New Pentax DSLR rebates (inc. K10D but not K110D)

[Groucho]

Pentax has announced their lastest rebates, good from May 1st to July 31st. The big news is that the K10D now has a rebate and the K110D doesn't.

For reference... here are the current prices at Beach for the line-up, all before any rebates.
K110D $378
K110D w/lens $399
K100D $439
K100D w/lens $499
K10D $807.79
K10D w/lens $889

The basic rebate is $50 off the K100D or K10D. As before, you can combine items to get more. For the K100D, buying the smaller AF-360FGZ flash or a 50-200mm lens will double the rebate to $100 in addition to the rebate on the flash or lens, for a total of $125 or $150 off. Same with the K10D, only it's either the BG2 battery grip or the 50-200mm lens, again $125 or $150.

There are also standalone rebates on either flash, the battery grip, or a bunch of lenses. These seem to be pretty comparable to the old rebates, with $25 off the 50mm F1.4, $50 off five different lenses, and $100 off another eight lenses.

A nice set-up for someone buying their first DSLR, the K100D with 50-200mm lens, will still cost $499 + $249 (lens) - $150 rebate = $599. Other places seem to sell the 50-200 for less but the body for more, so I think your total price is probably still cheapest at Beach (or buydig, which should be basically the same.)

Since the K110D isn't covered by a rebate any more, it's still the cheapest DSLR out there but the gap to the K100D is closer than ever ($11 w/o lens or $50 w/lens) so I'm sure that most people will choose the K100D.

The K10D rebate means that someone upgrading from a current Pentax DSLR (and hence not needing the kit lens) will only have to spend about $758... not bad at all for what you get... I can't wait to get one myself. If you grab the battery grip, it'll only add about $70 to what you're spending.

Happy shopping!

 

[ukcatfan]

I know that you have been waiting on a K10D rebate. Does thins mean that there is one in your near future?

Kevin

 

[Groucho]

Well... not the very near future... I don't have any big trips coming up for a little bit and the price should only get cheaper. Plus, I'm curious what the follow-up will be, since they've said that it should be out by the end of the year. Hopefully it will continue to have some exciting new features like the K10D did, and not just be a small little change. I know in that interviewed I linked to a few weeks ago, they said that they wanted to do real updates, not minor ones like the *ist DS to the *ist DS2. I also don't think they'll do the "dumb it down" route like the D40, especially with their non-entry-level camera, so we'll see.

So, for the moment, it'll be just me and the DL... but hopefully by the end of the year, it'll be a newer body. We shall see............... I also hadn't planned on a battery grip, but with the extra rebate you get, I might have to grab one, too...

 

[RBennett]

So what does a battery grip do??

 

[Groucho]

It doubles your battery life (since it stores another battery) and gives you a second set of controls to use (duplicates of the normal wheels and buttons) when the camera is on its side, like when you're shooting a picture like a portrait rather than a landscape.

I think I'd survive just fine without one (it does make the camera larger and heavier) but for the right price, I might pick one up... who knows, I might end up really liking it.

With the Pentax family, you can only get a battery grip for the K10D. I think there was one for the older *ist DS but I wasn't paying much attention so I'm not 100% sure.