14n for $3,000?!?!?

This guy has three of them new for $2,940 each... Sounds pretty good and this guy has a good feedback rating so...

That is a really good price. If today was 6 months ago and I had just gotten my insurance check from DAN, I'd probably buy one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&category=30020

Cheers

James

Photoshop CS supports 14n RAW files natively even though they don't list it.

Ummmm, not to be the neagtive one in the crowd, but I'd stay away from that auction if I were you. Take a look at his feedback for what he's bought / sold. First off, he's never sold anything (at least as far back as eBay tracks buy versus sell). And he's pretty much only ever bought antiques (lots of baking stuff???).

Looks like a hijacked account to me.

Could very well be Tom. Good pt. Buyer ALWAYS beware on Ebay.

Cheers

James

May be a stolen account.

Email him and ask him to CALL you. You're going to bid on a $3,000 item - if he won't (or can't, because the thief doesn't get the email!) call you, or if the registered location doesn't match the area code of the person who calls on the caller ID, then you get REAL suspicious!

Ha, believe me, I am not going to bid on one of these. I just thought it would start an interesting discussion - both about E-bay and about the 14n

I think it would make a pretty good F-mount camera when shot at ISO80 or 100 - like it is "designed" to be shot.

Cheers

James

It really is a shame, I wish Kodak had gotten their act together on the 14N. At least then there'd be some high-end competition for Canon. As it stands, they have no reason to come out with anything new other than purely to stay ahead. Maybe with another viable full-frame camera being adopted, the prices would come down a bit on the 1Ds (not that I'd be buying one any time soon, barring a good lottery result).

The eBay auction has all the indications of a scam.

The things I've read on the 14n have been more positive recently. It's possible that you feel obligated to like it after spending that kind of money.

I think the 14n would make a great underwater setup. It's performance at high ISO's doesn't matter. Long exposures don't matter. I suspect the lack of anti-aliasing filter doesn't matter. It's smaller and lighter than the 1Ds.

Aliasing artifacts only matter if there is high frequency information that actually causes aliasing. Given the resolving power of the camera vs. the lenses and the fact that you have to travel through a port, water, and possibly diopters, I'm not sure you will see any. I'm only speculating, but I'd really like to see an Aquatica/Nexus/Subal/Seacam option for the 14n.

Is that what you were hoping for, James?

Yes, pretty much.

I'd like to put my hands on a 14n if only just to see if it will fit inside of the blank that Aquatica has designed for the D100 and the S2pro. The 14n is a bit of a "doughboy" but I have a feeling that there's room.

The perceived problems with the 14N probably aren't that big of a deal for us UW shooters:

Slow startup - how often do you turn your camera on and off on a dive? I avoid it if at all possible.

Heating problems - will these be problems when the camera/housing is immersed in 80 degree water? Not sure. If I remember, the 14n has a cooling fan on the camera, so this could be a problem if not enough heat transfer from camera-air-housing material-water.

Noise at higher ISO's - If it has the same noise performance as a D100 at ISO200 and is better at 100, then that's good enough for me. Is that the case though? Not sure.

Battery life - Realistically, if the battery lasts for a whole dive of RAW shooting, that's acceptable. Not ideal, but acceptable.

Proprietary Software - it sounds like the PS CS has a RAW converter for Kodak - cool.

So imagine if you could get a full frame nikon mount camera like the 14n for $3500 (that's realistic if you look), then a nice housing from Aquatica for ~$2,000. You wouldn't have to shell out for exotic glass as a 20mm fixed or a 17-35 would do-ya. So throw in $500 for a lens and another $300 for a dome.

That would be a $6,300 full frame system!

Cheers

James

In researching the hostogram issue for another thread I came across this post:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp...message=6564073

Basically, the claim is that the 14n attempts to capture a very wide dynamic range and ultimately delivers noise in the lowest stops. Not certain I buy this but the poster is a well-known name. Anyway, the conclusion is that you can choose to discard the low level detail resulting in a noise-free image and dynamic range wider than competitive cameras. The author goes on to claim that capability is user-settable in the Kodak software.

I also worry about battery life but heard that the Kodak battery was good for quite a few images. I figured two dives would be OK.

Where's your macro lenses and ports, James?

Where's your macro lenses and ports, James?

Well, I'd want to keep my cropped sensor camera and TTL for that, wouldn't I? :-)

Cheers

James

If B&H is getting $4700 for the 14n, there's just no way this guy can sell one - much less three - for $2900.

Possibilities:

1. Scam artist

2. The cameras are stolen

IF IT LOOKS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT ALMOST CERTAINLY IS. IMHO

Well, I'd want to keep my cropped sensor camera and TTL for that, wouldn't I? :-)

 

Cheers

James

Oh, then it's $6300 for your wide angle setup only!

I’m willing to plop down the bucks for this camera. I’ve ask the seller to contact me so I can get more information about the deal, and ask about the money transfer. I’ve been beat before so I’m some what skeptical at this point. I’ll keep you all posted when I hear back from the seller ?

Marc

This is the first response I got today from the seller. I responded to his e-mail and asked him for his full name, address, and his home phone number.

Marc

Yes I know, frauds are happening, but all these are outside United States. I was surprised myself when I heard how some peoples can send money for G4 computers or sophisticated cameras in Europe and Russia. I live in the United States and I was born here and something like this cannot be discussed. I understand your concern about sending money over something bought on the internet but you really don't have any reason to worry. eBay transactions are very secure and if something goes wrong I will have enough info about you and you about me to trace. I'm an honest man, 53 years old and I don't have any intention to scam you. You can check my feedback. Western Union will have my ID picture, name and address when I pick up the money. I don't intend to ruin my feedback or go to jail. Here you have the serial number: P14N 0 08766.

Thank you for understanding,

Tom

blueseas@earthlink.net wrote:

I’d like to purchase one of your Kodak DC14N cameras.

I’ve been burned before sending a money order to a seller and I’m a bit leery about it happening again. How can you put me at ease about this transaction that you’ll delivery the camera ?

Marc

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

Darn, he's told you nothing except that he doesn't intend to scam you. Well duh! lol

Gee I was expecting something more like "Hi, I intend to scam you using Western Union. Send all of the money through Western Union and I will lie and tell you I can't pick it up unless you give me the "password.""

Not taking the piss out of you Marc - I'm just joking. I would want to talk to him on the phone, did you ask him for his number? I would call.

Full retail on the camera is $3,900 right now, so this might actually be legit. Just got to find out for sure...

Cheers

James

FWIW, the auction is no longer up on Ebay.

Cheers

James

Hey all,

I think it was a scam. I saw something similar for a Fuji S2 plus 50mm lens for $1500 when I was shopping around. I made an inquiry to the security people at E-bay and the listing was shut down. I would never send any amount of money Western Union.

For legit sellers, it takes almost no effort to set up an account with Paypal. Paying with a credit card will protect you from scams as they will (in my experience) always reverse the charges if not legit.

Coming from someone who bought all their camera gear through E-bay (minus the housing).

Beware!

John

John makes an excellent point about PayPal. I buy and sell a good bit on eBay, and PayPal is the only way to go, at least for big ticket items. If a seller doesn't have a verified PayPal account, I would always tend to be suspicious. I sold a Nikon N80 on eBay last night, the buyer paid with PayPal almost immediately, and I shipped it this morning. It's a good deal for both parties.