Why are CF cards so expensive in NZ?

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Geektastic

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Topic # 160336 2-Jan-2015 23:10

Compact Flash cards are light and small. The shipping costs can only be negligible.

If you buy a 256Gb Sandisk Extreme Pro from B&H in NYC it costs the equivalent of NZ$813

The same card from a NZ retailer is NZ$1,800!

How is it possible to explain a differential that size? It certainly isn't GST.

I never buy either CF or SD cards in NZ now as they are invariably cheaper overseas regardless of the capacity. With discrepancies this large, I am surprised they ever sell any at all through official channels here.

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Reply # 1207463 3-Jan-2015 08:15

Amazon ships to NZ direct along with USB sticks , often savings of 50% or more easily. And I'm not talking about different brands or knock offs, these are the exact same thing 1:1. Go up to one and scan the barcode or search the UPC.

Geektastic

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Reply # 1207474 3-Jan-2015 08:28

Quite.

So why are they over charging so much here?!

MikeB4

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Reply # 1207477 3-Jan-2015 08:41

One of my SLR cameras uses compact flash and I have refused to pay the extorsion to raise its storage capacity. I use my SLR camera that has a SD card instead. If I use the compact flash one I carry a laptop to transfer the pics which is annoying.

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old3eyes

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Reply # 1207492 3-Jan-2015 09:12

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Geektastic: Quite.

So why are they over charging so much here?!

I guess because they can and the plebs will still buy them ... Oh and the usual GZ type of reply "We're a small country with not many people so we need to get charged Kiwi tax"

Regards,

Old3eyes

khull

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Reply # 1207509 3-Jan-2015 09:31

old3eyes:
Geektastic: Quite.

So why are they over charging so much here?!

I guess because they can and the plebs will still buy them ... Oh and the usual GZ type of reply "We're a small country with not many people so we need to get charged Kiwi tax"

add to that:

NZ is a society concerned with short-term results and quick gratification of needs. The thought of ordering online and waiting for items to arrive is simply unacceptable, instead they justify that with ridiculous explanations like 'retail presence' , 'consumer guarantees law'.

Why else do you see so many people with paper cups of coffee walking around?

It is important to stress there is nothing wrong with the behaviour , just disassociation with it if the values don't match. If you are interested go look up cultural dimensions theory by Geert Hofstede

Batman

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Reply # 1207515 3-Jan-2015 09:42

anyone knows whether a canon 5d3 will take a "type 2" CF card? the specs say "type 1 CF card" and i am so confused i didn't know there were 2 types. i had a really old CF card that i swear looks fat and it fits ... so do i really need a "type 1"?

thanks

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Reply # 1207516 3-Jan-2015 09:44

PS I actually planned a move to Nikon D750 and even had a body on back order but alas couldn't come to terms with the inferior YET more expensive lenses (for my purposes may I add) and the "light flare scandal gate" made me stick with what i have ... so let's see what the 6D2/5D4 will bring eh

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Reply # 1207521 3-Jan-2015 09:53

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Geektastic: Compact Flash cards are light and small. The shipping costs can only be negligible.

If you buy a 256Gb Sandisk Extreme Pro from B&H in NYC it costs the equivalent of NZ$813

The same card from a NZ retailer is NZ$1,800!

How is it possible to explain a differential that size? It certainly isn't GST.

I never buy either CF or SD cards in NZ now as they are invariably cheaper overseas regardless of the capacity. With discrepancies this large, I am surprised they ever sell any at all through official channels here.

I am guessing because the entire country sells about 1 a month - no other uses for that thing apart from professionals who have a certain camera

TLD

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Reply # 1207538 3-Jan-2015 10:07

Just wondering why anyone would need 256Gb CF card? My still cameras both take one CF and one SD car, and will automatically switch to the other when the first one if full. My video camera takes two CF cards, and will also switch seamlessly. But even at 50MB/s recording, 32Gb lasts a fair time.

I imagine there would be uses for high capacity cards though. Security systems perhaps, but a small HDD would be better for that.

Trevor Dennis
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Reply # 1207541 3-Jan-2015 10:15

coz shooting in RAW uses 30-60MB per shot. at 5 fps it fills up in half a day.

Bung

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Reply # 1207553 3-Jan-2015 10:55

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Is this the school of "take enough RAW shots and hope that something can be salvaged" or are you trying to get a shot of Paul Henry with his mouth shut?

TLD

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Reply # 1207556 3-Jan-2015 11:02

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joker97: coz shooting in RAW uses 30-60MB per shot. at 5 fps it fills up in half a day.

You are living up to your username, right? We have a young lad who joined our camera club having just bought a brand new 60D. In two months he'd taken >200,000 exposures, and the shutter had died. He couldn't even take a landscape without holding his finger on the shutter release for a couple of seconds. That was just plain daft. Especially with a prosumer level camera.

I earn my living as a commercial photographer, videographer and graphic designer. I don't own any prosumer bodies. Just Canon 1DsMK3, 1DMK4, plus a G1X. I also own a Canon XF300 pro video camera. All told, I have getting on for $100k invested in kit. Maybe more. I don't shoot a lot of sport, but I am employed by the likes of Marlborough A&P Show Association and similar event organisers. But I have never used more than 40Gb in a weekend. Even with sport, the money shot can be predicted and covered with a one second burst tops (ten frames).

The rest of my work is done with about a dozen frames per hour, so I won't count that. And if I go out with the camera club on a field trip, I'll probably take 20 exposures, but I'll put a lot of thought into every one of them. Spray and pray is not the way to become a decent photographer.

Trevor Dennis
Rapaura (near Blenheim)

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Reply # 1207558 3-Jan-2015 11:05

Geektastic: Quite.

So why are they over charging so much here?!

Because they can.
And because many consumers aren't aware of real-world prices.

Sideface

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Reply # 1207561 3-Jan-2015 11:16

TLD:
joker97: coz shooting in RAW uses 30-60MB per shot. at 5 fps it fills up in half a day.

You are living up to your username, right? We have a young lad who joined our camera club having just bought a brand new 60D. In two months he'd taken >200,000 exposures, and the shutter had died. He couldn't even take a landscape without holding his finger on the shutter release for a couple of seconds. That was just plain daft. Especially with a prosumer level camera.

I earn my living as a commercial photographer, videographer and graphic designer. I don't own any prosumer bodies. Just Canon 1DsMK3, 1DMK4, plus a G1X. I also own a Canon XF300 pro video camera. All told, I have getting on for $100k invested in kit. Maybe more. I don't shoot a lot of sport, but I am employed by the likes of Marlborough A&P Show Association and similar event organisers. But I have never used more than 40Gb in a weekend. Even with sport, the money shot can be predicted and covered with a one second burst tops (ten frames).

The rest of my work is done with about a dozen frames per hour, so I won't count that. And if I go out with the camera club on a field trip, I'll probably take 20 exposures, but I'll put a lot of thought into every one of them. Spray and pray is not the way to become a decent photographer.

it was an answer to why you would need a 256GB fast CF card.

the only other reason is for cinematographers to shoot RAW video.

i wish i could modify my username but that's not allowed i don't thnk

Batman

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Reply # 1207563 3-Jan-2015 11:20

Bung: Is this the school of "take enough RAW shots and hope that something can be salvaged" or are you trying to get a shot of Paul Henry with his mouth shut?

TLD:
joker97: coz shooting in RAW uses 30-60MB per shot. at 5 fps it fills up in half a day.

You are living up to your username, right? We have a young lad who joined our camera club having just bought a brand new 60D. In two months he'd taken >200,000 exposures, and the shutter had died. He couldn't even take a landscape without holding his finger on the shutter release for a couple of seconds. That was just plain daft. Especially with a prosumer level camera.

I earn my living as a commercial photographer, videographer and graphic designer. I don't own any prosumer bodies. Just Canon 1DsMK3, 1DMK4, plus a G1X. I also own a Canon XF300 pro video camera. All told, I have getting on for $100k invested in kit. Maybe more. I don't shoot a lot of sport, but I am employed by the likes of Marlborough A&P Show Association and similar event organisers. But I have never used more than 40Gb in a weekend. Even with sport, the money shot can be predicted and covered with a one second burst tops (ten frames).

The rest of my work is done with about a dozen frames per hour, so I won't count that. And if I go out with the camera club on a field trip, I'll probably take 20 exposures, but I'll put a lot of thought into every one of them. Spray and pray is not the way to become a decent photographer.

i dont know. why don't you ask a professional photographer why he'd need a 256GB fast CF card

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