A DSLR for Less Than £400!

#1 Oleg K

According to resellerratings.com:

Oly E-300: $573 [8 MP]
Nikon D50: $603 [6 MP]
Pentax *ist: $642.66 [6 MP]
Oly E-500: $697 [8.8 MP]
Canon 300d: $705 [6 MP]
Canon 350d: $763 [8 MP]
Nikon D70: $823 [6 MP]

It's amazing that the cheapest DSLR is 8MP and the most expensive is 6MP.

Onlympus does make cheap DSLRs, I start to wonder how good they are.

3:11 pm - Friday, October 28, 2005

#2 LP

I snapped one of these up yesterday when I stumbled across it on Amazon. I just hope it's not a mistake on their part!

3:35 pm - Friday, October 28, 2005

#3 Chris Parker

And at the bottom of the Amazon page it lists the 55-200mm lens as included as well! I ordered it last week from Pixmania for £597 (both lenses) - arghh!
-----
Box Contents

E-500 body
14-45mm lens
55-200mm lens
USB cable
etc.

9:37 pm - Friday, October 28, 2005

#4 Mark Goldstein

Has anyone confirmed with Amazon if this deal includes one lens or two?

11:18 am - Saturday, October 29, 2005

#5 Alan

I have also ordered one, due for delivery 10 Nov'ish - account confirmation states 14-45 lens incl, no mention of second one, but who knows. I don't think anyone wants to contact Amazon just in case this is all a mistake, however when I ordered some memory which was £30 cheaper than anywhere shown on pricerunner they came up with the goods without question and then altered the price to match the others.

1:17 pm - Saturday, October 29, 2005

#6 Neil

I ordered one as well - only mentions the 14-45 lens. I agree, let's not alert Amazon to what is almost certainly an error on their part, after all the contract to supply is not binding until the goods are despatched.
Keeping my fingers crossed.....

5:06 pm - Saturday, October 29, 2005

#7 Tony

Ordered mine today 1:15pm, email says delivery date due 11th-20th Nov.
It now says "Limited Availability" and you can no longer order.
Furthermore, the "What's in the Box" section at the bottom of the page says there are 2 lenses. (14-45mm & 55-200mm).

5:39 pm - Saturday, October 29, 2005

#8 Neil

It now says 'This item is not in stock or has been discontinued'. My order is still active though.

7:12 pm - Saturday, October 29, 2005

#9 Alan

Just to keep the hope for some of us alive.

This was posted at a certain well known forum, so heres hoping....

-------------------


Looks like the folks who managed to get an order placed before amazon changed to not available *will* get an e500 at a bargain price.

I contacted amazon and got this reply:
---------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for contacting Amazon.co.uk.


Firstly, we would like to confirm that the item "E500 Kit DSLR with 14-45mm lens [equiv. 28-90mm] [8MP]" cost was 389.99 GBP. However, currently, we do not stock that item.

Further, now as the item is available in Auctions, its is your choice to select the maximum price you are willing to pay for the item, and length of time you would like to keep the pre-order open.

If you still have any issues, please write back to us and we are most happy to help you.

Thank you for contacting Amazon.co.uk.

Please let us know if this e-mail answered your question:

Please note: this e-mail was sent from an address that cannot accept incoming e-mail.

To contact us about an unrelated issue, please visit the Help section of our website.

Warmest regards

Manju Kumar
Customer Service
Amazon.co.uk

9:49 am - Monday, October 31, 2005

#10 Graham Stewart

In response to Oleg K:

There is a lot more to image quality than the number of megapixels.

The difference between 6 and 8 megapixel cameras is only 250 pixels horizontally and 450 pixels vertically.

At these levels the image quality is much more dependent on other factors such as: the quality of the lens, the accuracy of the focussing system, colour reproduction etc.

10:48 am - Monday, October 31, 2005

#11 ploppy

Ordered mine on 28th OCT @ £389.99
Del est 10th - 18th Nov
Cant wait
Anyone got theirs yet?

10:35 am - Friday, November 11, 2005

#12 Tony

My order has been cancelled. I'm Currently in dispute with Amazon.
Anybody else had any joy?

12:39 pm - Monday, November 28, 2005

#13 ploppy

I am also in dispute with amazon.
Order cancelled on 25th nov
Waiting for someone to ring back

2:31 pm - Monday, November 28, 2005

#14 ploppy

Two reasons given
1. No longer availiable (but still advertising)
2. Amazon wasn't the seller (but they were, I saved the webpage after ordering & no mention of reseller on site)

2:35 pm - Monday, November 28, 2005

#15 Tony

Had 4 phone calls, still waiting for 'supervisor' to get in touch.

Story keeps changing, now saying the one currently advertised is a 'Amazon Jersey' item - which it's not because those are usually highlighted in a blue box.

Was told on Friday it was a Marketplace item - but they back-tracked once I told them I had copies of my original order!

Ploppy - let me know if you get any joy, maybe I can use you as an example if they keep turning me away. Will keep you posted of my progress!

2:46 pm - Monday, November 28, 2005

#16 ploppy

Yes, they are trying the marketplace fob with me too.
They should be ringing before 5pm
I have sent an e-mail of complaint with copy of original page, no reply yet.
Have tried to put item review on amazon saying what I think, not appeared yet.
Not giving up that easy though.
Will be straight onto them in morning if I dont hear anything.
Mentioned trading standards to them as well.

2:52 pm - Monday, November 28, 2005

#17 Tony

Here's my strategy:
•They confirmed the price of 389.99 when I queried. Breach of contract!
•They promised on “My Account” that this and other orders would be fulfilled by Christmas Eve – then they cancel! – What if this was a present? That promise is clearly not worth anything.
•Considering the time scale – this is very bad customer service.

If they haven't rang by 4:30pm - i'm back at 'em!

3:01 pm - Monday, November 28, 2005

#18 ploppy

Thats exactly what my account said & they oked the price.
Even now they say they dont dispute the price.
So, what are they disputing.
If they can get an E500 & lens, whats the problem.
I can wait a couple of weeks.
But they are saying its not a legaly binding contract until they dispatch & take money.
Dont know if this is true.
Anyway, i've got to go and do some work now,
but keep me posted.

3:06 pm - Monday, November 28, 2005

#19 Tony

BTW, just checked their terms & conditions;
If they try the 'Amazon Jersey' fob - this is nonsense because the item on the web can be ordered with "SuperSaver Deliver" whereas Marketplace & Amason Jersey items have their own delivery rates!

Tony

3:29 pm - Monday, November 28, 2005

#20 ploppy

Thanks for that Tony, your right, mine had super saver delivery. Nobody has been back to me yet, either phone or e-mail. I'm back onto them at 9am today.

7:36 am - Tuesday, November 29, 2005

#21 ploppy

Still no joy with cust sevice.
Had to phone them, just being told they are trying to resolve problem, but can't tell me how they are trying. This is an email I got about 10 mins ago after saying I want to speak to the top person there :
"As promised, here is the address of our Head of Customer Services:
Emmanuel Seigner
Amazon.co.uk
Patriot Court
1-9 The Grove
Slough
Berkshire SL1 1QP
And to clarify...
Your issue has been escalated, and the appropriate team are working
to resolve the issue. Unlike yesterday, i don't want to give you a
guarenteed time, but i have been assured as soon as they have an
answer for your query, you will be contacted ASAP.
Once Again, i sincerely apologise for all the delays and problems
that you are currently experiencing.
Kind Regards,"

12:04 pm - Tuesday, November 29, 2005

#22 Tony

Spoken to 'Supervisor' last night who has taken on my case and promised a full investigation.

This was after another round of "the item online is a marketplace item" which was quickly back-tracked when I pointed to fact anyone can currently order the item with "SuperSaver Delivery" which is for Amazon items only.

Then they said I didn't have a contract - but soon was silenced when I made reference to email I recieved upon querying price that promises item for 389.99.

This was followed by promise to investigate and get back to me. They needed to speak to a 'specialist' team - which probably means their legal department.

Called this morning asking to speak to individual to be told they are still investigating.

Watch this space!

P.S don't let them make out the item currently available online is a different one. The ASIN number & Model number (listed below the description) are the same as our orders.

1:56 pm - Tuesday, November 29, 2005

#23 ploppy

Well you sound as though you are having more luck than me.
I just keep being told it's being looked into & they will get in touch asap. No suggestion of when.
Ah well, will ring them again tomorow.
Apparently head of cust sevice is called Emmanuel Seigner, will ask for them directly.
No dought unavailiable.
Good luck

3:27 pm - Tuesday, November 29, 2005

#24 ploppy

Tony, are you speaking to one person or being passed around & would it be cheeky of me to ask who you are speaking to?. Might have more luck if we spoke to same person.
There must be more people with this problem.

3:44 pm - Tuesday, November 29, 2005

#25 Tony

Speaking to 2 people!
tony at derbycounty.co.uk for details

6:43 pm - Tuesday, November 29, 2005

#26 ploppy

Cheers Tony,
Have sent you e-mail.

8:06 am - Wednesday, November 30, 2005

#27 Pete B

Any news on this? I'm interested because I had Amazon renage on a contract too, I wouldn't use them now if you paid me - most of the time they're fine, but if you get into even a minor disagreement their customer service is awful.

This seems like a clear case of Amazon trying to get out of the contract you have under the Sale of Goods Act - I would pursue for all it's worth if you can. Just telling you they made a mistake and it was mispriced/described isn't good enough, there are some precedents for this in case law I believe.

If you need advice I recommend Consumer Direct (http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/) who can give you unbiast, free advice from legal experts specialising in consumer law. They can tell you where you stand and what you can do about it. It would also be worth checking out your rights under the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000.

Hope that helps,

Pete.

1:22 pm - Sunday, December 4, 2005

#28 Tony

Thanks for this Pete.

The latest news is, after days of cyclic arguing, Amazon have reinstataed mine and other peoples orders. They are offering a 2 lens kit for the original asking price of 389.99. This seems like a reasonable deal because both lenses are Olympus - there's no mention of the Sigma lens.

Delivery is due early New Year.

Anybody following this story can read about others in a similar situation at:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1022&message=16075062

Tony

1:45 pm - Sunday, December 4, 2005

#29 Pete B

Great news! And a very good deal for the money..!

1:49 pm - Sunday, December 4, 2005