Brian, welcome to IIS! Price of $299 is in Australian dollars. It is roughly $US225. Go to
http://www.xe.com/ucc/ to get a better estimate for any currency based on current exchange rates. If you are in the US you are better off buying locally. $AU299 includes postage in Australia, but postage to the US would cost quite a bit more more. Here, the 19mm Panoptic sells for $399 new in the shops, which is about $US300.