Who do I buy my camera from?

[patrickt]

I would bet the low price you saw was for a 400D and not the 40D. If you're really a beginner there are some advantages for paying a bit more to buy the camera from a good local dealer. By good, I mean a real camera shop with employees who actually take pictures. It gives you a place to go with questions for a few weeks and a quick place to go if you have problems.

I bought my first expensive, for me, digital camera at a local store. I was just visiting the U.S. and I was back in daily with questions. Is this noise normal? Why doesn't the camera work with this memory card? Why doesn't this work? The noise was normal, the memory card was bad and they swapped it for me, and what I was doing wasn't working because of menu settings.

Now, I buy almost 100% of my cameras and accessories from B&H.

 

[AUZambo]

Always check the better business bureau to see if the company you're wanting to use is a member. (http://www.bbb.com)

I got my DSLR from Cameta Cameras (an ebay store) and had absolutely no problems at all. They were very helpful and very prompt.

the cheap cameras you listed are probably part of a bait & switch scam.

 

[jstuedle]

B&H for any camera that has been out a little while. I did buy my D3 local for two reasons. 1) B&H had stopped taking pre-orders less than a week after introduction. 2) The price was the same everywhere. No discounting on cameras this new and in demand.

Anyway, 90% of what I need we buy from B&H. A lot of these other fly-by-night outfits will price a rig without battery, charger, instructions, strap and any other included accessory. By the time they pressure you to buy all that stuff and an overpriced memory card, extra battery, way overpriced "required" 3rd party kit lens and whatever, it's cheaper to buy from B&H or Adroama.

 

[bango707]

Why not support the local shops???

All of the local shops around here will match B&H and Scamy's prices for anything. Yes they are more expensive but they only sell a fraction of what the bigger stores sell.

I don't buy from B&H for the same reason I don't buy from WalMart, they are bad for small business:x