Just Got a Quote From B&H - Equipment Change Suggestions?

[henryp]

You must be mistaken....if an employee who works for a company with "35+ years of unimpeachable ethical integrity" tells you that D90 kit is unavailable....then that kit is not available anywhere.

I didn't say they were unavailable anywhere. Please don't put words in my mouth. I'm perfectly capable of speaking for myself and saying what I mean when I do. Thank you.

 

[Village Idiot]

I've spent enough money with B&H and had enough contact with their company, as well as other like them, to know some things...

They've never done anything wrong to me and I've always had good service from them.

Attack me as you will, Darrel, but any company that a person calls for advice is going to do the same thing. When I worked in a retail environment when I was younger, the only time you sent a customer to another shop to buy is when you absolutely don't have, or cannot get, the item you're looking for.

 

[bigtwinky]

That's not accurate. Plenty of companies have legal issues with employees and still go and do a fantastic job doing what they do. In addition, I think that the dialog is starting to veer in a direction that in an of itself will go into a zone that is prejudicial, so I am checking out of this thread.

Why is it not accurate? Those issues are publicly known.
I do 100% agree that plenty of companies have legal issues with employees, my own has a few going through these days, and this is not linked to the quality of service they give their customers. I've purchased from BH and will in the future. Each time I head down to NY, I make a stop there, guaranteed, whether my wife likes it or not (although she then heads to Century 21, so we all all squared on the spending side lol)

My comment was directly made towards the 35 years of "Unimpeachable ethical integrity". There is no company that can claim that, none. If I were to not shop at companies that are not 100% ethical 100% of the time in all their dealings, then I would become a do it yourselfer.

Very, very happy that kilerb got his new camera!!!

Oh, was that the original topic? hehe :mrgreen:
I agree, congrats!!!

 

[Dao]

HenryP, personally, I think you should respond differently. You may win the argument, however, you may lost the case.




P.S. I agree that if D90 was not in stock, the salesman should recommend a different camera. Of course, the buyer need to know why. (I assume the salesman did that already)

 

[bigtwinky]

If the OP is buying a flash and is doing head shots, why does he need a cool lite kit? Why not just a stand, bracket and umbrella and mount his already shopping carted flash using some Cactus triggers? Nice to go on location with, as alot of newcomers shoot outdoors

And why an Extreme card? I use Ultra cards and they work amazing. Why the extra expense for someone looking to start out?

This on top of the poor 17-85 recommendation.

What lens for the D90 for portraits? One would be the 50 1.8 a good cheap start. Other high end lenses to consider are 70-200 2.8, 24-70. A lens is truly an investment. I know people who have had pro line lenses for 7 years, used them with entry level cameras and now pro cameras. They are your most solid investment. They will cost $1400 + , but they are worth it.
l

Thanks for your suggestions! Is there something you would suggest between the cheap one and the $1400 one? Appreciate your feedback!

Honestly, get the cheap 50mm f/1.8 lens. It is cheap in price and cheaply built, but man, it can give amazing results. Its a great great lens to learn with. And 5 years down the road, you will probably still have it or have upgrade to the 50mm f/1.4 because you love shooting with this style lens so much. Serious. Great for portraits.

Its a must have in any photographer's bag. It will add that extra open aperture to let more light in when shooting low light as well (concerts and so on).

 

[ghache]

I bought some stuff at BH a few times and i definitely will again.
I did get some great price on a few items that I could not found locally even in canadian stores.

I think "buyer be aware" always applies even when dealing with reputable business.
Sales rep might not be paid with commission but the more he sells, the better he looks. This all comes down to you should research anything you buy and get a second advice if you are not sure what you are doing.

The only person you can blame if you buy some **** that does not suit your needs is you.

If they didnt had the d90 in stock. its normal they proposed another model they had in stock. If you really wanted a d90, you should have said oh well, this is not what i want, have a good day.

 

[traylorc]

You must be mistaken....if an employee who works for a company with "35+ years of unimpeachable ethical integrity" tells you that D90 kit is unavailable....then that kit is not available anywhere.

I didn't say they were unavailable anywhere. Please don't put words in my mouth. I'm perfectly capable of speaking for myself and saying what I mean when I do. Thank you.

My bad Henry....the correct statement is the D90 kit is available for sale at other vendors, but not one of the largest camera retailers in the country. You would think with all those years of unimpeachable integrity Nikon would make sure your stores were stocked 24/7 with one of the best selling cameras in the country. You're welcome.

I'm glad the OP was able to find a camera.

 

[kilerb]

Thanks a lot for all your comments and opinions. I was just reading other threads about lighting. Is the kit the guy from B&H in the quote above (Original post) good for starting? I keep reading about constant lighting vs. flash/strobe etc... If not, what would you suggest as a starter kit for the D7000. I'd like something that will last me awhile and that I won't want to upgrade in the next week. Also, I'm going to be doing the indoor shots in my living room. I just measured and it's only about 12-13 feet from one wall to the other. Is that enough space? Thanks guys!

 

[Village Idiot]

Thanks a lot for all your comments and opinions. I was just reading other threads about lighting. Is the kit the guy from B&H in the quote above (Original post) good for starting? I keep reading about constant lighting vs. flash/strobe etc... If not, what would you suggest as a starter kit for the D7000. I'd like something that will last me awhile and that I won't want to upgrade in the next week. Also, I'm going to be doing the indoor shots in my living room. I just measured and it's only about 12-13 feet from one wall to the other. Is that enough space? Thanks guys!

I personally would not go with constant lighting for people shooting. I'm sure some one else will chime in to why they wouldn't go with it either with sentiments that will mirror mine. I'll give them some thanks when they do.

 

[Derrel]

Do NOT buy continuous lighting for photographing people. Head over to Adorama.com and look at their low-cost Flashpoint 320M monolights, which cost $129 with a light unit, umbrella, and light stand. Buy two of the 320M model, 150 watt-second monolights. And consider getting one of the $34.95, 16-inch beauty dish light reflectors.

Again...continuous lights....agghhhhh....what sales help!

 

[bigtwinky]

I agree...strobes over continuous.

You can look at getting some regular speedlights as use those as your main light sources. They are not as powerful as studio style strobes, but if you even plan on going on location, they are more portable. With studio strobes that require power, you need a power pack to plug them in.

You can get some cheaper manual flashes instead of the high end Canon 580EX II or Nikon SB-900. Something like a Lumopro LN160 - as powerful as the Canon and Nikon, but full manual.

 

[kilerb]

Do NOT buy continuous lighting for photographing people. Head over to Adorama.com and look at their low-cost Flashpoint 320M monolights, which cost $129 with a light unit, umbrella, and light stand. Buy two of the 320M model, 150 watt-second monolights. And consider getting one of the $34.95, 16-inch beauty dish light reflectors.

Again...continuous lights....agghhhhh....what sales help!

Thanks guys... I appreciate the help. I just went to the site and did a search for the 320m... 320m - Adorama.com

There's a bunch of different options and none seem to be $129. Did the price change? Just want to make sure I don't get the wrong thing. Thanks!

 

[henryp]

I personally would not go with constant lighting for people shooting. I'm sure some one else will chime in to why they wouldn't go with it either with sentiments that will mirror mine. I'll give them some thanks when they do.

I'd say 90% of the portraits I've done were shot with strobes. Back when film was king and ISO 100 was usually the fastest option portrait photographers would use, hot lights powerful enough to use for portraiture were HOT. Hot enough to melt makeup and easily hot enough to ignite a softbox or umbrella. Expensive, heavy and cumbersome too. Most of us learned to use strobes with model lamps or by guess and by gosh, but neither is perfect.

Today we can get perfectly good digital images from higher ISO settings and constant lighting is no longer hot at all, nor expensive or cumbersome. It offers the advantage of showing the photographer exactly what the lighting is doing to the subject's face, skin, clothes, hair etc and is a very viable alternative. Particularly for someone starting out, not having to go through the learning curve of interpreting model lamps or speedlights w/out model lamps can be a boon. I have no plans to dump my monolights, but I recognize there's more than one solution to almost any photographic question of hardware or technique.

YMMV of course. BTW, there are two dozen inexpensive mono-light kit options here. Two-light kits start at <$200.00.