Why are flashguns SO expensive?

Can anyone shed any light (oops, pun) on this?

The AF-540FGZ is the same price as the K-r plus kit lens, which just seems mad to me.

I count myself incredibly fortunate to have acquired two Samsung SEF-54PZF guns, brand new from Amazon, identical to the AF-540FGZ, when they were selling them for £181.

I'd quite like a ring flash, but the AF160FC is £500.

Crazy.. why?

To make money from you.

There has to be more to it than that. There must be loads of people that wouldn't consider spending 400 quid on a 540, and either gravitate to Metz (£280 for a 58 AF-2, for instance), or try and find something second hand.

They don't make any money at all from those people.

Are there really many people who have to have a Pentax badge on everything and are prepared to pay a huge premium for it?

I keep buying pentax product just for the shake of keeping alive and develop a full frame camera. Yet I don;t have the money to buy a 645D.

But yes I paid £300 for my 540 brand new 2 years ago.

Daft thing is, is that it's not worth 500 pounds and outside of the UK, does not sell for that. I paid 280 pounds for mine brand new from Adorama. Most countries I work in don't bother with duty on such trivial sums. Even when in the USA, I buy from New York, delivered to Houston. No state tax and typically $35 next day UPS or free delivery. Australia does not charge import duty or tax on purchases of under $1000 delivered.

Best to remember that paying UK prices does not help Pentax any more than those in the USA etc who pay a lot less for the same product.

Best regards

I buy from Hong Kong, Tax free. I paid for my FA 31mm just over £550

Interestingly, it seems that if you're travelling yourself, you can bring goods back (from your own trips) worth up to £390 without paying tax or duty.

But my point isn't so much about UK prices vs US or HK ones, it's about the enormous premium specifically on Pentax-branded flashes, also relative to the cost of the cameras.

you are compareing the top end flash with the low end camera. The flash seems very cheap comapre to the 645D high end camera.

I think Canon sells their high end flash for more.

It's all down to supply and demand in the end, plus of course the limitations of actual manufacturing and distribution costs.

I would expect the makup to be higher on accessories than on the loss-leader or small margin headline products such as camera kits.

Anybody who works in a retail environment will know all about add-ons.

I don't think this comparison makes any sense at all. The 540 has existed for a lot longer than the 645D.

It would be fair enough to compare the £400 price of the 540 with the £1000 price of the K-5, but not with a recently-introduced camera of a different format which has increased the price at the top end by a factor of ten.

The most expensive Canon flash at SRS is the Speedlite 580EX, at £375.

This is cheaper (absolutely) than the AF540, and also relatively, compared with the price of the 7D (not the 5D, since we're comparing like with like).

http://www.microglobe.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?pName=pentax-540-af-fgz-af5...

£340 here is selling, same as the canon, where did the find the £500 quote?

oh sorry my mistake, the 160 for £500 you are talking about

They were even more expensive in 2009 when we talked about this before.
Ref: https://www.pentaxuser.com/forum/topic/pentax-the-most-expensive-flash-13654

Actually, fair enough - if that's genuine stock for the 540, it's a lot cheaper than SRS. I only looked at SRS since they're usually so competitive.

Not quite such a premium over the Metz then, there.

I suppose £340 vs £270 isn't outrageous, for the usual brand markup. I'd get the Metz, now, I think, if I was buying new, given its additional features and firmware upgradability.

Do Canons and Nikons offer wireless off camera flash?

I know Nikon flashes are very highly regarded and seem a lot cheaper than Pentax ones. Is the wireless ability the reason?