New Sony A7RII announcement

[Jim DE]

Ute, that is not always true either. I bought several 3rd party batteries back in the a33/original Nex5 days and some would not work in Sony chargers and two I had to put a matchstick between the cover and the battery to get them to power up these or my later NEX7 bodies. Some non OEM battery housings were just a bit too short. Since this adventure in 3rd party batteries I just bite the bullet and get the OEM's and rest assured they will work as designed. Peace of mind has some value... That is why I buy the 4 year extended cover everything Sony warranties and am a pro support member just to have this peace of mind that if something goes south I'll have Sony management helping me get it resolved at their third party repair facility. I'll spend money for value added items.

I don't sell any of my gear and use it till it is to the point where it is costing me money or profit...... Extended warranties just make $$$ sense in my case. If I chased the latest and greatest buying and selling every 6-8 months then I would not even consider the pro plan or extended warranties.

 

[The Ute]

Ute, that is not always true either. I bought several 3rd party batteries back in the a33/original Nex5 days and some would not work in Sony chargers and two I had to put a matchstick between the cover and the battery to get them to power up these or my later NEX7 bodies. Some non OEM battery housings were just a bit too short. Since this adventure in 3rd party batteries I just bite the bullet and get the OEM's and rest assured they will work as designed. Peace of mind has some value... That is why I buy the 4 year extended cover everything Sony warranties and am a pro support member just to have this peace of mind that if something goes south I'll have Sony management helping me get it resolved at their third party repair facility. I'll spend money for value added items.

I don't sell any of my gear and use it till it is to the point where it is costing me money or profit...... Extended warranties just make $$$ sense in my case. If I chased the latest and greatest buying and selling every 6-8 months then I would not even consider the pro plan or extended warranties.

I've had really good luck w Wasabi batteries and charger.

 

[Jim DE]

I'm sure that over the years this particular design battery reversed engineered by 3rd party manufacturers has worked it's bugs out and probably works very well(they better of being as the early product were nearly unusable). I just got burned once and I rarely give anyone a chance to make me say "shame on me". Plus as a old retired ex-manufacturing management person I have a issue with companies that reverse engineer. I know it's done and know many companies do very well side stepping the royalty payments and underselling OEM's (Sigma lenses for a classic example) I just try to avoid doing business with them in these area's whenever possible. I realize this is MY issue but it is what it is in this case with where and how I will spend my dollars.

I know ... I know .... I am showing my age and my rigid unyielding value system ....... can't help it!:banghead:

 

[Guy Mancuso]

I have the Sony batteries and the Wasabi. Both seem very good. Never a issue

 

[algrove]

What about Watson from B&H?

 

[Rawfa]

People are going to willingly fork over more than $3300 dollars for a camera body but they
concern themselves w whether or not Sony will include an extra battery.

Too funny. :bugeyes:

Hahaha...my thoughts exactly

 

[dandrewk]

People are going to willingly fork over more than $3300 dollars for a camera body but they
concern themselves w whether or not Sony will include an extra battery.

Too funny. :bugeyes:

I think it's indicative of how consumers think, even professional photographers and serious amateurs. It seems trivial, as the costs of hardly amount to much, but it's a source of attention and frustration when these things aren't included.

The after market profit on these items are huge, so Sony (and their retailers) will have to look elsewhere for add-ons. I suspect the margin on the A7RII is large enough to make up the difference. The end result is a happier buyer and no more "I paid $x,xxx and I DON'T get an extra battery?!?!!" posts. Win/win.

 

[The Ute]

I think it's indicative of how consumers think, even professional photographers and serious amateurs. It seems trivial, as the costs of hardly amount to much, but it's a source of attention and frustration when these things aren't included.

The after market profit on these items are huge, so Sony (and their retailers) will have to look elsewhere for add-ons. I suspect the margin on the A7RII is large enough to make up the difference. The end result is a happier buyer and no more "I paid $x,xxx and I DON'T get an extra battery?!?!!" posts. Win/win.

It doesn't just seem trivial. It is trivial.

 

[Jim DE]

I still think it is a value added item no matter if the camera costs $800 or $5000 and a real cost to the customer to include it.

How did you guy's feel when the auto makers stopped selling their vehicles with regular tires for spare and put a donut in it's place. Or when you bought a RX1 or RX100 without a battery charger and was told to USB it. Or when you paid more to have lead in your gasoline then paid even more to get gasoline without lead.

One may call this trivial as all these values are insignificant to the total cost of the product but I can assure you someone in a board room stood in front and had the figures in 6 and 7 digits as to the yearly savings the company achieved leaving these items out. Someone see's and recognizes the value in leaving it out of the package and selling it to the customer as a accessory. They make money on both ends this way.

Customers get used to a certain level of product completeness when they buy something and anything less no matter how much of a percentage of total value of the purchased item will appear as if they were cheated of what they deserve. In this case $80 is small compared to the retail price of the item but it still is $80 you must turn around and spend to get one on your own.

 

[MGrayson]

"The lack of an extra battery is a trivial issue" is internet speak for "I have no need for another battery."

I'm no exception - when the A7II came with one battery and no charger, I was annoyed. Now that I have 5 batteries and two chargers, I'll be annoyed when the next camera comes with extra batteries and a charger.:loco:

Other favorites are:
"Company X must do Y to survive" => "I want Y from Company X"
"Only hipster poseurs use Camera Z" => "I can't rationalize spending the money on Camera Z"
"Since Camera A has better Measurement M than Camera B, Camera A is objectively better than Camera B"=> "I like pictures that show off Measurement M."
"This is an objective fact" => "This is my opinion"
"Amateurs do P, Professionals do Q" => "I do Q."

:facesmack:,

Matt

 

[Jim DE]

I think I maybe a bit heavy on the batteries myself especially if the camera comes with two and I just grabbed two with my accessories savings cash from Sony.

 

[dandrewk]

I don't think anybody has said the lack of battery is a trivial issue... to the consumer. However, cost wise, it IS a trivial issue for the manufacturer.

We've seen how HUGE the savings are when you buy batteries/chargers from a third party. That should give an indication as to the cost of manufacture. There's tons of profit there, and therein lies the true costs to Sony - say goodbye to that nice, fat margin.

I read somewhere that retailers don't have a large margin on the camera bodies, and anyone who has tried to buy a camera at a brick/mortar store knows the story: always a hard sell to get you to "add on". It's similar to automobiles - the dealership doesn't make ton on the car sale, but boy do they reap it in on aftermarket - upgrades, extended warranties etc, maintenance. Try and get out of a dealership without a long presentation of why we should "add on" to the warranty. It doesn't happen.

I am very happy if the extra battery(s) are indeed included. And many thanks to Sony for recognizing customer goodwill trumps the lost profits from a few add-ons.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Dealer markup is very low. I have heard 3 percent

 

[Knorp]

It's not the extra battery I'm happy about, it's that included charger :grin:
In fact I'm rather worried why Sony feel the need to provide two batteries ... :wtf:

All the best.

 

[Viramati]

Well tha A7s came with 2 batteries and a charger as well and you certainly need the extra batteries if you want to shoot for any length of time