photonick

I'll tell you right now, i worked in camera retail at one of the busier stores in Southern California and B&H sells cameras and lenses at cost for the most part, with cameras if it sounds too good to be true it is, I wouldn't mess with anything online other than B&H or maybe adorama. I got gear at cost at my store and it was still cheaper for me to buy it online at B&H, the camera companies have screwed the stores, they sell us a lens for a 1000 bucks we have to sell it for 1100. The nikon 70-200 f/2.8 vr is a good example my store made about $60 on that lens.

photonick

I thought the B&H super store was absolutley unimpressive when i visted.

photonick

orcanova, who do you shoot for, I'm a photojournalist too...errr or i was.

orcanova

AP. BTW, what was underwhelming about the store? I think its a real trip to be in a behive like that run by Hassidic Jews, and that mousetrap thing with all the conveyor belts overhead is is pretty amusing. Granted, you have to ask to see the gear and they have to radio down to the basement to have it sent up, nevertheless, I find it an interesting cultural experience.

twahl

It's been said before...

B&H.

slickdeals.net? You've got to be kidding...

orcanova

Yes. Like I mentioned, I've been buying from B&H well before the internet, and I've tried many NY mailorder firms. All the others I tried were not straightforward, or outright lied. When you asked it the item was in stock, the standard lie was "Yes, its a stock item," which means it is something they would stock if they actually HAD it. Invariably those were the people who refused to cancel the order, and you would have to go through a lot of aggrivation to get it cancelled. Additionally, I had been told more than once "USA warranty" and it would turn out to be gray market. Again, good luck on the return. B&H was the only firm that would tell the truth, admit it was a backordered item, would give you a USA warranty if you asked, etc.

J&R is also good. I've orderes stuff from them, usually ono-photographic, and never had a problem.

Adorama, 47thSt. Photo, 42nd St. Photo, I have been screwed by in the past, just to name a few.

photonick

I guess I found it underwhelming becaue I had been working in camera retail and there was nothing there i hadn't seen before, just felt like a camera circuit city, i can't really get jonsed on gear anymore. Thats cool some of my buddies were working with AP i think, might have ben only reuters though. You have a website? Mines www.nickbrandeauphoto.com, needs to be overhauled big time haha.

orcanova

^ no website. I am behind the times in that regard, but since I don't run a freelance business because I am on staff, I never had a compelling reason, other than a concise collection of my work over the years. But you can google me, Gerald Herbert, and a lot of AP stuff comes up..

I don't get jonesed over gear anymore either, but always enjoy the Hassids when I'm in NY...

photonick

You should create a light stalker account, it's like facebook for photojournalist, www.lightstalkers.org but has none of the crap and posers of flickr.

Gibbygoo

newegg

JMT114

Just be sure to check into the store before you buy. A few years ago I attempted to buy a camera from a site that was based in NYC ( I cannot remember which one). I found a great deal on a camera and placed the order.

The next day a "customer service representative" called my house asking me if I was going to add a $75 memory card and a $50 battery to my order. I told them no.

A few days later I checked on the status of my order, because it should have arrived. My order had been canceled.

I then called back as a new customer and I asked if the camera was in stock. Of course the camera was in stock. I then asked to speak to a manager because my order for the same camera had been canceled. Guess what, they hung up on me.

Then I went to the BBB website. This technique was one of their common practices. Sell the camera, call to upsell, if they don't buy more stuff, cancel the order.

Anyway, I learned my lesson about deals that are too good to be true.

photonick

like I said every store pays the same for gear from manufacturers then if they pay the bill on time they get a percentage back so a store is going to find a way to make money. If you see a lens or body less than b&h they are selling under cost and no one gives away money so be aware

Nekura

Slickdeals is great. I've gotten a lot of free stuff off there (Razors, dog food, DVDs, smoothies, etc.). There are always promo's and rebates for most things.

I wish I had known about B&H before I ordered my camera. I still got a better deal on Amazon, though.

elemental

B&H or Adorama. If it's cheaper than these, it's probably too good to be true (and there are many many sites that are).

Also let me throw my two cents in for the member(s) who mentioned first DSLRs- don't feel like you have t buy Canon or Nikon. There are other brands out there (and maby are a better deal).

End obligatory dark side plug.

Slackerprince

Thanks for the "Heads-up" on Fotoconnection.com and their sleazy practices.
I appreciate the info, and hope others can benefit.

S.

logdrum

BIC Camera but it's in Tokyo and no they aren't the cheapest but you can find some lenses that you thought never existed.

In the US only buy from B&H or Adorama. There is another place for use gear and I forgot their name. All other places are either expensive or sleaze bags!

I am Nikon guy and we have a D200 and and D2X -- I haven't looked at new camera gear for a year now and that's good cause you can get broke on that pretty easily. You really need to get a D200 minimum because the Nikon pro stuff allows you to use old magnificent lenses and cheap from ebay. With Canon you need the new lenses, although Canon is really good with low light and by default, your pics are saturated.

The Sheldon Brown of cameras is Bjorn https://www.naturfotograf.com/index2.html

brentley

What sort of wacky stuff does BIC have? Where are they in Tokyo?

The used gear place is keh.com (very good place).

Bjorns site is good, and if you really want to deal with total equipment weenies then you can can go to dpreview.com and get a whole bunch of opinions in the forums and a whole lot of reviews.

That being said, what sort of photos do you want to take and how much weight and complexity are you willing to deal with? There are some compact cameras with awesome lenses these days in digital.

In the interest of 100% disclosure, I shoot Nikon (digital) and Hasselblad (film).

Brentley

steaktaco

B&H = great customer service

I've returned an pair of headphones, a lens, and a power pack with no problems. Had the lens (50mm L) for two months; exchanged with no questions asked, didn't even suggest going through Canon.

Can't say enough good things about 'em.

Landgolier

Forget PBK, who is the bikesdirect of the camera market?

CastIron

B&H (again). They've got everything at reasonable (but not too good) prices.

dvs cycles

Have purchased many times in the last year from them and always been lowest price with shipping free and great service.

Scorer75

I live in NY and play ball with a guy who was in some management position at B&H.

I was looking for a camera for my wife and figured I might get a better price from this guy than if I purchased through a retailer. He called me back the next day and told me they mark the camera up a whopping $10 over their cost so I should probably just order it from the site. He also told me that they were selling an average of 250 of these a month!!!

photonick

Incorrect typically COST is a pretty god damn reasonable price, (sorry i just get furious because guys like you would come into my camera store and bust my balls about my prices when i'm only making 8%)

intence

Are you looking for an SLR or point and shoot? For either, I would check pricing at Amazon, and then cross-check at B&H and Adorama. Both are reputable, as there are *many* shady camera dealers out there.

For Point and Shoot I would also check out buydig. Amazon will usually list prices for all of them. No matter what type of camera you buy, read plenty of reviews, and remember that Megapixels is not the most important feature.

m4bandit

beachcamera.com

Lowest prices I've seen and both my sister and I have bought from them over the years without a hiccup.