John you can go to the Sony Rebate page and see a list of authorized dealers, and I can guarantee you that none of those low balling discount dealers are on them.
They are bait and switch, and for the most part most any online dealer based in Brooklyn NY will be so.

If you want the camera, I say go with B & H, as you won't find a better authorized dealer price out there for the most part.

B & H does such great volume business that they get specail deals on prices from manufacturers like Sony, that enable them to sell their products for lower than normal pricing. This is whay you will see them with links on their site saying, email me a lower price, as they can't advertise their actual selling price publicly.

Trust me on this go with B & H. as you will have peace of mind knowing that the camera isn't Grey Market (from Japan and not with US Warranty), and you will get reliable support and service from them.

Just remember the old addage, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

You might luck out and save a few bucks somewhere else, but I guarantee you it won't be worth it.

I agree with Michael. Plus you will save yourself a lot of headches by dealing with B&H. Their name would not get mentioned so much if they were NOT so reputable!

I have to chime in, as I too almost tried to go with some of the 'online/shipped from Brooklyn' stores - in the weeks before the holidays, the camera was $1699 on some of the 'price-hunter' sites, but then mysteriously went up to $1899 on several sites in one day.

After reading so many reviews on epinion.com and other sites, I decided that while getting a A1U for $1699 or even $1899 _seemed_ like it might be worth the trouble, buying it from B & H for $2499 was much easier on the mind and spirit. Plus, I live in NYC, and I was able to walk in, buy it and get my mitts on it - instant gratification!

The serendipitous and karmic pay-off has come in the form of this rebate, making the camera almost as 'affordable' as the online scammers purport to be.

Getting to the rebate form has been a mild annoyance - create an account on Sony online, enter a bunch of information, then download the rebate form - but it's obviously well worth doing: excluding tax, it's making the camera approximately $2000, actually within the range of the casual HC1 prices you see.

If you want to buy this camera, Go with B & H before the rebate ends and don't look back.

Just bought the A1U! And of course from B&H.

I advise adding www.resellerratings.com/ to your bookmarks.

Wow! This is hard to believe, but with the rebate from a site I just ordered this camcorder off of, the price comes out below the lowest price I could find for the HC1!!! Not only that, but I'm upgrading from a GS400, and am barely paying anything extra to move up to this camera! I think I'm going to need to take a cold shower after this!!!

Would you mind sharing the site and price? Thanks!

Sure...

I ordered the camera from PrestigeCamera.com for $1781 + $89 s/h. Total came out to $1870.55, and minus the rebate brings it down to $1370.55, only $30 more than the cheapest HC1 I could find!!!

PrestigeCamera.com Authorized Dealer?
 

I do not see them listed on Sony's site as an authorized dealer. Does anyone know if that would preclude the camera from qualifying for the rebate?

I hope that's not the case, but there was a field for adding additional resellers. So I'm assuming Sony's list isn't a complete one.

good luck, but I think that is another name for Broadway Photo:

http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1995.html

Hope it turns out alright.

Wish I would have seen that before... for some reason, the reviews I saw beforehand were all fairly positive. As of now, their system says that my order is being packaged, and a tracking number should be emailed to me by the end of the day. *Crossing my fingers* ugh

Unfortunately, I would not bet on it. You should be getting a phone call from them soon. Then they will try to sell you their overpriced accessories. Obviously you'll deny, and your camcorder will coincidentally be placed on backorder...forever!

And that my friend, is a typical bait-and-switch scam. Fortunately, you will not lose any money unless you agree to receive the grey-market device. That is, with the manual, cables, A/C adapter. Just the camcorder...alone.

Let me know how it turned out.

Oh, I did the phone call thing this morning... there wasn't any kind of problem. The guy confirmed my address, asked me if I'd like to order a battery or UV lens... I told him I already had both, and he told me it should be shipping out by the end of the day, which was reflected on their tracking system a few hours later. God I hope I'm one of the lucky ones with this! I did 3 day shipping, so it's got a constrained shipping time...

we'll see...

Well, I just got my email confirmation that a package has been shipped, and it is currently trackable in the UPS system. I'll know on Thursday whether I got a good deal, or if they ripped me off. Wish me luck!

Hey Matthew, do you see an issue with the rebate and Sony's requirements?

Wow. Keep us posted! If this turns out well, it is obviously a considerable savings... who WOULDN'T want an A1 for 1370?!? We'll keep our fingers crossed too :)

Mathew, unfortunately I don't think that Sony will recognize them as an authorized reseller. So the rebate won't apply. Sony is pretty firm about who is and who isn't an authorized reseller. Most to none of those discount stores are considered authorized sellers.
B & H is pretty much as low as you will find for an authorized reseller, although some might be a bit lower ($20-50), but not a lot lower.

You're most probably receiving a grey-market camcorder. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't get any warranty neither, which has been mentioned by some of the folks at resellerratings.com.

Maybe it will never need fixed!!

?? Not sure what you mean Bob...

I was wondering, are there any differences between an HVR-A1 and an HVR-A1U?

I know the U stands for USA, like the E on the A1E is for Europe. On the website I ordered from, they list the camera as just A1. Only really wondering for the rebate.

Maybe you will never have to send the camera in for repair (to Japan or someplace) if you end up with a camera with no warranity.

If you payed by credit card you might be able to get them to stop payment. If it is a good credit card company they will be glad to do it if your getting ripped off. I would call and ask what can be done and do it right away.

Easy, easy...
 

Whoa, don't panic the guy! I think he should at least see if they can meet the shipping time-frame they gave him. If it starts getting slim shady, then start making calls.

I hope it works out smoothly.

Also, in my experience, grey market or straight-up purchased from the Sony store here in NYC, getting broken electronics fixed is always a chore. It's gonna suck either way. So if the thing arrives, and you get a good price, you're still doing alright.

By the way, I think the A1U and A1E, etc., cameras are just off-handedly referred to as the 'A1,' I don't believe there's a specific 'A1' model. Let us know when you get it, Matthew.

Okay, this rebate has really gotten my attention. I don't need HD at the moment (and really can't even use it for any of my already-scheduled 2006 projects, to be honest)....but at this price, I don't know if I can pass it up.

I currently shoot with a PDX10 in DVCAM mode (SD). We now have a need to buy a second camera, one that will work within similar parameters as our current one (meaning 16:9 DV, interlaced, same audio setup, etc). So we looked into the price of buying another new one from B&H, but and when it's all said and done, there's only a $300 difference between a PDX10 and an A1U (which is well within my budget).

Wow. I just can't believe this price. Now if I can just get over a few annoying egronomic issues with the A1, I just might have to order one....

Duane, I am sure you can. The A1 DOES take some getting used to, but once you so, you can't imagine going back to anything else you have. Sure the bottom loading tape mechanism is a pain-in-the-butt, but there are numerous adapters out there that has resolves this issue.

Well the bottom-loading isn't the ONLY thing I don't like; I'd prefer manual buttons instead of on-screen, and I'd prefer the eyepiece pull out like my PDX10 (althought I think an iCuff would help).

But I think the IMAGE improvment will make it worthwhile to learn to live with those annoyances.

I'm definately going to run this idea by the boss. :-)

What are you using now for the 4x4 DVD? The PDX?

Agreed, the on-screen menus, while well-organized and better than most, are still on-screeen. But I guess that is one of the compromises for size and cost.
A friend of mine who has the PDX10 also cites the lack of 'pro' data offered to you by the A1U, like using '+' and '-' everywhere instead of actual gain, exposure, and f-stop settings... But he's having a hard time resisting the HDV. I think it could still be taken a few steps further in the 'pro' direction, but I've covered that in my previous posts in this thread.

Yes. It fits my needs well -- small enough to run-and-gun with all day long (generally, I shoot for 2 days straight, 8+ hours per day). The PDX10 has it's own fair share of problems, but I've learned to avoid them as well. And thankfully, EVERYTHING that I shoot is outdoors in full daylight, so the bad low-light performance isn't an issue.

Why, do you think the A1 would be a bad choice for what I'm shooting? Or maybe a good one?

LOL!

. Probably better and like you said you are shooting outside,,

Well, I recieved my camera today... been playing with it for hours now. And you guys were right, Definately black market... it's the A1J, and no warrenty, and worst of all, no rebate... I think I'm gonna have to sell my left eye to cover this.

Actually, considering the lowest real retail price minus the rebate, I think I did alright. I was pretty close to buying a DVX100 around the same price, which wouldn't have had a warrenty, and would have been more likely to had problems (since it was 3 years old).

So all in all... a somewhat scary ride, but worth it so far. I'm going to try and brake this thing in over the next couple weeks with my depth of field rig... will post some samples when I get something worthy...

thanks for all the support guys.

Did you pay buy credit card? Call them and tell them you got scammed. They will stop payment and once you know its been stopped call that dealer up ask where he wants the camera shipped back too. Ask him to send you a shipping label Let him pay for the shipping.

Most credit card companies are good about helping.

Unless I'd be able to keep the camera, I think I'll stick with it... and like I said, I think, even without the rebate, I got a pretty good price.

Anybody had a problem processing the Rebate form online? I filled it all out, clicked "Submit invoice and finish" and it just stalls and stalls.... I'm using Firefox.

Lee

Lee, used Firefox Mac for mine, and it worked without a hitch.

It is a good price, and it will probably be just fine, Matthew - enjoy the camera. Let's see those "35mm lens" tests when you can get them up...

But you should go on to one of those (or several) sites where you can leave ratings for retailers and let others know that you received a grey-market item from that company.

Others might not be as willing to cope with that, and might appreciate the warning if they happen to see it.

Thanks guys, I was indeed able to get the form filled out with Firefox. Must have been a momentary error either on their server or with my computer.

Lee

I'm sure the rebate is legit. If there was any problem with it, B&H is a class enough outfit, that they would probably take it out of their own pocket to make things right with the customer if they had to.

HVRA1U $500 Rebate - Correct Website
 

It's real.

Go to: http://www.sony.com/hdv

They say this rebate is only for business users and you need to fill out the rebate form under the business name? can anyone confrim this?