Upcoming Nikon F-mount Lens Instant Rebate Program

Nikon will be announcing another Instant Rebate program to close out F-mount lenses by the end of this month. The lenses in this program are pro-level lenses - 300mm, 400mm, 500mm, 600mm and 800mm, as well as PC and other top end primes and long zooms. The new program is expected to be announced July 29 and will go until September - but may be extended if inventory is available. Rebates range from $400 to $4800.

These items have limited inventory at most retailers but Nikon does have stock in the US and Japan. If something is not in stock, it can be ordered.

This is going to be the last chance to buy new copies of these lenses. If you are using a Nikon DSLR or will use an adapter on Z cameras, these include some very good deals.

Thanks for the heads up.

Even with the large discounts, that is a lot of money to spend on a dying system. The most egregious example is the F mount 800 f5.6. On sale, after $4,800 rebate, it still sells for $11,497. That is almost double the full retail price of the Z mount 800 f6.3. Even if you still use F mount (D850 or whatever), you could buy a new Z 800 and a new Z8 body to go with it for less than the price of the F mount lens alone, plus it would be substantially lighter and probably sharper. I mean, seriously, who would buy the F mount now at that price?

Those are some great deals!

MrFotoFool said:

Even with the large discounts, that is a lot of money to spend on a dying system. The most egregious example is the F mount 800 f5.6. On sale, after $4,800 rebate, it still sells for $11,497. That is almost double the full retail price of the Z mount 800 f6.3. Even if you still use F mount (D850 or whatever), you could buy a new Z 800 and a new Z8 body to go with it for less than the price of the F mount lens alone, plus it would be substantially lighter and probably sharper. I mean, seriously, who would buy the F mount now at that price?

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Personally, I would never try to catch a falling knife with a bare hand.

MrFotoFool said:

Even with the large discounts, that is a lot of money to spend on a dying system. The most egregious example is the F mount 800 f5.6. On sale, after $4,800 rebate, it still sells for $11,497. That is almost double the full retail price of the Z mount 800 f6.3. Even if you still use F mount (D850 or whatever), you could buy a new Z 800 and a new Z8 body to go with it for less than the price of the F mount lens alone, plus it would be substantially lighter and probably sharper. I mean, seriously, who would buy the F mount now at that price?

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On the other hand they made that 600 f4E look VERY tempting vs the Z mount price.

There are some additional items on the list I saw. This is not from Nikon and not final, but should give an idea of what else might be coming.

EricBowles said:

There are some additional items on the list I saw. This is not from Nikon and not final, but should give an idea of what else might be coming.

Description	Instant Rebate
AF-S 58mm F1.4G	$440
AF-S 24mm F1.4G	$600
AF-S 28mm F1.4 E ED	$600
AF-S 85mm F1.4G	$440
AF-S 300mm F2.8G	$1640
AF-S 400mm F2.8 E	$3000
AF-S 500mm F4 FL	$3000
AF-S 600mm F4 E	$3600
AF-S 800mm F5.6E Fl	$4800
PC-E 24mm F3.5ED	$600
AF-S 120-300mm F2.8	$2850
AF-S 180-400mm F4	$4400

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Still looking for the 35/1.4 G. Hope it makes the list.

Will the rebates be available in the UK?

wildlife_62 said:

Will the rebates be available in the UK?

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I don't know. Availability may also be a question and may vary by region. I would assume there is some sort of instant rebate coming to clear F-mount stock.

Nikon is reducing inventory. Just another sign that they will be exiting the dSLR market

I wonder if they will reduce the price of refurbished lenses by the same amount? That could be a real savings.

Depending on the product the Nikon European market share is in the region of 20-25% of total sales.
DSLR sales are falling anyway and EEC regulations prevent further D850 being imported after the end of this year - unless upgraded to accept a USB-c charger.

My speculation is Nikon has decided this EEC action will cut total world wide sales significantly and in consequence has started to end their DSLR body AND F mount lens production as there seems not much point in trying to sell pro grade lenses without "affordable" pro-grade bodies in production.

I wonder if this will drive down the used prices even more? Might be a great time to pick up one of the big E primes used if they correspondingly get cheaper. I’d probably stretch for a 600 f4E used for $5K or less.

RichF said:

Nikon is reducing inventory. Just another sign that they will be exiting the dSLR market

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They certainly are headed that direction. There are still some good DSLR cameras available, and some customers may still require DSLR cameras due to budget or other reasons. But clearly, the writing is on the wall that no new products will be developed for F-mount. At this point they are selling down inventory, so it is being managed proactively.

I understand these instant rebates are for existing supply only. Some products will sell out of US inventory but there is additional inventory in Japan of most products that will be used - especially for the exotics.

As far as the impact on refurbished products, its an indirect relationship. Refurbished pricing has always been managed to stay below normal selling prices, but the reductions for rebates vs. refurbished discounts are not 1:1.

EricBowles said:

They certainly are headed that direction. There are still some good DSLR cameras available, and some customers may still require DSLR cameras due to budget or other reasons. But clearly, the writing is on the wall that no new products will be developed for F-mount. At this point they are selling down inventory, so it is being managed proactively.

I understand these instant rebates are for existing supply only. Some products will sell out of US inventory but there is additional inventory in Japan of most products that will be used - especially for the exotics.

As far as the impact on refurbished products, its an indirect relationship. Refurbished pricing has always been managed to stay below normal selling prices, but the reductions for rebates vs. refurbished discounts are not 1:1.

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One of the demand sources are photographers operating multiple platforms; the Z cannot be adapted. I use my F mounts on Fuji GFX and Sony, soon Canon. And many of the pro-level AF-S lenses are superb and resolve 50mp sensors with no issues, even 100.

Len Shepherd said:

Depending on the product the Nikon European market share is in the region of 20-25% of total sales.
DSLR sales are falling anyway and EEC regulations prevent further D850 being imported after the end of this year - unless upgraded to accept a USB-c charger.

My speculation is Nikon has decided this EEC action will cut total world wide sales significantly and in consequence has started to end their DSLR body AND F mount lens production as there seems not much point in trying to sell pro grade lenses without "affordable" pro-grade bodies in production.

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Hi Len

Does this apply to the UK? Have you noticed any decrease in F-mount product availability?

I heard something that suggested EU dealers were already reducing stock of exotics and F-mount products. That makes sense given the upcoming EU regulatory change. I can't imagine a dealer wants to get stuck with camera bodies that cannot be sold after December 28.

F-mount sales are a very small portion of total Nikon Imaging sales right now. The loss of 20% of DSLR sales representing the EU is probably something like 2-3% of total sales and less in terms of profits. I suspect it has already been incorporated in financial plans.

EricBowles said:

They certainly are headed that direction. There are still some good DSLR cameras available, and some customers may still require DSLR cameras due to budget or other reasons. But clearly, the writing is on the wall that no new products will be developed for F-mount. At this point they are selling down inventory, so it is being managed proactively.

I understand these instant rebates are for existing supply only. Some products will sell out of US inventory but there is additional inventory in Japan of most products that will be used - especially for the exotics.

As far as the impact on refurbished products, its an indirect relationship. Refurbished pricing has always been managed to stay below normal selling prices, but the reductions for rebates vs. refurbished discounts are not 1:1.

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I wonder if Nikon (Corp/Japan) brings exotics to the US, what they will mean for product support? Will they be considered a direct import or will Nikon USA support these lenses?

RichF said:

I wonder if Nikon (Corp/Japan) brings exotics to the US, what they will mean for product support? Will they be considered a direct import or will Nikon USA support these lenses?

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If they're sold by Nikon USA and authorized dealers I'm certain they'll be serviced as needed without problem.

RichF said:

I wonder if Nikon (Corp/Japan) brings exotics to the US, what they will mean for product support? Will they be considered a direct import or will Nikon USA support these lenses?

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Nikon USA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nikon Inc. Same company.

For service, you will need a receipt. Nikon has different serial numbers for each region with many lenses, but the exotics usually have just one set of serial numbers covering all regions. In the US, the serial number of the lens is in their database and recognized automatically as an official lens rather than gray market.

One nice thing is that (assuming not gray market) that parts will be available for years for these given they are still being sold. So the risk is less than with the G series or earlier.

that price on the 400 2.8 looks like quite the steal and all the “e” glass is outstanding. i don’t think we’ll ever see a deal like that again

EricBowles said:

Hi Len

Does this apply to the UK? Have you noticed any decrease in F-mount product availability?

I heard something that suggested EU dealers were already reducing stock of exotics and F-mount products. That makes sense given the upcoming EU regulatory change. I can't imagine a dealer wants to get stuck with camera bodies that cannot be sold after December 28.

F-mount sales are a very small portion of total Nikon Imaging sales right now. The loss of 20% of DSLR sales representing the EU is probably something like 2-3% of total sales and less in terms of profits. I suspect it has already been incorporated in financial plans.

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Clarifications and additions
1/ I do not see an issue with someone like Grays of Westminster stocking up with D850 before the year end and selling them over time. The limitation is on new imports and not selling existing stock.
2/ I presume UK "official import" bodies are affected as Nikon UK stocks are first imported into Belgium - where the EEC ban will exist. As the UK is no longer part of the EEC I assume it will continue to be possible to grey import old stock from outside the EEC into the UK.
3/ It is reported Sony has stopped manufacturing it's bridge cameras with no plans for replacements. This might be because they do not consider it economic to produce new USB-c models based on what is now likely relatively low sales numbers.
4/ Guesstimating like you some figures - if DSLR sales have by now contracted by 80% world wide and at a stroke the EEC action reduces the residual 20% to 15% then I can understand many manufactures pulling out before the end of this year and concentrating more on ML sales.
5/ While about 40 F mount lenses are listed as available new at http://camerapricebuster.co.uk some are residual old stock. Rather fewer are listed at http://imaging.nikon.com - I speculate these are all that are still listed as theoretically available to retailers from Nikon.

6/ I speculate some Nikon owners - including me - will be hit with an asset value issue.
My 180-400 currently lists at £10,999.
£2,750 is a decent buy-in price retailing slowly at around £5,500 - before the rumoured Nikon price drop.
This aside it remains a great lens.