has their own fast and modern PC,
My first son just got his P license last Sept. and he wants to get the Subaru WRX, we had a very hard time to convince him and now he's just settled for the brand new Echo/ 16G drive away, just put him to work with one of my supplier while waiting for the HSC result and ready heading to uni next year. It's a tough time for us

[MHD]

What is he looking at doing?
What Uni?

[Glen]

Good choice Birddog, my daughter wanted the WRX or Supra Twin Turbo, I wanted a 20 yr old Merc or Volvo. We ended up with a Toyota Paseo, looks sporty but is slow (I would have prefered slower still) and not quite the protection of the older beasts, but a decent compromise. Nice thing about the Echo is all the new safety features built in. I like the fact you keep your son working, good for him to learn the value of money.

[birddog114]

What is he looking at doing?
What Uni?

In Art and Graphic
MacQuairie University, and he's been told ANU is a place for him, I don' know.
If you have time next time, perhaps you'll give him some advise.

[gstark]

Glen,

Nothing wrong with a 20 year old Merc.

Volvo ??? You wanna turn your kids into targets?

Hyundai ?? I have trouble accepting one when I'm in Mr Avis's driveway; no way would I contemplate owning one.

[MHD]

No probs Birddog...

Though I dont know much about the Graphic Arts here at ANU... I see the exhibitions in the art school often and I like them (but I dont know art )

[BBJ]

All looks good even the baby MHD and congrats to you both as well.
Wish i could get a birthday present for my birthday this friday like the nod to say ok get my camera, would be great, instead i am loading my BMW motorbike up and heading over the border for the weekend for an Ulysses rally, mainly to see the Wolverines play. They are bit like your ZZTop of country music, but i will be there with a camera in hand, just not my D70
That lens sounds great, almost tempted to seel 1 of my motorbikes.LOL
But if i sell 1 of my remote control Aircraft very soon it will be look out birddog.
Cheers
John

[Glen]

Gary, I am with you I love 20 yr old Mercs, in fact have usually owned one (usually an sel) as a spare car as they are big, roomy, comfy, safe and no one wants to steal them. Also cheap so perfect for a third or fourth car. And yes even at the price they charge for a new hyundai, I wouldn't give them half that when you have 20 yr old mercs as an alternative

[Geoff]

I would like this lens too Glen (rememeber Christmas is just around the corner)..but I am trying to save for a deposit on a house. Hmm...damn it


Geoff.

[gstark]

Glen,

Gary, I am with you I love 20 yr old Mercs, in fact have usually owned one (usually an sel) as a spare car as they are big, roomy, comfy, safe and no one wants to steal them. Also cheap so perfect for a third or fourth car. And yes even at the price they charge for a new hyundai, I wouldn't give them half that when you have 20 yr old mercs as an alternative

Let's toughen this up a little bit then ... Toyota and Honda both make excellent cars.

Or do they?

4 year old Honda?

4 year old Toyota?

8 year old Benz?

[kipper]

Out of interest is there any URLs to shots taken with and without VR technology. I'd like a side by side comparison to see what all the fuss is about

[Glen]

Kipper, ask and you shall receive. Taken with the above lens. The shots are at the bottom of the page. Let us know what you think after viewing.

http://www.bythom.com/70200VRlens.htm

[Werewolf]

All bow down to Birddog, he truly is a legend! My LowePro Microtrekker arrived today and it's brilliant! Trouble is now I have a few more pockets to fill

Plenty of space now for that 80-200, 70-200VR or Sigma 70-200

I'm going insane!! Birdy has the VR for $1850 delivered but that's still beyond the budget................the 80-200 is outta stock in HK..............the Sigma sounds great but quality control worries me. Woe is me!!!!!!

[Glen]

Werewolf, I reckon this forum has probably collectively saved $20k due to Birddogs efforts and contacts. He is a legend (as a bloke who has saved about $2k in the last two weeks would say)

[dooda]

:[/quote]now he's just settled for the brand new Echo/ 16G drive away, just put him to work with one of my supplier while waiting for the HSC result and ready heading to uni next year. It's a tough time for us [/quote]

It really does break my heart that he didn't get into the WRX. How could you be so heartless Birdie? A Brand new Echo is all?

When I was of age I would have done 3 backflips for a new car. As it was I ended up sharing a car with my two brothers when they were of age two years later... a 7 year old VW and you should have seen the smile on our faces when we found out it was for us.

[birddog114]

dooda,
Hope you can get in touch with Poon by email.

Guess what?, when I first started to work with Boeing in Seattle after I finished study at UCLA 25 years ago, I had a used Pinto for US$300.00, and I had lot of broken down incidents during winter to travelling to and from work, I lived in Tacoma at that time, and the first winter I drove that Pinto over the black ice and snow, I crashed it to a tree due skidding over black ice and settled for a new Toyota Tercel in Spring the following year.

[Kristine]

I'm going insane!! Birdy has the VR for $1850 delivered but that's still beyond the budget................the 80-200 is outta stock in HK..............the Sigma sounds great but quality control worries me. Woe is me!!!!!!

Werewolf

I feel for you. I am in the same dilemma - it is making me go crazy!!!! I had a look at the Sigma the other day - what was the best pricing that you found for this? I still really, really, really want the Nikon 70-200VR

I have even tried to abstain from the forum to help cure my lens lust, but I got withdrawal symptoms from the forum and had to come back. I suppose it does not help that I am working on the integration for the PixSpot gallery into the forum either.


Cheers
Kristine

[Paul]

The recent spate of 'P' platers killed driving these exteme sports cars should be enough for anyone to see the reason for restricting young drivers to slower/safer cars. Well done birddog!

[Werewolf]

[quote="Kristine
I feel for you. I am in the same dilemma - it is making me go crazy!!!! I had a look at the Sigma the other day - what was the best pricing that you found for this? I still really, really, really want the Nikon 70-200VR

[/quote]


Kris, the Sigma can be found on Ebay for just under $1000.00 via HK dealers. Poon and TMWPhoto (Brisbane) had the Nikon 80-200 for about $1100.00 delivered but I missed out and now both are outta stock.

The Sigma gets slightly better reviews than the Nikon but like I said, quality control can be an issue with Sigma. Having said that my Sigma 70-300APO is brilliant. Did you handle the Sigma 70-200 and what did you think of it?

I gotta say Birdy's 70-200VR offer is difficult to pass up. However his offer ends tomorrow so I (we've!) got some serious thinking to do!

I've sold 2 bikes and my EV speaker box to raise the cash for the 80-200, can I go the extra distance and snaffle the VR?? You'll know within 24hrs!!

[gstark]

Paul,

The recent spate of 'P' platers killed driving these exteme sports cars should be enough for anyone to see the reason for restricting young drivers to slower/safer cars. Well done birddog!

It's nothing at all to do with the cars.

It's everything to do with the absence of a real driving test, and poor driver attitudes. We should begin teaching kids to drive at around age 12.

We should be teaching them how to drive a car, and not how to pass a driving test.

And I'd rather have my kids driving (responsibly) a vehicle with higher performance capabilities - that they're leaned how to drive properly - than some POS Hyundai, where, if confronted by a difficult driving situation, the vehicle won't have the capabilities to permit them to drive out of that dangerous situation.

And as to what happenned on the central coast the other day - the driver was clearly disobeying the law. Given that he was already breaking the law, what makes people think that by some miracle, were he not permitted by law to drive that vehicle, he would now respect that particular law too?

[wile_E]

I completely agree with you gstark.

It seems in NSW that you learn to pass a test, and after that you're let loose on the roads. The number of people I've seen whom I just wonder "how in the h3ll did they get their licences"... It just astounds me.

Even more astonishing is how much people tend to over-estimate their own driving ability. Yeah, I was included in that group as well until I went to an advanced driving skills course. Opened my eyes quite considerably, and taught me a thing or three about car control.

Highly advisable, if anyone's interested.

*wile_e gets off the soap box now*

[Paul]

Gary,
You have made a very fair and valid points on this which I agree with, unfortunatly there is no perfect solutionyet... We could debate this forever on the pros/cons but I feel were getting a bit "off topic" here, so lets get back to the D70!

[gstark]

Paul

unfortunatly there is no perfect solutionyet...

And the mass media, and our dearly beloved politicians fail to accept this simple fact.

And sadly, there never will be a perfect solution. People will be people.

As to getting off topic, yes, you're quite correct. remind me to bring this to the attention of the site admin

[Kristine]

Werewolf

I have just been trying to negotiate this with my husband - as it is my 30th birthday on 9th December. But unfortunately it is a no-go. We just spent $2000 on return tickets to Sydney for Christmas, around $2500 in vet bills to save our dog from cancer and then it cost another $250 for the cremation, so I don't have the funds at the moment. I would rather have used the funds to save my dog anyway instead of getting a new lens and so I will have to wait.

This is what I am going to do in the mean time. I have a MINT+++++ 70-210 and I am going to stick with that and be happy until I can get the rest of the funds together for the 70-200VR. If I could have got the 80-200 off Poon, I would have probably have grabbed it, but I would still probably lust after the 70-200VR after everyone will be talking about how good theirs is performing (once they receive them).

To be honest, the 70-210 will probably just do me fine for the time being anyway, and I am sure I will get a good deal on the 70-200VR when I can afford one, and if I have to pay more than the offer now, well that is just the way things go.

Trying to curb my lens lust.


Cheers
Kristine

[gstark]

Kristine,

I would rather have used the funds to save my dog anyway instead of getting a new lens and so I will have to wait.

Absolutely the correct decision.

The 70-210 that I have is quite a nice lens, and quite sharp too.

One thing I did notice while carting the 80-400 around at lunchtime is that it's not light.

[Greg B]

around $2500 in vet bills to save our dog from cancer and then it cost another $250 for the cremation,

That's awful Kristine, my sympathy.

[Glen]

Kristine, follow your heart, I did, as I knew I would always want the 70-200 and Sigma or anything else would be a stop gap and only make you 50% happy when you know what you really want. It's not worth spending 60% to make youself 50% happy, that is a bad deal. As someone in finance, I always advise against credit (how weird is that) but maybe stick on credit the extra while the deal is on and save in the long run. The payoff will be in satisfaction.

Good luck