I saw some discussion about trying to buy two lenses through a large and well known international vendor with a location in Glasgow. Unavailable are the new 50mm AF-S f1.4G, and the 105mm f2.8 AF-S VR. Both appear to be back-ordered for as many as 30 and 20 units, respectively.

While I can't answer that question directly, several things come to mind, especially related to the newish 50mm:

• typically there is a small supply when new lenses come out
  
  
• this drives up prices because of high demand
  
  
• production for new products of any kind typically 'ramps up' as more time and resources are devoted to meeting demand
  
  
• with the sagging world economy, it's hard to oversupply in advance of sales
  
  
• some vendors and some markets get priority based on size and past performance
  
  
• there can be 'unseen' factors slowing production: labor, materials, technology, finance, supply chain forward and back, etc.

Flickr is good for socializing and meeting people in places that are near and far (like APG or the London group), but the hosting options are so limited that trying to use a Flickr account commercially, even if it were permitted, is fruitless. Permissions aren't flexible on a per photo or set basis. You really can't organize except in the fashion already laid out -- and once you get a few thousand pix and a number of clients whom you want to see certain things only, it becomes so unwieldy it's about impossible. It would be easier to have a free account for each use, and just keep track of them.

But, lets say you want to put proofs online, and only wish to give complete access to the B&G, partial access to first family members, full access to reception images, and so on -- you can try to establish classes of users with friends / family / contacts levels, but how about more per-photo options? It's just useless for that purpose - on purpose. Flawed business model in that context. Not as flawed in other ways. I really think that when it comes to commercial use you're better off setting up a web site, maybe using a service, designer, or package if it's beyond your abilities. Photographers need to be generalists, with knowledge of a lot of things, but expertise centered on photography and the business they're in, rather than the specifics of each related business segment, such as web design and maintenance, processing and printing, etc.

/..