Sony A57 DSLR, 18-135mm/55-300mm SAM/DMF, 32GB SD,BAG, EXTRAS, $50 CERT,$45 GC, XW $8, $948 FS NR

You are correct. No longer available.

Sony has decided to discontinue the A57/A37/A65 with 18-135mm kit, according to various sources (see dpreview forum discussion [dpreview.com]). It also shows discontinued at Sony Store here [sony.com]. I hope those with pending orders get their shipments... It was a great combo, Sony is probably trying to capitalize on popularity & reviews of this lens by selling it separately at full price! So, do not expect this to come back in stock, or any other combo (A37 or A65) with this lens (except for A77). Good luck.

Quote from mrbuyit : Sony has decided to discontinue the A57/A37/A65 with 18-135mm kit, according to various sources (see dpreview forum discussion [dpreview.com]). It also shows discontinued at Sony Store here [sony.com]. I hope those with pending orders get their shipments... It was a great combo, Sony is probably trying to capitalize on popularity & reviews of this lens by selling it separately at full price! So, do not expect this to come back in stock, or any other combo (A37 or A65) with this lens (except for A77). Good luck.

Bummer! Just put in an order from Dell a little bit ago to take advantage of the $150 statement credit for buying from Dell. Fingers crossed that it actually ships!

This just seems like a crazy decision by Sony. I can't see them not losing significant business to Canon (namely the T4i with 18-135 lens) with this decision.

The T4i with an 18-135 lens is priced at around $900, the A57 with the same lens was around $750. Sony should have raised the price instead of discontinuing it.

Deal is still available from Buydig for $748 - $60 (GC) with a case, battery, 32gb card, and more. That deal (which was already very good) becomes a lot slicker in light of this news.

I waited too long on the Adorama and BuyDig deals, so I ended up ordering the A57 with the 18-135 mm SAM lens late yesterday from Amazon for $748, but at least get 2% rewards and 1% cashback.

I figured I better grab that since B&H shows the A57 / 18-135 kit discontinued.

Quote from Rexman : I waited too long on the Adorama and BuyDig deals, so I ended up ordering the A57 with the 18-135 mm SAM lens late yesterday from Amazon for $748, but at least get 2% rewards and 1% cashback. I figured I better grab that since B&H shows the A57 / 18-135 kit discontinued.

You missed out on your own deal?!?

Quote from crakarjax : You missed out on your own deal?!?

Yes, I missed out on my original deal (Adorama $748 bundle), plus my modified deal (Adorama $948 bundle), then the BuyDig $748 bundle. I knew they were good deals, but I was debating whether I really wanted to spend $750 to $1000 on a camera right now or wait until spring/summer to see if a new model might come along, and I figured I would have more time before the good deals were gone. If I had known the A57 with the18-135 kit was being discontinued, I would have jumped on one of those deals before they were gone. Once I found that info out, I decided to get the Amazon bundle while they still had stock available. I decided that the A57 just looks like too nice of a camera over-all to be waiting months longer to see what may or may not come along that's better. So, I spent just as much money as a couple of those slickdeals, but no VISA gift card, bag, or memory card with the package. On the flip side, at least I didn't spend $650 on the body-only as I would have had to do last summer!... plus I'll get my 2% Amazon rewards & 1 % Chase cashback, and no tax, so I can live with that.

Oh, one bad thing... I waited a day too long to order, I guess. It's scheduled for delivery on Dec 24th, which is one day after a big party I'm going to.... it figures. I also ordered an LX7, which arrived today, but the external flash for it hasn't even been shipped yet.

Anyway, I'm doing some testing on the LX7 this evening and will put the A57 through the paces (checking focus accuracy, exposure, etc.) when I get it using my existing lenses and 3600HS(D) flash. Hopefully, there are no unpleasant surprises.

Well, some good news. The camera arrived today along with my 45MB/s SDHC card, so now I have it in time for the party. Now for the battery to charge and put the thing through its paces.

Quote from Rexman : Well, some good news. The camera arrived today along with my 45MB/s SDHC card, so now I have it in time for the party. Now for the battery to charge and put the thing through its paces.

Keep us updated. My bundle from Buydig is supposed to arrive today too.