fsttyms1

What are some of your recomended places to buy camers from? Im looking to upgrade to a Rebel XTi
Thanks in advance

Dan Martin

B&H has a great reputation and usually very good pricing. www.bhphotovideo.com
Go to their website and enter "PPE06" in the search box, then filter the results for Canon. You'll find the XTi body for $684 or $759 with the 18-55 kit lens.

Billiam

B&H would be my choice as well. If you're just looking to purchase off the shelf stuff like an XTi body and lens, theny you may want to also consider Dell and Newegg if you can stumble into one of their deals.

fsttyms1

Thanks. Ill look into that! Im really excited to start getting into the DSLR market

ChodTheWacko

Good grief, is it really worth $80 to have a black Xti versus a Silver Xti? Black does look better, but geesh, 10% more?

I've bought lots of stuff from buydig.com. They are from Jersey so it's nicer for us NY folk.
They are slightly more expensive for the Xti (except for xti silver body only, which is about the same). Great place in general though.

moeronn

+1 for B&H. Got my stuff from them quickly with no phone calls trying to upsell me.

waTSX

B&H is very good. Excellent reputation, great service, knowledgeable staff, speedy delivery, competitive pricing. Not much more to ask for.

Adorama is another good choice.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Costco has the XTi w/kit lens for $820. Can't beat the return policy.

jupitersolo

I don't think it's just the color. I think with the change in color you get a better casing.

waTSX

I don't think that's the case. Per B&H, the specs are exactly the same for silver and black versions. The price difference there is $46.

I have no idea why they charge more for black

jupitersolo

^^ I just spoke to one of the better camera shops in my area. He said the silver one's are going to the BIG box stores (Target, Walmart , etc.) and the black is more likely to be found in better camera shops.

There is no difference other than color. He said it's just BS that some are charging more for the black. They're just being greedy. Amazon had a $15.00 difference.

waTSX

^^Canon does just enough things to its customers to piss them off. Stuff like this and not offering lens hoods on $1000 lenses just because they don't have the "L" designation.

guia x

Do you guys think it's better to buy online or support your local camera store? I am kinda having this dilema because while I like getting the personal attention at the camera store, they charge way more than the online stores. Normally they are around $100 more on lenses and up to about $200 more for the higher end ones. I know that they probably have more overhead than online stores and they do help me quite alot. They let me try out the lenses and answer all my questions. I just cannot get over the price though. I would kinda feel bad for buying somewhere else after having this guy spend all his time with me. What do you guys think? I am looking to buy a couple lenses for christmas and I am trying to decide if I should buy online or buy from the camera store. What would you guys do?

danny25

The camera store I buy from lists their prices higher than online sites, but when I go to buy he's usually very competitive. Bring a price from a well known site like B&H and see if they can at least come close.

Bdog

^^

I got my Canon 430EX Speedlite at a local shop because it was an impulse buy... I buy most everything from B&H and could have saved $70 if I would have just ordered one.

Dan Martin

I try to buy things locally or at least within Canada whenever possible, but many times there's just no way I can justify the price difference.

B&H has the EF 500 f4 for $5299US ($6025CDN), but my local shop (www.henrys.com) has it for $6999CDN. I could fly to NY for a nice weekend and pick it up myself and still be ahead on the price.

The last lens I bought came from Hong Kong via eBay and it was a totally painless transaction. I had it in my hands within a week of clicking the buy button for $300 less than my local shop.

Other smaller things just aren't worth the hassle of shipping, but on big ticket items, I'll pretty well always buy online.

jupitersolo

If you're looking to get a couple lenses, let them know. Also let them know that you love the service. But you need a better price. A little like buying a car.

If it's like Ace Photo here in Sterling (a small business) you'll get the friend discount. I don't now them that well, but I know a couple of people that do get it.

guia x

The same thing pretty much happened to me. Only thing was that it was not an impulse buy. I had actually researched it and looked up the price online. For some reason, I had the wrong price on my mind from the last time I was at the camera store. Online I was getting prices for around $230 for the 430EX and I thought the camera store I go to had theirs for $239 so I said that I would rather get it at the camera store because he was so helpful in answering all my questions and letting me take a few shots with the flash. When I went to go get the flash, it turned out to be $289. At that point I was put on the spot because the guy have helped me out and it didn't feel right for me to leave after I said that I was ready to get the flash. So I just bought it. Still happy to finally have gotten an external flash, but still in the back of my mind I know I could have gotten it cheaper.

Anyway, thanks for the input guys. I will see if he is willing to match the prices or come down. I guess I'm just struggling with the morality of it. Part of the reason to go to brick and mortar stores is for the personal professional help that they give you. I know that you will pay a premium for that kind of help but it just seems way too high. $100 more on a $500 lens is way too much. It just sucks because I have been going to the store a few times now trying to decide which lens I should get. It's different when you actually have the item if front of you and you can try it out. I can't do that online. They practically know what I really want now and it would kinda be hard to go back ever again if I go and get the lenses elsewhere. I would hate to be the shopper that constantly takes up their time and never buy anything.

I don't know. Maybe I'm just putting way too much into it. I've talked and joked around with those guys, but it's not like I'm really buds with them. For all they care, I'm just another sale. So I probably shouldn't even bother and just get whatever the lowest price I could get. Anyway, my wife will probably be the one to get it as it will be her present for me. She does not worry about such things and will always go for the best deals possible so I will show her the online prices and see what she does. I guess what it comes down to is bottomline it's our money and we are the ones who worked for it so we should have the right to get the best price. Thanks again guys. It really helps knowing how others deal with the same situation.

waTSX

As I see it, camera gear is expensive enough as it is. If I can save hundreds of dollars buying online, that's what I'm going to do. I've even given some local shops the chance to price match, and they'll have none of it. To hell with them.

Add in the fact that I don't have to pay sales tax when I buy from B&H or Adorama, and it's a no-brainer. I'd really like to support local shops, but they make it very difficult, at least on big ticket items. Business is business and I go where the best deal is.

waTSX

To guia x, IMO, there's no morals involved. It's purely a business decision. Brick and mortar stores have no qualms about charging the prices they do, and you shouldn't have any trying to get the best deal you can. It's your hard-earned money.

Just my

danny25

i feel the same way as guia x. I shop at a small store where the owner is the guy behind the counter. He seems to have really great service, so I'd feel guilty going there checking things out, getting advice, and then buying from somewhere else. It would be different if it were a Ritz camera, or a Best Buy. But I've only purchased a few things from the store so far, my ideas would probably change if his prices weren't as competitive as they have been.

ChodTheWacko

I would either
1) shop there, and buy from them
2) not shop there and not buy from them.

Stores have a TON more overhead than online places. There's rent for the property. Electricity. Heat. Etc.

If there's no Store, you can just stuff everything in a storage warehouse. It's not quite that simple, but you get my point.

The benefits of going to a store are exactly what you said. Service, availiability, and etc. You pay more to get those services.

You should support services that you enjoy. Because without support, those services will not be there for long. I'm not saying you have to buy everything in those stores. But you shouldn't go in there, and take up a bunch of the guy's time and not buy anything either. You are right, if you don't buy anything, he won't be nearly as helpful next time. Why would he? If you were in his shoes, would you?

- Frank

wndrlst

Thanks for the recommendation to Ace in the other thread. I had an interesting experience with them. I usually buy from B&H online, but I needed a decent portrait lens, & couldn't wait for it to be shipped. I called to ask their price & they said "$450, but it goes for $400 so we'll sell it for that." That was the same as the online price, so I was really stoked! I went to pick it up, & they rang it up at 450, but I just mentioned the quote on the phone & they changed it. I was really surprised, b/c Ritz & other larger retail chains haven't been willing to budge on anything. I guess I'll just call ahead for quotes on the larger purchases. Of course there's sales tax; but no shipping + instant gratification = really happy lady.

Do you have any experience with their printing?

jupitersolo

Haven't used them for printing. There about 30 mintues from me. I got my Digital Rebel from them and a printer. So when I have real questions I just call then up from time to time.

guia x

Yeah I'll see if they will match or come close to the price. If not, then I'll have to stop going there. A 100 bucks is a 100 bucks and it's hard to justify paying that much more money just to be able to play around with the item before buying.


If Best Buy sells lenses and other photography gear, I would go there to look and would shop elsewhere for the lowest price. Like you said, it's a small store and the guy I've been talking to is the owner. He answers all my questions and lets me try things out. I know why the prices has to be higher and it would suck to stiff him by always taking up his time and not buy anything.

That is pretty much the only options I have. I know most likely they will not budge on the prices so I will have to just find a Ritz or somewhere more competetive. With the information I get on the web and on this forum, there isn't much more information the people at the store is going to give me anyway other than letting me play around with the stuff. I practically know all that I need to know before heading to the store, so it's pretty hard justifying the price difference for information I already know. Too bad too as the guy is really nice and helpful. What can you do? It's business right?