Selling the Next Lens: Expanding Your Customer’s Creative Experience for Fun and Profit
The best next lens for your customers depends on what they’ve got now, and their picture-taking priorities.
November 2011 By Jason SchneiderAs the market for digital SLRs continues in robust expansion mode, and the compact interchangeable-lens camera market has caught fire with consumers and manufacturers, it’s hardly surprising that interchangeable lenses have become a hot topic as we enter the holiday season.
With the current focus on personal creativity and doing more with pictures, savvy consumers well understand that the greatest advantages of shooting with a DSLR or compact system camera is the ability to change lenses. It allows them to pick the precise type of lens that best suits their subjects and shooting style—from ultra wide angles to super telephotos and everything in between—and to expand their shooting range and enhance their picture-taking experience.
The First Lens Sets the Stage
The most popular first lens bought with a DSLR is a short zoom (sometimes called a standard zoom), such as the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lenses offered by every major camera maker with their DSLR starter kits. The 18-55mm, equivalent to a 28-85mm lens on a full-frame pro camera, provides wide-angle to medium telephoto coverage and a 3x tele-to-wide zoom ratio. Compact, lightweight and inexpensive, the 18-55mm is a great starter lens for general shooting, but suggesting a two-lens outfit to your customers is a good move because it is mutually beneficial. And while I don’t have the stats to back it up, I have a hunch that purchasers who experience the real benefits of switching lenses are more likely to buy a third or fourth lens from the store that sold them their outfit.
Start with a Two-Lens Outfit
A good example is the Nikon D3100 two-lens kit, currently available at a street price of $699.99 with a normal zoom AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.6-5.6G VR lens and a compact AF-S DX Nikkor 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6G VR telephoto zoom. This combo deal delivers a nonoverlapping zoom range from 18-200mm, covering an equivalent range from 28mm wide angle (for indoor shots and vistas) to 300mm super telephoto (for sports and nature), and it saves your customers somewhere between 50 and 100 bucks on the cost of the second telephoto zoom lens. nikonusa.com
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