Thoughts on Marketing

Some companies seem unaware of Google and the Web as tool for the consumer. This December, body and rear lens caps for the E-mount (used by the popular NEX cameras and lenses) arrived at the North American Sony stores. Sony.com advertised the caps at a price of $5.99 US each while Sony.ca offered them for $11.99 each - TWICE the price in spite of our dollar being at PARITY with the greenback over the past 12 plus months!

Think of it - our Canadian branch of Sony feels it is necessary to sell the same bit of “made in China” plastic for DOUBLE the US price to make a profit.

I wrote Sony Canada Customer Service an email and received a very polite personal response. Unfortunately, it offered the usual bromides about the cost of doing business in Canada - high taxes, small market, regulations, rental costs, lower volume than the American Sony, hence smaller price breaks, etc., etc. I considered suggesting it is time for Sony to reorganize and eliminate the various geographic fiefdoms. In the end, I decided it was not worthwhile to get into a debate with customer service at this level.

Instead, I went online, Googled “NEX body caps”, and bought TWO caps from FotoForEasy in Hong Kong at a price of $7.21 Canadian including shipping...

Using the Sony NEX-5

Well my NEX-5 arrived last Friday and I have been experimenting with it over the weekend. Very pleased, but it is a bit tiny for my hands so I have to be careful not to press buttons by accident. The RAW images can be processed with Lightroom 3.2RC - a free preview of version 3.2 which is due shortly. The lens distortion correction in LR3.2 resolves one of the common issues stated in web reviews.

Learning to use the camera reduces the other issues with the menu structure. The most used functions are readily at hand with the few buttons on the camera - a utilitarian approach like that of the early Leicas. Their competitors were often armed with many bells and whistles to differentiate them from Mr Barnack's creation.

The photo is a close-up taken with the kit zoom lens (please excuse the poor lighting). I set the camera to ISO200, Aperture f/16, spot focus. The RAW file was processed in LR3.2RC. The subject is the Elmar 65mm Macro lens made in Midland back half a century ago in 1960. I have an adaptor on order which will allow me to use the Elmar on my NEX-5 at a crop to the area of a 100mm lens.