Online camera stores ...
Nov 21, 2013, 8:46 am
#152
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 24
Yes, B&H is a pretty amazing place. I have been shopping there since their retail store was on E. 17th Street (or thereabouts). I know I am showing my age, since I have been shopping there for about 40 years. Normally they are my 'go to' store for anything camera- or electronic-related, ...
Our old W 17th St storefront.
Nov 21, 2013, 9:35 am
#154
Join Date: May 2007
Location: ORD, DEL
Programs: AA (Plt Pro; 1.5 MM)
Posts: 6,185
Nov 21, 2013, 9:37 am
#155
Suspended
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 738
Nov 21, 2013, 9:39 am
#156
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Newport Beach, California, USA
Posts: 36,062
Nov 21, 2013, 9:50 am
#157
Suspended
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 738
He spends quite a bit more time on photography-specific forums. I'm wondering if his PC is programmed to send him alerts whenever various forums mention B&H, so he can check in on things.
Nov 22, 2013, 11:09 am
#158
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 24
Henry Posner
B&H Photo-Video
Nov 24, 2013, 3:29 pm
#159
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Earth. Residency:HKG formerly:YYZ
Programs: CX, DL, Nexus/GE, APEC
Posts: 10,689
He is highly recommended on the internet when you have issues with B&H. I can't verify for I never had any issue buying from B&H even before I had credit cards and had to send money order.
Dec 11, 2013, 10:38 pm
#160
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Bali, Indonesia
Programs: AA, DL, AK, UN, CN
Posts: 967
Don't forget to be careful with online camera stores. You can check anyone on http://www.resellerratings.com/
Beware of any store with less than 3-stars, or anyone new. They get about 50 friends to pump up their ratings, then run scam operations, and then just start a new store.
Adorama/BH/Amazon/AbesofMaine are the way to go. Tho I did just see a too-good-to-be-true deal from Abe's that said (in the smallest of letters) "import" which is grey-market. Grey-market doesn't come with a warranty. I thought Abe's was above such trickery.
Beware of any store with less than 3-stars, or anyone new. They get about 50 friends to pump up their ratings, then run scam operations, and then just start a new store.
Adorama/BH/Amazon/AbesofMaine are the way to go. Tho I did just see a too-good-to-be-true deal from Abe's that said (in the smallest of letters) "import" which is grey-market. Grey-market doesn't come with a warranty. I thought Abe's was above such trickery.
Dec 30, 2013, 2:12 am
#161
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: SYD
Programs: UA Plat
Posts: 94
B&H was my first place to visit on my first trip to NYC a few years back. Partly because I wanted a particular lens for my camera before doing the tourist thing, but it is quite an awesome place in itself...
Worth a visit even just to browse, and watch other peoples stuff wizz by in the glass counters.
Z...
Jan 1, 2014, 6:39 pm
#162
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 4
If money is the most determining factor for choosing what DSLR you get, you will have to purchase either a brand new entry-level consumer DSLR like the D3200, or any older/used DSLR, preferably one with an auto-focus motor.
Entry-level cameras don’t have auto-focus motors in the DSLR body, so only lenses that have Auto-Focus motors inside of them can be used with them. Having no Auto-Focus (AF) motor in the camera isn’t that big of a deal if you are first starting out because you will most likely be using a kit lens that comes with the DSLR body anyway, which is perfectly fine.
If you have a little bit more money to spend ($800-$2000), start out getting any DSLR that is in the gray highlighting. These cameras will either be an advanced consumer camera (they typically call these prosumer DSLRs), or better yet, a compact professional camera (ex. D300s, D800, D600). These DSLRs will be able to use almost all lenses available, have cleaner image quality, shoot more frames per-second, have more auto-focus points, and the physical body will be more robust.
If you have even more money to spend (more than $2000), you can get a Professional DSLR that has a full-frame sensor (as indicated by the green highlighting in the chart) and at least one full-frame lens to go along with it. The lenses you put on a full-frame DSLR body need to be high-quality (i.e. expensive) in order to make use of the high quality full-frame sensor.
Lets put things in perspective by contrasting the levels of DSLRs:
An Consumer level D3100 camera costs ~$450 with an 18-55mm lens included.
A Prosumer level camera, like a D90 or D7100 will cost around $1000-$2000 for the body, and another $2000 for 1-3 lenses, depending on which lens/lenses you get.
A Professional DSLR (like a crop-frame D300s, or full-frame D600, D800, or D4) for the body only, will cost ~$2000-$10,000 and $2000 for a standard zoom lens. Most pro full-frame lenses cost ~$2000, so if you wanted to get 2 more zoom lenses, you would be at $6000 for lenses. Prime lenses are cheaper.
These prices are subject to change dramatically due to various factors such as technology getting cheaper, inflation, buying used vs. buying new, buying right after the release date of the DSLR/lens, etc.
--
Mark James
Christchurch
http://PhotographyMadeEasy.net
Entry-level cameras don’t have auto-focus motors in the DSLR body, so only lenses that have Auto-Focus motors inside of them can be used with them. Having no Auto-Focus (AF) motor in the camera isn’t that big of a deal if you are first starting out because you will most likely be using a kit lens that comes with the DSLR body anyway, which is perfectly fine.
If you have a little bit more money to spend ($800-$2000), start out getting any DSLR that is in the gray highlighting. These cameras will either be an advanced consumer camera (they typically call these prosumer DSLRs), or better yet, a compact professional camera (ex. D300s, D800, D600). These DSLRs will be able to use almost all lenses available, have cleaner image quality, shoot more frames per-second, have more auto-focus points, and the physical body will be more robust.
If you have even more money to spend (more than $2000), you can get a Professional DSLR that has a full-frame sensor (as indicated by the green highlighting in the chart) and at least one full-frame lens to go along with it. The lenses you put on a full-frame DSLR body need to be high-quality (i.e. expensive) in order to make use of the high quality full-frame sensor.
Lets put things in perspective by contrasting the levels of DSLRs:
An Consumer level D3100 camera costs ~$450 with an 18-55mm lens included.
A Prosumer level camera, like a D90 or D7100 will cost around $1000-$2000 for the body, and another $2000 for 1-3 lenses, depending on which lens/lenses you get.
A Professional DSLR (like a crop-frame D300s, or full-frame D600, D800, or D4) for the body only, will cost ~$2000-$10,000 and $2000 for a standard zoom lens. Most pro full-frame lenses cost ~$2000, so if you wanted to get 2 more zoom lenses, you would be at $6000 for lenses. Prime lenses are cheaper.
These prices are subject to change dramatically due to various factors such as technology getting cheaper, inflation, buying used vs. buying new, buying right after the release date of the DSLR/lens, etc.
--
Mark James
Christchurch
http://PhotographyMadeEasy.net
Last edited by PhotographyDream; Jan 1, 2014 at 6:51 pm
Jan 16, 2014, 1:19 pm
#164
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Newport Beach, California, USA
Posts: 36,062
Feb 16, 2014, 2:01 pm
#165
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: MAN
Programs: BAEC Gold, HH Diamond, Avis PP. Dropped UA*G.
Posts: 41
I have got nothing but good things to say about Digital Rev. I was worried at first about the idea of importing glass from abroad but the fact that there is a social network attached to the site that's not full of complaints was a good confidence builder. Have bought lots of glass with red bracelets from DR since.