[Deals] Major Photography Rebates Are Coming To An End

Everyone knows that Rebates come and go. Right now however many companies have substantial rebates on some of their top gear. The bad news is apparently a lot of these rebates are coming to an end on April 1st (no joke here). We recently got a phone call from the guys at BH Photo, and I've combined all the major deals into one post. If you are in need of some new lenses, cameras, or computer storage, be sure to check out the full post.

Canon:

Canon is in the middle of their bi annual Double Instant Savings Campaign. If you are looking to get a new lens and a new body then now is the time to purchase them together. The good news is you can save a couple hundred dollars on many of the lenses. The bad news is it's only valid on Canon 60D, Canon 7D, and Canon 5D Mark II. If you really need that lens maybe you can pawn off the camera on ebay.

If you are trying to hunt down the new Canon 5D Mark III DSLR, BHphoto has a couple hundred kits in stock right now which I was told will sell out in a few days. I know this camera is in crazy demand right now but I'm not as familiar with Canon's lens lineup. If the high ISO is as good as they say then maybe this 24-105 F4 L lens would be a good overall lens. Who knows?

Nikon:

Nikon is about to wrap up their Camera/lens rebate. For most of our readers this isn't going to be too exciting since the only cameras included are D3100s and D5100s with variable aperture zoom telephoto lenses. But if you are a student or need a gift for someone just getting into photography then these deals are really solid. You know those people who say, "man I need to get a great DSLR camera for less than $1000, what should I get that takes amazing photos?".....well these deals are for them.

Also perhaps the most talked about digital SLR in history, the Nikon D800, is starting to ship now too. I've been told this might be one of Nikon's largest releases to date so even if you think you might want one a few months down the road you might want to go ahead and get one on preorder. Nikon Rumors is hinting at possible Nikon price hikes in the very near future...other markets have already been hit hard lately.

Sigma:

Sigma currently has a few rebates on some basic zooms and macro lenses. However, one of our favorite zoom lenses, the Sigma 17-50 2.8 OS, currently has a $75 rebate which comes and goes throughout the year. While the Tamron 17-50 2.8 VC is our all time favorite lens for video, the Sigma 17-50 2.8 is the other goto lens for video and stills because it has vibration compensation (optical stabilization) built into the lens for smooth HD video.

Drobo:

A few years ago I was introduced to the Drobo system by Peter Hurley. Before then I was running a mirrored RAID system on my computer and filling up 2TB drives every 8 months or so. Once both Lee and I switched to the Drobo system, I have almost unlimited memory and I haven't thought twice about those old hard drives laying around. BH Photo is currently offering $60-$250 off many of the Drobo systems. Lee, Lauren, and I all have the Drobo S 5 Bay system (without USB 3 unfortunately) and they have really made our lives a lot easier. Of course you still need an off site storage system as well since these won't protect you against floods or fires but they are a lot better than dealing with smaller RAID systems especially if your PC tower only holds 4 drives....and we know you are all using PCs right?